CV Writing

What is a CV?

A resume/CV is a document that summarizes your work experience, education, skills and achievements for a prospective employer. It is generally required as part of an application and is considered essential information for an employer to determine if a candidate is eligible for an initial interview.

Why is that important?

Your resume is the first opportunity to make a good impression on a potential employer. ... your resume should not be longer than two pages. Make sure that you tailor it to the job you are applying for and include the skills, qualifications, and experiences that are best suited to the job.

Things that Madam Sarasi guided us to include to our CV for create more effective Resume.

Madam Sarasi informed us to create our CV uniquely by applying true details,and what that suits for the job. Don't add any unnecessary details.
Also the format should be very formal and don't mix things up.

Personal Information

The essential personal details to include are your personal picture, full name and contact information .This is usually both your phone number and email address. 

Personal Profile

A statement by ourself that mentioning and summarizing the skills and carrier interests.

Technical Skills and Soft skills

As a software engineering undergraduate, Madam Sarasi told us that it would better if we include what king of programming technologies(Programming languages),technical skills, and other software knowledge  that we are improved.
Also in here, we should include what are the speaking languages that we improved.

Educational Qualifications

List your most recent educational experiences first. Include your qualifications, institutions you studied at, graduation dates and other specializations. Mention any special awards and other educational achievements.

Projects

Brief details about during your academic session, what were the projects that we involved.

Extra curricular activities

Volunteering, Conferences, Extracurricular Activities, Training workshops and conferences- Recent Activities First.

Working Experience 

List your most recent jobs including the title of your position, name and location of organisation, and dates of employment. In point form under each job, give a brief overview of your role, responsibilities and achievements, weaving in the skills required. Internships and volunteer work can also be mentioned here.

References

 It’s always a good idea to include two to three references at the bottom of your resume. A referee can be a former manager or tutor at university – just make sure you ask their permission before listing their name, position, company and contact details. Otherwise, you may wish to write “References available on request

So finally we got  a professional Resume thanks to Madam Sarasi. Always thankful to her to giving us this much of guidance 

Expert? Find yourself

...Alone we can do little; Together we can do more...

On this day, Madam Sarasi divided our class in to four groups for a new activity. So each group was instructed to find 3 specific areas that you are experts yourself. By combining that expertized areas, each group must come up with innovative product idea. 

From the each six members of the each group had an expertized area. So the next challenge was to identify the specific areas to combine to find a proper product idea. So our team came-up with a idea  
for the product as Cricket video game by combining Playing cricket, Painting and Gaming.

Also othe teams came up with 

• Eye glass cover (Handmade things, Riding bikes, Reading)
• Taekwondo video game(Taekwondo, Painting and Gaming)
• Chess video game(Gaming, Playing chess and painting)

These ideas were bit difficult though. Mrs. Sarasi reported an amazing idea presented by seniors. They supplies curry chicken with a motorcycle for book readers. It's a combination of simple expert areas. Unbelievable no ....

She told us that we are experts in how we combine various incredible areas to build a product and how to release a suitable product that is useful in different areas.

This activity helped us to think beyond the box and make new ideas when you com up with team.

And we understood that the way to success for new innovative idea is to concerning everyone's ideas.

Everyone is matter.

Technical Writing - Workshop at WSO2

Technical writing is any written form of writing or writing technical communications used in technical and professional fields, such as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, aerospace, robotics, finance, medicine, consumer electronics, biotechnology, and forestry.

We had a great experience at WSO2 on September 12th. 2nd year Software Engineering students got this opportunity with the arrangement of Madam Sarasi. In the first session we were guided for the technical writing and what is the way of using it and how to use it.To improve the quality of writing, We must consider above most accurate, correct spelling, correct grammar and punctuation and simple language. 

Then the conducting crew arranged a game sessions to drive-out the boringness that we never get during the session, but that improve our interesting to the session. Winners were awarded with some great gifts.

Technical writing is a way of writing that deals with certain specific knowledge and especially in the sector of Information technology. This kind of writing is different from the usual creative writing since it follows very different guidelines and principles. The rules of technical writing are rarely ignored as compared to other types of writing which sometimes fall short of implementing various stipulated guidelines. Technical writing is widely used in media, manuals, dissertations, scientific articles and research and other areas. All these areas have specific rules to observe when writing. It is, therefore, not enough for a writer simply to know the subject but rather should be equipped with the relevant knowledge applied in that specific field. So thankfully to WSO2 and Madam Sarasi, we had the opportunity to get know about technical writing from the experts of one of leading IT company in Srilanka, WSO2

Paper Plane Challenge

We started our first PPD activity in the second semester of the year in a very exciting way because we knew something alway some interesting was happening.

Our PPD Lecturer Madam Sarasi, divided us into 2 groups and each team had 6 Papers and One team had Color Blue and the other team got Yellow.  First, we had three minutes to discuss the task and develop ideas to make it more effective. Then the lecturer marked a distance of 10 feet on the ground. We had to fly our rocket over a distance of 10 feet.

Our team turns blue, while the other group turns yellow. We were asked to make as many paper rockets as possible in 20 minutes.and fly over a borderline.

 This seems to be a very simple task.

 Even we had 8 members in the team. But it was not easy, as we all thought. 

She gave us 10 minutes to think and discuss about any strategy or something that will help us fly all the planes. Then our group built 36 aircraft and the other group 29. Miss Sarasi scored two limits of about 4 feet. Two members of each group came and had to make a maximum number of aircraft to fly over the boundary line. 

Finally, 19 yellow group aircraft and 24 aircraft of our group (blue team) landed safely over the border.

Madam gave us the chance to test before the start of the game. 

