The real exclusivity of New York City?

Unless I'm already from New York, do I have any chance at working in the city/becoming BFF with Bethany Frankel in my spare time?

So, as promised, I finally got started on some applications while I've been home for break. I've probably applied to about six positions total - not nearly as many as I planned on, but here's why:

After much networking on my ever-trustworthy LinkedIn, I've been able to talk to several people about various positions I plan to apply for, as well as the companies themselves. Ideally, I try to contact University of Michigan alumni, and they have all been unexpectedly nice. If I can't find an alumnus at that particular company, I try to get in touch with those who are members of LinkedIn groups I belong to, or who are also connected to a connection of mine.

Anyway, after receiving a wonderful response back from a UM alumnus, filled with lots of advice, one recommendation stuck out to me, because I had already heard it a few times before. This woman told me that, if I plan to apply to jobs in New York City (which I definitely do), I better have a New York address written on my resume. Otherwise, out-of-state resumes will be ignored 99% of the time, no matter how qualified the applicant.

Now, as you know, I hail from Boston, so if need be, I could honestly hop on a BoltBus at the drop of a hat to get to NYC for an interview or to start a job. My grandparents also have an apartment in Queens that I could crash at while I search for apartments - although that is definitely a last resort. So, while I'm home in Boston at least, this alumnus' warning isn't too much of an issue for me. In these tough times, I can honestly understand why companies don't want to waste their time (or money) on applicants who would need to relocate. There are probably thousands of equally qualified candidates right there in New York.

The real question is: for these New York City jobs that I apply to, does it make sense for me to list my grandparent's New York address on my resume? This would show that relocating would not be a problem for me. While this alumnus told me that another option could be stating in my cover letter that I could relocate immediately or come out for an interview at my own expense, that doesn't sound nearly as marketable as advertising locality, right? What do you guys think?

The calm before the (application) storm

Just wanted to wish everyone (all maybe-five of you who read this blog) a happy holidays out there. It's good to be home, and to finally have a break from all the school work that has really gotten in the way of my job search. My new years resolution? To finally get crackin' on this process. Yeah, I've applied for a few things here and there, mostly because those positions had early deadlines. But many place I'm interested in haven't even started hiring yet, and maybe won't until even later.

This next semester will be a little bit easier in terms of workload and schedule, so hopefully I'll be able to make some progress. At least for now, I'm going to relax, sit back, and watch lots of Jersey Shore. Once I've had some R&R over the weekend, I plan to get to work, and of course, post any news.

The job market today: sour, but also sweet

Related to what I said yesterday about getting your friends and family involved in the job search resource hunt, my friend Ali pointed me to this link this morning, subject field: "thought you might find this interesting :)".

The page consists of a review for the recently-released documentary, Lemonade, detailing the paths of several individuals recently let go from their jobs in the advertising industry. Specifically, Phil Johnson highlights how the advertising community rallied around the project, celebrating the creative abilities of those involved (or not, anymore), in their industry. While I'm not directly involved in the advertising world, I think that this movie could still be pretty damn inspiring, conveying that we have the potential to lead successful lives within more than one career. Our jobs can't define us, because if we lose these jobs, we would have nothing left; Lemonade illustrates this. There's other stuff out there that matters, regardless of career path. Tonight, that stuff consists of Chinese food and dancing.

As the movie is playing in Cambridge, I'd definitely like to see it when I return home for December break. Oh, and by the way, everyone should check out the blog that Ali contributes to, which covers all sorts of sports from a female perspective!

One reason why my mom rocks

A little while back, a major player in the online journalism industry gave a talk at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where I'm from. Though I would have loved to, I obviously couldn't attend since I'm out here in all-of-a-sudden-its-so-cold-I-need-to-wear-a-ski-mask-where-you-can-only-see-my-eyes Michigan. I was very impressed that my mom was actually the one to tell me about this appearance, given that I try my hardest to keep up on happenings within the field, or at my beloved MFA. My mom wasn't just going to hear this lady wax philosophically on the importance of optimized content, or the value of her readers, however. Oh, no. She planned to go with a copy of my resume and directly hand it to the speaker. I'll state the obvious when I say that my mom is pretty ballsy.

