aspiring prelim slayer

call me cel. // computer science (M), english & fgss (m)

[ambienne]

Dear internet,

Please give me all the advice you have on writing cover letters. Like, the closer you can get to literally just writing a cover letter for me, the better. Ok bye.

[emilysidhe]

This is how I did the one for my librarian position.  I hope it helps.

Dear Person Hiring for this Job,

I am writing to ask you to consider me for X position.  This is a paragraph about why I want to do X position in general.  It includes at least one personal detail and at least one job skill I consider a particular strength.  It argues that I am passionate about this career.  It is not long.

I have had the opportunity to gain experience in this job by - paragraph about my work or study experience.  It should go from most recent experience back.  Include some details about your responsibilities/achievements in your most recent or most important positions.  If you have mostly study experience, give more detail about what exactly you studied.  If you shadowed people, mention that.  If your work experience is largely unrelated, try to shoehorn some of it in (e.g. I gained experience working with people by).  You can supplement with relevant hobbies.  (But if you do have recent, relevant work experience, you should largely be detailing that.  Only embroider the other stuff if you need to flesh it out.)  This should be the longest paragraph.

I hope you will consider allowing me to do X thing at your company.  This is a few sentences about why I want to work at your company in particular and what I think I could bring.  Try to mention at least one detail from the company website, so they know you visited it.  This is a short paragraph that parallels the first one.

Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Person You Would Be a Fool Not to At Least Interview

[walkingoutintherain]

oh my god thank you this is relevant to current interests

[magpieandwhale]

Two other points, to challenge what’s being said above a little:

1) Remember that the person reading this cover letter wants to know how you can contribute to the company. Not how excited you are about the position: it’s all about what they gain. Try framing the whole thing in that sense — “You would gain my X awesome skill that would help you Y with your mission.” “Here’s why I’m awesome and a great fit for making your company go better.”

2) At the end, ask for the interview. “I am available at PHONE NUMBER at your convenience. I look forward to speaking with you about this great opportunity soon.” Maybe even say you’ll be following up at a specific time and date. Ask for the job. People respond to that, and it’s a good way to fake confidence until you make it. Ask for the job.

Okay, three points. People reading cover letters get SO BORED going through them. Think about starting off with a story that relates to why you’re interested in the job, or that demonstrates a skill or a strong interest that would make you a good candidate. Be memorable — people remember stories, even (maybe especially) very little ones.

[walkingoutintherain]

*hoards advice*

[wendystudies]

[deeplylearning]

The Basics of Efficient Studying

If you’re studying extremely hard, then you’ve done something wrong. I know how counterintuitive this sounds, but it’s true. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Most students study very hard to try and get results, but only a minority of students are straight-A students. Get the picture? Just because practically everyone does it doesn’t mean that’s how you should do it. That couldn’t be any truer when it comes to studying. Have you ever wondered how all these superstar students have the time to go to social events, head clubs, and still manage to fit in time to study to get those As? That’s because studying doesn’t have to consume your life if you do it efficiently.

  Let’s start by defining the challenge ahead. Let’s say you have an exam coming up. First ask yourself these questions:

Which lectures and reading assignments (or problem sets) are fair game?

What type of questions will be on the exam and how many of each? (IDs, dates, broad syntheses of text’s major arguments…)

Is the exam open (note)book?

Will formulas be provided or should they be memorized?

How much time will be available? (Does the professor expect it to be easy to finish in the time allotted or a challenge to complete?)

  Now that you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to build a study guide. Below you will learn how to build a study guide for both non-technical courses and technical courses.

  Build a Basic Study Guide (Non-technical)

Creating a study guide is very simple, but here are some tips to make it run more smoothly. It helps to have a plan. First, print out the corresponding notes for a given test. Then cluster the notes into relevant piles by topic fastened by paper clip. You should have “chapters” for each general topic covered. It’s as simple as that. Now that you have “chapters” split up, carry around one or two chapters a day and review the material any free moment you get.

  Construct a Mega-Problem Set (Technical)

Problem set assignments are key, so make sure you keep all the ones you accumulate during the course for studying later.

Make corresponding piles for each type of problem set

Supplement with sample problems from notes

Match the lecture notes to the problem set that covers the same material

Copy sample problems from notes to blank paper (don’t need to copy steps or answer, just questions)

Label the blank sheet with the lecture date (so you know where the problems are from and where to find the answers)

Put this with the problem/lecture note set you created in the previous steps

Augment mega-problem sets with technical explanation questions that ask to explain the basics of the topic (ex: “Explain the general procedure for drawing a molecular structure, why this is useful, and what special cases must be kept in mind.”). This will reveal whether you understand what you’re studying or not by forcing you to write out the basics.

