Everything Begins with Self Motivation

Keeping life interesting takes being able to tap into your inner being and revisiting the things you are passionate about. Learning and achieving new skill is a great way to update or reinvent your career.

To help you reach this goal, I came across a series of websites that focus on motivating yourself to learn. This website is generally for students, but I find that the information is applicable for anyone. This website explains the importance of incorporating new skills in your life in order to keep your career vibrant and fresh.

So think about what it is you want to learn. What are some of the things you want to accomplish in your life? See if you can achieve them in a small time frame (2-3 months). Let me know what it was you learned and how it applied to your career at Camille1619@aol.com.

WHICH GRADUATE SCHOOL DID I CHOOSE.........

WAIT FOR IT........WAIT FOR IT........

YEAH!!!!!!!! WHOOOO HOOO!!

INFORMATION INTERVIEW #4

DATE: 2/25/2010

COMPANY: Duke University
TYPE: Private College
LOCATION: Durham, NC
TITLE: Career Advisor
EDUCATION: M.S in International Affairs from Duke University/ B.A in Psychology from Georgetown University
INTREST: Sushi

WHAT DID I LEARN OVERALL FROM THIS INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW?
I learned that Duke University has the best medical and engineering programs on this side of the U.S. I was quite impressed with the university and its many historical buildings. Albeit al of the glorious history, I found the interview to be quite life changing for me….I know I can be a bit dramatic. However, I really enjoyed the interview and I loved the description of the job. The career advisor is not just sitting and waiting for students to come through the door but they are working on projects, teaching courses and mentoring students.

WHAT WERE THE POSITIVE’S AND NEGATIVE’S OF EACH INTERVIEWEE’S JOB?
Positive – I love this job!! I love that 60% is counseling students one-on-one 30% is programming and teaching and 10% is recruiting.

Negative – I see that in this role you are working with a variety of students with varied backgrounds and with majors that you may not have much experience in. I can see this as a difficult process for you as a counselor and for the student as well. In this role I will just have to spend extra time studying each major.

COULD I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO IMPROVE THIS INTERVIEW?
This interview was unique because it was a lunch interview. We went to a sushi restaurant and I was a little uncertain if my etiquette skills were on par or not. I have to revisit my grandmothers old etiquette books to see how to politely and with style, to have a dinner interview. I feel overall that I did well, I was just am paranoid of getting food stuck between my teeth, LOL!!

ASSUMING THAT I STILL WANT TO PURSUE MY ORIGINAL CAREER DIRECTION, WHAT IS MY STRATEGY FOR SEEKING A JOB IN THIS FIELD?
This job is the one I want. I could happily work as a Career Advisor for the remainder of my career. So I have thought about how I can build my resume up to fit a job like this. I know that counseling is the main role of this job so I would like to build my resume by working for job/career firms, vocational government offices or work as an entry level Career Advisor for a community college. I know I will get there; I just have to be patient and choose my jobs wisely. (More on my plan later)

INFORMATION INTERVIEW #3

DATE: 2/25/2010

COMPANY: UNC – Chapel Hill
TYPE: State College
LOCATION: Chapel Hill, NC
TITLE: Assistant Director for Career Exploration
EDUCATION: M.S in Counseling from California State University/B.A in Sociology from same school
INTREST: Soccer

WHAT DID I LEARN OVERALL FROM THIS INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW?
The college saw a need to respond to an overwhelming amount of students whom did not know what career they wanted to pursue. Therefore the school made a position called Career Exploration that I find refreshing and much needed.

WHAT WERE THE POSITIVE’S AND NEGATIVE’S OF EACH INTERVIEWEE’S JOB?
This position may not be such a good fit for me. I feel that as a Career Exploration assistant, one is too distant from the student. Once you help the student find their direction that is the end of the counseling. This aspect does not appeal to me.
In this role, one will need to teach resume improvement courses as well as group counsel students that need more vocational help. I believe doing this would appeal to my need to teach and really “walk” with the student on there journey.

COULD I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO IMPROVE THIS INTERVIEW?
In this interview, I was a bit late arriving there. This to me, would have been a deal breaker for me but the interviewee was so kind to me about it. I appreciate her kindness but I am upset that I was late. I hope this never happens again.

