Hello, this is my last blog post for CT-399 — will keep it short UNLIKE my other gibberish posts. Joining this course, initially I had no idea what I was going to learn. I thought maybe, some more web/graphic design, and maybe some heavy writing. Little did I know, this course would teach me skills which greatly expands my intellect in terms of ‘common sense’ — by training me regarding the critical steps required to have a plan or ‘big goal’ & apply for internships. This is unlike any other class I’ve taken in the Communication Technology Major, taught by the awesome prof. Smith — we went over everything ranging from; Developing larger goals and taking little steps toward achieving those goals, Professional statement writing in the form of resume/cover letter & job inquiry, understanding the significance of having a strong digital presence, and finally, an extensive amount of research regarding materials that support my future goals.
Communicating and receiving feedback from fellow students was extremely helpful as well. The best part being, this was taught via Discord — freaking awesome! This is so much better than BlackBoard and everything worked seamlessly.
This course did the trick — I know my next project and working on a presentation for CT-401 as well. Today’s presentation was just the first part — will expand upon it further when CT-401 begins.
For now, thanks to CT-399 & prof. Smith — I have an updated resume, cover, and got my sight on “future peers”. This is the best common sense course I ever took! 💖
My final project for CT-399 revolves around the significance of “Digital identify and presence”. Reason behind choosing this topic was to advance my comprehension regards to marketing and public relations related strategic planning.
I was told by “future peers” from my upcoming apprenticeship company; to tell a story almost as if I’m presenting to my clients (business owners) and bestow upon them — meaningful knowledge regarding how-to-get their clients (owner’s potential clients). This is because as a business and financial specialist (my career goal), we have to be great at advertising ourselves — through offering simple and cost effective marketing strategies in an effort to strive their business.
I decided to focus on real estate, primarily because of its rise in NYC — while this segment took a massive hit during the pandemic; NYC will recover again and so will the real estate business. New York Life has over 11k agents nationwide; each specialized in their own field of interest — real estate is no exception.
I will likely perform a wide range of duties during my apprenticeship program — from working with advisors who specialize in business administration, to property management, and providing various insurance packages for those who are interested in securing their business; instead of risking.
My research initially discusses the rise of Chinese real state in the United States, before diving deep into marketing strategies. However, it’s crucial to note that this project serves as a Wikipedia for Advertisements — therefore, it’s going to apply to all other projects my CT peers may have (since they all have to learn basic marketing anyway; for their own business).
Finally, for my CT-401 Final course; this marketing wiki will serve as a guide to help me advertise for my very own photography business — name will be revealed during CT-401 Prologue. As mentioned in my previous “final update blog” —I will focus on basic marketing as a way to broaden my comprehension, since it’s something I’ll be depending on for my own photography project (planned project for CT401). While this initial project only serves as the “wiki” for various advertising platforms — future CT401 project will dive much deeper as to “how the marketing was executed (setting up online platforms, method/pricing), and whether this helped me gain clients or not”.
For now, let’s just narrow down our focus on the various types of marketing platforms available to us for advertising and “how they function”.
I sincerely hope you will find this project insightful…
In this modern age of IoT (Internet of Things) while our digital footprint is the most vulnerable thing, our digital presence which leaves those trails — are equally just as important for competence and survival.
Let’s be honest, nowadays you can’t just start a company and expect your business to sustain the stiff competition — just by remaining “local” (unless you selling eggs & milk). Even if it’s just a job we’re interested in, applications and interview process (after COVID) are more than ever; being conducted digitally. Therefore, it only makes sense for us to stay on top with our digital portfolio — like creating a LinkedIn profile (unless you successful like prof. Smith — then screw LinkedIn).
This is where understanding not only what employers seek, but also what their clients need from the company you’re interested in becomes extremely crucial — to increase your chances of getting that one job you’ve been eyeing like it’s your crush or something (we’re all weird sometimes). This very push toward standardization of our online profile has created a new form of competition — how impressive does our first impression need to be; sadly there’s no limit. Today what separates the men from the boys is our attention grabbing profile, which I didn’t have btw — so she rejected my ass based on “low IG followers”. However, enough is enough as Syed makes the same mistake only twice.
