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Entry 7: Reflection on the Subject

Starting this subject only a mere 4 weeks ago, I felt I had a good understanding on the process of professional interviews and resume writing. Having only missed out on one job that I had applied for I felt I was in a much better position than what I truly was. Over the course of this subject, I learnt how vital it was to create a strong, engaging, and informative resume without the unnecessary clutter. The first major surprise that I have repeatedly spoken about throughout previous entries is the basic tell me a bit about yourself question in interviews. I was glad to know that other people find it as confusing, confronting, and awkward as I did. I found that seeing others be in the same boat and watching my peers develop and grow helped me continue to work and develop my answers and continuously evolve. Having not properly learning or ever needing to write a cover letter was a gaping hole in my preparations but thanks to this subject I was able to fill that gap and improved my professional writing skills. One final area that I felt has greatly helped me improve in my professional journey was implementing a career objective in my resume. Having a short paragraph about my goals helped my become relatable with the reader, they understand my goals and aspirations and for myself, it helped show my determination. 

Learning how to word things in a way to shine a light on my experiences, skills helped show me how much I personally have been able to accomplish in such a short time and helped boost my self-confidence. All this will help assist me in my career development. 

Now that the subject has been completed, looking back there was many different times where I was completing assignments or even in class where all I wanted to do was switch my computer off or just go onto my phone, but we were lucky enough to get in a guest speaker like Matt Cracknell who in his own way effectively explained what the real professional life is like and there was no sugar coating it. When in the workplace, you can’t just turn off your computer and do it later, there are deadlines, other team member waiting for you and there are consequences if not meeting these deadlines. The world won’t wait for you, you must get yourself into positive positions and you need to be able to succeed on your own. 

I will continue to evolve and develop and not let myself get comfortable in whatever it is that I do. It is that drive that I possess that has got me to where I am currently and will help me get to where I need and want to be!

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Entry 6: Reflection on Experience

The interview process is one of the most daunting if not the most daunting part of the hiring process, first impressions are important and there is only a short window of time in which you are able to prove to the person interviewing that you are the best out of the pack and you are the right decision for them. Within 15 of some of the most vulnerable and highly pressured minutes you may have given yourself the job, a spot in the next part of the process or eliminated your spot. Interview process can be cutthroat but learning effective methods can provide the interviewee with the best chances possible. In the first few weeks of our classes learning how to answer the dreaded “tell me about yourself” seemed like a near impossible task. 

Being able to talk about oneself in confidence for around a minute is quite a hard task to complete. When we first tried to answer the question, I couldn’t answer it without stuttering, feeling like an awkward blubbering mess and my answer didn’t go for longer for 15 seconds, but I knew deep down I had more then 15 seconds worth of information about myself. 

So, with some research I was able to develop my abilities as well as introduce the STAR (Situation, Target, Action, Result) technique to my interview repertoire. I personally used this video and the help of Sharyn and my peers to practice and improve. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmFuWmzeiDs

 Having the opportunity to have mock interviews to be able to practice and hone in new skills and techniques have been paramount to developing the confidence I have now. Naturally to begin with I was very nervous with the idea of doing interviews but completing mock interviews with a wide range of different people gave me great insight and feedback into improving my technique with areas I can improve in. 

There are some areas I can look towards improving myself and my interview techniques, conducting more research about the company that I’m applying for is such a simple and basic task but will put myself ahead of the others, even if it’s just an hour spent learning the background, beginnings and values of the company is a great way to show you have initiative and care about where you’re applying for. 

I also need to spend more time practicing my elevator pitch about myself, continuing to update, improve and practice can only help me I the long run. After completing the interview for the assignment, I felt pretty nervous being the first person to be interviewed but I also felt that would give me the best chance as my interview is the one to be compared to and not being compared to others just yet, but once completed I feel I’m in a strong and effective position. My answer to the no longer dreaded “tell me about yourself?” has drastically improved and I feel confident about telling people about myself when needed. I also felt that my answer to tell me one time you experienced conflict and how did you resolve it was not only a strong answer but an engaging story which helped the interviewer relate and see another more personal side to myself.