Anyway, after sitting through the talk with my father, learning all about future directions of online publications and whatnot, my mom followed through with her plan. And guess what? Miss Thing of web journalism told her that she'd actually call me! I guess in addition to founding my latest addiction, this woman is actually nice.

Do I expect anything out of this interaction? Absolutely not. I know that the speaker probably has 5,017 better things to do than reach out to little ol' me. And she's such a bigwig that I would never be able to directly reach her. I did apply to a few positions through their database that I actually think I'm pretty qualified for, if I do say so myself. But that's not the point here, kiddos. What I'm getting at is that you're all probably just as lucky as I am when it comes to your loved ones - they genuinely want to see you happy. Get them on board! Tell them what you're interested in! I guarantee that you'll see at least a few positive results you can take and run with.

Facing rejection

It's been a while since my last post, which means that there's much to discuss. I mentioned last time that I had another interview - a phone interview, ugh - to prepare for. This particular position was for a company I'd absolutely love to work for, a very creative place seemingly filled with fun, smart people. However, while I felt confident about my research on the company itself, my nerves were concerned with another aspect of this interview: the case study.

Although my last interview had been pretty intense, from what I had read online about interviews with this place, some of these questions were going to be tough. Very tough. How the hell am I supposed to know why manholes are round? Is there even a right answer? But, after training myself with these questions, I realized that these people just wanted to see how I can think creatively and strategically, in hopes that I might apply the same on-the-ball approach to challenges at work. I anticipated a few of these questions, along with a case study or two to see how I would solve actual real-world issues in that particular field.

To be honest, I would have been absolutely lost without the help of a Michigan alumnus that I found on LinkedIn, who works for this company. Clearly, from the rest of this blog, I could ramble on about LinkedIn forever. But in this situation, it also proved beneficial to be a member of another network - that of the University of Michigan. I sought this alumnus out, and he was happy to guide me through the recruitment process, specifically helping me prepare for my interview. He, along with my boyfriend who prepped me over the phone (since he's pretty seasoned with crazy interviews like these) really saved me in this interview. When the calls came, the conversations flowed, I went through the case studies with ease, and I thought everything went great.

Well, I thought wrong. Despite my feelings of relief after this interview, I did not receive an invitation to go through to the second-round. I was actually shocked. I have learned the harmful effects of getting my hopes up, and definitely didn't let this happen with my last interview with the company that previously let me down. However, I really thought that this interview went great, and that I hit it off with the interviewers. I don't really know where I went wrong; the Michigan alumnus told me that it could just be that this department of the company does much recruiting within Ivy League schools, and I think I could have had a little more past experience within this particular field. Plus, we've got to throw in some impactoftheeconomy, blah blah blah. I'm going to e-mail the recruiter to find out if I could possibly get any feedback.

On top of this, I was also not offered a second-round interview with the first company I talked to. I had at least prepared myself for this, and I happened to be at Wisconsin visiting my sister at the time, so this was actually less rough. I think that - although these are only 2 rejections so far - it has finally hit me that this is going to be a longggg process that will definitely last through second semester. I've decided that December break is going to be my time to really buckle down and get out a zillion applications. And, strangely, I actually feel sort of positive about next semester. I know that I will be much less overwhelmed with my school work, and will finally have some time to focus on this (more important) job search. These rejections have shown me that, unfortunately, I'll need it.

Interviews, finally!

I wish I could look - and sound - as good as she does during a phone interview.

Okay, clearly I've been slacking a little bit in the posting department. But, that only means that I've been busy, and now have lots to write about! Yay! Besides, isn't it smarter for me to actually research jobs, apply to them, and participate in interviews than it is for me to sit on my tush and blab all about it? I'd like to think so.

Anyway, there's much to discuss! Remember that big ol' important job application I had sent out before that I was having a minor anxiety attack over? I finally got in touch with that recruiter, and he could not have been nicer. He told me that the particular office was still looking over applications, and that they may have just gotten backed up. Sit tight, he said, and he would let me know if anything progresses - good or bad. So, naturally, over the next week, I checked my email every five minutes. Nothing. But, when I least expected it (while studying for an exam) I finally got the e-mail and, guess what? I got the interview! I was a tad bummed to read that it would be another phone interview, as the recruiter had told me that they were interested in me, they wanted to expedite my application and bypass a phone interview, etc. etc. But I was excited nonetheless.