ASSUMING THAT I STILL WANT TO PURSUE MY ORIGINAL CAREER DIRECTION, WHAT IS MY STRATEGY FOR SEEKING A JOB IN THIS FIELD?
If I were interested in this position, I would first try to find jobs as an advisor for different undergrad programs in order to build up my resume. Doing this will give me a diverse perspective on other careers and it’s corresponding majors, so that when you counsel students who need help identifying a major/career that fulfills there interest, you can administer more efficiently. As important as this position is, this career path is not as appealing as a Student Counselor, Career Counselor or Retention Counselor position. However, the information was good to know.

My Life as a Poem

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Research Begets more Research

I am just overwhelmed today!! When I woke up this morning I did not feel like today was going to be stressful at all. Every Sunday, I map out a plan for the week of what I am going to do, when to start an activity and when I plan to finish it. I also put in all of the “extra” stuff that I do such as, volunteering at the homeless shelter, teaching interns in fashion design, and meeting with my networking group. Right now I am in the middle of a waiting game. I am trying to patiently wait for my admission answers from Winthrop and NC State. So while I am waiting, I have added new projects on to my list and I think they are driving me crazy!

PROJECT #1 – Research potential internship sites/info interview candidates

I had to put these two things in one category because both go hand in hand. So while trying to research potential candidates, I realized that Charlotte’s higher education opportunities are more abundant then I realized. I actually found a website that outlines all the colleges in the USA , which I am using as my jump-off point for finding candidates. However, as I started to delve deeper into the research I found a website that gives me a more distilled list of schools that have TRIO and Upward Bound programs (which services the population that I want to work with). Now I have to reformulate everything to fit hitting these schools up HARD!! Also, I have to keep researching more stuff to get the info I need about these government programs. That’s the point where I became overwhelmed. I need a nap, LOL!!

PROJECT #2 – Narrow down my job choices

So today was also supposed to be dedicated to re-doing my resume to fit changing careers and making a “Functional” resume. Well, I usually start this process looking at what requirements potential colleges want in a counselor. While I was looking, I realized that different higher learning institutions have different kinds of counseling and different counselors have different credentials. I was totally envious of this one woman’s background, which is now my new role-model. Her name is Mrs. Greason and she works as the Sr. Mental Health Counselor at the North Carolina School of the Arts. I must meet her…..she is definitely on my info interview list!! Anyway, this prompted me to really narrow down what I want to do and in what kind of setting. Here is a breakdown of what I came up with for my future:

1-5 year plan:
• Student Counselor/Advisor (Community College)
• Student Advisor (State College)
• TRIO/UPWARD BOUND Counselor (Community or State /College)
• Career Counselor (Community or State /College)

5- 22 year plan:
• Director of TRIO/UPWARD BOUND Services (Community or State /College)
• Director of Career Counselor Services (Community College)

***SIGH***I am overwhelmed again. I can’t wait until this grad school phase is over so I can work at helping people reach their goals. I am tired of think about me right now….I want to start thinking of others. I just need a break…that’s all.

My Interview at Winthrop University

If you are following my blog, ya’ll know that I have applied for graduate school at Winthrop University and North Carolina State University for a Med in Community Counseling.

Now for both universities, I will be interviewed by the faculty and staff before entrance into the program. On February 12th, 2010, I was sweating bullets from 8am – 2pm in the longest interview of my life at Winthrop University!!

Let me tell you what happened…..

INTRO SPEECH – So they eased your fears by giving you a nice PowerPoint about the program and how to get your state licensure to be a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). By the way, the process to getting this licensure is nothing short of cutting off your finger for admission. I mean, I will have to take 60 CREDIT HOURS (OMG that is a lot of classes with mean a lot of money), 2 years worth of 2000 counseling hours and you have to take a 5 hour test!! OMGeeee!!

ESSAY – Then after the soothing PowerPoint, they lead all 42 of us to a computer lab to type up a 300 word essay on the subject of counseling. In specific, they wanted you to write about if counseling is an ART or a SCIENCE or both. I mean can you imagine writing a paper in APA writing style for only 45 minutes!! Surprisingly, this activity was quite easy for me and enjoyable out of everything.

