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GS2745: Unit 2, Team Assignment – Optimism
Optimism is a word that many people use but few people define. Here is a definition: hope, future-mindedness, future orientation

Most of us have a fairly set attitude toward life that may or may NOT be optimistic. This is a team exercise—buddy up and share your answers with your team.

Optimism: Are you a glass half-full or glass half-empty kind of person? Why? | 1. How does your current attitude help or derail you in your everyday life?2. How do you feel about being around people with the opposite attitude? Is it helpful – or irritating? Why?3. Give an example of an instance in your life that was a learning experience for you about optimism. Either where your personal attitude served to make things work out better…. Or worse. |

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GS2745: Unit 2, Team Assignment – Optimism

Optimistic people can be seen to be unrealistic, but here are 3 valuable attributes that are also grounded in reality:
1. SEE THE BIG PICTURE: Goal-oriented thoughts
2. SEE HOW YOU GET THERE: Plausible pathways to achievement
3. FEEL CONFIDENCE: Emotional connection to success

Please fill out and respond to the following 3 questions. Work in groups.

1. Goal Oriented Thoughts: Goals should be attainable yet challenging. If you give yourself too big a goal, it can be overwhelming.

a. List a big, long-term goal for yourself
Example, have a completely polished resume and professional cover letter

b. From that goal, come up with a smaller goal that you can work on NOW.
Example: complete the first draft of the experience section of my resume

2. Pathways to achievement: Avenues for success need to be plausible. When life gets in the way, make sure to have a “plan B” (contingency planning)

a. For your long-term goal above, how do you think you can achieve it?

b. How would you feel if something got in the way? Do you have a plan B?

c. How do you handle it when things don’t go the way you planned?

3. Emotional connection to success: Hopeful people believe in themselves – not always easy! All of you are close to finishing a tough program with many challenges– and you are all still here.

Name one thing that has helped you succeed where others may not have?

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GS2745: Unit 2, Lab Assignment:
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“STAR” success stories - for Resumes and Interviews

For both your resumes and your interviews, you will need to be able to demonstrate SPECIFIC examples of success in your work/academic history. The old style of resume just had people listing their job responsibilities – now, employers want to know specifics about what you ACCOMPLISHED, not just a listing of your job description.

One effective model is STAR: * Situation * Task * Action * Result

ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY: Come up with 1 or 2 examples from your work or school history that follow the STAR model that you could use in an interview or on your resume.

For each, list the whole sentence, and then list which part is S, T, A ,R.

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ASSIGNMENT DETAIL:

More specifics of each of the STAR sections attached in your handout.

Examples:

1. Resume: Help Desk Job Description
NOT: “Responsible for handling help desk tickets from customers and resolving system problems.”

Instead: “As part of a 10-member help desk team, for a 50,000 employee health-care company, analyzed and resolved 10-15 employee personal computer issues per day. Resulted in customer service award from manager.”

* Situation – 10-member help desk team for 50,000 employee health-care company * Task—10-15 employee personal computer issues per day * Action—Analyzed and resolved * Result—Customer service award from manager
2. Interview question: How do you handle tight deadlines?
NOT: “I am very good at managing deadlines. No matter how tough, I always manage to get my work on time.

Instead: “In my ITT-Tech Capstone Class, my team was responsible for completing a new network implementation for a professional client, XYZ company. All of us had to balance this project with our many other responsibilities, but we managed to complete the project on time and within budget. We succeeded, despite our challenges, because of great teamwork: planning in advance by team member, collaboration, constant communication and pulling together when challenges came up. In the end, the client was so happy with the results, that the company is doing another project with ITT-Tech. “

* Situation – Capstone project with professional client * Task—Network implementation * Action—Completed project on time and within budget * Result—Client has asked for other students to do future projects