University Tips (Phase Two)

Posted on by Marc Minicucci

As my University journey comes to an end, I begun to reflect back on the things I did right and the things I could have done better. In order to convey my findings, I took an approach similar to a fitness workout. For that reason, I have categorized my tips into three phases: Before Class, In-Class, and After Class. The transition from high school is not easy. With that in mind, here are the things I wish someone told me:

Phase Two: In-Class

Friends

When you’re in class, it is important to learn. However, it is equally important to make friends, long lasting friends. These friends have the same goal as you. Rather than viewing them as competition for future jobs, think of them as a network. As you go deeper into your undergrad, you will begin to see familiar faces in all of your classes. You should be able to pin point, which students are the ones who do well in the class. Those are the people you want to be friends with. Surround yourself with people who are doing well because their successful mindset and knowledge will rub off on you. Furthermore, this network of friends will translate into direct benefits to your grades in the following three ways:

 

1. Group Assignments: Your undergrad will be full of group assignments. There is nothing worse than having a terrible group. Use your network of top tier friends to build a reliable group that can earn an ‘A’ for that heavy weighted group assignment. A good performance here will also help alleviate some of the pressure from a heavy weighted exam.

 

2. Exams: Mid terms and exams are difficult. There is a ton of information that is covered throughout the semester and who knows what material will show up. Usually the textbook questions are not enough to do well on an examination. This is where your network of friends comes into play. When you all come together, it is likely at least one or two of you have access to past exams. Studying from past exams will get you familiar with what types of questions you can expect and how they should be answered. I would argue having access to past exams could raise your performance by a full letter grade.

 

3. Texting: There are going to be nights you are sitting on the couch watching TV when you know you should be studying. Your phone will buzz with a text notification from a classmate, asking what you got for #9. Your books weren’t open but I bet they will be after that. You will feel guilty for sitting on the couch while your friends are working hard. This will not only develop some healthy competition but, it will get you talking about the material out loud –a great learning technique.

University Tips (Phase One)

Posted on by Marc Minicucci

As my University journey comes to an end, I begun to reflect back on the things I did right and the things I could have done better. In order to convey my findings, I took an approach similar to a fitness workout. For that reason, I have categorized my tips into three phases: Before Class, In-Class, and After Class. The transition from high school is not easy. With that in mind, here are the things I wish someone told me:

Phase One: Before Class

Schedule

You hear rumors about the coveted Fridays off, but let me tell you something that should take precedence when building your schedule. How many consecutive hours can you learn for? In my first year, I really wanted Fridays off, so I squeezed nine hours (3 lectures) into one day over a twelve-hour span. This was a huge mistake. Including commute time, I was approaching close to fifteen hours out of the house that day. Physically you’re exhausted, mentally you’re drained, and lastly you’re starving because there’s no way you packed that many meals. With a schedule like that, I wasn’t learning or focused much. Most days I was tempted to leave early –sometimes I did.

It doesn’t make sense to put yourself in a situation where you can’t focus. Let me also remind you that you are paying thousands of dollars for these lectures. What I found best is to space out your schedule to preferably, one (3 hour) lecture per day. Keeping in mind transportation and parking costs for each visit to campus, my maximum recommendation would be two lectures with no spaces in between for a total of six hours in one school day.

Note: classes end earlier enough for you to make it to your next class on time. Bring snacks to refuel.

Readings

Your professor will most likely tell you to do the readings before class. No one will listen because it seems like too much work and you would rather do it later. However, all it takes is a quick skim of the slides or the assigned chapter for thirty minutes. The lecture can be overwhelming with a combination of a fast pace and information overload. I tested this theory and you really do get more out of the lecture if you do the reading prior to class. This technique is particularly useful in your third and fourth year courses, but start earlier so you develop the good habit.

Taking things a step further, I challenge you to self impose at least one form of participation each lecture. Asking a question, answering a question, serving as a volunteer, and/or making a comment could achieve this. The point of this is to get you more familiar with the material being covered. It also forces you to do the readings before class so you have something smart to say. Overall this will help you maximize your learning and it will help the professor remember you –which is always a positive.

Preparation is key. It was only when I implemented these strategies was when I began to see results.

Life Is A Series Of Tradeoffs

Posted on by Marc Minicucci

In the accounting world, financial statement users argue about measuring items at historical cost versus fair value. One option offers better reliability of numbers for investors while the other offers more relevance. Which one do you value more?

I won’t bore you with more accounting talk, but we can see a tradeoff happening. You have to pick one, because you can’t have both. More importantly, each user has objective(s). Life is no different. You will be faced with a series of tradeoffs and you will have to decide each time, which option meets your objective.

