It's All About Passion, Attitude, and Patience

By Eddy Cruz, Director of Career Development

For our recent May graduates, for many, walking across the commencement stage brings with it a sense of jubilation as well as a perceived end point.  However, what many recent graduates fail to realize is that this point is not necessarily the end, rather a new beginning to what is to come.  So now after walking across the stage you begin to mentally prepare yourself for your impending job search, which ultimately leads to the first day within your new role as a professional. You realize the ability to take naps between classes is no more! The transition from college to career begins to set in and now you find yourself asking now what?  Well, it’s your lucky day, I would like to share three tips with you that were shared with me when I made a similar transition - oh, so long ago. So when starting out, keep in mind, it's all about passion, attitude, and patience.

Passion

Passion is key when beginning something new regardless of what it is. If you are not passionate about what you are doing it will show through in all that you do and will impact the outcomes of your work. Without passion, getting up every day for work will be work. This will lead you down a path of an unfavorable experience for both you and the organization. If you find yourself in a situation that is not what you hoped, you have two options, first, move on to a new position or second, find something within your role that you are passionate about and use this to inspire and motivate you. Passion propels you to do better and to be better. Every aspect of a position as you start your career will not always be something you are passionate about, however, it is all in how you approach it.

Attitude
Attitude is your approach to people, tasks, and conflict. Over my career I have had the opportunity to learn by observing and doing. Some of the greatest lessons I learned were from situations that did not directly involve me. I was able to observe from afar and gain some knowledge to use during similar situations in the future. When you find yourself in a new environment, take time to observe how your peers and leadership handle themselves in a variety of situations.  A wise man once said all humans make mistakes, but the wise learn from the mistakes of others. Do not blame others or circumstances for your mistakes. Take accountability and move forward. Another lesson learned is when I choose to have a positive attitude, I produce positive outcomes. You can learn a lot from others; emulate the positive and stay away from the negative behaviors.

Your approach to work is determined by the attitude you come in with. People do not want to be around others who are negative, a gossip, or a know-it-all. Keep focus in your work and maintain a positive attitude in all that you do. Leaders of your organization are always seeking out individuals with the right attitude with the desire to move the organization forward.

Patience

Another valuable lesson learned from a past mentor was the importance of patience. He would always say, "Let the DNA wrap around you!" Meaning, be patient and take the necessary time to learn about the organization. Allow yourself to become a part of the organization's DNA makeup.  By gaining this understanding you begin to understand where the organization is going and begin to live it as well. Additionally, it becomes easier to understand expectations; they make sense and become clearer.

All in all, I hope you are able to take some of these suggestions and learn from my experience. As you begin your career remember these three things as you start your journey. It's all about having passion for what you are doing, having the right attitude, and practicing patience, and you will get going in the right direction for career success!

Value is Determined by Character not Success or Failure

By Rachel Rooney, Toppel Peer Advisor

 

I recently read an article by the Chronicle of Higher Education called “Next Time, Fail Better.” It is written by Paula M. Krebs, an English professor at Wheaton College, and argues that English majors don’t know how to fail and compares them with computer science majors. I’m an English major, but I am also taking a computer science course this semester. I have worked very hard all semester to not fail and have tried many, many times to apply the concepts to the lab. Computer science has helped me learn how to fail in a way. How I found this article was actually because I Google-searched “how not to fail computer science.” This piece is my response to that article which is here: http://chronicle.com/article/Next-Time-Fail-Better/131790/

 

Samuel Beckett said, “"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Beckett was one the last great modernist writers, and lived a very fascinating life. If you have the time, you can read about him here: http://www.egs.edu/library/samuel-beckett/biography/. Something else I noticed that came up on Google was a question by someone who wanted to try computer science but was afraid to fail. That never crossed my mind when I signed up for the course. Or for any course outside my major. So, yes, I am afraid of failure. But I’m not afraid of trying. I believe that to focus on failure means missing out on the try part. There’s something to be said about a person’s character when they see the possibility of failure and decide to try their hardest anyway. To decide not to give up, not because of what is going to happen, but because of simply having the character to continue. Krebs wrote, “The work of coding was an endless round of failure, failure, failure before eventual success.” These verbs very accurately describe the frustrations of computer science. There are days when I sit on my floor and think about the frustrations of it and then get up and decide to do it anyways. There is something inside of us that is stronger than our failures. 