I may walk away from a girl’s rejection — NOT a job which will make me $ (unlike her). Which is why after breaking down what a “future peer” has chosen to present, I will define what I have to present; Great Marketing!
My peers are LinkedIn freaks, likely a consequence of them being “Licensed Professionals” is the field of Business and Finance. Therefore, I was looking through their LinkedIn profile and found some seriously no-nonsense cover letter, backed by an insane amount of enforcement.
Here’s some examples:
To be successful in this field what I learned is that, I have to be like them (impressive amount of LinkedIn followers and endorsement). This is something I’ll work on after starting my apprenticeship next year, where they’ll be training me on how to get businesses to look at you. It’s high likely, that I’ll also receive many endorsements from my peers and supervisors — honestly can’t wait to amplify my own portfolio. This week’s lecture was very insightful to me because of how you pushed us to look deeper into our future self. Hence, my final will focus on basic marketing as a way to broaden my comprehension — something I’ll be depending on for my own photography project (planned project for CT401). While this initial project only serves as the “wiki” for various advertising platforms — future CT401 project will dive much deeper as to “how the marketing was executed (setting up online platforms, method/pricing), and whether this helped me gain clients or not”.
Thankful to have you prof. Smith, Happy Thanksgiving!
In this week’s conference we discussed the significance of Inquisition through Emails. Without a doubt, the best way to secure your place in a company is by making connections to employees who ALREADY work there — while the most convenient way to reach those “future peers” is via email.
Our discussion was regarding the crucial steps needed to make a positive first impression, after all — you DON’T get a second chance to make a first impression. However, considering I am already well ahead of the general purpose served by CT 399 — my version of inquiry shared with the class was just a test. This is primarily due to the fact that I had ALREADY reached my desired company last semester and plan to begin my apprenticeship next year.
But still, for your reference I’ve shared my version below:
Greetings Mr. Cleare,
I hope this email finds you well. My name is Sifat Syed, I am in my final year studying Behavioral Science and Communications Technology — concentrated in Marketing, Public Relations, and Human Resources at CUNY-York. I was excited to learn about you and your work while looking for apprenticeship opportunities here in New York. You have “Clearely” had success in the field and I wonder if I could connect with you for an in person informational interview or a quick phone call.
At York, in addition to my studies, I’ve had the opportunity to work on multiple internships; from Real Estate Corp as a Business Administrator, to Education Institutions as Project Management — all under the supervision of highly qualified mentors just like yourself. As I finish my studies at York, I am eager to begin making connections with other people in the field (like yourself!) and, ideally, to find an apprenticeship. If you have a moment, I would be extremely happy and thankful to come to you, or call you at a time that is convenient for you.
One Company that suits my objective is the following:
– New York Life – 51 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010 – 1-800-225-5695
A list of activities and the roles that I can define and believe likely exists in that workplace:
A new job brings new opportunities and new adventures. But, let’s be honest. We also want that new job to bring new financial perks as well, like increased salary and benefits.
Wouldn’t it be great if your new job also brought you more control over how much you make?
As a New York Life financial specialist, the hard work you put in is rewarded. You decide how much to put in and how much you get because your commission-based income depends on how much you sell. With that kind of direct control, the possibilities are endless. To give you a peek into what is possible, the average financial specialist in 2019 made over $75,000. And, of course, NYL also offers competitive health and retirement benefits.
To become a business/financial specialist is the next step in my career. Here’s why:
– Personal and professional fulfillment: every day brings a new opportunity to make the most of everything I bring to the table to help others.
– The ability to shape and grow my own practice with training and backing from a Fortune 100 company: I can decide how I build my practice and which field or market I want to focus on.
– Income that reflects the work I do (again): what I put in is what I get out in a job where hard work is rewarded.
– A job that helps other people: knowing that I’ve helped someone prepare them self or their business for the future, will be one of the best parts of my life as a business/financial specialist.
Often it’s not just the ‘work’ itself; rather the value in presenting the process, the passion behind its construction, and finally, the intellect acquired while performing the research required — in order to complete a final project.