This shows that we need to go for a recheck and trial everything to get the best results and catch and handle the problems

This activity was a team effort. But finally able to show the talent individually. This means you have to work in the industry as a team and have to prove your abilities individually. And Time management. Also Team Corporation is highly wanted skill.

Story Writing

Writing isn’t easy, and writing a good story is even harder..

In the last PPD Session , we were guide into a great awesomeness of writing stories  and more importantly, how to write a story that’s good.

We were first divided into 3 groups and sat opposite the class. We are not allowed to see the white board. Each group member must have been on the board and write a word.

Looks like there is no problem. But the word has to agree with another word and make a meaningful story

Its hard to find two people who have the same exact idea of something. Different people have different ideas. 

So, as Software Engineers, we must need to perform as a team in the industry. So Working in a team is a kind of challenge that needs to be done. Because of the same team members may become a conflict  . 

• So we have to respect each other.
•  But sometimes we have to continue our work where others can stop. 
• We could get into an unexpected situation.
•  Here we did not know which other person could write the word on the blackboard. 
• We have to think and write the right word. It is a small challenge in a short time..
• In the industrial world, we do not always have to get new projects done. Sometimes we get half done. We have no chance to know what another person did or how they did it. But we have to finish it.

Good old days

One year at the university,

when I came to the university, everything were new. New friends, new people, new environment , even the climate.

As a software Engineering student

we sat in front of the computer all whole day... We had to...

except sitting in front of computers, 

everything was a challenge

everything in English, but cannot introduce ourselves properly

Personal Progress Development sessions helped me to get over it.

The purpose of PPD activities were generally to promote awareness of our spirit and to strengthen commitment to shared goals and objectives of the team. Properly applied.

There were many group activities, games That helped me to increase my qualities for some level

• Leadership Skills • Giving Feedback • Motivation Skills • Creativity & Innovation • Problem Solving • Working in Teams • Team Leadership• Strategic Thinking ​• Negotiation Skills • Interpersonal Skills

• Communication Skills ​• Time Management • Confidence Building • Decision Making • Personal Impact • Goal Setting • Stress Management • Listening Skills ​• Team Bonding • Trust Building

We had lot of fun, We enjoyed together a lot, we spent out time together, We developed our progress for some level within this year.

PPD Sessions were helped us to enhance our performance through experiential learning. Such programs like OUTBOUND TRAINING PROGRAM IN TRINCO are often also referred to as corporate adventure training and outdoor management development.

PPD sessions provides real experience to us  so its impact on behavioral traits is high. It enhances self confidence, social ability,  team work and leadership. That will help in the productivity in the future, to create a proper employee to the industry

BARTER PUZZLE

 Today's goal is to see which group can complete their puzzle the fastest. However! Some pieces will be mixed around in other group's  puzzles. It's up to the team to come up with a way to get those pieces back — either through negotiating, trading.

Three teams were trying to solve the puzzle. A magazine paper cut in to  hundred pieces, and few of each teams puzzle pieces were mixed with other teams. We had to build up the puzzle back within given time. Also we had to get our missing puzzle pieces by negotiating with the other teams

We tried to complete as much as possible and then we identified what pieces that matching to our puzzle. Then we tried to exchange them with the our pieces with other teams. we couldn't complete at the time but we learned, 

• how to deal with others in a competition, 
• how to manage time
• manage team members
• and had lot of fun.

Stand together-Become a proper team builder

LAVA RIVER

Wanna go through some team building activities? Then try "LAVA RIVER",

a challenge to compete as a team on imagined lava river. The first challenge was to stand on a paper. 

Students were divided to 3 groups, and the challenge was to whole team members need to stand on that paper without touching the floor(Lava river). If any member of a team touched the Lava, the team will be disqualified. We had to remain on the paper until Miss Sarasi says out. 

The challange became more harder because the paper got smaller in each round and it to got really harder to stay balance on the paper.

The Other challenge was to cross the river. 4 pieces of papers for each group to use as tiles. You cant leave any tile without any human touch. Otherwise it will take out. If any tile was taken out, team members have to play with the remaining tiles. How ever every team member should cross the lava river. Time to spent for cross the river will counted and the team with the lowest time record will become as the winners.

I think these kind of team building activities are about understanding, appreciating, developing and maximizing the people in your team, and also the team as a unified group. When we trying to do the tasks, we understood it well.

If we become productive, efficient, motivated then we can easily become winning happy team.

It not just the wining. Even we trying these things make us more motivated and happier.

Thanks for Madam Sarasi We all enjoying these sessions.

Paper tower activity

“More hands make for lighter work.” “Two heads are better than one.” “The more the merrier.”

These adages speak to the potential groups have to be more productive, creative, and motivated than individuals on their own.

Our Challenge: 

Getting the papers to stand up, using tape, staples, glue, also you can bend, fold, or tear the papers itself.

Our challenge was to build a tower for each team by using sheets of papers, a scissor,a tape within minutes. Marks were given for the height,balance, rigidity of the tower.

Three groups were divided.

while doing the activity. Ideas of team members were important to make a better plan for the tower. While PPD sessions, we improved a quality that to respect other people's ideas,

With this challenge we were able to understand that the solution is different from challenge to challenge. So the each members idea were very important. So, 

because of that our effort of creating paper tower was succusful.

Al so we were able to,

1. Defining the problem or issue at hand 
2. Analyzing those alternatives
3. Selecting the most viable alternative
4. Implementing the necessary decisions

Of course, each individual must also engage in the critical thinking process on their own, there should not be a blind reliance on the 

group's efforts. Finally, each individual is responsible for both their own mind, and their own contributions. This ensure is not only the development of that individual, 

but also the development of the group as well, as each group is only as effective as its individual members are on their own away from the group