Converting a cover letter to a Resume

I would like to say that I an expert in writing cover letters and resumes; unfortunately that is not that case. I have been working on my resume since my freshman year in college, I have had one since high school but it doesn’t look anything like the one I have now. I would say that I could change my resume to fit any job that I am applying for with no problem, this took me time but that by saving different copies of my resume I can track my own progress and maybe even combine them in case I need to apply for a new position. I have no issue with moving stuff around in my resume to show that I am a good candidate for a position however, cover letters always give me a hard time. Most of the time I am not sure if I included all the necessary information in my cover letter or I done know how o reflect other skills not listed in my resume.

            In this workshop they talked about how cover letters need to reflect and explain any other skill sets you have that might not be listed on your resume. Since resumes are usually one or two pages long sometimes we might not be able to fit everything we want on there, that’s where the cover letter comes in. I was surprised when they said that you could make your cover letter as long as you want. In the past I have been told that usually employers expect no more than one page, I think it is also important to find out what each employer is looking for and follow specific guidelines that they might have. One thing that helped me the most when it came to writing my resume and cover letter is a sheet with different adjectives from career services. It sounds simple but I found that my resume stood out even more; it helped me highlight important points and at the same time improve the flow of my resume as a whole. I would definitely recommend everyone to stop by career services and ask for that sheet of paper, it can be very helpful.

LGBTQIA

I did not know what to expect out of this workshop just by the title of this email but I can honestly say that I ended up enjoying it. I though of this workshop to very informative on what LGBTQIA (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and asexual) is and what are some of the resources for the people who classified themselves under one of these categories. They mentioned that a lot of times individuals might feel out of place at the workplace because of their identity and recommended to do research on the institution they are applying to work for before applying. Doing research before applying for a position is important regardless whether or not you are LGBTQIA, this way you can somewhat predict if you are going to be confortable in the workplace. I think it is very important for the rest of us to not be judgmental of someone’s sexuality in the workplace and instead try to create an area where they can feel confortable.

            Working for ASU I have done a couple of trainings where we are told how to treat each other in the workplace in order to create a save and confortable environment for everyone. Personally, I do not thing that these trainings are anything out of the ordinary. As long as we treat each other with respect and know what our boundaries are everything should be fine, but I do understand that maybe that might not be so obvious for some other people.

Thank you TRIO!

Rafael & Davi,

I would really like to thank you for giving me the opportunity of being part of TRIO both as a student and as an intern. Every day was different from the day before and that is something that I really enjoyed throughout the semester. I hope to keep learning from your leadership skills in the time I have left here at ASU. Thank you for always being there for me when things were not going so well, I will never forget all the things you have done for me and I want you to know that. You guys make a great team and have created a family like environment were students speak freely about their thoughts and feelings. You two are inspiring TRIO students day after day and I am sure one day some of them will come back to thank you for everything you are doing. Keep up the good work and I hope to see you again next fall!

Reflecting on my experience at TRIO

This internship allowed me to get a differed perspective on public service and different types of policies that TRIO has. I was a college student just as anyone else in the program so there where times when I felt like I should have helped some students a little more, maybe allowing them to check out a computer or for a longer period of time or things like that. However, those types of request were not under my control and I had to refer them to my supervisor. I knew most of the students in the program and I was even friends with some of them so it was kind of uncomfortable at times. Sitting on the other side of the desk definitely helped me understand why sometimes services are not provided to us the way we want, there are rules and regulations for everything and that plays a huge role in our everyday life.

It was also nice to learn how programs like TRIO have such a positive impact on college students. Students and staff are very conformable with each other; this allows advisors to help students not only academically but with personal matters as well. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, TRIO feels very welcoming and has created a family like environment. I would say that I was fortunate enough to meet every goal that I had back when I did my first blog post. I got to do a little bit of everything around the office, from interacting with students to file paperwork and to even help organize cultural events. It was definitely a great experience and I am definitely planning working with them when I come back in the fall.

Back to Los Angeles?

This will be my last summer going back to Los Angeles before I graduate. I am excided to see my family and friends but at the same time knowing that graduation day is getting closer and closer can be very intimidating, specially because I am not sure if I want to move back to Los Angeles after I graduate. I think that moving away from home to come to ASU made me realize that there are a lot of places to explore and I think I want to continue doing that. I never really traveled a lot before I started college and now that I am older I see things a little bit different, every time I go home I see things in a whole different way. I see things that I like and sometimes even miss when I’m away too long, but I also see things that can be improved. I first realized this after my freshman year in college; I spent about seven months here in Arizona before I got to visit California again and when I did it felt different. Even when I got home it felt like it wasn’t my house, I got so used to living by myself that staying with my family again, even for a couple of days, made me feel out of place.

I will always go back and visit my loved ones but for now I’m still not sure of where I want to live after I graduate.