For my final project/proposal l’ve decided to create a PowerPoint presentation regarding three of the most powerful marketing platforms available to IoT (Internet of Things), in order to execute my “digital presence”. This project will be extremely crucial by helping me stand out from the crowd as an upcoming Business and Financial Specialist. My future company ‘NYLife” is a Fortune 100 Business/Financial Corporate — seeking “self-starters” who are capable of taking NYLife’s vision of providing essential services to the next level; reaching people of our community and guiding them to advance their business.
After all, NYLife also has a “big goal” as the third-largest life insurance company and the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States — ranked #71 on the 2019 Fortune 100 list of the largest United States Corporations by total revenue, with over $593 billion in total assets under management, and $30 billion in asset valuation reserve (AVR).
This is our Company’s prime objective:
My project is merely a cherry on top, serving as the prologue of my comprehension regarding tools I’ll utilize in the forseeable future — in order to execute and expand my marketing, alongside advancing NYLife’s Digital Presence.
In this week’s discussion we went over the significance of finding someone who we’d consider to be our future peer — someone who’s current “power-level” represents our future (supposedly). Basically, we’re were tasked to lookup people we see ourselves working with in the future; my boss and his coworkers in my case.
Being that I’m planning on having my last apprenticeship program @NYLife — a Business and Financial Advising Corporation, the big goal this time is to start analyzing how they (future peers) present themselves or their work (bio, project, resume) to the world and gain comprehension of their style.
Although we were asked to look in multiple places including various social media platforms, I decided to stick with LinkedIn because almost all of my preferred future peers (Licensed Business & Financial Advisors) are too damn professional for anything other than LinkedIn. Therefore, ‘professional’ Instagram is where I went fishing. In the end what I found didn’t surprise me at all, since I was ALREADY on top in this regard — with my own resume and LinkedIn profile set-up specifically for those like-minded “professionals”.
What I found was something very simple and straightforward — no nonsense bio like the one below:
And for your reference, here’s what my cover reads (already APPROVED by the Career Services Department of YORK):
“Provide support & promote progress in HR/IT services. Ensure that the client/employee experience is positive & seamless throughout their timeline with your corporation; by providing front-line services to clients & employees in the areas of HR, benefits, payroll, public relations, marketing, stock & IT — integrated with over 5 years in CRM & HR/IT Administration.”
Yes, I’ve been interning for multiple companies over the last FIVE years. Not to mention, ALREADY COMPLETED internship for credit at CUNY-QCC while pursuing my associates of IIT (Internet and Information Technology).
A piece of work which really stood out to me is the video my future supervisor recorded for his apprentice, linked below:
http://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/p2j1dnpldc
Isn’t he the most awesome boss, like ever? And look at that awesome smile, not so serious at all is it? Considering the fact that, he’s been busy managing 60+ MILLION DOLLAR worth of businesses over the last decade. Now that’s one future peer I’d like to become… 1Day!
My actual “big goal” has changed over the last couple of years. Initially I wanted to become an IT consultant — focused primarily on hardware and software related matter. Work for any tech firm and provide support to clients, while also (if possible) get more hands-on experience as a network specialist. However, as we all know — internships are extremely crucial in order to gain real-world experience. Unfortunately, that didn’t really go according to plan as internships in the tech field is like a wasteland (in NY at least). The most helpful tech-internship I ever got was as CUNY-QCC’s lab tech support. This is where I was in charge of installing networking equipments such as routers, switches, and creating Ethernet cables, to installation and calibration of Oscilloscopes.
After successfully completing the internship program and graduating from QCC with associates, my internship came to an end. I was looking for more internships outside of CUNY (as professor Smith suggested) for about a year before even taking CT 399, but to no avail. Hence, my switch to now more Business Administrative roles is the future. Pretty much every successful apprenticeship I’ve had was in the field of management, including the upcoming Business and Financial Specialist role at a Fortune 100 company.