Like I said, I had already interviewed with this company before for an internship last year. It was, without a doubt, my first "hardcore" interview. This isn't to say that all of my other jobs and internships have been characterized by total bullshit, but this company means serious business. Needless to say, I was somewhat caught off-guard during that interview; I had never been asked such major questions before, such as, "tell me about a time when your role was unclear, and what did you do to clarify that role?" I prepared for the interview, but I could have prepared for it even more. With that experience under my belt, however, I sort of knew what to expect this time around. I studied up on the company, and got lots of advice from my dad and my boyfriend, both of whom really know the ropes of the recruiting process and always offer great advice.

When the time came for this interview, I felt pretty ready, yet extremely nervous. Then came the call - the first of two back-to-back half hour conversations. Looking back, I definitely consider myself adequately prepared for the character/behavioral questions about leadership, teamwork, conflict resolution, and all that good stuff. But they totally put me on the spot with situational questions about particular marketing scenarios. I mean, they really put me on the spot. What frustrated me the most about this was, if I clearly couldn't answer a certain question to the best liking of the interviewer, he/she wouldn't just accept my answer as less-than-stellar. Rather, the interviewer would continue to probe me about it, as if making me feel more nervous would somehow magically bring the correct answer out of my mouth, like beautiful word vomit. This type of questioning definitely made me leave the interview feeling stupid, focusing on what went wrong, instead of what went right.

Also, although I never had this opinion before, I really do feel incredibly disadvantaged during phone interviews. Over the phone, I can't look an interviewer in the eye, I can't smile and show my passion for the position - I can't really connect with the interviewer. I guess it's kind of a trade off, because phone interviews allow me to look at my resume while I speak to someone, and write certain helpful notes.

But, who knows? Maybe I'm nervous about this for no reason, and the interviewers actually believed that our chats went perfectly. I doubt it. The good news is, I have another phone interview on Monday. More on that in another post. If anything, I guess I can at least look at this recent interview as some good practice.

Some selfish venting - isn't that what blogs are for, anyway?

So I still haven't heard from anyone at this company yet. I don't get it. Even though I told you - and myself - that I would remain skeptical and not get my hopes up because of my past internship rejection from this same company...I haven't heard anything at all, and that makes me nervous. Not even a "no." At this point, I'd even take a, "sorry, we thought we were interested in you, but after reading your resume and cover letter, we've decided you're just plain stupid and we want nothing to do with you." At least that would be an indication that some human life form had received my application materials.

Granted, the recruiter told me that I would be contacted "within two weeks if there is a potential fit," and those two weeks don't end until Friday. But what does this even mean, anyway? Do they just straight-up not contact me if there isn't a potential fit? This is a pretty renowned company, and they did contact me when I didn't get that past internship with them, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'm also freaking out a little bit, because this recruiter not only told me that particular locations were interested in me, but that I had to rush the process because they wanted to speed things along. So, I would think that if they actually were interested in me, they would have contacted me by now. If I don't hear anything by Friday, I'll probably e-mail this recruiter to ask what exactly is up; I just don't want to appear like the neurotic crazy person that I truly am.

Deep breaths.

Finally getting going

Ummmm so...I'm pretty sure that I applied for my first job yesterday. No big deal.

I have been in contact with a recruiter from a company that I'd love to work for during the past few months. Basically, when I applied there for an internship last summer (and didn't eventually get it after interviewing and everything - I was devastated), they had kept my information on file. I was out at a Welcome Week party when I received the first e-mail from this recruiter. He sent me such a nice, informal message, that to be honest, I thought it was a scam. But, after doing some research, it wasn't! It was really an incredible feeling to be reached out to, instead of hopelessly reaching out, myself.

Anyway, this guy basically said that we would be in touch throughout my application process for the 2010 opportunities at this company. I was psyched, but their job postings hadn't been updated in a while. He told me that I should keep my eyes peeled, that the site would be updated sometime in October.