GROUP ACTIVITY – Then after feeling all overwhelmed, we had to go into a small room that was being videotaped by the faculty. In there you had to pretend to be the counselor and the client and act out a counseling session. That was the most embarrassing to endure because everyone was watching you. SIGH…I need a drink after that!!

GROUP INTERVIEW – This was a part that I wish I could have changed. The faculty then called each person and asked them one interview question. You had to answer in front of everyone. That format was a bit nerve wrecking but I made it through with my sanity still intact!

After all of that, I just want to crawl into bed and stay there for 2 days!! I don’t know what is going to happen at the NC STATE interview. I will let you know then.

Wish me luck on the next one!!

INFORMATION INTERVIEW #2

DATE: 1/28/2010
COMPANY: Central Piedmont Community College
TYPE: Community College
LOCATION: Charlotte, NC
TITLE: Student Counselor
EDUCATION: M.A in Marriage & Family Counseling from Appalachian State University
INTREST: Shopping

WHAT DID I LEARN OVERALL FROM THIS INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW?
I was under the impression that all higher education schools are set-up the same. Boy was I wrong!! This school has so many tiers of counselor help that I was starting to get confused. Apparently, there are Advisors, Career Counselors, Student counselors, Educational Psychologist all in the same school. So I can spend a whole month just interviews the different counselors in the CPCC organization!!

WHAT WERE THE POSITIVE’S AND NEGATIVE’S OF EACH INTERVIEWEE’S JOB?
The positive aspect that this counselor told me was that she loved working with the people and that she never meets the same “type” of student. She meets people from age 17 trying to get credits before going to a big school to a 60 year old who just want to learn a new skill.
For this counselor, the “new student rush” is the most challenging time. Around the months of June – August, so many new students go through a lot of anxiety when starting a new school and they all rush in for counseling which may cause limited counseling time with each person.

COULD I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO IMPROVE THIS INTERVIEW?
I think this interview could not have been more perfect however, afterwards may not have left a good impression. Usually, I send a gift card to the interviewee and for this counselor snail mail took too long and sent the letter back to me. I was furious!! So much time had passed by then that sending anything would have been ineffective. Bummer!!

ASSUMING THAT I STILL WANT TO PURSUE MY ORIGINAL CAREER DIRECTION, WHAT IS MY STRATEGY FOR SEEKING A JOB IN THIS FIELD?
After this interview, I really would like to work for CPCC. The community college is the best in the south east area according to a couple of sources and the organization’s structure is so different then anything I have seen. I really want to work for this school. I am not really sure how I can get into this school but I will use my info interview contacts as well as try to do my internship at CPCC. I think that may make me get into the school faster.

INFORMATION INTERVIEW #1

DATE: 1/28/2010
COMPANY: York Technical College
TYPE: Community College
LOCATION: Rock Hill, SC
TITLE: TRIO Student Counselor
EDUCATION: MEd in School Counseling from Winthrop University
INTREST: Jazz Music, Band, Instruments

WHAT DID I LEARN OVERALL FROM THIS INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW?
The most poignant lesson I have learned from this interview is that one has to be ready for anything when doing these info interviews. I sent this person a letter and they called me out-of-the-blue and wanted to conduct the interview the same day. I had only a little bit of time in order to prepare. Thank goodness that I had his information with me so that I did not sound completely stupid about his background.

WHAT WERE THE POSITIVE’S AND NEGATIVE’S OF EACH INTERVIEWEE’S JOB?
His main focus is to provide the student with the tools s/he needs to achieve goals related to the school and their education. This goal, when it is achieved, is the most rewarding for this interviewee.
During the months of July & August, are a counselor's busiest time because of the admission process. Because of the fast pace, a counselor is unable to give the best care and attention to each client. This is the most negative period for a counselor.

COULD I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO IMPROVE THIS INTERVIEW?
An info interview is supposed to last 20 - 30 min and the interview I had with this counselor lasted for an hour. I was too scared to say anything because I thought that it would be rude. I need to figure out a way to gently remind the interviewee without making them feel bad.

