November 29, 2009 - by Anton
Whenever I found something of interest to me, I made sure to learn as much about it as possible. Today, we can find information about almost anything easily online. However, sometimes we become overloaded with too much information, and we get discouraged.
What I learned that works best for me to enhance my knowledge is plain reading. I would normally go out to a book store, such as Barnes & Noble, and I would spend an hour or two looking around until something caught my eye. After I would find that something interesting, I would compare a few books, and purchase the one that I find to be the best. I initially began doing this in high school, when I read my first business related book, which was Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I must have read most of his books, and then I moved on to more serious and in depth texts.
Why am I emphasizing on something as simple as reading books? The answer is quite simple – enhance your knowledge. Reading material that is outside of the college required readings, makes you that much more knowledgeable. Employers might not see it from simply looking at your resume. However, they will get a clue when they compare potential candidates through the interview process. Simply imagine a person that only knows text book material, versus, a person that knows the same text book material and has other outside sources of knowledge to rely on. The winner of this comparison is quite clear – the second person with the additional reading knowledge.
Personally, I am extremely interested in entrepreneurship, finance, and sports cars. I can honestly say that all the books that I read on these subjects helped me in my classes in college and most importantly in my life outside of school. In reading these books, authors don’t know how old you are or what other interests you may have. Therefore, they teach you what they know in the simplest and most convenient ways. A few times, something interesting occurred: A professor would teach the class something new, and I already knew it from my personal reading. To top it off, I did very well on the exams related to those subjects.
What I am trying to emphasize, is that reading books of interest to you is very important. You will gain pleasure from reading them, and most importantly – gain new knowledge. This is a win-win situation. Take advantage of it!
November 22, 2009 - by Anton
On Monday, November 16 2009, the Adelphi University Finance Society and The School of Business hosted an event: “The Financial Crisis: Where do we go from here?” During this event, our distinguished panelists, Robert Willumstad, Jim Riley, Roberta Kotkin, Michael Campbell, and Timothy Burton spoke about what caused this financial crisis, and they gave advice on what still needs to be done to prevent a catastrophe like this from occurring again. All panelists agreed that there was a lack of oversight. This lack of oversight originated from either a shortage of regulations, and at the same time a lack of enforcement of existing regulations. Besides these two issues, another very important reason that led to the financial crisis was mentioned.
Jim Riley said, “If something does not make common sense, then you should not enter into a transaction.” The main reason for the financial meltdown was a lack of common sense. People entered into transactions without thinking things through properly. This statement applies to the people that took out mortgages that they could not pay for, as well as for those “financial specialists” who sold securities that were backed by these unstable mortgages, and lastly and most importantly, investors purchased these poor mortgage-backed securities. If looking at this from an architect’s prospective, this was a huge failure right from the beginning. An unstable foundation was laid down which represents the bad issued mortgages, and a skyscraper was built right over it, that represents mortgage-backed securities and the poor investments that were made. As the foundation began to break down, naturally, so did everything else above it. If people only made some common sense out of everything that went on, none of this would have occurred. Mr. Riley also pointed out that a lot of people that were selling these mortgage-backed securities did not know much about the transactions that they were entering. They just knew that this was what everyone else was doing. Therefore, they did it as well.
Honestly, I learned a lot from experiencing this financial meltdown. And the most important lesson that I learned is – be able to understand and make common sense out of what you are doing. Just remember what you were told as a youngster, “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
November 14, 2009 - by Anton
Currently, the unemployment rate for the United States is approximately ten percent – which is a huge number. I believe that students should try to take advantage of this unpleasant situation by looking for unpaid internships in order to gain new work experience. Companies that were forced to lay off workers, needed to cut costs in order to survive. However, they did not cut the amount of work that still needs to be completed on daily basis.
Therefore, I believe numerous companies will be open to hiring more unpaid student workers this year, in order to receive the needed help, for the work to be completed, while staying as economical as possible. Therefore, if you are thinking of gaining new work experience, right now might just be the best time to do that.
If you already know what company you would like to work for, contact them and ask what opportunities they may offer. If you would like to work for a company that does not offer such opportunities, ask them about starting an internship program. Take initiative and sell yourself to them – explain why and how it would be beneficial for them to hire you. If done right, it will make perfect sense for them to hire you.
Start applying for internships today. Many organizations are already accepting applications for the summer of 2010 student internships. Make sure that your resume is perfect before you send it out, and don’t forget that a cover letter is a must, if you seriously want the position that you are applying for.
On the last note, the Center for Career Development offers excellent services regarding acquiring internships. They guide you through the entire process by helping you perfect your resume, cover letter, interview skills, and even advise you on what to wear to your interview. Take advantage of this amazing service – they are there to help you succeed.
November 01, 2009 - by Anton
Last week, I had the privilege to attend a COACH (Count on Alumni for Career Help) Careers in Real Estate event on October 22, 2009. At this event, we met three successful alumni that are extremely passionate about their work in the field of real estate. The panel consisted of William Anthony Dean, John J. Gutleber, and Dorothy Herman. One of the panelists, Mr. Dean said something very interesting that caught my attention. He stated, "Don’t look at any transaction in your life as a one-time transaction."
I did not expect for something that seems so simple to strike me so, as it did. After his statement, he followed up with an example which directly relates to his work. He said, the same people that are renting from him presently, someday will want to purchase a home – and he will be right there to help them. I am confident that I will follow his wise advice throughout my life.
His statement made me think of how many businesses do not follow this simple, yet crucial piece of advice. Automatically, I thought about the times when I went shopping and I had bad experiences. Certain businesses for some reason, seem like they do not expect nor care if I were to come back to them after my original purchase. How do I know that? Because they either tried to overcharge me by a whole lot and/or they treated me impolitely. I think it’s safe to say that everyone had at least one experience like this.
Let me ask you a simple question: Why do you keep coming back to the same store or a particular individual for your certain needs? A good example can be your barber or a hair stylist. Your answer will most likely be similar to mine - because they expect me to do business with them again, therefore they treat me well.
In the end, I end up questioning myself, what does customer loyalty really consists of? Being treated politely and receiving a fair price for a service or good. Therefore, whether you are employed now, or are planning to work soon, think about Mr. Dean’s quote when dealing with clients – I think it will benefit you greatly.