And, come October 1st, I got the call.

The recruiter not only told me that the postings had finally been updated, but that I had to send my resume and other application materials to him, ASAP. In case you hadn't realized (I know you were just waiting on pins and needles), I obviously had not updated my resume since my oh-so-successful meeting at the Career Center, or else I would have blogged about it; come on, now! Needless to say, I had a minor freak out. This stuff not only needed to be rushed over to the recruiter, but, due to the sheer amazingness of this company, my materials had to be perfect.

I decided to go to the library, since I'd probably be the most time efficient there. Good move, too, since I had issues scanning my transcript and had a lovely librarian on hand for assistance. I didn't consider the irony until later that I was applying for a job that would require me to get much more technical than figuring out buttons on a scanner. Hmmm...

Anyway, I sent my stuff out in pretty good time - and in pretty good condition, if I do say so myself. I'm trying very, very hard to not get my hopes up about this application, considering how high they were last year for the internship there and how crushed they were when I didn't get it. But, even though I have some friends, particularly those into finance, who are already hooked up with sick jobs for next year, I think that it is a pretty BFD that I just applied for my first job. I'd like to give myself a virtual pat on the back. Even though this is only application number one, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

My ignorance of the recession. Until now.

This morning, as I made my routine rounds on some of my favorite sites before my professor arrived at my first class, I came across this. Let's just ignore the fact that I get much of my daily news from Gawker for a second, and take it in, people. Twenty-five percent to be cut at Conde Nast. A whole fourth of Conde, including many valued staff members, to be thrown out on the street like Anna Wintour's lightweight jackets of last season.

Now, I'm a proud veteran of an incredible Hearst internship, and that's where much of my editorial love still lies. But 25% is a whole lot of jobs. I know I sound ridiculously naive right now, that we're obviously still in a big recession, that magazines have been a dying industry for a long time, blah, blah blah. Maybe it's exactly because of my experience in the magazine industry that this news really hit home. This seems selfish, but until now, I had never really tried to imagine myself in this crap economy. Because as a full-time student, I never really had to. For whatever reason, thanks to this article, it finally clicked.

I just don't know how worked up I'd be if this had happened at Hearst and actually affected any of the wonderful people I worked directly with. What I do know is, the fact that experienced workers are getting laid off left and right in a field that I would truly enjoy a job within, means that there's no chance in hell anyone over there will want to hire little ol' me. I guess the only thing I can really do is try to make myself as marketable as possible, to take my webbie skills, improve them, and run with them. Right? Help!

Putting the "net" in networking

Remember that time I wrote all about the importance of living in the moment? About how everything will just get itself done, and I'll sleep when I'm dead? I guess it's not that hard to remember, considering I've only written four other posts. But...yeah. Scratch that. Five classes + sorority rush + a little bit of "senior" fun = one. hot. mess.

Rush finally ended tonight, so I can finally cross that off my list. This is somewhat bittersweet; tonight was my last rush at Michigan, and let's just say that I cry even when I watch My Girl for the fiftieth time. So there's that. But in general, as much as I'm all about mah sistas, I am happy to now have more time to myself to accomplish some of my more personal goals.

One thing I can also check off is creating a LinkedIn account. Since I've previously held web marketing internships, and I'm just a fan of schmoozing in general, I can attest to the benefits of social media networking. To network effectively, you should really utilize every resource that's available. And with technology as advanced as it is today, there are a ton of resources out there. Being able to make connections while sitting at home in my pajamas? Count me in.

In truth, I actually created a LinkedIn account a long time ago. But it was only recently that I got around to actually creating a detailed profile for myself. Since more and more people are choosing to promote themselves on LinkedIn these days, compiling this profile is something I wanted to put a lot of thought and time into. What to keep? What to cut? Which awkwardly-cropped picture best represents myself as a smiley professional?