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” I truly believe that nothing—or very few things—of worth are easy.  I advise you to take Roosevelt’s words to heart, but also I’m going to say that the article is wrong. English majors do know failure. Revision is a constant process. Write a paper. Revise. Revise again. English majors work hard, because it’s a creative expression, thought driven field. It’s subjective, unlike the computer science major, which is very inside the box; you do something to get a result. The main flaw of her paper is in comparing computer science and English, because they are both very different. Krebs does make a comparison of the two: “But that's an important difference between computer science and the humanities. When a program runs and produces a good result, it's perfect. It's awfully hard to define success the same way in the humanities. What we do, teaching or writing, can always be better. The program will never simply run.” While Krebs acknowledges the differences between the two fields, she still holds by the claim that English majors miss out on the lesson of failure. I believe English is not meant to be perfect. It’s not about getting a result, but about gathering ideas and putting pen to paper. It’s about reading literature and thinking and writing about it. It’s a process that involves forming opinions, finding evidence, creating a thesis, and proving a point. It’s a much broader complex field than computer science.

What I am writing next is the important part. Listen. The performance based perspective that says we are determined by either our success or our failure is a prevalent theme in the article. But it’s also a perspective I would encourage you not to embrace. Life, you, me, everyone, it’s all messy and nothing is perfect. Even in computer science there can be exceptions. It doesn’t matter if you fail or succeed. In thirty or forty years, it won’t matter if you got an A in that one class in college. People aren’t going to remember you for your grades. If you want to be an encouragement to those around you, dare to be a person who has self-respect and respect and concern for others. At the end of the day, how you lived—your character—is what matters. Don’t let people tell you that your value is determined by your success or your failure, because it’s a lie. Max Lucado might have said the truth the best way possible; “you are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are.”

Sometimes Success Means Doing the Hard Things

By Maura Gergerich, Toppel Peer Advisor

Get up earlier than you want to get up.

Everyone loves those days that you get to wake up without an alarm at whatever time you want. Unfortunately, getting an early start to the day is the way to be productive. It may be super disheartening to be up before the sun, but getting where you need to be on time without having to skip breakfast will pay off.

Give more than you get in return right away.

Starting something new in life is always scary. College comes with enough struggles and then once you move on into the “grown-up world” you have to be willing to put in as much effort as you can and more. You have to be kind to everyone even though you may not like them. Not everyone you meet will be your cup of tea, but you will most likely work with these people anyways so it makes sense to learn to do it with a smile. You will be given responsibilities and deadlines that may seem crazy but prove to your superiors as well as yourself that you can deliver results that exceed expectations.

Try and fail and try again.

Sometimes success won’t come instantly. That’s just how life is. But, picking yourself back up and taking chances will make you a valuable asset. The only true mistake is one you don’t take the opportunity to learn from.

No excuses!

Your life is your decision. Take responsibility for your actions when things go wrong and still don’t be shy to take responsibility for your success too. Be willing to step up and lead so you can keep moving forward.

You have to do the hard things. If you go through each day just skimming the surface and doing the bare minimum that’s all you will ever get out of life. Your courage to do the things that scare you will help you grow as a professional and you may even surprise yourself at how amazing you are.

Step out of the office and jump into life!

By: Bree Blair

Careers are endless. Anything you can think of, there is probably someone that does that for a living, and if not, you could always be the first. Now I don't know about you, but I definitely don't want to sit in an office all day for my career, especially since there is an infinite number to choose from. I want to be out doing things I enjoy while meeting new people and gaining new experiences everyday. If you're worried about getting stuck in the rut of a typical office job, stapling papers, and answering the phone, here are some things to think about:

1. If you could do one thing all day (that's legal), what would it be? 
2. With that answer, how can you make or incorporate that into your career?

