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People remember good stories. They shouldn't be "I'm awesome stories". They shouldn't be "I'm exactly what you are looking for" stories. They should be novel
by phamilton 16y ago
People remember good stories. They shouldn't be "I'm awesome stories". They shouldn't be "I'm exactly what you are looking for" stories.
They should be novel and descriptive.
Describe what you do in your spare time. Everyone has the usual School/extracurriculars/etc. If you are a programmer, describe something you built, from concept to completion. Maybe a simple weekend project that you launched as a website. Or a lawn mowing business you ran instead of getting a job. Something unique enough to be memorable.
- cperciva 16y agoSomething unique enough to be memorable. If you have something unique to mention, then absolutely do it. But be realistic about how exceptional your accomplishments are -- in my experience there's little a candidate can do which is more irritating than being the 20th person in a row to talk about a few hours of volunteering at the local hospital as if it qualifies them for sainthood.
- pbhjpbhj 16y ago>there's little a candidate can do which is more irritating than being the 20th person in a row to talk about a few hours of volunteering at the local hospital as if it qualifies them for sainthood. What field are you interviewing in? I've never met anyone that told me they volunteered at a hospital (but I know plenty of volunteers as it happens). If you don't want them to tell you about themselves - eg what volunteer work they do - then perhaps ask a different question?
- cperciva 16y agoWhat field are you interviewing in? We're discussions college admissions here, not job interviews. :-)
- pbhjpbhj 16y agoYes, so what sort of college, a nursing college?
- cperciva 16y agoI'm affiliated with a Canadian university; we cover pretty much every field except medical and legal. I think the students who wax lyrical about their volunteerism are usually in the liberal arts, though.
- pbhjpbhj 16y agoDo you find that most applicants have volunteer experience, is it very common in Canada to volunteer in hospitals? I'm really curious about this, it seems quite strange to me that this should be prevalent and also that you'd find it detrimental particularly (even if they're a bit full of themselves). At the normal Uni entry age most in my country wouldn't have done any volunteering not least in a hospital.
- cperciva 16y agoVolunteer experience is very common here. In BC there was recently discussion of making some number of hours of "volunteer" activity a requirement for high school graduation. I don't think such activities are detrimental in the slightest; but they're not at all exceptional here. (Also, it's a very common "resume-building" tactic, so there's always the question of whether a student performed the activity because they wanted to help the community or because they thought it would pay off in scholarships.)
- pbhjpbhj 16y agoThanks for your continued response, your last bit of info being vital to understanding the situation.