If practice exams are available, copy them and store them with your mega-problem sets

  Prepare Memorization Aids

Flashcards, flashcards, flashcards. They are time tested and work. Start making them when you’re relaxing BEFORE you plan to study them. You need to schedule this out properly to avoid tiring yourself out. If you try to make and study the cards all in the same session you’ll be tired and have trouble remembering later what you spent all that time working on. So make sure you do the creating and studying separately to maximize results. Also be sure you perform checks to know you didn’t “just” memorize but actually understand.

  These tips are inspired by Cal Newport’s books as well as my own insight as a student. See my other posts on studying here and stay tuned for even more study tips to come this week!

[studyingbrains]

University Tips (non-conventional)

If these help anyone, great!

Wear sports bras/bralettes to lectures instead of the ones with a buckle at the back. They tend to poke and prod your back after a while if you’re leaning back. Sports bras don’t.

Set your timetable as your phone background for the first few weeks. Use this method for no. 6 too if you can be bothered. 

Lay a towel on your bed a few days before your period is due. If you leak on a towel you can just wash it or throw it away. Easier than washing and changing the sheets.

When you’re in a lecture taking notes on a laptop remember to turn down the brightness on your screen, especially if the lecturer has dimmed the lights. Otherwise you’ll annoy others and drain your battery. 

Save your recordings at every given break instead of making one continuous one through pausing. Sometimes files are too large to save and you don’t want to risk losing the entire lecture recording. Save as you go along.

If you need to remember something (e.g. a library book, USB, locker key..) write it on a post-it note and stick it on your shoes before you sleep. Make sure they’re the shoes you intend to wear the next day!

Don’t shoot me: if you have left an assignment really late, stay up as long as you can completing it (yes, that means an all-nighter may be needed). Sleep as soon as you’ve handed it in. 

If you use tech in a lecture e.g. phone for recording or electronic notetaking on your laptop, then mess around with it before uni begins. Know what buttons to press and when, otherwise you’ll mess up your notes and annoy others, with your excessive clicking. 

Always, always, ALWAYS carry a plastic bag/carrier bag. You might need to make a trip to the library, drink may spill in your bag so you’ll need an alternative or you may not be able to dispose of a pad/tampon until you get back home. Seriously, just carry one.  

Find out where coursework/assignment are submitted within your first week on campus. Ask admin how the procedure works and make sure you know it inside out. 

Spend a day wondering around campus (before timetabled lectures start). Find out where the library is, talk to the librarians and ask them how to borrow/return books and also how to reserve!

When you get your timetable be sure to visit the lecture halls and seminar rooms a few days before the term starts so you know where to go. Find out where the toilets are in those buildings too. 

Find out where your lecturers offices are. Know the building and floor that they’re on (they’re usually all in the same place). 

Carry cereal bars and other non perishable foods that take up little room. Sometimes your tummy rumbles really loud in a lecture, give it some love.

Volunteer in your first year of university, these is the least hectic year (usually!). You want something to put on that CV and those post grad applications! 

In the UK the first year generally doesn’t count toward the final degree classification but those grades WILL show up on your transcript. Make sure they look decent. When you apply for post grad courses, if you don’t have the certificate yet (because you’re still completing the course) the university/institution will ask for your grade transcript. First year grades come up first! 

A huge part of your degree classification/GPA comes from the final year thesis. Talk to as many older students as you can and ask them what topics they picked and how they went about it. A great thesis/dissertation will literally move you from a 2:1 to a 1st. 

I’ll update this list as things come to me. I hope it helps, this is all my opinion, sorry. 

[fabiostudy-blog]

Pic from my studygram: 👉 @rotina_de_estudo 👈 check it out and comment on my last photo, i want to check out new studygrams! ❤ Long time no see but im back with my favourite orange pens and highlighters swatch that i made yesterday! 🍑🍑🍑

[ambienne]

Dear internet,

Please give me all the advice you have on writing cover letters. Like, the closer you can get to literally just writing a cover letter for me, the better. Ok bye.

[emilysidhe]

This is how I did the one for my librarian position.  I hope it helps.