Being able to incorporate little things that make you happy outside of work into your everyday career will make your experience that much more rewarding and enjoyable. The days won't drag on where you find yourself looking at the clock every 5 minutes (even though you swore it had been an hour) or you won't feel the need to use that same old excuse that you have yet again another flat tire and can't make it to work that day. For example, can you imagine being a dolphin trainer or someone who gives skydiving lessons?! I know it seems a little far-fetched, but hey, people do it everyday. People who are excited to wake up everyday for their career never have to experience the feeling of "work." They just get to wake up and share amazing experiences with new people.

After talking to a dolphin trainer, I realized that the possibilities of my degree, or any degree for that matter, will be endless. The woman I met was not a Marine Biology major like many assume you should be. She was actually a Psychology major; her reasoning for this was that the trainers use operant conditioning on the animals, which is a very popular method of positive reinforcement training in psychology. Of course Marine Biology will make you very knowledgeable with dolphins if that's your thing, but the point is that no matter what, your possibilities are endless. You can get a great education, pursue a degree, and still find a way to do unique things that make you happy and keep you interested.

If being a dolphin trainer or skydiver seems a little out of your league, then think in smaller terms but the same idea. What interests you? If being able to express your creativity makes you forget about the aspect of work, then a career in that field would be perfect for you. The more you are interested in something, the more successful you will be. The best way to achieve this type of success is to set a goal and go for it, no matter how impossible it may seem. Do a little soul searching, gain some self-actualization, and head for the hills. Your degree is endless (well, to a point), so instead of sitting in an office all day, you could be out enjoying all the wonders of life!

Toppel Stars: Priyanka Surio

Written by Oleg Ignatenko

This month Priyanka Surio is being recognized as one of the Toppel Stars.  She is originally from Lakeland, FL and she recently graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Political Science.  Currently, Priyanka is employed as a Medical Scribe through ScribeAmerica Program at Florida Hospital in Kissimmee/Orlando, FL.

As a UM student, Priyanka had several internships and research positions.  Some of her internships included the Health Policy internship on Capitol Hill with Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington where she learned firsthand the health needs of hospitals, organizations devoted to medical causes, and medical schools and how politics plays an important role. Her second internship was with Watson Clinic, LLP in Lakeland where she shadowed doctors and nurses and assisted several departments including Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Dermatology and Allergy. Her research positions have been with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Jackson Memorial Hospital where she was able to learn about the endeavors of personnel and doctors in these institutions. She also learned how their research was helping benefit patients, hospitals, and doctors' efficiency.

Recruitment was very subtle. She learned about this program solely by observing someone at her local hospital and asking them about what kind of work they do. Then she looked up the website ScribeAmerica.com and applied to a few places in neighboring cities. The interview consisted of similar questions on the application as well as about her future career goals and availability.  Only a few weeks after applying, she received a call for an interview.  Priyanka ultimately chose the company because she believed it to be the perfect job to have before continuing on with her studies in Medicine.

This is her advice for other students.

"The main words of wisdom I impart on other job seekers is to never give up, never get too comfortable, and know what you are and aren't willing to sacrifice.  It is important to not put all your eggs in one basket and count on that one dream job reaching back to you in a timely manner. Personally I had a few job offers throughout my time after graduation but none seemed to appeal to my needs. I kept pursuing other options because I knew I was deserving of a certain salary, and that I wouldn't be able to relocate somewhere far, and also needed something flexible. Finally after about four months I was able to secure this ideal job."

Priyanka also wanted to share a paragraph with Toppel, in which she described why she wanted to be a scribe on her application

My name is Priyanka Surio and I have obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Political Science from the University of Miami. I recently became aware of the Scribe America program through observing a few people working as scribes in the local hospital I volunteer for. After asking them about their experiences I knew that acting as a Scribe strongly aligned with my interests and prior skills as a secretary, health policy analyst intern, and research assistant for several years. A Scribe is someone who is efficient and effective in recording down the important information in a hospital to minimize the time it takes doctors to record data. I have often been given the name of “encyclopedia” not only for my efficiency in being able to relay information effectively but for continually being resourceful and extremely organized in my collection of important documents. Work ethic is an important factor in my ability to provide such efficiency. It is my work ethic that drives me to know more, ask more, and even demand more of myself so that I can continually help those around me and simplify complicated endeavors. Currently I am applying to Medical School but I have recently graduated and have some time off before starting medical school. Acting as a Scribe is exactly the type of experience I wish to accumulate before beginning a medical career.