ASSUMING THAT I STILL WANT TO PURSUE MY ORIGINAL CAREER DIRECTION, WHAT IS MY STRATEGY FOR SEEKING A JOB IN THIS FIELD?
After this interview, I knew that this field is right for me. I really feel that continuing to conduct these interviews and keeping in touch with the individuals that are working within the field will be my best job strategy. Since I am working on a graduate degree I know that I can build a relationship over a two year period and hopefully someone will inform me of a position.

I Have Been Soooooooo SICK!!!

Please forgive me for neglecting my blog...I have been sick with a sinus infection.  I am now back and ready to keep going towards my goals!!  So continue to check back.

TIME FOR INFORMATION INTERVIEWS!!!!!

For 2010, I have a whole list of goals I want to achieve in order to get me to the career I want. One of my goals is to conduct Informational Interviews with individuals at and around Charlotte that has positions I would like to work upon graduation from grad school.

So you may ask......"Camille, what the hell is an Informational Interview?" Well it is exactly what it sounds like - an interview designed for obtaining personal occupational information. The interviewee can gain insightful and intimate inside view of a career field that many publications cannot produce. The informational interview gives one the first hand experiences and impressions of someone in the occupation, and is directed by one's questions.

This sort of networking makes a less stressful situation and you get to ask all of the questions. Also, for career changers, such as myself, it gives you the ability to find out what's involved in the career you are considering before entering it. I already know that on paper becoming a Career Counselor is what I want to do but I know that there maybe other jobs out there that will make me happy as well.

For the past 3 months, I have been gearing up for this "Informational Interview Campaign" by doing a couple of things I wanted to share:

• UPDATED RESUME - I have updated my resume to fit the job I hope to change into by researching the job I would like to have and pulling out skills that are most important to the profession. Do this step before the interview if possible. If your previous job skills are not transferrable to the new career....keep thinking....because every skill is transferrable!!

• NETWORKING BUSINESS CARDS - These are like a business card, but for people not currently employed. To take your networking card to the next level, you can have highlights from your resume printed on the back of it.

• CONTACT ORGANIZATION - I highly suggest that before you even attempt to conduct these interviews, you will need to have a system already in place for organizing all of your contacts. I produced a database on Access that has columns for each contact's name, address, phone numbers, fax, e-mail address, where you met the contact, the date you met them, your follow-up communication and how the contact helped you. If you would like a copy of this database you can e-mail me and I will send it to you!!

I have also gotten my questions ready for this interview. Most of my questions are about the day-to-day activities that one will have to do in the selected occupation. The specific questions I plan to ask is the following:

1. Could you describe one of your typical workdays for me?

2. What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?

3. Are too many or too few people entering into this field?

4. What qualifications do you seek in a new hire?

5. How do most people enter this profession?

6. What professional journals and organizations should I be aware of?

So there it is folks!! My first interview, of 30 candidates, is tomorrow at 9 am with a Student Counselor at Central Piedmont Community College - Central Campus. I look forward to this experience!!

WISH ME LUCK!!

Visit to North Carolina State University

On Wednesday, January 14th I took a road trip to North Carolina State University. I must say that the campus was similar to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The campus was HUGE with tons of construction surrounding it. I was annoyed with the construction because it was backing up traffic for miles but I made it through and the campus is impressive!!

I did an interview with one of the professors within the Masters of College Counseling program. I was impressed with the education building called Poe Hall as well as the floor where the offices were located. Now after the trip, I am excited more than ever to attend this university. I hope I get accepted into the program!!

Wish me luck!!

Time to Go to School.........

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn."

- William Shakespeare

In order to embark on my journey to the field of higher education, I am going to have to go back to school. Yes, back to books, backpacks and cheap greasy food. I am actually looking forward to this part of my journey because I have always loved school. I remember being a freshman in college thinking how I could stay forever……..but then the money runs out, LOL!!

I am looking to obtain my Masters in College Counseling at either Winthrop University or North Carolina State University. However, Winthrop University only offers a Masters in Counseling (all bit more general).

I really don’t know which university I will go to if both accept me so stay tuned to find out which I pick.

My Networking Event

The networking event went well…….not. No one really showed up but I am not discouraged. I decided to throw another event at a better time to accommodate everyone’s schedule. I believe that one will turn out better and I will be discussing a new topic to.