The great thing about LinkedIn is that they provide samples for all of the profile sections. Definitely read those, if you're more of an amateur when it comes to networking. I chose to select my "professional 'headline'" from a list of options. Am I actually an "Online Media Professional"? Well, not entirely. But I hope to be, and my experiences and skills listed on my profile absolutely show that I've got what it takes. In my opinion, at least. The point is, definitely do NOT lie on this profile - many higher-ups at big companies use LinkedIn and can read all about you - but you can and should emphasize your marketable qualities to the best of your ability.

After completing my LinkedIn profile, the real fun begins. Making connections and adding them to my network. I was surprised to see just how many people I know that are on this networking site, and it was really interesting to read about positions they held before we worked together, and what they're up to these days (professionally, of course).

I'm definitely glad that I started this LinkedIn process when I did. While adding my boss from my two-summers-past internship is positive outreach, connecting with her on LinkedIn only to ask her about job openings the very next day is borderline creepy. While setting up a LinkedIn profile takes a little bit of time and editing, I know that, once I do begin to correspond with my connections, it will be totally worth it to be able to reference any of their professional experiences. If I were you, I'd quit reading this and at least sign up for an account. If you're looking for ideas on what to include on your profile, you can check out my LinkedIn page here.

...While I still can

In case you (whoever "you" are) haven't noticed, I've been sort of slacking lately when it comes to these posts. I know I promised to maintain my interest in this blog, and truthfully, I have, even though there's nothing material to show for that. I actually think about what might work for a post while I'm out and about!

But let's forget about all those ideas running around like crazy in this little head of mine. I think it actually makes sense for me to just explain why I haven't really posted so much recently, and this explanation is simple: I've been busy being a senior. As much as I really do enjoy writing, and hopefully helping others out with tips that come up along the road, I've just been out having fun. And you should too. Tonight, I wasn't going to go out, but since Michigan came back in the clutch in the last 15 seconds of the game today (I love you, Tate Forcier) I plan to put my lameness on hold for the night. I will push myself to do my work tomorrow - more on that soon; I'm finally going to put in that dreaded time to edit my resume, ugh.

A lot of alumni are visiting this weekend and all I've been hearing from them is just how much they miss their college life. And, since this is the first week of school and I don't have THAT much work to do, I plan on not taking my time here for granted. Here's to staying young.

Just take it easy, cause there's no stress

Today was the first day of classes in Ann Arbor, and I am feeling good. Although my friend (and wonderful blogger, might I add) Vanessa pointed out that this year's ever-exciting "first day" is actually somewhat bittersweet now that we feel like we're at the top of the university totem pole,

Reasons why today was a great last first day:

One. I got off a waitlist! I'm really excited about this class. It's got a fantastic reading list, and we even watch some classic coming-of-age films (i.e. Rebel Without a Cause). Woohoo! In addition to being nerdier than the average college student (see above), I realize that I am also slightly more on edge than the vast, but waitlists seriously give me mayjah anxiety. And I am currently still on two. But this day was just so great, I have convinced myself that it will all work out.

Two. No discussion sections before the lecture first met. This meant that I only had two classes today instead of the three I will usually have on Tuesdays. Perfectly good chance to work on my resume, sort out my credit transfers from my semester abroad, or any of the other 9871291 things I've got on my to-do list, but instead, I spent that time doing absolutely nothing, just hanging out. Mmmm.

Three. Max is coming to visit! After hours and hours of frustration and trying to figure out flight options that fit into our time frames and both of our budgets, we finally found a flight that works, and he'll be here next weekend. Something to look forward to! Aside from reading The Others for my aforementioned English class. But that just goes without saying.

I don't really want to make this blog all about random thoughts I've got going on in my head, none of that "current mood" bullshit, but I just felt like sharing the love. I promise you - if there even is a "you" at this point in my blogging hobby/passion/career - that this sentiment will absolutely not last, but let's enjoy these last few happy-go-lucky glimmers of pre-schoolwork sanity for the moment. Shall we?

Why I hope to be a poster child for the anti-senioritis movement (that I just made up). At least until second semester.

Since I have been on a mission lately to get as much non-school-related stuff done as possible before classes start next week, (we can call it a "conscientious" streak), I decided to visit my school's Career Center the other day with two of my friends. One of them is, like myself, hoping to find herself a sick job when she graduates - which she absolutely will, considering that she's very smart, qualified, and generally amazing. I'm actually currently holding date screenings for her, Khloe Kardashian style, and there's a line around the corner. If you're lucky, she may put on a show at the end of the auditions where she'll perform her infamous choreographical replication of "The Nicest Kids in Town" from Hairspray.