 Once the interview started with Janet, I did start to feel more comfortable to be in a familiar position, it then became a great point where I was talking and reflecting about my experiences and how they have shaped me, and I didn’t feel like I was just gloating how great I am. It felt honest and valuable, and I hope it came across that way in the interview as well. I don’t think it was perfect and there is room to improve but there is always room to improve and get better in anything that you do and I’m glad and appreciative I had the chance to have the mock interview as it has instilled lots of confidence

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Entry 5: Importance of Organisational Culture

Organisational culture and being a high performing intern and team member is not only crucial to having a successful internship but integral in developing these important transferrable work skills. Developing your own organisational skills and transitioning these into a culture is vital to becoming successful in a multitude of areas, not only in workplace situation but also whilst studying and other aspects of life. When completing an internship there will be times when jobs need to be completed by a strict deadline, there won’t be extensions and leeway given, if you do not develop a great organisational culture where you are able to keep on top of tasks and complete objectives on or before deadlines you will not only fall behind other interns, the employer won’t feel comfortable giving you the next task or feel that they can trust you to complete other tasks in the long run. Developing well-structured organisational skills is not the only skill that is crucial to a successful internship or successful employment, becoming a high performing intern and team member goes together with one another. Developing and becoming a high performing team member helps not only yourself but it also helps the others around you. If you’re performing at a high standard not only will others notice the level that you are performing at, but it will also show who else within the cohort is not performing and will encourage and inspire others to lift their standards. Other aspects like communication levels between team members and clarity between ideas and thought processes enhances. (Ismail, A et. al. 2007) If you can not only develop yourself but develop the others around, you the productivity and the morale within the group increases and benefits all around the situation. Developing these two skills will not only place you ahead of other interns and potential employee’s applicants but these skills become life long transferrable work skills. A degree or certification isn’t required to develop and maintain these skills. Any employer will encourage and appreciate an employee who has these skills with the constant drive to continue developing they skills, assets, and themselves overall. Ismail Al-Alawi, Yousif Al-Marzooqi, N., & Fraidoon Mohammed, Y. (2007). Organizational culture and knowledge sharing: critical success factors. Journal of Knowledge Management, 11(2), 22–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270710738898

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Entry 4: Analysis of Internship Applications

The internship application was a process that I hadn’t fully experienced before, within my working career I have never had to complete a cover letter or customise my resume to suit the position I was applying for. Learning and understanding how to effectively read a position description and then develop a customised cover letter and edit a resume to suit the position you are applying for was initially a difficult task to complete and understand but with feedback from both Sharyn and Corey improving my work and applying best practice became easier. 

 A cover letter can be reduced to being “your own marketing pitch” (Freedman, K. 2022) this is your initial chance to provide a positive and impactful first impression to be considered and selected for an interview. An effective cover letter develops and expands upon the finer details in your resume and describes in a short one-page letter the effective skills that you provide to the job that has been advertised/applying for. An effective resume on the other hand outlines as well as details, aspirations, objectives, skills, and experiences. An effective resume contains an honest career objective, what exactly you want to achieve and how you’re going to achieve said objective. The qualifications and certifications you have acquired, most jobs that are advertised usually require a certain degree and or certificates to be able to be considered as a prerequisite. Highlighting your study efforts and your ability to match required criteria. Previous job experience with the skills that have been established and advanced as well as other volunteer experience with applicable are fantastic and effective ways to create a strong and engaging resume. 

