Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, February 9, 1999
Scott Raymond, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, talks online with fellow Semester Online winners. Raymond, along with two contestants, spoke live online Sunday night. Photo by Tara Bradley/KANSAN
KU sophomore enjoying new fame on the Web
By Jennifer Roush
Kansan staff writer
Scott Raymond's semester of cyber-fame started Sunday night.
Raymond, Belton, Mo., sophomore, is one of three winners of the Semester Online contest sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co. Last semester, he won a $500-per-week allowance to buy all of his necessities via the Internet this semester.
Raymond also won the opportunity to tell people on the World Wide Web what he has bought with his weekly allowance.
The first of the contest's live weekly Webcasts was broadcast at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Raymond and the other two winners, women studying at California State University-Chico and the University of Pennsylvania, logged on to Levi's site, turned on digital cameras the company had supplied and chatted with people from around the globe.
He said that Web surfers asked him how he found out about the contest, how he won and what he did for fun.
"It was mostly a getting-to-know you kind of thing." Raymond said. "I think that the next episodes will have themes for us to talk about." Raymond said that he wasn't having much trouble finding things on the Internet.
"I found out that you can order Papa John's online," Raymond said.
Although he said that it was possible to order pizza on the Internet, he hadn't been buying much food because he had a residence hall meal plan.
"This week I've mostly bought toys," he said. "I bought a mini-disc player, two CDs and a new hard drive. I found out while I was surfing that my hard drive was full, so I figured I better get a new one."
The residence assistants at Templin Hall gave him an award last year, after the winners of the contest were announced.
Raymond said that he was enjoy ing his newfound celebrity.
"When the people in my hall found out that I had won, they gave me the 'Everybody's New Best Friend' award," he said.
"It's not something that many people get the opportunity to do," said Jonathan Williams, Manhattan, Kan., sophomore.
Raymond's friends said they thought the possibility of winning the contest was exciting.
Williams said that he hadn't seen much change in Raymond's behavior, or the way people were treating him.
"If Scott wants to give me free stuff, I won't object." Williams said. "But he's not obligated to do that."
Kansas may stay in standard time
By Katrina Hull
Special to the Kansan
A proposed Kansas House bill could make the sun rise earlier in the Sunflower state by abolishing daylight-saving time.
State Rep. Dale Swenson, R-Wichita, has drafted a bill that would free Kansans from resetting their clocks in April and allow the state to remain on standard time year round.
"The reasons vary." Swenson said. "Teachers claim students are tired and less motivated after the time change. Some people are sick of resetting their clocks each year, while others want to enjoy the evening shade earlier."
The idea to extend daylight hours with daylight-saving time originated from a 1784 essay by Benjamin Franklin and was first implemented in the United States during World War I to conserve energy.
In 1966, the Uniform Time Act established consistent use of daylight-saving time within each U.S. time zone.
Arizona, Hawaii and parts of Indiana, through acts of their state legislatures, remain in standard time year round. Swenson said the proposal to add Kansas to this list was not scheduled for a committee hearing yet because he wanted to find out if there was statewide support.
Supporters of a national movement for year-round standard time claimed that the biannual clock
modification was detrimental to health and safety, and a nuisance.
David Holmes, KU professor of psychology, said daylight-saving time had minimal psychological impact.
"What triggers sleep and wakefulness is an internal clock located in the brain, and it is started by exposure to bright light." Holmes said. "So changing the time could conceivably have some effect."
Since daylight comes an hour later in April during daylight-saving time, it could make it harder to get motivated in the morning, Holmes said. But this would not be a major disruption because the internal clock resets itself in about a day.
Holmes said the loss of sleep that Swenson's bill would prevent was not that significant.
Andrew LeRoy, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, said the biggest problem he foresaw would be confusion between Johnson County and Jackson County, Mo., businesses, not to mention the overall inconvenience for people who live close to the state lines.
"I live five blocks away from the Missouri-Kansas border," he said. "I would have to change my watch every time I went to my friends."
Swenson said he had thought of possible problems regarding Kansas City, but he didn't want to be presumptuous. Counties such as Johnson and Wyandotte, which border Missouri, could be exempted from any law change.
DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME
- Seventy countries take advantage of energy conservation through daylight-saving time.
Since 1966, clocks have been set forward one hour at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April and set back one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said that each day of daylight-saving time conserves 1 percent of the nation's energy.
- There is a worldwide Internet petition for year-round, daylight-saving time, as well as Web sites at www.daylightsaving.com to air gripe about resetting clocks.
THE JOB INTERVIEW shocking truths that can help you nail your dream job
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Let's face it. Nobody looks forward to job interviews. A total stranger stares you down for an hour while you sit there uncomfortably in your pantyhose, trying to sound super-intelligent while also remembering to keep your legs crossed correctly. While you prefer to avoid thinking about the whole thing, and just get through it when the time comes - Don't! Here are a few "insider" insights about the whole process that may shock you, but can help you better connect with your interviewer and distinguish yourself from the competition.
