Weekend Cramming

hey guys! talking from personal experience, this time of year can be super scary for anybody looking to move into the job world. whether you’re graduating soon and need to look for full time work, looking for summer internships or placements, or just looking to get a part time job to make some money over the summer, a solid cv is crucial. so i’m gonna share some of my tips below, i work in advertising, i’ve worked most of my career in sales, and even though i’m still fresh to the working world i hope i can give you guys some employment tips! 

basic bits

ok, so you need to put your contact details at the top of the page, name, phone number, email address, post code and sometimes nationality are all important to get out of the way first 

if you have your degree grade, or expected grade, put education at the top. list your grade and the dates you studied at uni, and the grades, dates and subjects that you studied to a high level when you left school. this is less important for part time jobs so i would probably put it below the next section in those circumstances

past experience is next. list everywhere you’ve ever worked, whether it was a proper paid job, helping out at local events, tutoring, anything that can give insight into your skills and your character. put a couple bullet points for each job, explaining the tasks you did and what you learnt from them. the most important thing is to emphasise what skills you have and how you’ve proven them in the past. 

i put other experience next, generally just volunteering, if you held a responsibility role in your school you can put that here too

skills & interests should be another section, talking about your non work related skills (but still relating these back to working). so for me, i talk about my creative hobbies like writing and music, which are important when applying for creative industries like advertising. i also talk about teaching myself arabic and adobe creative suite because languages are useful, design skills are useful, and most crucially taking initiative and embracing opportunities to learn are essential in any job that wants to see you grow

sales tips 

other people applying for the same jobs as you will not be handing in a 100% truthful cv. you don’t have to lie, and you shouldn’t ever ever lie on your cv because it’s not worth getting caught out. however, you’d be smart to jazz it up a bit. 

every task you’ve undertaken in your life has taught you something, no matter how small. think about every job related thing you’ve ever done and think of a way to make it sound special. 

for instance, i manually alphabetically organised a directors business cards during an internship. it was beyond boring. yet, now i talk about being a crucial support for the team, how i took initiative in collating their contacts into a brand new filing system to increase productivity speed. any dumb task can be chatted up. 

sales is all about confidence, confidence, confidence. you have to believe you are a great candidate, it’ll come across in your writing 

keep it to one page, max 2 if you’ve had a lot of previous roles. nobody wants to read that much. if it’s looking a bit long try reformatting to keep it all looking neat and succinct. 

send it as a pdf, not as a word document. keeps it looking professional. 

cover letters

now, cover letters can be a real pain. i would suggest writing different ones for each application, even though making a generic one and editing it is easier. it’s worth it to show that you give a shit. 

actually, all that really matters is giving a shit. talk about how great you are, and about how much you have to offer that they need in their company. you can phrase it in a non arrogant fashion, but at the end of the day a job application isn’t the place for humility. 

talk about the company, talk about why you like it and why you want to be there. if you’re applying to a small company definitely chat about how great you think the business is, because chances are the people who run the company will actually see it. people who have their own company LOVE to hear people talk about loving their company and their idea. 

all that really matters

be genuine, be passionate, be enthusiastic about the role, about the company and about yourself.

stay calm and focused on your goals, and believe in yourself and your abilities. don’t be afraid of being great, and don’t be afraid of letting people know it. 

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.

january: fresh journals, black and white notes, bullet journals filled with motivational quotes, cold brew coffee, loves writing letters, finishes everything on time, a daydreamer, seems laid back but really they’re stressed about everything

february: doodles in the margins of notes, the person who lends you their pens, sloppy handwriting, loves motivational speeches and classical music, finishes easy assignments early but writes their essay the night before its due,

march: straight A’s, study playlists, the teachers favorite, color coded notes, everyone thinks they’re naturally smart (but really they’re spending every night studying), forgets to eat sometimes, hasn’t slept for what feels like years

april: open windows, listening to the rain and thunder, tea pots full of earl grey, a functionally messy desk, fairy lights, always losing their pens, a huge nerd, afraid to raise their hand in class in case their answer is wrong

may: cramming for tests, lives in the library, highlighters and sticky notes everywhere, drinks espresso, would definitely consider bringing their coffee pot to school, messy desk, if an assignment is due at 9:00 they’ll submit it at 8:59