I plan on getting more in-depth on the subject of Personal Branding. I really am fascinated with this subject. I believe that “Gen Y” is nothing like the baby boomers. We will not stay at a job forever and we will not take anything that we can get just because we want money. No…..we are empowering ourselves and carving our own niches. This is an amazing philosophy that not many African-Americans take charge of.

So, I hope to teach and inspire all of my friends to empower their careers and dreams. I feel now, more then ever, is the time to do it. So hopefully, the next meeting will rock!!

My First Career Counseling Event!!

The Labor Department reported today that the U.S economy shed another 85,000 jobs in December. I am sure Obama is shaking in his boots right now over this figure. I can almost bet my cat that three fourths of that number is minority workers. There are so many unemployed individuals now that almost every day I hear stories of someone who is unemployed. Majority of my NC friends are unemployed and the ones who are not feel as if they will be next to join the ranks.

When I meet unemployed folks, I seem to have the same conversations with them about resumes, websites and networking. I find that no matter what age, education or job experience…so many people are oblivious to how social media and networking work in the 21st century. So, I decided to gather all of these friends and teach them what to do en masse.

On Saturday, January 9th I am hosting a networking party. The following topics will be discussed:

1. How to set Goals for CLARITY.
2. NETWORKING 101.
3. Personal Branding 101
4. How to put your Plan into Action!!

I am doing this event for many reasons. One is to help my friends get a full understanding of what it takes to get a job in the 21st century but also to showcase my expertise on the topic of careers and career counseling. In fact, this very style of networking is mentioned in Dan Schawbel’s book called,” Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.” He mentions that hosting an event is a great way to keep in touch with people and brand yourself in the process.

I promise to upload pictures of the event and perhaps some video tomorrow.

Wish me luck!!

My Career Plan

So now that I understand my ENFJ personality, I went on a “career quest” to find what career best suited me. From May 2009 – July 2009, I researched every career that looked like something I could do.

However, in order to understand where you are going you have to understand where you were. Before the lay-off, I worked mostly accounting and purchasing positions. What I liked about them was the technical part. I absolutely love computing and manipulating numbers along with the fact that I am a wiz at Excel and Access. So I know I possess that skill but the skill that was not utilized was my need to connect with people and help them. I found that to make up that skill I was involved in many “counseling-like” activities. This led me to naturally gravitate towards the jobs that have a focus on human development.

old me......

My quest is not completely over, in fact I plan on conducting 30 informational interviews with local counselors in and around the Charlotte area. Till then I am strongly gravitating towards becoming a College Career Counselor.

NEW AWESOME ME!!!

Stay tuned for more on this.

ENFJ Personalities ROCK!!

On my quest to find myself, I decided to do a lot of introspection. One of the things that I did was take the Myers Briggs Personality test and I found out that I was a [DRUM ROLL PLEASE]…….

 

 

I am quite surprised at how accurate and true the description is. It was like looking at myself in the mirror! Some of my awesome cool ENFJ traits are the following:

• On personality trait scales, scored as Active, Pleasant, Sociable, Demanding, Impatient, Appreciative, and Compromising. [OMG THAT IS TOTALLY ME!!]
• Most likely of all types to cope with stress by exercising. [ I LOVE YOGA!!]
• Most likely of all types to believe in a higher spiritual power. [TAOISM & CATHOLIC....HEY, I AM ALL ABOUT EQUAL OPPROTUNITY]
• Ranked by psychologists as among least likely to have trouble in school. [I STARTED THE TREND OF WEARING HALO'S]
• Personal values include Friendships, Education & Learning, Creativity, and Community Service. [DID THEM ALL!!]
• Among types highest in job satisfaction, but also among most likely to report plans to leave their jobs.[I PLAN TO LOVE MY JOB!]
• Commonly found in careers in religion, teaching, and the arts. [I HAVE DONE YOGA, TAUGHT CLASSES & DESIGN CLOTHES]

Here are some awesome people that have similar personality traits as me:

She is an Aquarius like ME!! Go Aquarius..it's ya Birthday!!

Ole Honest Abe!!

WHOA..tough person to follow!!

  

In short….ENFJ’S ROCK!!