How to write a STAR story
http://www.mit.edu/~career/guide/star.html
Assessment for Career Planning
http://utahvalley.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3BZRaDq2D7PHmNn
Pay for Utah jobs
http://jobs.utah.gov/jsp/wi/utalmis/gotoOccwage.do
Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm
UVU Counseling Center
http://www.uvu.edu/acc/
UVU Academic Advisors:
https://uvaps.uvu.edu/pls/prod/SZINFLST.P_DispAdvrLis
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Final Reflection Paper
Maria
Andersen
Final
Reflection Paper
CLSS 2100
12/13/12
I feel that I have been able to sort out my thoughts and
goals throughout this course. I have finally decided that I am going to be
changing my major to something that I have knowledge and already know that I am
good at it. I have found that I really enjoy being in the insurance industry
and being a leader.
With my major, I want to make sure that what I study will
be information and courses that will really help me be the best at what I do. I
haven’t decided entirely yet, but I am looking forward to studying about
business management with a possible Spanish minor. I really like the idea of
being involved in the Hispanic community and help people there.
Having done the self-assessments tests have really helped
me learn more about my passions and what I want to do in the future. I think that the ones I took were a good
reflection on who I am and who I want to become. I have a better understanding
now towards what industry I am leaning towards and what an array of options I
have to do this. I want to learn more about the different companies so I can
make a good decision in what I want to do. I plan to contact some different
places to do an internship and find out more about the different parts of the
industry.
My goal is to graduate in about two to three years. I
want to be able to from there to have already decided what company is best fit
for me and start a career with them. I hope to have longevity with the same
company. I do not want a company that is not financially stable. I hope that
with interning and research I can find what is going to be best in the long
run, and not just in the here and now.
Another goal of mine is to find myself in a management or
owner position where I am leading others. I enjoy helping and coaching people
and I feel that is a strength I have that can benefit a company. I want to be
able to help others succeed and with their success I can succeed as well.
Within all of these career goals I want to be able to
still balance my family life, my personal life and married life. I want to plan
out my career so that it is conducive to that kind of a lifestyle. I also hope
that in the search of this career and the finishing of my education I am able
to find balance along with my passion.
I really
am excited to have found myself and my place in the work place. I hope that
from everything I have learned I will be one step ahead of others looking for
similar positions and I can stand out of the crowd and get a good job from my
hard work and knowledge.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Short Term Goals
Short Term Goals
1.
Finalize
what degree I want to pursue.
a.
Just need to finalize whether to have an Education
degree or just general for Business.
b.
Meet with my future advisor under the major I am going
to pursue.
c.
Do it by end of Spring 13 Semester
2.
Continue
learning about Office management and apply new skills from 7 habits class into
daily routine.
a.
Keep reading 7 habits book and apply one idea daily.
b.
Take continuing education classes. Sign up first of
the year.
c.
Make goals every month with supervisor and check
progress weekly.
3.
Making more
quality time to spend with my husband
a.
Schedule date night every other week.
b.
Start the beginning of year since we will be less busy
then
Revised Action Plan
Personal Action Plan- Need
to constantly update!
Freshman Year of College
·
Completed
Sophomore Year of College
·
Take classes that will help me be more successful as a college
student.
·
Begin to seriously research the different industries I am
interested in being in.
·
Start going to career fairs and asking a lot of questions.
·
Seriously follow advice and apply all new techniques from classes
this semester to be a better person
·
Take time to read books and do online research
about the career I feel I am happy with
·
Make a plan with my husband as he is starting his
career this year to fit my needs as well.
·
Get organized for Fall Semester- Better meal
planning and house hold chores divided up better to make it less stressful for
me
·
Decide by end of semester what exact major/minor to have and enroll
in the proper classes for fall
This is the year that sets up success after
graduation!
·
Decide to find a company to be an agent or continue to grow as a Directing
Manager
This is the most important summer of your life;
don't fool around!
·
Continue to build resume with contacts and Personal references.
·
Finalize the scheduling of last year of college, all credits are
in order and know what is expected to graduate.
·
Get house organized
·
Build a network of people I will need to know in my industry
·
Find agencies to interview with. Research what the income and
benefits are.
·
Finish classes with a high GPA
·
If and when I get a job continue to have contacts
in my network to keep lines open for opportunities
·
Frame my Diploma!!!
