How important is it to unite our current members with alumnae who have contributed so much to WIB? It is so important that Alumnae Relations was established as the 14th committee last year to do this task alone. The committee would host monthly events featuring different alumnae and send out monthly newsletter to update them what current WIB members are working on. The AR committee is spearheaded by Orquidia Rodriguez this year, and she has put a lot of effort into the first Alumnae event of the Spring 2016 semester:
“We did not have much time to perfect the event the way we wanted to. It actually came out better than we expected. The biggest challenge is always having the alumnae come out because of their busy schedule. I would post on our alumnae FaceBook page to announce the event and many would approach me, but it would take time to finalize with the ones who could actually attend. My committee members assist the alumnae with research for our events as a segway for the alumnae to share their knowledge on the topic.”
- Orquidia Rodriguez, VP of Alumnae Relations
The layout of this event split the audience into three groups in respect to the three steps of obtaining the dream job. They were resume writing, interviewing skills, and public speaking. The groups would then move on to the next “step” every thirty minutes. Orquidia and her committee was able to invite 3 alumnae to host these workshops.
Our first alumnae who gave our members tips on resume writing was Cuiyu Wu. She is currently an underwriting associate in Zurich Insurance. She was WIB’s Vice President of Corporate Relations back in 2009. She also hosted our 4th annual Pearls of Wisdom as Executive Vice President in the following year. She shared an article from Forbes called “6 Secrets of Great Resume, Backed By Psychology,” by Jon Youshaei. In addition to the 6 secrets from Forbes, she also stressed how important it is to tailor our resumes to the industries that we are applying to. If she was asked how often she updates her resume, Cuiyu would answer that she modifies her resume each time she submits a new application!
Our members were accompanied by our second alumnae, Tina Hussain, at the mock interview station. Tina is currently a Human Resource coordinator in Pearson Education. She joined WIB in 2010 and proceeded to take the position of Executive Secretary in the year after. She ultimately became Executive President in 2012. Tina used her own personal stories as an interviewee to help members relate on what they should do during an interview. One of her advices was to use hypothetical situations for questions that you may not be able to answer during the interview. For example, you may not have a time where you dealt with multiple responsibilities, but you can explain what you would do in the situation. Your answers should be in a format where you state the problem, give background information on the particular incident, and how you were able to overcome it.
The last station was presented by our third alumnae, Anastasiya Kacher, on public speaking. Anastasiya runs her own beauty business with her partner, called The Beaut Commute. Anastasiya’s first advice to our members was to translate your nervousness into excitement during a speech. She also emphasized the three aspects a person should focus on during public speaking: presentation, posture, and pronunciation. Members would have to give a one minute speech on a topic of their choosing in this station and Anastasiya would give them feedback on the spot. Always be prepared and always practice to improve your public speaking!
As the workshops concluded, all 27 attendees gathered around for a group picture and networking session. The AR committee and our alumnae hoped that this event would facilitate the path of current WIB members to find their dream jobs in the future.