Career Prep 2009 Summer Blog

As a CP Fellow, you have been a given a great deal of feedback, and have gained tools to help you ask for feedback. CP fellows suggest that you continue to seek feedback during the summer to overcome weaknesses. Noel Flores of Wesleyan University sees value in reaching out to others for feedback and suggest that “you can ask other people that you feel are proficient in the area to help you with your weakness.” While Alicia Roebuck of Florida A & M University offers what she would do. “I would reach out to other employees that I work closely with (i.e. managers, cross-functional partners, etc.) to understand my weaknesses. Once I am clear on what I need to work on, I would try to find ways to fix them, and maybe speak to my mentor or MLT coach to determine if that is an appropriate manner of mitigating the problem.” Additionally, Liliana Delgado believes that “you should seek advice on how to improve these weaknesses but focus on the solutions. Make the solutions a habit. Think of situations in which your weaknesses come up and plan how to offset them during such situations.” Finally, Justin Biggs of University of Pennsylvania reminds us not to forget our peers as valuable feedback partners and suggest that you “ask a friend to call you out in an area you may be weak. If your excel skills are weak ask a friend to make you aware of an opportunity to help develop these skills. He/She may let you work with them on a project with him or her, where you'll have the opportunity to learn from someone you are comfortable with. Informal instruction is often very helpful.”