·
Decide whether to apply for a Master’s Degree
Program
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Job Shadow
Maria
Andersen
Job Shadow
CLSS 2100
12/01/2012
Job Shadow
CLSS 2100
12/01/2012
1.
I am Job shadowing Pete Mazeika who is an Insurance Agent.
2.
3.
Questions:
What kind of degree
do you have?
-I have an MBA from
the University of Utah
What kind of
problems do you deal with?
-I mainly am here to
help clients be protected in case of a claim. I love to help making sure they
are covered and that I am there to help the claim process and make sure that
they are put back to where they were before the claim like nothing happened
before.
How is the economy
affecting this industry?
-I haven’t noticed
much of a difference. Everyone needs insurance, and this industry with
technology is constantly changing. We do have more and more people constantly
shopping their insurance because it is so easy to get that kind of information
now by just going online.
Do you have any
advice to someone looking into this field?
-I would definitely
recommend considering going into this industry. I love it because I am not
selling something people don’t need. There would most likely always be a
job/position in this kind of a job because of state laws.
What kind of advice
to you have to a student looking into a career doing insurance?
-I would absolutely
make sure that whatever insurance company you decide to do work for them first
as a sales team member so you know the ins and outs of the company you are
working with. That way you can see things like reputation, statistics, customer
satisfactions and other aspects of the business.
If you didn’t do
insurance, what would you have done next?
-I think I would
still be doing insurance, but possibly doing it independently. I did want to go
into something else like accounting or something else financially.
Is this industry growing
in Utah?
-It definitely is.
Because we are a growing state with move-ins and families growing and new home
developments there are such opportunities still for business growth.
Are there any
advancement that you can have in the future?
-Being an agent the
real advancement you have is by growing your book of business. This company
right now has opportunities in going into management but I feel that the best
thing to do is growing your clientele. That alone can create great stability
and also more income.
I think that this
shadow was pretty impressive to see a little more about what happens on a day
to day basis, the phone calls and clients that someone deals with on a daily
basis and also the rewards coming in. I am still undecided that I want to go
into this because it is a business and I would have to have start up revenue in
order to open my doors.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Star Stories
Maria Andersen
Star Stories
CLSS 2100
11/24/2012
1.
Give an example of
what teamwork means to you.
o Describe the situation…
I
feel that Team work is necessary to have in the work place. I have worked in an
office where I had four team members, all with different talents. These talents
pooled together can be an asset as long as used properly.
o What was the task at hand…
Our
boss had a situation where we needed to change our systems in the office to
become more efficient and be able to know what was next in any situation
especially sales. We were lacking in our follow up to close more sales.
o What action did you take….
As
the office manager I was able to assess quickly which team member seems to
close quicker and more frequently on sales. I got us all together to pool ideas
together, gathering from each team member what they do in what felt like their
most successful area they were in.
o Finally, what were the results of
your action…
By
being able to take an overview look at what the team did as a whole, and to
take pieces together and brainstorm we were able to come up with a more
efficient system where everyone would do the same thing. The following month we
had an incredible increase in the closing ratio for our office from 15% of
those quoted up to 30% closed sales.
2.
Give me an example of
a major challenge that you faced, and how you went about addressing the
problem, and how it turned out.
o Describe the situation…
I
had a classmate in high school who did not like me and made things difficult
for me.
o What was the task at hand…
We
were both placed in a leadership position of the group we were involved in and
had to work together to complete the responsibilities of the position.
o What action did you take….
In
an effort to work effectively, I worked hard to avoid situations that would
cause contentions between us. For example, I made sure that all communication
was sent to her even if it did not apply so that she felt involved and valued
in the group.
o Finally, what were the results of
your action…
As
a result of our experiences we were able to successfully complete our
responsibilities and it became much easier to deal with her in future instances.
3.
Describe a past goal
and how you achieved it.
o Describe the situation…
I
was part of a leadership team.
o What was the task at hand…
We
had set a goal of doubling our past years’ performance
o What action did you take….
To
reach our goal, I focused on the basics of our process and looked at ways to
improve our performance to get a smoother constancy in the work process.
o Finally, what were the results of
your action…
We
were successfully able to achieve our goal of doubling our previous performance
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