Author: Codrin PO

Some guy who writes about what comes to mind, but mostly about epilepsy and his private life.
Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #8: Formatting your CV

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Greg has now finished his studies, had a few jobs and his life is going in (almost) the right direction.

But, before this, when he was younger (he`s now 30), he couldn’t even get a job interview. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the skills or the passion that some jobs entailed. It`s that he had a very ugly CV and he didn’t even bother to apply correctly.

When he saw a posting, he clicked Compose in his email, put down the address, write “Application for…” in the subject field, attached the CV and click “Send”. That`s all he did for a few hundred jobs he applied before he turned 25. READ MORE!

Career counseling · Old blog

Recruitment do`s and don`t`s

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This was supposed to be an article posted in my “Career counseling” series. But, because it is a more personal content, to which every person reacts differently, it is a standalone piece. This article is meant for organizations that recruit themselves, whatever the position is.

In my life, I have been on both sides of the recruitment process. I drafted the ad and job description. I’ve sipped through countless resumes and cover letters. I was mean enough not to reply personally to those who were rejected, but to send an automated response.

I also sent tens of CVs when I was desperate to find a job, sometimes customizing the CV and cover letter to fit the job description perfectly, but sometimes just sending the standard one with just a click of a button. The advices are here.

Academia · Blog · Old blog

How I would teach agricultural economics

Codrin PO

I recently  received an offer to teach agricultural economics at a Chinese university. After getting a little background info about the university and life in those cities, I decided to refuse it. But the interest in teaching agricultural economics is still there, pushing me from the back. So I`ve started thinking how I would teach agricultural economics to students, at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The prerequisites I would ask for a course in Ag Econ would definitely be an Economics course and a communications one. The Economics prerequisite might split into two courses, depending on the university and what curricula they have: Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. I would like the communications one to be split between policy communications and corporate or digital communications. Here are the teaching methods.

Blog · Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #6: the IAU/UNESCO list

Codrin PO

My friend Greg recently applied for a position in an United Nations specialized agency (I won’t give the name). As you remember, Greg has lots of diplomas in his field of expertise, from Bachelor to PhD. He also has several years of experience in the same field. These things would definitely get him a similar job (as the one he applied for) in any international organization, corporation, iNGO or research institute.

But there is a catch (again). After he applied, Greg saw a small paragraph in the job posting under “Additional information”. It said: “Please note that this UN agency will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list”. IAU stands for International Association of Universities. UNESCO, well, you know what it stands for (the culture and education part of the UN). Read more on what the UN asks from you.

Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #5: the illusion

Codrin PO

I read this morning an article on the web about a private college professor with a Master`s degree from an Ivy League university. The professor, let`s say he`s Greg`s brother Hugh, finished his studies magna cum laude and was considered by his colleagues “most likely to succeed“.

Hugh got married to his college sweetheart, had a beautiful baby boy and was as happy as anyone can be.

And then things started going downhill. His wife died in a car accident, leaving him with a baby that was, soon after, diagnosed with a chronic illness. Because of the time spent in the hospital with his baby, he lost his tenure track professor job and was obliged to get a teaching job at a skills and trade college, with only a few courses to teach per year. The job was bringing him around 24,000 euros/year. The house which he bought together with his wife was taken back by the bank and he was left only with 3,000 euros in debt and 200 euros in his bank account. Continue reading “Career counseling #5: the illusion” →