Tag Archives: life

Career, Employment, Events, Melissa, Recruiting, Student Life

“Grew up in DFW, lived in Paris, loves cycling”

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Tonight I attended the MPA: Building Connections workshop at McCombs. The workshop was led by Michelle Polkinghorn and she brushed us up on some crucial networking skills in preparation for the “Meet the Firms” recruiting kickoff this week at DKR Texas Memorial Stadium. For those of you who are not, or have not, recruited recently, “Meet the Firms” is an opportunity for students and firms to meet and connect with each other in a structured setting.

We were given a bunch of important tips but one particularly resonated with me.  When I returned home, I turned on The Office while I worked on some audit homework, and I was reminded of this tip and now feel obliged to pass it on to you all.

Michelle suggested that after talking with a recruiter, and receiving their business card, you should write on the back a few key facts about the recruiter or memorable talking points. Of course, this should be done out of view of the recruiter. Suggested were writing things such as “UT alum” or “Talked about our love for cycling.” Anything that will help you to create an actual memorable relationship with the person.

Tell me which sounds better:

1. “Oh, hi…do you remember me? We, um, talked before…at the event last week…”

OR

2. “Hello *recruiter’s name*, how are you doing? Did you ever get a chance to check out that bike trail we talked about last week at the brief and meet?”

I know I have a tendency to be extreme, but I hope you see my point.

Now back to The Office. This particular episode pits Dwight and Michael against each other competing for a big client. Although we can all agree that Michael can be a little bit radical and unreasonable in his business methods, he successfully employs this business card tip! In Michael’s case, he writes down facts about his clients’ families and likes/dislikes. Therefore, in a business setting, Michael delights his clients using the information he had written down.

Personal facts show his clients (and in our case, recruiters) that he cares about them and helps to maintain, as well as strengthen, their relationship.

My favorite clip from the episode reveals Michael’s thoughts on Dwight:

Feature, Melissa, Student Life

SOPA: what it means to this MPA blogger

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Google's response to SOPA

If you’ve visited Wikipedia, Google, or various other websites yesterday, you probably noticed their blackout/anti-SOPA messages and warnings. Before I go any further, let me just say that this blog entry is an attempt to explain SOPA in the most colloquial way that I can. I realize that there may be some missing pieces in my explanation.

SOPA stands for the Stop Online Piracy Act, which, on the surface seems to be a worthy cause. In theory, this act attacks something that is actually a real problem, internet piracy. The word piracy has a negative connotation and thusly initial public response would be that it is harmful. Haven’t we always been taught that plagiarism is wrong? Sure, the surface goal of SOPA is to stop foreign sites from providing users with pirated material and that is something the general population should at least try to support. And why companies such as Time Warner ARE supporting the bill. But, the repercussions of the bill would be far worse than just having to wait an extra week for the episode of your favorite show to be up on Hulu.

SOPA would have the biggest effect on any sites that use user-generated content. This may be why Wikipedia is so enthralled in the anti-SOPA movement. Other sites include Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube. Of course, this bill will not criminalize posting YouTube videos, per say, but it will hold YouTube to a new level of accountability and make it far more difficult to share and watch videos online. SOPA gives the Attorney General the ability to act against infringing websites without a trial or a court hearing and with that comes the ability to take advantage of this power. This would potentially cause more harm than the good that comes from intellectual property protection. Of course, SOPA would not go to the depths of some internet censorship such as that in China, however in practicality, it will have similar repercussions.

There have been attempts to stop piracy in the past- for example there are bills that have already passed that do exactly what SOPA is claiming to do and so, some believe that SOPA is unnecessary.

Of course, I am not supporting plagiarism or internet piracy. I go to a University with very high ethics and I plan to always stand by the honor code. However, I believe SOPA would do more harm than good and I hope that everyone takes a minute or two to get educated about the bill.

If this at all resonates with you, then please, do some research and find out how you can make a difference. Google has a few things to say about the bill and check out this full page ad that ran in the NYTimes a few months ago.

Please keep in mind that these are my own personal views, and may or may not reflect the opinion of McCombs or the University.

Alexandria, Career, Student Life

Carpe Diem

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The signature motto of The University of Texas is “What starts here changes the world.” When I first came to UT, I felt that this was just a showy saying with little substance behind it. I am starting to realize, however, that this statement is truly the cornerstone of our university.

When most students decide to continue their education at Texas, they do so not only because they want a great education, but  because they want to matter in the world. The University of Texas gives them the appropriate means to accomplish their goals.

Every student I have met here wants to matter in the world. They are all extremely ambitious people with big goals for their futures. The majority of MPA students take on leadership roles in organizations on campus, participate in company networking sessions, sign up for interviews and mock-interviews, and work hard to get excellent grades in their coursework to set themselves up for a fantastic job. UT students invest their time and energy in things that will give them the opportunity to matter in the world.

I continually share with my parents all of the things McCombs and the MPA program offer to maximize my future opportunities. My mom said, “Ally, it’s a wonderful program and it is great that you are focused on your future, but don’t neglect to focus on the present and enjoy this time of your life.” It wasn’t until August of this past year that I understood the true meaning of what she was telling me.

The first thing I understood about focusing on the present was that I would only be in college at UT with all of my friends for a finite period of time, whereas I will be working forever. It only makes sense to take advantage of everything the University offers while you are a student: going to football and basketball games, attending campus events, and spending lots of time with friends. Continue reading Carpe Diem →

Events, Feature, Student Life

New Batch of Bloggers

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Meet (back row) Paul,Alexandria,Valerie, Xinmiao, (front row) Karen, Melissa, and Allison.

We are happy to welcome our newest batch of student bloggers. As MPA students, they have a unique perspective of the college experience. Being a part of the top program for accounting can be very challenging but it is also very rewarding.
Follow them as they share their visions of what it means to be a part of McCombs MPA, live in Austin, and balance the tricky world of fun and education. For new students and old, these writers have tons of helpful tips and real world experience for you to learn from.

Welcome Paul, Melissa, Karen, Allison, Valerie, Alexandria and Xinmiao. You can learn more about each of the writers in their profile pages.
   

With so much going on in Austin and in Accounting, there is certainly a lot to blog about.