june: late nights, smoothies for breakfast, hanging out with friends, takes notes on their laptop, minimalist, organized, says they’re studying but they’re actually on studyblr, tries to study everything at once and gets distracted

july: staying up late to read, learning new languages, focuses on the learning and not the grade, watches documentaries for fun, loves the classics, owns a thousand pens, takes studyspo pictures, hundreds of unread emails,

august: stationery shopping, getting ahead in class, iced drinks, spending weekends with friends, takes very little notes but does well in class anyways, a relaxed personality, healthy snacks, the master of self care

september: a morning person, new pens and folders, a perfectionist, audio records classes and re-writes notes, over works themselves, loves the smell of new books, competitive, “i’m gonna fail!” but ends up getting A’s and B’s

october: chai lattes in travel mugs, will study for three days straight and then not study for a week, snacking in class, uses washi tape and stickers, sleeps for eight hours but is tired anyways, terrible at accepting compliments

november: gratitude journals, mental health days, the baristas at their local cafe know their name because they’re always studying there, study groups, loves to travel but never travels, cinnamon in their drinks, trouble sleeping, sweet smiles

August 18 2018

I found an old train ticket in this second hand book I bought a while ago. 

Study a lot but feel like you’re getting nowhere? You could be making some of these common mistakes…

Only re-reading material

Studying =/= re-reading! When you re-read your textbooks or notes you might feel like you remember everything, when actually you might just recognize the material. Instead of trying to memorize every line, test yourself on the things you actually need to know. You can make your own tests using the summaries at the end of each topic, or do any quizzes provided in your textbook. This should help you figure out which sections you need to review in more detail.

Not having goals

What grade do you want in this upcoming test/assignment/class? If you don’t have a goal you might be tempted to hand in work that is causing your grade to suffer. Write down your goals, these can be very motivating when you don’t feel like studying.

Want an A? Ask yourself when you’ve completed some work if it looks like something worthy of an A grade. If not, go back and fix it up! You will work that little bit harder if you’re actively striving for something.

It is important to make sure your goals are achievable though, and that you will have enough time to do regular life things….. like shower and eat proper meals. When you do meet a goal, make sure to take a break and reward yourself.

Cramming

Most of us are guilty of this and regret it every time, but never change our habits. Have a big exam coming up? Write down everything you need to do to get the grade you want on the exam. Now break these large tasks down into smaller sub-tasks that you can complete in a short amount of time. Plan it all out on a sheet of paper/digital system that you look at often, including the date & time that you will complete each task. Be diligent in sticking to these times!

If you are a major procrastinator, sit down with the intention to work on a task for just five minutes. Yes, five. The act of just beginning the work gives you a head start and you will probably want to work on it for longer once you’ve made the effort to sit down to start. Cross off tasks when you’ve completed them and reward yourself for progress.

Studying the wrong material

I can tell you I definitely suffer from this. I am a lover of order and perfection, so before an exam or text I always wanted to study topics from the very beginning of the class to the end, in order. As a consequence I would waste so much time studying the easy topics from the first few weeks of class, and neglect all the difficult material at the end. Don’t do this!! Start from the difficult material at the end, because it is most likely the material you remember AND it’s more difficult and therefore worthy of being studied. Once you’ve studied this material, work your way backwards to the beginning of the class.

Another common one here is while using flashcards. You might have some flashcards for each topic that you study every day. I’m guessing this pack of flashcards also has some easy cards and hard ones in there too? Well instead of continuously studying the entire pack of flashcards you can sort them into easy piles and hard piles. All you need to do is study the hard piles more regularly and the easy piles less regularly. Then you avoid wasting time on things you probably already know.

Studying for hours on end

8.12.18 

A new coffee bean just opened and I just love the interiors and the lighting! And it’s just right across from where I live. Finally, a new study place! Idk why but I’m not a huge fan of their coffee though. 

I will be trying my best to be active again. I’m now in my 3rd year of law school. I started my studyblr during my first year and it has helped me de-stress from my law school life. 

happy august everyone! (also yes i got the calendar wrong…)

12.7.18 // July Weeklies!✨

First two weekly spreads for July in my bullet journal!👌🏻 I’m doing an anatomy theme! Enjoy!💕