RESUMES ARE OBSOLETE
Well, they're not really obsolete, but they are only one piece of the job puzzle. "Most people spend much more time on their
the job puzzle. "Most people resume than they do preparing for each interview. That's a huge mistake." says Bruce Tulgan, the author of Work this Way, a book about how to thrive in your first few jobs. "People can easily lie on resumes.The interview is much more important, which is why recruiters spend so much time doing them - and why you should spend time getting ready."
What to do:
a team sport that you play. Make it clear that you will be just as hungry and passionate about the job for which you are interviewing.
- Think about all the time you will spend on your job search; then, carve out a chunk of those hours to prep for your interviews.
What to do:
3. GOOD QUESTIONS, NOT GOOD ANSWERS CAN CLOSE THE DEAL
WORK EXPERIENCE NOT REQUIRED
Most people spend time preparing answers that will showcase their intelligence, savvy and interest in a company. This is important. But preparing some thoughtful, well-researched questions can accomplish the same thing - and often with greater impact! When the interviewer gets around to "Any questions?" (and he or she will), that's your chance to strut any stuff that you haven't been asked about during the course of the interview. What you
- Instead of just describing your past summer jobs, focus on stories that showcase your energy and passion for the activities you really care about. Or, talk about how your leadership has made a difference. While your examples may be summer jobs, they may also be a concert you organized, a paper or project for a favorite class, or
Okay, so you may not have a ton of real work experience. But that's not what recruiters are really looking for when they are hiring new college grads. Believe it or not, the very fact that you are young can be worth a lot to many companies. They're in search of a 22-year-old's energy and fresh perspective. You may have a whole new way of looking at things, and that's invaluable to most companies."Frankly, experience is not very important to us." says Tom Scott, co-founder of Nantucket Nectars, a booming small beverage company with current annual sales over $50 million. "We can teach you to do the things you need to do here. What we're looking for is hunger." As Scott suggests, entry-level job interviews are not designed to weigh your experience, they're supposed to measure your smarts, enthusiasm, personality and passion.
What to Do:
stand out you need to arm yourself with current and substantive information about the company and industry. Thanks to today's technology, this does not have to be a daunting or time consuming proposition. You can learn a lot with minimal effort and make a great impact because most other undergrad candidates won't take the extra step.
The Secret Success Series
- Call and ask for a company's sales materials to see how they talk to their customers.
- Read the newspaper! See what's happening in the world that might be relevant to the respective company or industry.
brings you information designed to help you achieve your personal and career goals. Watch for the rest of this series in future issues of your school newspaper.
YOU CAN KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT A COMPANY
What to Do:
- Stay away from obvious questions (i.e.; the ones answered in the company literature). Instead, find out what your interviewer thinks about a relevant company or industry issue. Or, ask about a specific part of the job that is of particular interest to you.
reveal in a well-thought-out question might even nail you the job. Jodi Kantor, a New York City college grad, used this strategy to beat out heavy competition for a job as political aide to the Mayor. When she interviewed for the position she wanted to highlight her passion for and understanding of the job. She called on her own experience with New York's parking ticket and birth certificate bureaucracy to make her point." I made sure to ask specific questions about whether I could work on customer service projects that would fix problems similar to the ones I had faced as a city resident." she says. Turns out that the Mayor was launching some big service initiatives in that area. Kantor's interviewer was so impressed with her genuine interest in the city's problems that he hired her and put her on the team to help solve them.
Many people look at prepping for an interview like studying for an exam. They read all the obvious material to make sure they know "who, what and where". This is a great start, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. Reading a company's recruiting brochure and spitting it back in the interview won't impress anyone. To really
Use on-line info like company or news web sites. Sites like www.wetfeetpress.com and www.vaultreports.com carry great company and industry profiles for sale.
- Utilize free news information resources at your school library like Lexis/Nexis or the Bloomberg News Service.
5. FUN, NOT FACTS MAY MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Probably the most important piece of information a recruiter will want to know but will never ask directly is "What is this person like to be around?"A good recruiter knows you will be working some long hours in a closed room with other people. You better believe that a key question on his or her checklist is "Do I want to work with this person? Would my colleagues want to work with this person' Let's face it, many people will have the same skills as you, but not everyone can package those skills with your personality. You want the recruiter to walk away wanting to work with you!
What to Do:
- Make sure pieces of YOU come out in the interview! Be confident about yourself,and communicate with energy
to laugh when appropriate or talk about a personal issue to make a relevant point.
"Strong Enough for a Man. But Made for a Woman."