POST: Week 4, Day 3, Friday, September 19, 2008

Today we worked on a few more important topics:

I. Questions for interviews:

Tell me about a time when you worked as a member of a team. OR Are you a team player? This is a very important question, and it's important to note how the question is asked.

If you hear "Tell me about a time. . ." give a specific example of a time when you functioned as a team member. Express satisfaction with the team's outcome. Finish with a comment about how there is a lot of good that can come from working on teams.

If you hear "Are you a team player?" immediately answer yes and then point out how in your discipline (name it) there are a lot of different chances to work in teams. Express some of the general things you have done in teams. Be positive about working on teams.

What is your philosophy of work? The answer should be 2-3 sentences and should be very direct. A good answer might be something like, "So far my philosophy is simple: Figure out what I have to do, marshall the resources to do it, and get it done right -- on time."

II. We talked about continuing issues with the drafts. One area many people are having a hard time with is selecting good information and making a point with that information. We discussed how it is important to consider the perspective of the person you are writing this to: the CEO of Freeplay. What does she/he need to know about a country? Is it important that the country was colonized by France? Or is it important to know what the current state of electrical energy is in the country?

Points should always be made clearly with topic sentences. Example: Electricity is scarce in Chile. But don't talk about how these points impact Freeplay until the end of the paper in the discussion section.

HW: Please send me a revised draft of your paper by Sunday at 5 p.m.