Advice for Future Students

Business Writing 304 is an awesome class. Going into it I was a little afraid because I am not very good at writing. I am a food science major, so most of the classes I take do not require me to write anything besides lab reports. Business writing sounded like it was going to be writing intensive and very difficult.

Business Writing 304 with Angie turned out to be so much better than I thought it was going to be. There were a lot of assignments to complete, but it was easy to succeed. My advice for this class is to always be organized. If you get behind in the work, then it will be hard to catch up. This is very important when it comes to the group project.

For our group project, we were to design web pages for the Anderson Habitat for Humanity ReStore. This project took a lot of time and work. It is important for this type of group project to have good communication and organization skills. You need to be able to communicate well with each other so that you can set up meetings for out of class and have everybody show up. You need to be organized to make sure that all of the assigned work gets completed. Also, make sure you pick a group that you know you can count on to finish all of the work and on time.


Overall this class taught me a lot of new and important information. During the course of the semester we were assigned to make resumes and cover letters. These were very useful assignments because I will definitely be using my resume very soon. Also, we had mock interviews which helped to boost my confidence and better prepare me for future interviews. I feel I learned a lot of information from this class that will help me in the future and definitely recommend this class to everyone.

Exciting Plans

I just found out the other day that over Christmas break I will be going to visit my brother in Honduras. My brother decided to join the Peace Corps, and he left in July to start is two years and three months work. He is only allowed a certain amount of days off a month, which if he doesn't use can carry over to the next month. Since it is pretty expensive to fly over there, he was not planning on coming back again until I graduate, which is may of 2009. That meant that I wasn't going to see him for almost two years. My mother decided that she wanted to see him, and the place that he is working, so the plan is that we are going to spend a week there over Christmas break. I am so excited and can't wait to see my brother!

Interview Reflection

I had my interview on Wednesday, October 10th, and although I was not that prepared I felt that it went very well. When I walked in, I had no idea how the interview was going to go, but I was not nervous. I feel that I am a pretty confident person, and was ready for anything Angie could ask me.

I have previously had many interviews for different jobs, and other activities. I felt that I knew the types of questions that would be asked, and this made me feel ready for the interview. From other interviews, I knew that it would be important to be personable but not to overdue it. Talking too much can be a bad thing.

One thing that I learned I need to work on, is making my answers specific and complete. Sometimes I feel that I kind of ramble on just so that I have something to say. Also, I need to work on making my answers show that I have the best skills and experience for the job. Sometimes I felt that I should have answered the questions differently, so that it would have showed off my skills more than completed the question.

All in all, I felt that the mock interview was very helpful in preparing me for the actual interviews that will come in the near future.

Resume Advice

The article http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/resumes/20060605-flesher.html caught my eye. I thought this article was interesting and very helpful. The first thing I learned was that in order for my resume to be found online it has to have specific keywords. I also learned that it can be very effective to use keywords that are in the job description. This will allow my resume to easily be found by a company, but it also demonstrates that I have skills that specifically relate to that job. Another important detail I learned from this article was that there are golden keywords that should be incorporated into my resume, but not to use too many keywords. Resues should be simple, but include all the necessary information.

I also thought that the article http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/resumes/20060404-devlin.html was very interesting. The main point that I got from this article, was that simplicity is the best way to go with resumes. As time goes on, my resume is going to need to be updated. When this occurs, I learned that not only do I have to add new information, but I also have to delete the outdated information. The effectiveness of my resume is all determined by the content included and how the information is formatted.

Job Interview Advice

The article that caught my eye was: http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/interviewing/20060510-coombes.html. I would never have thought that talking too much would be a big mistake. I always thought that it would be better to talk too much than too little. I thought that talking a lot would make it look like I was more outgoing rather than a shy or quiet person. From reading the article I have learned that less is more. I need to be prepared when I go to an interview so that my answers will be short but still demonstrate my skills and prove my point. I was surprised when I read that if you talk too much it shows that you could be a bad listener. At my next interview I am going to make sure that I focus more on listening rather than talking. I agreed with the article when it stated that some interviewees have an overinflated ego. I learned that I should only talk about my skills that apply to the specific job, rather than listing everything that I have ever accomplished. I also agreed with the article when it stated that an interviewee should avoid talking about money too soon. The article then went on to explain the time period in which a person has to respond to a job offer. I was surprised that some people thought that you could wait two weeks to respond. I always thought that a person would respond faster than that.

All in all, I thought this was a very interesting article. I learned that I should keep my talking to a minimum so that I can focus more on listening and getting my point across.

Web 2.0 - Rethink Everything

I think that Web 2.0 is a second type of web. It's the new improved and upgraded World Wide Web. I feel that this web system was designed for communication and social networking. I think that Web 2.0 can be very useful for people that are ready to enter the workforce. With this new technology it makes applying for jobs so much easier. An applicant can have direct and fast contact with a company. Applications can be posted online, and interviews can be conducted through the computer. Web 2.0 can also pose many problems for job searchers. Now that society is getting on board with the newest technology, some people are being left behind. Those that have never learned how to use even simple technology, are going to have a tough time competing for jobs against those that have more advanced skills. On the other hand, I feel that Web 2.0 will be a great asset for those that are already in the workforce. These new programs can help workers communicate more efficiently. I think that Web 2.0 does make us have to rethink some things. Now that information on the internet can easily be obtained we have to rethink what we allow to be posted. With things like information on Facebook now showing up on Google, we have to limit what we want others to be able to see. I feel that Web 2.0 might make information too accessible to the public, but at the same time it can be very useful in connecting the world through technology.

Hey hey hey...

Hey Guys,
My name is Erin Bartle and I'm from the 'burbs of Chi-town. I grew up in the town of Wheaton which was once in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most churches per square mile, and the smallest shop. I am a junior majoring in food science with a concentration of culinology. I work at the O'Charleys in Anderson and will hopefully be interning at The Sweetery as well. My dream job for when I graduate is to be a firefighter. Then, later on when I'm older I want to open a bakery. Here at Clemson I am on the club field hockey team. As you can probably tell I am a busy person that is usually on the go, but at the same time I can be relaxed, organized, and creative. I think that Buisness Wrtiting is going to be a very interesting and helpful class and I am looking forward to a great semester!