Important Reminders for Young Professionals

By Rebecca Graffam, Toppel Peer Advisor

One year into my college career, where I have been majoring in Business Administration and minoring in napping, I am also one year into my first real “big girl” job.  Starting off at Toppel afraid to make a slight misstep, my daunting position soon turned into a promotion for taking initiative in my job and showing I can handle responsibility.  With Toppel becoming like a second home, I can now say with confidence that I am ready for my next job this summer with a real estate firm.  And I’m pretty ridiculously excited. 

While juggling school, extra-curriculars, a social life, and a job, I had a lot of people telling me to just chill out this summer.  However, I cannot stay still for long and not only decided to branch out to this job but also take summer classes in the upcoming months.  Even though I may be putting a lot on my plate for the summer, I am pretty pleased with my decision and I am eager to begin exploring new career paths. 

I am also insanely scared, because once again, I will be the new girl in a new industry. 

I’m starting over.  Again.

So, how does a college student handle so much in a year without going crazy? Bubble wrap.  Both for packing purposes for your oh-so-delicate thank you cards you will be writing up the ying-yang to potential future employers thanking them for interviews as well as an inexpensive stress reliever.  Secondly, this list of reminders for the sanity and confidence of the young professional:

1.  Age does not define you.

Just because you do not have as much experience (or as many wrinkles) as the person next to you, your youth is not your defining trait or a detriment.  Never allow anyone respect you or your work less simply because you are from a different generation.   

2.  You are valuable.

You should constantly be on the look out for learning opportunities.  Whether it is a promotion in the company for which you are working, or the knowledge that you are worth more somewhere else, always be on the lookout to grow.  Though loyalty is important, it is also important in the early stages of a job to use the period as a learning experience.  Gather information and absorb the knowledge of the people around you, but never forget how significant you are.  Remember that they are learning from you too.

3.  Be yourself. 

The best way to succeed is to be unapologetically you.  Attempting to be someone else will only hurt you in the long run.  Do not lie in an interview and do not act like someone you are not when communicating with your coworkers.  You want people to like you for you.

4.  Network. Network. Network.

You should be connecting with professionals everywhere you go.  Take all your interactions with people and absorb as much information as possible.  There is something to learn from every person you meet, and the people you meet in your career have the potential to be valuable assets in the future. 

5.  Do not be afraid to press the reset button.

Starting over after a failure means you are growing.  You will develop your professional brand and who you are as a person through trials and tribulations and hitting the reset button multiple times in your life.  When you look back on your career, you will remember how exciting and terrifying it was to get knocked down and get back up again to move on.  Keep moving forward and never stay down. 

And if you are just starting, do not forgot to remind yourself how far you are about to go.

Confidence over Competence

By Maura Gergerich, Toppel Peer Advisor

At some point nearly everybody has had an experience where they watch someone who seems less qualified than themselves get praised or promoted while you sit bitterly wishing you could have been in their place. It’s a thing that happens in school work or any other organization that you are a part of in your lifetime. What’s the most common reason for this? You may be inclined to jump to conclusions of shady deals and elbow rubbing but the truth is that it comes down to competence vs. confidence. In this battle, confidence generally ends up the successful one.

Obviously to get a job or internship you must be competent. I’m not saying that you can ignore this altogether and still hope to get by. But there is always a chance for learning in this area. Confidence is harder to improve upon if it’s not there. Companies want individuals who can be confident in their decisions to represent them. You wouldn't want to be taken care of by a doctor who was unsure of their diagnosis even if they were considered one of the best in the field or represented by a lawyer who wavered back and forth on their next course of action in court. Of course not! No matter how qualified you may be, if you don’t have confidence in yourself how can you expect someone else to have confidence in you?

Now, that being said, DON’T exaggerate your abilities. Try to examine your skills realistically. If you state on your resume that you are proficient in a program that you maybe only worked with a few times, you could end up in a sticky situation if you have a job where you are expected to use it regularly and don’t know how. That’s not what confidence is about and it’s not the truth either. But it is ok to be proud of your skills and accomplishments. Take pride in your work and yourself and it will show to everyone you interact with. If you show that you like who you are and what you do other people will too.

7 Important Skills Not Always Found on a Resume

By Maura Gergerich, Peer Advisor

1. Be a team player

Most jobs will require you to work with your co-workers on projects and activities. You will rarely find an office that sticks their employees in a cubicle with a stack of papers to fend for themselves. Everybody knows that one person who may be so qualified for a job, but gets looked over because people don’t like to work with them. Learning how to work on a team is essential (yet we all know it’s not always easy). Work on being able to organize and collect ideas from multiple people. It is also a good idea to know how to step up and lead a group without micromanaging or being a control freak (no one likes feeling led by a dictator). 

