Assignment #4- Job Skills + Overseas Experience:
Starting Your Portfolio Pieces:
For this assignment we are asking that you begin to think about skills and experiences that are highly regarded for whatever field you are looking to go into. We are going to link these to the way(s) you have demonstrated these skills during your time overseas, and help you to incorporate the language around intercultural communication into your skillset.
Address the following in this assignment:
· Job Posting: Find a job posting in a relevant field of interest or graduate/professional school application question that pertains to what you are looking to do after graduation. Include this job posting along with your responses.
· Cover Letter: A cover letter is a way for you to highlight the experiences you’ve had, and the ways those experiences will benefit the company/organization. Write 1 paragraph that could be included in a cover letter that addresses the following question, “In what ways will your experience abroad add value to this company/organization?”
· Scenarios: Think of two scenarios or events from this semester abroad that demonstrate the skills the employer is looking for and explain how what you learned from these experiences would make you a better candidate for this position. You can refer back to assignment 1 to review the jobs skills cultivated through an international experience that employers view as beneficial. Please use the STAR technique in structuring this section:
o What was the Situation or setting?
o What specific Task or problem had to be addressed?
o What specific Actions did you take?
o What was the Result or outcome?
Link to UM Career Resource Behavioral Interviewing Technique (S.T.A.R.):
Resume (OPTIONAL): Create a professional resume that you would use to apply for the job (or graduate school) that you have chosen. When writing about your study abroad experience, include bullet points that highlight what you have done/learned/gotten out of your semester abroad. Try to come up with ideas that use the intercultural concepts we have been reading about throughout the course. Quantify your accomplishments. For example if you tutored English while abroad, you could list: Independently tutored a group of six kindergarten students weekly for one hour in basic English language skills. Use Resume Writing and Skills Statement as models.
Compiling thoughts and ideas of your experience and what those things add to your professional and/or academic toolkit while in the moment will enable you to return to the U.S. with key components of a professional portfolio. A professional portfolio is a collection of your best work samples that you can use to market your skills and experiences. Your study abroad experience is an integral part of your college experience that you will want to do the most to market as you move into a professional career and/or continue on to graduate school. Check out a short video on Professional Portfolios.
ABA Behavior Therapist /
Interventionist
Orange County – Aliso Viejo,
California
Behavior Frontiers, LLC is a leading
agency providing applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment to help children
with autism and other special needs to reach their full potential. Our expert
team of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and highly trained behavior
instructors use state-of-the-art ABA methods to teach children social,
communication, play, cognitive, and self-care skills, while reducing problem
behaviors. We are seeking energetic and career-minded individuals to join our
team. Behavior Frontiers will provide all the training needed for new behavior
instructors to be able to make a positive difference in the lives of children
with autism spectrum disorders. We encourage you to find out more about
Behavior Frontiers by visiting our website at: www.behaviorfrontiers.com.
NOW HIRING IN CENTRAL ORANGE COUNTY:
Behavior Instructors:
Help children with autism and other
special needs to meet their goals using proven ABA methods in a variety of
settings, such as the school, home, or community. Behavior Instructors receive
extensive training in effective ABA methods, such as discrete trial teaching
(DTT), naturalistic teaching strategies (NATS), and verbal behavior (VB). Our
behavior supervisors provide on-going support and guidance to behavior
instructors to assist them with accurate implementation of treatment programs.
Availability: Part-time only between
the hours of 2-8 PM weekdays plus Saturdays.Highest need between 3-7/7:30
PM.
Locations: Central Orange County -
Irvine, Santa Ana and surrounding areas!
Requirements:
- 6 months experience working with
children
- Bachelor's degree in
psychology/related field
- Valid driver's license and auto
insurance
- Ability to provide negative TB test
results
- Ability to clear FBI & DOJ
fingerprinting
- Energetic attitude and desire to
help children succeed!