Dear Person Hiring for this Job,

I am writing to ask you to consider me for X position.  This is a paragraph about why I want to do X position in general.  It includes at least one personal detail and at least one job skill I consider a particular strength.  It argues that I am passionate about this career.  It is not long.

I have had the opportunity to gain experience in this job by - paragraph about my work or study experience.  It should go from most recent experience back.  Include some details about your responsibilities/achievements in your most recent or most important positions.  If you have mostly study experience, give more detail about what exactly you studied.  If you shadowed people, mention that.  If your work experience is largely unrelated, try to shoehorn some of it in (e.g. I gained experience working with people by).  You can supplement with relevant hobbies.  (But if you do have recent, relevant work experience, you should largely be detailing that.  Only embroider the other stuff if you need to flesh it out.)  This should be the longest paragraph.

I hope you will consider allowing me to do X thing at your company.  This is a few sentences about why I want to work at your company in particular and what I think I could bring.  Try to mention at least one detail from the company website, so they know you visited it.  This is a short paragraph that parallels the first one.

Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Person You Would Be a Fool Not to At Least Interview

[walkingoutintherain]

oh my god thank you this is relevant to current interests

[magpieandwhale]

Two other points, to challenge what’s being said above a little:

1) Remember that the person reading this cover letter wants to know how you can contribute to the company. Not how excited you are about the position: it’s all about what they gain. Try framing the whole thing in that sense — “You would gain my X awesome skill that would help you Y with your mission.” “Here’s why I’m awesome and a great fit for making your company go better.”

2) At the end, ask for the interview. “I am available at PHONE NUMBER at your convenience. I look forward to speaking with you about this great opportunity soon.” Maybe even say you’ll be following up at a specific time and date. Ask for the job. People respond to that, and it’s a good way to fake confidence until you make it. Ask for the job.

Okay, three points. People reading cover letters get SO BORED going through them. Think about starting off with a story that relates to why you’re interested in the job, or that demonstrates a skill or a strong interest that would make you a good candidate. Be memorable — people remember stories, even (maybe especially) very little ones.

[walkingoutintherain]

*hoards advice*

[queendread]

Right now, I’m sifting through 50+ applications for a new entry-level position. Here’s some advice from the person who will actually be looking at your CV/resume and cover letter:

‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you have included.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

“I work well in a team or individually” okay cool, you and everyone else. If the job means you’ll be part of a big team, talk about how much you love teamwork and how collaborating with people is the best way to solve problems. If the job requires lots of independence, talk about how you are great at taking direction and running with it, and how you have the confidence to follow your own ideas and seek out the insight of others when necessary. I am profoundly uninterested in cookie-cutter statements. I want to know how you actually work, not how a teacher once told you you should work.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

This is my advice for small, independent orgs like charities, etc. We usually don’t go through agencies, and the person reading through the applications is usually the person who will manage you, so it helps if you can give them a real sense of who you are and how you’ll grab hold of that entry level position and give it all you’ve got. This stuff might not apply to big companies with actual HR departments - it’s up to you to figure out the culture and what they’re looking for and mirror it. Do they use buzzwords? Use the same buzzwords! Do they write in a friendly, informal way? Do the same! And remember, 95% of job hunting (beyond who you know and flat-out nepotism, ugh) is luck. If you keep getting rejected, it’s not because you suck. You might just need a different approach, or it might just take the right pair of eyes landing on your CV.

And if you get rejected, it’s worthwhile asking why. You’ve already been rejected, the worst has already happened, there’s really nothing bad that can come out of you asking them for some constructive feedback (politely, informally, “if it isn’t too much trouble”). Pretty much all of us have been hopeless jobseekers at one point or another. We know it’s shitty and hard and soul-crushing. Friendliness goes a long way. Even if it’s just one line like “your cover letter wasn’t inspiring" at least you know where to start.

And seriously, if you have any friends that do any kind of hiring or have any involvement with that side of things, ask them to look at your CV with a big red pen and brutal honesty. I do this all the time, and the most important thing I do is making it so their CV doesn’t read exactly like that of every other person who took the same ‘how-to-get-a-job’ class in school. If your CV has a paragraph that starts with something like ‘I am a highly motivated and punctual individual who–’ then oh my god I AM ALREADY ASLEEP.

[revysprite-deactivated20170502]

Very good post thanks for this.

[copperbadge]

Excellent advice for building and submitting job application documents.

[dispatchrabbi]

This is the first good resume advice post I’ve seen on this site. Much better advice than the “lists of active verbs to use” and “here are resume templates”. Follow this advice.