2. Flexibility is important

Being able to adapt to new situations is an important life skill in and out of the work force. If you are a dependable worker and can stay such no matter what is thrown your way, you become such a valuable asset to your employer. Every office has a certain daily routine but it’s when things get crazy that the most aid is needed and it is important that your coworkers can rely on you in these situations.

3. Creative thinking

While it is important that you fit in with the routine of a company, it is also good to be able to bring something fresh to the table. Employers generally like having outside minds to give feedback and especially if you are new to a position, you still have an outsider’s impression. Innovation happens when things keep moving forward and your ideas are what push things to the next level.

4. Effective communication

You may have the most brilliant ideas of your generation, but if you don’t know how to communicate them effectively they will most likely fall by the wayside. Aside from articulating yourself you should also be a good listener and be attentive in your body language.

5. Problem solving

Unless you’re a supervisor or CEO it may not always be your job to solve office problems, but if you are able to find solutions to unexpected issues without overstepping your boundaries, you become a valuable asset to your workplace.

6. Accepting constructive criticism

This is crucial to any field in life. Every idea you present will receive feedback from your employer and possibly even your peers so knowing how to accept suggestions and incorporate them without getting defensive is a must. You should also be able to give feedback on other’s ideas so that your suggestions are constructive criticism rather than just criticism.

7. Confidence!

Whatever you do for a living and whatever degrees you have, confidence is a major selling point. Whether it’s in an interview or on the job itself, make sure to always smile and keep your head high.

Take it From Chuck! 5 Ways Chuck Norris Can Help You Be a Better Student

Written by Thien Van Tran

“There’s no way all those ridiculous facts about Chuck Norris could be true, they’re so far-fetched,” said no one ever. Everyone wants to be like Chuck, in every way. And while that’s so highly impossible that it’s completely laughable, there’s something we can all take away from this. It’s like when people say aim for the stars and hit the moon; we should have our aspirations of mimicking Chuck, and hopefully learn something that we can apply to our own lives. Me? I just need to apply more tanning oil. These guns could use some color.

Chuck Norris Was Never Aware of the Filming of Walker, Texas Ranger

He had no idea that his daily life was being watched by millions of adoring fans who followed his every move. Rather than caring about what others thought about him, he continued to be an awesome, hyper-masculine human being. But people judge. That’s just human nature. You know there’s that nerdy club with all the engineers, the muscle-bound frat boys, and the weird music school Acapella groups. While these stereotypes aren’t always true, some people get caught up in how they think others will view them. Forget that, do what you want. Study what you want, and be happy.

When Chuck Norris Left for College, He Told His Dad, “You’re the Man of the House Now”

Sometimes you have to leave your home or your comfort zone in order to discover new interests. You may not know anyone in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, but that shouldn’t stop you from joining in order to partake in the many design competitions and projects. And this applies to any activity or group! You don’t have to be super smart or a science genius to join the robotics club. Some of us are cut out for math, and some aren’t. I found out at a very young age, when a teacher asked me, “If you had 10 lollipops and I took half away, what would I have?” A broken arm.

When Chuck Norris Gets Bored, He Tells Himself Jokes He’s Never Heard Before

Don’t just sit around and twiddle your thumbs if you find that you have some down time once in a while. Never sit still. Either start your work early so that you are ahead, or find some other activities to do. Find an on campus job! Join an organization! Make some angel hair pasta! Go to the gym! Being like Chuck will take some work. I mean, Chuck Norris has muscles in places where I don’t even have places.

When Life Hands Chuck Norris Lemons, He Makes Grape Juice

I have no idea why the “When life hands you lemons…” saying even exists. How does that signify taking a negative situation and turning it into a positive one? Lemons are PERFECT for making lemonade! When life hands you lemons, you say THANK YOU. But in any case, when life hands you something you don’t want, you can still make the best of it. If you get stuck with an 8AM class that you have to take, so be it. Schedule your other classes earlier in the day so that you’re finished sooner. If the sorority you wanted to join didn’t give you a bid, so be it. Kill them. Cry about it. Drown your sorrows. Knit. Rush another sorority! Maybe that one wasn’t the right one for you anyway.

When Chuck Norris Was Born, the Doctor Said, “Congratulations, it’s a MAN”

Be confident in yourself! This applies mainly to interviewing situations. Everyone gets nervous to some degree, but remember: the interviewers want to talk to you for a reason, so there is something they like about you. You have some skill set or some strength that drew them to you, so just be yourself.