-Spanish Speaking Preferred
Benefits for All Employees:
- Initial and ongoing paid training
- Frequent supervision and guidance
- Opportunities for career
advancement
- Paid mileage
- Paid drive time
- Paid professional liability
insurance
- Opportunities for BCBA or BCaBA
mentorship
Additional Benefits for Full-time
Employees:
- Medical and dental insurance
- 401k Plan
- Paid Personal Time Off & Paid
Sick Time
- Paid Holidays and Paid Sick Time
Behavior Frontiers is the ideal
company for you to reach your career goals while providing exceptional service
to help improve the lives of children with autism and their families.
Please Note: This is a Part-Time
opportunity with possible opportunity for full-time employment. Full- time
employment opportunities depend on availability.
Cover
Letter:
In order to obtain a position for at Behavior
Frontiers,
Second
Harvest Heartland, St. David’s Center Child & Family Development, Feed My
Starving Children, Special Olympics Minnesota, Harvest Preparatory & Seed
Academy, Park Nicollet Hospital, and Opportunity Partners. These experiences
have made me more open to new environments and people, which have strengthened
my skills in many different ways. My social skills are Personable, Extroverted,
Engaged, Good Listener, and Respectful. My Individual skills are Optimistic,
Caring, Friendly, Understanding, Leader, and Compassionate. My Academic skills
are Hard-worker, Motivated, Intelligent, and Responsible. Lastly, my strengths
are Connectedness, Empathy, Developer, Includer, and Positivity.
Scenarios:
1.
Within my first few days
while studying abroad in Toledo, Spain I gradually began to lose hope. This
“hope” mostly revolved around my academics in Spain, specifically with the
language adjustment. I knew a good amount of Spanish, but I was nowhere near
being fluent. At my new school, Fundación Jose Ortega Gasset, the teachers will
NEVER speak to you in English, which was a huge cultural shock to me. This
grand adjustment made me scared to even converse in a casual setting, because I
didn’t want to say something wrong or even not speak fast enough. I have always
considered myself a perfectionist, and being abroad has made it even more difficult
for me to accept my mistakes. Although I did—and still do at times—come across failures,
through time and perseverance, I have come to discover that anyone is capable
of being successful at something. It wasn’t easy at first, but once I left my
comfort zone, I began making small changing in my daily life to improve my
Spanish skills.
First, I changed my entire
phone and computer from English to Spanish. Then, in addition to speaking more
Spanish, I began listening more intently to how the Spaniards spoke. Finally, I
started to read magazines and books in Spanish for leisure. Looking back at my
first day in Spain, I can honestly say that I have grown a lot. In my first
assignment for Global Identities, I mentioned how I hoped to improve my ability to verbally communicate with
persons inside and outside the organization. By learning about new
cultures and meeting new people, I believe that my experiences abroad have
helped me to broaden my horizons, ultimately improving my communication skills
in a language that I am not fluent in. In conclusion, I believe that anything
is possible. You
just have to stay hopeful, work hard, and understand that failure isn’t a bad
thing—it is simply a part of the process of learning from our mistakes. Once we
have acknowledged our mistakes we can try to do something differently in the
future, ultimately reaching our goals.
2.
While interning abroad at Colegio E.P., I undoubtedly experienced a few
challenges. Due to the fact that I was not fluent in the native language, being
apart of a team who spoke a language other than my own was a bit of an
obstacle. At first, I was slightly timid when speaking to the other teachers in
Spanish. They spoke incredibly fast and looked at me as if I was a lost puppy when
I spoke. I needed to become more confident in my Spanish in order to work
efficiently in a team setting. Little by little, I started to converse more
with the teachers in more casual settings. For example, during recess time, my
teachers asked me about myself. I began to feel more relaxed when discussing my
personal life—because I had practiced it many times in previous Spanish classes—and
proceeded to tell them a little about myself, discussing topics such as, what
school I go to, what I am studying, how cold the winters get in Minnesota, etc.
Gradually, I felt more at ease speaking with my co-workers, and eventually felt
more like a member of a team. In my first assignment for my Global Identities course, I
mentioned how I hoped to improve my ability
to work in a team structure. Although it took a little more confidence
in my speaking skills, I eventually became able to work in a team structure in
another language, which is something that I believe not many people are capable
of doing.
