Second Life Interview

I can't compare my interview to my expectations, because I really had no idea what to expect. I signed onto second life earlier than my scheduled interview and my avatar was right in the middle of another interview going on so that was an akward start to the session. Although it was a virtual world I felt a little wierder than I would expect to be in middle of someone elses virtual interview. But really there is no way to avoid interuptions like that in second life.

One thing I did not anticipate during the interview was the typing factor. When I was asked quesitons, I would have to take some time to think about them and then I had to take more time to type them. I felt like it was taking me forever to get the answers out because of how long it took to type them. Then if I changed my mind I would have to erase what I had written and type more.

Other than typing, it surprisingly did simulate a real interview. I had to think quickly on the spot and answer the same types of questions I normally would. The one thing lacking in any second life activity is people skills. If I was hiring someone, I would want to see things like eye contact and confidence (non-verbal language). I guess there is also no way to be sure it is the person you think it is on the other end. If I wanted to I could have easily had someone sit in for me in the interview.

It simulated an actuall interview more than I expected, but it still lacked a lot of characteristics that is important for an employer to see.

-Ned

How I Made my Millions

Watching TV this week, I came across a show on CNBC called "How I Made my Millions." The show was about ordinary people with extraordinary ideas. Of the handful of people in the show, their products ranged from shredders big enough to destroy cars to a razor blade shaped to fit in your hand, making it easier to shave your head. Two more common products were the two brothers who came up with the "life is good" brand and the farmer who made the first corn maze.

Anyone who watches that show, including me, can't help but walk away from it thinking what simple thing can I invent to make my millions? I'm sure one goal of the writers is to encourage people to follow their dreams and ideas; which is a great thing.

However, after watching the show I came to one conclusion. In most cases, I don't think it was the product that earned these guys their millions. Instead, it was their pursuit of their ideas. For example, the 'HeadBlade' or the razor specifically designed to shave your head. Todd Greene, the inventor, started his quest by trying to sell his product to big name companies in the razor industry. None of them had any interest in buying the HeadBlade. It would have been easy for him to be discouraged and give up on his product. On the contrary, he changed his game plan and marketed the product on his own. He set up a website and sold HeadBlades to the retail stores themselves. This is a perfect example of using marketing to sell the product. When it didn't sell itself, he put some effort into marketing it and convinced people that it was a quality product. As a result of his marketing efforts, the product has gained popularity and he has made millions of it.

The vast majority of the stories told on the show had similar circumstances. I think this goes to show the power of marketing. People can be convinced of the quality of a product or idea whether it sells itself or not. I take this as encouragement and I am on a quest to come up with an idea or product that I can pursue. I think people come up with ideas all the time that they just figure has already been invented or isn't good enough to make it big. It does not take a genius idea to succeed. I hope to follow Todd Greene's lead and pursue my own dream to make a living. I encourage you to do the same.

-Ned

Resume Cover Letter

Do I agree with the advice given here? Absolutely. This advice is from an experienced employer who has looked over thousands of resumes and tells it like it is. It does not seem written from a textbook point of view, but rather from someone with experience who genuinely wants to help entry level employees. All of the information about cover letters makes sense, but is not stuff I would think about on my own. I thought it was interesting that most cover letters are never read. It is a 'cover' letter so I would think it would be the first thing read.

There was not anything in here that I do not agree with because it all seemed to be useful, knowledgeable information. I will refer back to this when I am writing my cover letter.

The section that is most useful to me is 'The Best Use of a Cover Letter' section. It says to know what you are selling to the customer. In this case I am selling what makes me stand out from the rest. Right now I am not sure what differentiates me from the rest of the market, so I need to find out. As it says, the resume explains your features; your cover letter explains your benefits.

To be honest, I knew nothing about a cover letter. I thought it was normal to send a resume to speak for itself. The more I read, it sounds like a lot of people to send a resume alone, but it is important to send a cover letter. This was pretty much all new to me.

-Ned

Second Life Interviews

An interview is usually the make or break point for an employee looking for a job. By the time an interview has been scheduled, it is most likely that the resume has already been exchanged and the employer wants to know more about the personality of the employee. This is what the interview is for. So what do interviews on second life accomplish? Well of course they are more convenient, but I do not think they can show the employer the same things about the employee.

For some jobs it could be effective. One example is the software engineers that were talked about in the article. For employers who are looking for skills on computers, it could be effective. They want to know how skilled their potential employees are with software and second life can show them just that. However, for your average job, the employee's personality matters. For any employer that wants to know about the true personality of their employees, second life is not an efficient way to interview them. It is true I am less nervous on second life speaking through my avatar, but that is not how I would actually act at work. An employer needs to see non-verbal communication that is left out in second life.

Overall, unless it is for a software writing job, I think second life is a terrible way to replace face to face interviews.

Letter from Birmingham Jail Comparison

I chose to compare the letter with a piece of writing trying to convince anyone in the real estate market to use Prudential Carolina Real Estate. My reason for choosing Prudential was because I worked for them last semester and I knew they use their website to convince customers to use them.

Comparing the Letter from Birmingham Jail to anything was a challenge because it was in response to the writing from the clergymen. Most of what Dr. King said directly addressed an issue in the letter from the clergymen.

The writing from Prudential is addressed to anyone who may come across their website. With a much broader audience, they had to be more vague in their persuasion.

One difference in the two writings was the use of facts vs personal views and opinion. Dr. King used his opinion and his own definitions of just and unjust to try and win other people to his side. Prudential uses mostly facts that support them compared to other real estate companies in the area. Both strategies seem to be effective, they are just used for different purposes.

Another more obvious difference is the length of the writings. This is also in direct relation to their purposes. Dr. King's letter is very lengthy although it is all necessary to make his point. Prudential has to appeal to an internet audience who does not want to spend much time on any one website, so they must persuade quickly. Their writing is much shorter than Dr. King's.

Very few common elements exist between these two pieces. I had a hard time finding anything to compare to Dr. King's letter. One reason is because most of my time on the internet is spent trying to avoid persuasion. I try to go where I want to go and not be redirected by people trying to sell me things. Because of this, I had no idea where to start searching for a persuasive document. When I found it, I realized how different these two writings are, however they both serve the purpose of persuading people.