Anyway.

The other friend I visited the Career Center with has recently decided on a defined career choice (I'm seething with jealousy) and is looking to apply to grad school. She's equally awesome of course. Basically, the three of us wanted to go to the Career Center to get some extra help editing our resumes in one way or another. My issue: after adding in all of the great stuff I learned at my web marketing internship last summer, my resume is almost two pages long. I know, I know, I'm just such an incredibly experienced, cultured, all-around perfect candidate for any job and everything on my resume just attests to that fact. Sure. But two pages long? Not so easy on the eyes. Yeah, some interviewers have asked me about random experiences on that second page, but in general, I think that I need to make myself as marketable as possible on that first page, and trim off any unnecessary fat.

When I sat down with my assigned advisors (one was training, I think), the first thing I noticed is that they were my age. Oh! I just remembered that one of them was standing behind me at the football game today - obligatory "go blue"! This first impression didn't exactly sit well with me, because I honestly wonder what they know about finding a job that I don't already. I would like to say that I've been lucky enough to have had some pretty wonderful internships/jobs these past four years, so the confident side of me thinks that I know a little something about this process. As the meeting went on, my opinion didn't really change. Sure, the two girls offered me a few helpful hints, which was nice, but ultimately, I realized that what I really need to do is sit down and take some time to myself to decide what to take out. Only one of my friends left the Career Center that day without feelings of frustration. Needless to say, I obviously chose to pretend I didn't see my advisor at the game.

However, the meeting wasn't a total waste of time. I did get a few specific ideas on what to take out of my resume, and the two girls showed me around the Career Center website and gave me a handy little sheet with resume samples. Maybe the sheer fact that this was an actual appointment forced me to take the time to review this stuff. The bottom line? I need to stop acting like a know-it-all and be a tiny bit more open to help from others. Personally, I think that the best help in this department comes from my dad, who really specializes in this human resources find-me-something-that'll-bring-home-the-bacon sort of thing. But these resources are only helpful if I actually take advantage of them. My boyfriend, who has already gone through this rigorous job search and really came out on top, is, in my opinion, another great resource to have. He really utilized his school's career resources, and has to be one of the most proactive people I've ever known; I've witnessed the benefits of that. I need to be more like that.

At the risk of sounding kinda lame, we all need an extra push sometimes, even from ourselves, to do everything we can to reach our goals. I think I can, I think I can...

Ready, set, blog!

So. Here it is. My first blog post. I've wanted to start my own blog for quite some time now, and to be completely honest, I can't put my finger on one sole factor that held me back. Fear of total irrelevancy? Check. Fear of mockery? Check. Fear that I would, once again, start something new and then abandon it in a month? Yup. But in my gung-ho "clean slate" spirit of starting a new school year (as a senior, eek!), I've decided to give this blogging thing a shot, anyways.

Aside from the sheer fact that I - like most students at my über-liberal university - believe that I have important thoughts to shout for the rest of the world to hear and take note, I would like to think that my blog serves some other important purpose. So this blog will focus on exactly what has been completely occupying my mind (and probably the heads of many other seniors) as of late, due to the fact that classes haven't yet begun and this mind has had lots of time to wander. On this blog, I plan to document my journey - really more of a scramble, to be completely honest - to get a great job post-graduation. I'll write about the highs and pitfalls of my experiences, what works and what doesn't, all within the life of a senior girl trying to have fun and make the most of this crap economy she'll graduate into next April.

Sure, you'll find the occasional rant on here related to my guilty passion for pop culture and entertainment gossip (why did everybody hate Danielle from Real Housewives of New Jersey, anyway? Can't we all just get over her stripper days and try to side with the underdog?) And I'll also share with you any stories related to my senior life that I think will make you smile (or want to kill me, whatever works). Hopefully, you'll appreciate my honesty - believe me there will be lots of it - and this scramble will soon become a little less runny and a little more under control.