Here are two examples of tradeoff scenarios that you may face after you graduate high school:

1) Do you want to be the person who goes out to party every weekend versus the person who stays in for four years to complete their university degree with honours?

University is like having a full time job; you actually need to dedicate 40 hours a week in order to be successful at it. You need a consistent work ethic all semester not flashes of effort. The uphill battle after a poor mid term performance is too overwhelming, even with a positive attitude. You also need adequate rest to be mentally prepared and alert. My parents told me growing up there are two kinds of people after high school: those that party every weekend and those that have well paying careers. They were right. This is a trade off between short-term entertainment and popularity versus good grades and a long-term prosperous career path.

Side note: At one point in my life, I did try to be superman by attempting to achieve both. I quickly discovered that it is not attainable.

2) Do you want to be the person who always has the newest/hottest things versus the person who lives a less flashy life but buys their own house?

I’m not saying everyone’s objective should be to buy his or her first house at a young age. Perhaps your decision is dependent on whether you are in a committed relationship or your age. Or maybe you simply prefer designer clothes or expensive cars. Those are things to consider when establishing your objective. The point here is the trade off. If you’re buying the latest iPhone and designer clothes, there’s a good chance you aren’t putting money aside for a house. Maybe when you see one of your high school friends’ purchase their first house at 23 on Facebook, you will realize that the $500 belt you recently purchased wasn’t the smartest decision.

Side note: The average house in our area sells for $600,000. Lets pick a modest low-end home for $300,000. A conservative 20% down payment would come to $60,000.

Conclusion

It is important to note that your objectives do change throughout life with experiences, events, and encounters. Obviously, we do not expect a 16 year old to have the same objectives as a 22 year old. Nonetheless, it is vital to constantly re-evaluate your objectives so you can make an optimal decision that pushes you further towards a successful life when faced with a tradeoff.

Five Reasons Why You Should Have A Sales Job While In University

Posted on by Marc Minicucci

1. Time

The most valuable asset during your undergrad is TIME. The more hours you work at your part time job, the less time you have to study. At a sales job, you can earn base pay AND commission. Once you’ve passed the learning curve, you probably earn the same if not more pay working 15-20 hours a week than your friends working 30-40hours at a regular part time job. This means your bills get paid and you have more time to study!

 

2. Money

As mentioned in reason number one, you earn above average pay compared to your typical part time job. This is both a gift and curse. The gift is more freedom to pay your bills and possibly even a self-awarded treat. The curse is also the money. I’ve seen it many times, were employees jump from part time status to full time status because they enjoy the pay cheque so much. As a result, school gets put on the back burner.

 

3. Confidence

At a sales job, you acquire intangible soft skills. Since you are forced to interact with tons of people on a weekly basis, you develop confidence speaking in public. The cool part about this is that you can grow your network. Depending on the company your work for, you will meet many clients that have a lot of money. I recommend you get to know these clients well and provide them with exceptional service. I’ve seen it many times where the client offers the sales consultant a job opportunity. Furthermore, this new found confidence will pay dividends during the recruitment process in your final year of University.

 

4. Ability To Read

I am not referring to reading a book. Instead, I am referring to reading people. You can differentiate between what a client needs and what they want. You can also detect whether they are going to buy today or if they are just browsing. This will come in handy when it’s been a long day and you are trying to decide if you are going to attempt a sales pitch or not. It also comes in handy when the store is overwhelmed with people and you need decide which client(s) you should spend the most time with.

 

5. Ethics

You may not realize it but you are faced with many ethical dilemmas at a sales job. Sales can be cut throat, so are you going to be the co-worker that always steals sales? In addition, once trust is established between the client and the sales consultant, are you going to sell them something they don’t need just so you can earn a quick commission? Having strong ethics will lead to a prosperous career later in life. Never sacrifice your ethics for a short term gain.

 

In conclusion, I am a strong believer in acquiring a sales job while completing your undergrad. It has made me grow as a person to develop intangible soft skills that employers look for in potential grad candidates.

About Me

Posted on by Marc Minicucci

My name is Marc Minicucci and welcome to my lifestyle blog. In 2015 I graduated from York University, earning an honours degree in Accounting. The next step in my career is to pursue the Chartered Professional Accountant designation. In September 2015, I will begin working at an approved training office and challenging the professional exams.

My journey has not been a straight line. I have experienced many failures along the way and will probably experience more since I’m still young. It is important for us to embrace failure since it allows us to grow into better persons. My objective for this blog is to shed light on some of the struggles and successes I’ve had while transitioning from University to the Real World.

Examples of blogs I may write could be effective job searching, University tips, how to deal with failure, networking tips, and the importance of picking the right friends. The two most important things to me in life are my family and my career.

All views are my own and not my employer. I hope to provide useful information and to inspire!