FeelingElephants's Weblog

10 Tiny Things to Make Your Resume Better (from the perspective of a grant-giver)

I reviewed close to 30 resumes and applications for a program of which I am a member (I’m keeping details obscured for the privacy of the applicants). I am currently sitting, waiting for my next interviewee to show up. In reading those resumes, I have developed a list of 10 things I will be doing differently [...]

3 Tips for Interviewing Effectively

For the past few days, I have been interviewing candidates for a program I am in with a grant associated with it. In those few days, I have learned more about effective interviewing than in all my interviews combined. Here is what I’ve learned: Be prepared with: 1) a 10 second pitch which you are passionate [...]

Sometimes Life Demands Haiku

On Tuesday I was sitting in one of my classes and, having used up my self-allotted number of theory fights for that class period, I was bored. Instead of doing my todo list (which has gotten much shorter than last time I posted about it), I wrote haiku all over the professor’s handouts. This is not [...]

Shameless Self-Promotion (but I’m proud of myself!)

A few weeks ago, friends and family caught sight of an article in Carnegie Mellon Today about yours truly’s trip to the Presidential Inauguration last January and authorship of a photo used on the cover of the magazine of the Special Libraries Association. Because Carnegie Mellon Today does not post their old issues until the [...]

Prayers for a Friend

I believe in the power of prayer. I pray to regain my internal balance, and I find that it helps me regulate my complex and occasionally consternating internal life. I also believe in the power of prayer, perhaps even (dare I say so California a word), the power of energy to heal. I believe when a [...]

Opera as Training for Human Rights Advocacy (and at video from last night’s performance!)

I tend to get a certain question–”Opera? How does that fit?”–a lot, particularly when marketing myself to potential employers. I usually explain that singing opera gives me a unique opportunity to get comfortable performing, engage with texts in half a dozen languages, and teaches me about effective management (because if there has ever been an [...]

The Fun Continues (presenting at a Student Internship Fair)

One of the things I really like about the Friedman Fellowship is that it allows my to continue my involvement after my summer internship. Right now, I am eating an ice cream cone at Inside Scoop: a student internship fair where students talk to other students about their summer experiences. Two months on, I am [...]

My Top Three Picks for Summer Interships in Washington DC (as of 1:44pm, October 18, 2009)

I’m writing from the middle of the internship competition season, part I. Because of long security review periods, I have to apply for federal internships (with the Departments of State or Defense, or the Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service) by Early November 2009. NGOs which work closely with the federal government (or are highly competitive) [...]

Sad, but True

I am a little addicted to Reuters’ Oddly Enough. Weird, human error errata, it is usually a source of slightly educational funny stories. Then, sometimes, it is heartbreaking. This short story about the Gaza Zoo’s attempt to delight its children patrons by painting their donkeys like zebras–”using masking tape and women’s hair dye, applied with [...]

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Awesome news. Hat tip to Penelope Trunk for her post. This will reset his relationship with Congress, for a while at least. Cool stuff. Inspirational Quote: “Edward P. Jones said: “If you write a story today, and you get up tomorrow and start another story, all the expertise that you put into the first story doesn’t transfer [...]