 Regarding my own cover letter and feedback, I have received both positive and constructive feedback thanks to my peers. Corey in particular, completed my peer feedback review and provided me with some insights on how to improve my resume and cover letter writing. Corey suggested that regarding my cover letter I could improve on my proof reading and getting someone else to read it for me. It was beneficial getting Corey to read it for me as I found that I had missed some basic grammatical errors that he saw quite quickly and was easy enough for me to adjust. Another piece of constructive criticism I was provided with from him was to improve and expand upon my career objective, as someone who knows where they want to go making sure there isn’t any miscommunication about my goals and objectives are pivotal to succeeding. Whilst completing the review I was provided with some great positive feedback as well from Corey. My ability to introduce my skills within my cover letter was a positive as well as on my resume my wide range of experiences over the past 5 years have helped develop and continue to round myself as the worker I aspire to become. 

 The developments I personally have made from learning how to effectively write a resume and cover letter have helped me grow not only as a student and a future job seeker but has helped me understand myself and my own personal developments over my short yet ever growing career in the workforce. 

 Freedman, K. (2022). Creating a winning cover letter. GradAustralia. https://gradaustralia.com.au/applying/creating-a-winning-cover-letter.

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Entry 3: Importance of Personal Branding

Personal marketing, branding, and having an ‘unique value proposition’ is critical to securing a job not only in the workforce but in the competitive industry that is into the sporting industry. Whilst qualifications will help an active job seeker get their foot inside the door, having a strong network with fantastic personal branding will constantly continue to provide and open new avenues during someone’s working years. Having all three of these aspects at a high level will help set an applicant above the rest. It helps give recruiters a clear idea and understanding about what the applicant can provide to the job role. Whether they can provide, expertise, values, and other potential positives to the said role. Strong personal branding imparts recruiters with your capabilities. This helps build a rapport and understanding of yourself before you may have even been offered an interview and could potentially be the reason you do get an interview over the next applicant. In terms of my own personal marketing, I have a lot that I can offer to a wide range of different careers and opportunities.

 My personal marketing has room to improve and improving my LinkedIn account is my first target. Developing more connections and utilising and recording my previous experiences whether they were paid or unpaid will help display my marketability and my adaptability to the task at hand. LinkedIn. Has the potential to widely increase success in the workforce and developing and using linked in has been proven to influence personal professional advancements. (Cho, V., Lam W. 2021). 

My personal branding, I feel has been kept and will continue to be kept at a high standard. Whether potential networks have met me in person whilst working or online, I make it very clear what my values and standards are. I try to make it clear that my own personal brand is as important to me as my studies and my work ethic. 

Having a positive personal brand has a flow on affect consciously and subconsciously, first impressions matter, and if you can display your personal branding and marketing within your first interactions people will start to develop their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about who you are even without properly getting to know you as a person and properly understanding your opinions. Another improvement that I feel will be vital for my future success is creating and up keeping a unique value proposition. Being able to provide future networks with a unique yet concise insight of my capabilities, values and more will also help me develop a stronger understanding of myself and provide me with a clearer guide towards my future goals and careers. 

Cho, & Lam, W. (2021). The power of LinkedIn: how LinkedIn enables professionals to leave their organizations for professional advancement. Internet Research, 31(1), 262–286. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-08-2019-0326

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Entry 2: Preparedness for Internship (Skills & Skills Gaps)

My preparedness for an internship whilst not perfect is mostly ready to go. As I have continuously been updating my resume whilst I complete new experiences during my time studying and working. Have a current and up to date resume but as we learnt in class today I can and will be refining and cleaning the resume up. My skills that I have learnt and developed are crucial in putting myself ahead of the next person in the interview list. Some of the skills I have that are transferrable are my leadership skills. Having multiple chances at managing Rebel Sport whether as the inventory Manager over Christmas or as acting Store Manager whilst all management were unable to work during COVID helped my understand how to plan, communicate and solve any problem that is put in front of me without the need of a superior team member watching over me at all times. Another one of my skills that I feel will be vital to the success of the internship is my passion and drive I have for any work that I complete. I thrive off the feeling of getting a task completed knowing that’s it’s been done in a great manner and that whoever is receiving said work they won’t feel short-changed or not at a standard they wouldn’t be happy with. Although I am not perfect and needed to be able to identify some skill gaps to be able to always improve myself. Some of my skill gaps include creativity and Project management. 