Use The Walking Dead to Survive During Your College Years

By Oleg Ignatenko & Rob Vanisko

So, you are probably thinking how in the world does the show about a zombie apocalypse at all compare to your college years.  Would you like to know?  Well, all the questions will be answered by the end of this blog. But for now lets take a look at the what brought you to this blog.  Is it internships, career choices, your major or possibly this awesome title that took me twenty minutes to come up with?  Either way you came here to learn something and we intend to make sure you don't leave "empty handed". 

Here are some of the most important lines from the show that will keep you on the right track during your college years that way you will be able to avoid the walkers (challenges, problems, possibly crazy ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends) that could stand in your way of survival (reaching your goals):

Rick: "There's us and the dead.  We survive this by pulling together, not apart"

There are successes and failures.  How you approach them will eventually determine your future.  But since you are at a University where there is so much spirit and connection between students and faculty, try to "pull together" and use the help of your classmates and professors to gain information and figure out what's best for you.  I guarantee they will gladly do their best to help you out in your career survival.

T-Dog: "Guess the world changed" 

Guillermo: "No. It's the same as it ever was: the weak get taken"

 Don't be a weak link.  You need everything you can get in order to survive.  You wouldn't want to bring one small knife to take on a herd of walkers, instead you want an entire arsenal of weapons at your disposal.  The Toppel Career Center can provide you with all those tools and services that will help you in your path to survival.  You can find all of these weapons and more in the Career Toolbox.  Some of the weapons that you will be able to find there are Glassdoor, Pathbrite, LinkedIn, etc. 

Andrea: "No crying in the boat. It scares the fish"

Keep you head, especially in times of failure or if one of your friends is taken by the walkers or becomes one of them.  There are many struggles that you will have to overcome during your "survival" through the career search.  One thing to remember is to not give up.  You will face a lot of  rejection in your career search but don't let it affect you.  There are many different circumstances when applying for a job that are outside of your control, so don't take it personally and use this as an opportunity to improve and better yourself in order to succeed next time.

Dale: "I see a chance to make a new start"

Each job you will apply for is a chance for you to prove yourself worthy of this particular career choice.   Separate yourself as a leader in this post-apocalyptic world run by "walkers," stand your ground and put your best foot forward towards your future career.

Toppel Stars - Monica Page

Written by Oleg Ignatenko



   Monica Page has been recognized as one of the first Toppel Stars. She was chosen after she had received a full time position as with TE Connectivity in Marietta, Georgia. She is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Miami in December 2011. Her majors were Public Relations and Psychology.
Through her work at the Toppel Career Center as a Peer Advisor, she had plenty of information about internships and had great opportunities to obtain them.  Monica certainly did not let those opportunities go to waste and as a result, she had held three different internships throughout her time at the University of Miami.  She was a Marketing and Concert Promotion Intern at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.  She held the position of Editorial Intern for the Back/Slash Magazine.  Her last internship was at the Career Eagle company where she worked in the position of Social Media and Community Relations.

After graduation, with the help of her present employer, she had sent out a resume to TE Connectivity and had a phone interview the same day.  She then had a second phone interview with the manager of the department and three days later she went in for a in-person interview with the same two people that she had spoken to previously on the phone.  Three weeks later, she was more than elated to find out that the company had accepted her and wanted her to start immediately as their Corporate Sourcing Specialist.  Monica had previously held a very high interest in the technology industry so this position would not only give her the opportunity to work in a field that she loves but also will allow her to experience the day to day job of a Corporate Sourcing Specialist.  Her advice to other students who are seeking jobs and planning for the future is to “Use your time wisely while you’re at college to figure out what you want to do, so when it is time to graduate, you will be prepared for the "real" world”.