How to describe an interview …

When you come to the Institute of International Business, you attend  a Business Communication class, where you focus on improving your resume, cover letter and interview skills. Getting a “dreamed” interview  is the result of a long process. You must be willing to invest hours of research and preparation.I’ve found that there are two types: on the phone and face to face.

Some weeks ago I had my first phone interview with MTV. The company was great but the position was not what I expected so the process had to start all over again. Find a company, send your resume and cover letter, wait for them to contact you back and make an appointment for another phone interview. It is rather easy for me to be on the phone because it allows you more freedom. Since the person on the other side of the line is not able to see you, you can have notes spread all over the place, walk around if you get nervous and make notes if you need to. If you do well during this first screen, then you get a pass to NYC for a face to face interview, not with the HR person but with the one who is going to be your immediate boss.

Now, face to face interviews are a lot different. You must get ready in advance…make sure your outfit is perfect, your hair is spotless and your breath is fresh. You must also bring with you some extra copies of your resume, you never know who else in the department will want to see it. Make sure to be there on time, not too early ‘tho, because you may interrupt the interviewer’s schedule.NYC enterprises are too big, so don’t expect warm, welcoming people at the front desk , most of them ar too busy to be kind. Most important, be confident!! They asked you to be there because they want to hear about your professional background, this is a great opportunity to flatter yourself a little bit.What you least want is to get scared.

So??…yes, it is a huge company!! yes, you will be competing with other people to get the position!!yes, you are not perfect…but then again, no one is!!

Get involved, fall in love with the company and the position, show your interest, ask questions, be yourself, keep your cool.  You are already there, you can’t control the rest of the world, but you can control what you say and how you say it. My advice is that you be honest, trust yourself and show commitment.

Once again, good luck…finding a perfect internship is like finding love, it takes long but it is worth it !!

Hi again!
Few hours ago I was thinking about the concept of time. In SUNY New Paltz time flows really fast, it will sound like a cliché but “I remember getting here as if it was yesterday”. With a lot of activities, trips, friends, classes, and short daylight, I wish I had more time to spend in this place… it is never enough.

As I am very interested in student activities and organizations, I recently joined de SUNY New Paltz Management Association. These guys are very hardworking and take their role very seriously. They are also looking for internship opportunities so that the interested students can apply through them. I highly suggest to you all coming for the IIB Program to join student associations; I think it is the best way for meeting people with shared interests.

New Paltz, NY
New Paltz is a very cozy place to live. Students are everywhere and because of that some of the shopping places offer student discounts.
The Main Street (which name says it all) is surrounded by very nice places; find attached a picture of a beautiful “vintage type” coffee shop.
One of the best things about New Paltz is its proximity with New York City (90 min). It is very easy to catch a bus in the local bus station, it is not expensive and they have a lot of routes.

“Student to Student Tips”
I highly suggest to every foreign student coming to New Paltz, to get a New York non-drivers license or ID. In some of the places that you’ll be visiting they will ask for an official ID, your passport will be fine, but I am convinced that is more safe and secure to have a NY ID. It doesn’t cost a lot of money and it is less risky to be carrying this document. My advice is to apply for it as soon as you get here. Ask for more information to any of the IIB Staff.
All right my dear friends,
See you next week.

Located in Main Street, New Paltz

After quite some time trying to find out how this works… I give you my warmest welcome to the IIBlog!
Adventurous students have come to SUNY New Paltz with one same goal in common: TO OBTAIN AN INTERNSHIP IN NEW YORK. Although these are not the best of times to find a job opportunity in the city that never sleeps, we are all determined to obtain a position.
Before coming, we were showed a broad list of companies, were we could apply for an internship; and that was probably what caught our attention the most. Now, we are witnessing that finding the perfect internship is not as easy as we thought. It requires concentration, patience and determination.
From my point of view, people who already have their jobs are those who knew exactly what they wanted before even coming to SUNY. It could either be in terms of the place they wanted to work or the exact position they wanted to have. Whichever it was, they had a vision.
There is less than a month left and the pressure is on us. Some have interviews to attend but some are still looking. It is especially hard for those in the finance field. As I said, the external factors are not favouring our cause. We are great at working under pressure, I’m sure than in the end we will all find something we enjoy doing.

Tic, toc my friends… the clock is ticking …

ps. Congratulations to all of those who already have their intenrship!!!

First of all, thank you for reading the IIB Blog. I hope that you can find these words useful in shaping a bigger and accurate picture of what it means to become part of the IIB program in SUNY New Paltz.

Who am I? A college student from Mexico currently enrolled in the IIB Program.

Why did I choose the IIB Program? For 3 main reasons:
1. The opportunity of doing an internship in New York City.
2. The possibility of obtaining a Certificate in American Business Practices.
3. Living and interacting in a multicultural environment.

Each of the posts that I’ll be doing will contain a final section called “Student to Student Tips” and my purpose is to present recommendations for daily life situations in SUNY New Paltz and NYC.

Once again, thank you for visiting our Blog!

Best wishes,

Alex S.

Hasbrouck. The most repeated word on a daily basis in New Paltz, ever since I got here.

This is the cafeteria. You can go out with an apple in your hands, but not with a piece of bread in your mouth. Come on Taco Tuesday or on Nothing Weekend. This is where I meet my friends to see what happened the night before, or the plans ahead of us. To see the face of everyone, on a different stage of the day is really entertaining! I like to hear everyones news stories, I I understand, cause sometimes they’ll speak in Swedish, by them I mean the Sweedish group of the IIB program.

It’s been a month, we’ve had a snowstorm, rain no parade, and my favorite so far cultural exchanges. To go out there, and see how different and similar people are to you. Why SUNY New Paltz? everyone asks me! …well cause I had no idea, and you know that’s great, cause its more fun at one point. Its great that my school is 10 mins walking distance from a bar that becomes a restaurant during the day!!! What? yeah P&G’s is one of them.  Visits so far- countless, visits to go….not counting.

I sometimes feel like if everyone was part of a movie, cause it looks and feels like it. Those hoolywood chick flick, its real! and I like it. What sorprises me is that so much stuff  is same thinking as the sweedish guys, same thoughts! who would have thought?

So yeah this is us:

Karl Johan- “KJ”- fashion and comedy stands out for him

Marcus- Italy adores his accent, and gotta say I admire him because he just sold his company.

Boudil- Always have something to say.

Cecilia- Like the mom of the group, very mature thoughts.

Anna- Sexy girl, with carisma.

Emma- Mysterious one

Jill- Funny, sarcastic…goofy

Shanet- Looks quiet, but has a lot to say.

Winta- smily, simple and smart girl.

Alejandro- Next President, admirable

Erika- “Kik”, individualistic, loves fashion, smart.

Alexia- Crazy, just a cool mess

Pau- strong ideas.

Paola- “Esta de pelos”, her favorite phrase, funny outgoing, count on her for everything, except for the GYM

Alejandra- everything is funny for her, simple girl next door.

Myself- What else do I have to say?

So you can have an idea of evryone who’s part of the IIB program. We see each other everyday, its become like a , family……NOT, just kidding. It’s great that everyone’s so different that’s something having only 2 different countries in the program (sweeden, mexico).

Next time, we’ll se where this countries are located, because people has asked me their location. Like Cancun was in New Mexico right? I guess this is a learning experience for evryone…