I, myself need to be able to see what needs to be done and what I need to do pretty much from the starting point of the project whereas other being in groups may not feel the same way and prefer to leave it to the last minute as they work the best under pressure. I would like to be able to learn to take a step back and learn to be able to control what I am able to control and let go of what I can’t. I also feel that my creativity and visualisation skills can be improved. 

Currently I find I’m stronger with being told this is how it needs to be please gone and get it done but if I’m able to learn to be more creative and develop different ideas that could be more effective for the employer then I strongly feel that will be beneficial to all parties involved. Being able to acknowledge the current skills and skills gaps you have I feel is vital to becoming not only a better employee but a better person as these skills will help build you as the person you become.

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Entry 1: About Me

My name is Daniel Paul, I am currently 21 years old and studying a bachelor’s degree of Sports Business at Holmesglen Institute. I consider myself to have a wide range of sporting interests whether it is national Australian sports or international sports all around the world. Having such a wide interest in all kinds of sports help increase and broaden my horizons for future careers and abilities. I have had plenty of work experience over the past 6 years. I have always had a job since the day I turned 15 and have spent multiple years with multiple jobs. I have had experience in Customer Service and Fan Engagement. For 2 years I worked for a company called SEDA Activate where I would go out to schools and events and teach a wide range of sports that include but not limited to AFL, Cricket and Basketball. When working with SEDA Activate is was critical to learn how to communicate and connect with participants in a short amount of time and build a great rapport with them to make it as fun and engaging as possible so that they are able to learn as quickly and easily as possible. I was also a part of Cricket Victoria’s “A Sport for All” initiative and was an ambassador for them in 2017. Which included kickstarting a lunchtime legends program during lunch breaks at local schools and investigating if local clubs had spaces for new players to sign up. I have also done quite a wide range of volunteering for multiple sports and industry leaders. I have done over 100 Hours of volunteering with Cricket Victoria and both their BBL teams, The Melbourne Stars, and the Melbourne Renegades. I have also completed some volunteer work with the St. Kilda Football Club in which I planned and organised an AFL “KiwiKick” program and flew over to Auckland, New Zealand and completed said program to New Zealand primary school Kids. I have also continued to hold a steady job working at Rebel Sport for the past 6 years. Starting as a Christmas casual and working my way up to now working full time as a shift supervisor and having the opportunity to run the Back of House dock as an interim Inventory Manager whilst still studying. I can call upon and use these transferrable skills in many different areas of the workplace in many different industries and positions. I for many years I would always change my decision on what I wanted to be when I’ve completed my studies but during my final years of school I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher and having a friend play AFL but not make it as far as he would’ve liked I Knew I wanted to become a player agent and help players not only get the most out of themselves but the most out of their careers as well. Reflecting on my studying performances I feel pretty contempt with how I Have been going but there is room to improve. I’m very much a hands-on learner and I thrive in work environments when I get jump in and learn by completing tasks. Sitting Down behind a desk reading journals and writing academic essays I don’t find is my strongest ability, but I do have the ability to complete them at a standard that is above the requirements to complete the degree. I am looking forwards to the internship as this will be my chance to be able to fully demonstrate my work ethic and my abilities in full action. I feel that this is my best chance at getting my foot in the door as I know one an employer sees the skills and abilities, I can bring it will give me the best chance at succeeding. I currently find self-reflection and understanding and my current strengths and weaknesses quite awkward and confronting but I do understand that self-reflection and even developing my own personal portfolio will lead to improvement of interview skills and a smoother transition to the workplace from studying (Lackner, & Martini, T. 2017). 

Lackner, & Martini, T. (2017). Helping University Students Succeed at Employment Interviews: The Role of Self-Reflection in e-Portfolios. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 5(2), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.5.2.2