I don’t find this to be surprising anymore, considering the fact that NYC (I reside within Uptown Manhattan) is the pinnacle of Business Administration among Banks, Insurance, and Stock Companies. Therefore, my projects are based on human resource management, marketing, and public relations — widely regarded as; the three pillars of business administration. For this course, I’ll only focus on marketing for now — until I begin my apprenticeship program next year. Extensive research and development regarding marketing will serve as one of the “small tasks” leading toward “big goals”.
This week’s discussion helped me realize some of the smaller steps I’ll be taking to achieve my biggest goal, through all the research I had done and feedbacks I received from classmates and prof. Smith. Thank you for your support professor Smith, Jahi & AnnaBanana!
Greetings, I hope you’re doing well and thank you for taking the time to read.
Two of the most meaningful courses I’ve taken at York which I’ll remember throughout my life are: CT 101 (taught by ‘Maestro de GIPHY’ — Ryan Seslow) and Web Design II (taught by Prof. Michael Smith).
The reasons behind both of these courses standing out so much compared to any other I’ve taken @York or CUNY in general are; the professors themselves — grounded on their excellent ways of teaching, WITHOUT stressing students.
Both of these courses were required, prominently due to CT 101 being the foundation of “creativity” — as it’s supposed to teach you how to think creatively; starting with fun Gifs. Because let’s be honest, if you can’t create Gifs — you’re screwed. Where Web Design II is the primary foundation of serious design work — utilizing html, CSS, Sass, node-JS being the crucial elements. They both shined in that I learned to be creative and started creating things, which I will be depending on for life. I’ll use my photography website from Design II to showcase pictures I’ve taken, while use gifs frequently to make friends laugh. I’m thankful to have ended up with both of these courses and no complaints about the professors — perfect just the way they are; don’t fix if it ain’t broken. My expectation was simply to learn, and I did learn a lot more than ever imagined.
My professors expectations was for me to create gifs (Prof. Seslow), and create a website for myself to use in the future (Prof. Smith). The syllabus was extremely straightforward and following the requirements was easy. I struggled the most with Web Design II — primarily due to my ASD brain; not being good at logical operation (calculation, coding, math). Prof. Smith still made it fairly easy, and I actually learned far more than I ever had from any other coding class (including my previous college, QCC).
As for my final website from Design II, the domain expired so… 🙁 very sorry.
Prof. Seslow is deaf, yet he does a better job listening and being more lively than any other professor — beating out the already ultra-awesome Prof. Smith. While we may have lost Prof. Smith’s long and cool hair, he’s still awesome as always and has been there for me everytime I needed him. Therefore, I’m thankful!
The worst class I took; Writ 303 with a professor I’m not interested in naming. Gonna keep it short; not in the mood as I never fail. This is the first time I’m walking away from a class with an <{F}> and letting my 3.5 gpa take a dump. It is required according to advisor BUT could’ve been AVOIDED if Prof. Smith advised me. I reject not waiting for his response (pandemic caused him to delay his response to my emails).
Here’s how it went, Writ 303 started with 23 students from what I remember; now left with only 7 students (including myself). The rest quit, due to the immense pressure put by the professor on what should’ve been an INTRO to writing. I’m taking Sociology 390 (independent field research) the most bad ass writing course at York college. This class is flat-out masters thesis level research NOT required, still I’m taking it because I love writing. I’m happy to report that I’ll do great!
If I managed to get an <{A}> from Speech 350, then I’m no slouch. Still I gave up because not doing it was hurting every other class (including CT 399). The professor literally spent more than half the semester making us do bullshit work worth only 30 or so percent of my final grade, leaving me to FINALLY start my 8-10 research paper (worth everything else) in mid-November. Like wtf was he thinking — 3 drafts within 1 month (wtf), would be fine if he wasn’t nitpicking the effing sh!* of everyone’s work. But he does so much that it became clear; take an <{F}> and focus on your other great professors — by giving them the best of myself as a student. It’s not Writ 303, it’s just that unreasonable professor who killed it.
Professors should focus on Quality over Quantity, why even bother to offer a course where more than half the students will just dropout?
As for the values of the community that the college exists in, here’s some reviews from students who took Writ 303:
(courtesy of Rate My Professor)
Thank you and have a wonderful day.
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