Curtis Petersen
Internships, Networking & Key Skills
Summary
Works for the Church and is in charge of Idaho and the North Central areas on where to build new meeting houses. Their mission statement is to serve priesthood leaders to build more meeting houses for them.
He had two internships before he went to work for the Church and they were working in finance with a privately family owned business in a small town in Idaho, and the other internship was working for the U.S. senate in Washington D.C.
Curtis went on to talk a lot about the importance of networking with others and making strong impressions. He said that if you do not know anybody in a place you want to apply for then you need to have a very strong resume to back yourself up. Curtis highly suggests to have mentors while at school that way when you are done you have contacts and possible job offers when you graduate. He also added that you need to act instead of being acted upon. Develop relationships with everyone around you going through school whether it is roommates or professors. He then goes on to say to voluteer in your work, learn who to ask, and have others ask you.
He gave some suggestions of key skills that one might need in the work field and that is to be a critical thinker, have good communication skills, have a pleasant attitude, and be guided by the spirit.
My Thoughts
My thoughts on Curtis Petersen's presentation is that it was good, but not a field I would be interested in at all. I thought he had a lot of good things to say about networking and that is what I got most out of it. I never thought about having mentors before and I wish I would have had them back when I was a Freshman or Sophmore. Now I'm a Senior and it's a little late to have one of those, but I think I'll try because I still have a semester after this left. It made me feel better when he said that work is very different than school because I am not the smartest person, but I work really hard and I can learn something fast I just learn slower in school than in the work place. Overall a decent presentation that I will be able to take those two concepts out of and make myself more ready for time of graduation.
Extra Credit Location
I want my extra credit on the midterm (all 3 points).