[apricot-studies]

An Infographic Of Useful Tips For All Types Of Learners

[queendread]

Right now, I’m sifting through 50+ applications for a new entry-level position. Here’s some advice from the person who will actually be looking at your CV/resume and cover letter:

‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you have included.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

“I work well in a team or individually” okay cool, you and everyone else. If the job means you’ll be part of a big team, talk about how much you love teamwork and how collaborating with people is the best way to solve problems. If the job requires lots of independence, talk about how you are great at taking direction and running with it, and how you have the confidence to follow your own ideas and seek out the insight of others when necessary. I am profoundly uninterested in cookie-cutter statements. I want to know how you actually work, not how a teacher once told you you should work.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

This is my advice for small, independent orgs like charities, etc. We usually don’t go through agencies, and the person reading through the applications is usually the person who will manage you, so it helps if you can give them a real sense of who you are and how you’ll grab hold of that entry level position and give it all you’ve got. This stuff might not apply to big companies with actual HR departments - it’s up to you to figure out the culture and what they’re looking for and mirror it. Do they use buzzwords? Use the same buzzwords! Do they write in a friendly, informal way? Do the same! And remember, 95% of job hunting (beyond who you know and flat-out nepotism, ugh) is luck. If you keep getting rejected, it’s not because you suck. You might just need a different approach, or it might just take the right pair of eyes landing on your CV.

And if you get rejected, it’s worthwhile asking why. You’ve already been rejected, the worst has already happened, there’s really nothing bad that can come out of you asking them for some constructive feedback (politely, informally, “if it isn’t too much trouble”). Pretty much all of us have been hopeless jobseekers at one point or another. We know it’s shitty and hard and soul-crushing. Friendliness goes a long way. Even if it’s just one line like “your cover letter wasn’t inspiring" at least you know where to start.

And seriously, if you have any friends that do any kind of hiring or have any involvement with that side of things, ask them to look at your CV with a big red pen and brutal honesty. I do this all the time, and the most important thing I do is making it so their CV doesn’t read exactly like that of every other person who took the same ‘how-to-get-a-job’ class in school. If your CV has a paragraph that starts with something like ‘I am a highly motivated and punctual individual who–’ then oh my god I AM ALREADY ASLEEP.

[revysprite-deactivated20170502]

Very good post thanks for this.

[copperbadge]

Excellent advice for building and submitting job application documents.

[dispatchrabbi]

This is the first good resume advice post I’ve seen on this site. Much better advice than the “lists of active verbs to use” and “here are resume templates”. Follow this advice.

[anzensei-blog]

biology, again! going easy on my studies these few days as i’m trying to resolve the crap in my mind. recovery is slow, but slow and steady always wins the race.

[birdkoskincare]

27.12.16 / i have 5 exams starting jan 5 and i better ace tf outta them if i want to come home for my birthday instead of spending it studying for recovery exams. talk about major motivation!

[eintsein]

March 2017 + motivational desktop wallpapers

As many of you have requested, here are some wallpapers I’ve made for this month. March started last week, but it’s never too late to change your desktop wallpaper! Again, they’re only available in the resolutions 1920x1080 but fitting them to other screen resolutions shouldn’t be difficult. The calendar wallpaper is also available as a phone wallpaper. Hope you like them, and have a wonderful month!

Download them here: desktop // phone

Don’t forget to tag me (#eintsein) if you use these wallpapers on your gadgets/electronics :)

[obsidianstudy]

THIS IS SO LOVELY, JO

[lisakogawa]

TIME MANAGEMENT STUFF / TERM 7 

I’ve got a lot of questions about this during my Art Center time, so I drew it ! This system came from when I had to manage my time during art high school (8am-5pm everyday) with 2 waitress jobs. Everybody has different working method, but I will be more than happy if anyone gets new idea from it ! 

[littlestudyblrblog]

Day 22 [22.2.17]: Class notes vs rewritten notes

Just a few of my class notes (which I rewrote) in my copy of Mrs Dalloway.

[hydroxies]

March 15, 2016 - Making notecards for my physiology exam!  Spot my mistakes?

[studeity]

2-04-2016 // 2:22pm Summarised Marketing notes on strategic planning! :^) I may have summarised things a little too much.. but rest assured I have made more in-depth notes~

[stillspillingink]

IT'S OKAY TO GET A BAD GRADE.

ON A TEST ON A FINAL AS A SEMESTER GRADE IT IS O K