Life Outside of MCOM

Believe it or not, I actually have interests and hobbies outside of school. I love to be active and be outdoors. I love board sports like skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding. A few weeks ago, I was blessed to skateboard on my friends ramp in San Clemente, CA. Here is a video of my having a great time.

Remote Meeting!

This post did not make it to my blog in the right order, but I would still like to share my experience conducting a remote meeting with my group. My MCOM group, Team Crossroads, met using Google Hangout to discuss our "Complaints Project." I loved how Google Hangout allowed us to see everyone and adjust size and focus of each person. It also allowed us to chat using keyboards throughout the meeting. Our meeting was very effective and we were to able to plan our project as if we had been together in a study room. Technology is amazing!

Final Projects

For our final projects in MCOM, we were assigned a case study for a company called Laser Technologies. Without give away too much of the case, we were to assign bonuses based our analysis of employee performance. It was a good challenge to do the analysis and create a memo and email to communicate our results to teammates within the company. I felt like I had all the skills to complete the project well. Thanks MCOM. Also the semester is almost over!

Personal Websites For Business Purposes

As I mentioned in my previous post, my topic for my personal presentation was "Personal Websites for Business Purposes." I really enjoyed researching and presenting the topic. I learned that a personal website helps applicants stand out to employers. It also offers a great way to display important things like pictures, portfolios, and writing examples. It is however vital that all of these things are relevant your chosen career.

My personal friend and genius computer David Lasher has a great personal website for business purposes. Go check it out at Davidlasher.me! Get inspired!

Individual Presentations

This week in MCOM, we delivered personal presentations. My assigned topic was "Personal Websites for Professional Purposes." I really enjoyed researching the topic and preparing my presentation. We were lucky enough to present our presentation four times to different audiences. After each session, we received valuable feedback. Each time, I felt that I was able to improve and my last presentation was undoubtedly my best. Thanks MCOM!

Professional Networking Event - Extra Credit Post

     At the end of March, I was lucky enough to attend a networking event and workshop sponsored by Mountain West Capital Network.  Mountain West Capital Network is Utah's largest finance and business association.
    The keynote speak for the event was Jeff Kearl.  Jeff Kearl has had an incredible career in entrepreneurship. He helped found an e-commerce company called Logoworks, which sold to HP in 2007. He then served as Executive Chairman of Skullcandy Inc. His most recent project is a consumer goods company called Stance. His keynote address about entrepreneurship was inspiring and taught me practical steps to start my own business.  The event as whole was a huge success and totally worth attending. I was able to meet interesting new people and expand my personal network.  I will continue to seek out great networking events!

Business Article

This week was an especially useful week of MCom. On Tuesday, our business article assignment was due. I chose to write my article on social media internet companies and why they receive such high valuations. I focused my piece on companies like SnapChat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. I chose this topic because it generally interests me.  Naturally, researching and writing the paper was a truly enjoyable experience. I am curious to hear experiences from other members of the class.    

Snapchat declined an acquisition offer of $4 billion.

Extensive Research

Our last class session was spent in the depths of the HBLL learning about all of the plethora of research resources available through BYU. There are so many incredible options available to students! One of my favorite sources is called IBISworld. IBISworld provides users with incredibly in-depth market research reports for just about any industry you can imagine. This information is invaluable for writing reports and completing case studies for my major. I am sure I will continue to use IBISworld throughout my academic and professional career.

Below is a great snapshot of how IBISworld works:

FaceTime Interview

This week in MCom, one of our assignments was to carry out mock interviews with a classmate over Skype or FaceTime. My interview partner Josh and I decided to use FaceTime. Our interviews went very well and I think overall Josh and I did great!
    One important critique that Josh gave me was pointing out that I was playing with my pen throughout the interview. I can only imagine how distracting that was. I think we all have little things we can improve on such as playing with a pen or not making good eye contact. Overall, the FaceTime interview was a great experience and will help me improve my interview skills! Thanks MCom!


Here is a picture of us during our FaceTime interview:

Class Update

Currently in MCom320 we are learning all about resumes, cover letters and job interviews. I think this portion of the class is very interesting and relevant as many members of the class are recruiting for internships and full time positions. Last semester I dedicated a significant amount of my time searching for, preparing for, and interviewing for summer internships in San Francisco. I was forced to learn many of the resume, cover letter, and interviewing skills on my own. After having secured the internship I wanted, I know just how important this skills are. Thanks MCom!

Group Presentation Analysis

Individual
Two things I did well

1- I never said "um," this was something that I paid close attention to so I am proud of myself for avoiding it
2- I had the idea to ask for a volunteer from the class which helped make the presentation more interesting
One thing I can work on
1- I need to work on controlling my hands while I speak. Sometimes I made good gestures towards the board, but mostly I was just fiddling, and it was a distraction.

Group
One thing we did well

1- We were very excited about what we were presenting, we had good energy and kept our information concise.
One thing we can work on
1- We can have better transitions and ensure that our multimedia works before we present. We just need to practice more!