I'm not a smart person.

I’ve seen a lot of different opinions about what our generation of college graduates brings to the table, and most of them aren’t positive. In general, older, more experienced members of our society feel that we’re really good at skating the surface of…well, everything we encounter. We don’t really know very much of anything, but we’re pretty good at masking that with questions like “Well, what do you think?” and reading the shit out of Wiki articles so we can work our way through a conversation.

The first time I read an article that announced my stupidity to the world I was in shock. But what’s new? Every class of college graduates faces the doubts and hesitations of future employers. Everybody, no matter how experienced, is slightly insecure about whether or not they’re good enough to do what they want to do. Whether they know enough to accomplish what they need to. How they measure up to their competition. That question of ability really helps to keep us motivated. I’m probably one of the least competitive people you’ll ever encounter, yet even I want to know I’m at least measuring up. If not, what value am I to my employer?

I’m sure a lot of our hypothetical superficial knowledge has to do with the fact that we have access to so much. At work, I’m currently learning about the business world, about e-commerce, about Yahoo!, about web programming, copy writing, internet marketing and … QuickBooks. (That’s a lot at once, and I’m not even considering my own personal endeavors.) Sure they’re all related in one way or another, but in order to reach my goals of creating engaging copy and a successful internet marketing campaign for our business, I need to be incredibly knowledgeable of all of it.

How do I do this, now that I'm not at school? I create my own school. I ask my co-workers and my bosses "Well, what do you think?" "How do I do this?" "Where do I find that?" For things my co-workers don't know, I start with friends and family, old teachers I'm still talking to...and then I head to the web. Usually, searching for information on the web is overwhelming. We've all started searching for tips on something or another and ended up reading about how to keep a cut apple from turning brown. There's a lot of info out there, and it's all just a few clicks away. If we're motivated enough though, we stay focused and on task and filter to find what we need from sources that we trust.

The thing is, we're all completely capable of becoming experts. Really, maybe our potential is a little intimidating? Maybe we haven't spent the last 10 years in an apprenticeship, and maybe we've been taking jobs we're not quite fit for (it's the economy...I know SEO wasn't exactly what I wanted to do, but I have a job...and I happen to really like the challenges) but there's a reason we're getting hired, beyond the fact that we'll do it for less. We know how to process all the information that we're consuming.. the information that's changing and evolving quicker and faster than it ever has before.

So, I'm more intelligent than I am smart. I don't know a ton about a ton (not yet anyway), but I can admit when I don't know what's going on, I'm always ready to learn and I'm pretty f*ing resourceful.

What are you?

P.S. Here's the real article on how to keep a cut apple from turning brown :p

The Social Life of a Work-aholic

Let me elaborate. (When don't I?)

My family moved to Florida just as I started college in Upstate New York. Whenever I was home for breaks, I was working. I made one good friend during my four-year Bath and Body Works stint, but she's in an entirely different stage of her life, so when it comes to hanging out- we run out of things to talk about after an hour or so.

Now I've permanently relocated to SoFlo and landed myself in an office with five men, all of which are at least 8ish years older than me and all have families. Needless to say, any hope I had to find a bar-buddy in the work place has died a quick and dirty death.

I've bonded with some of my younger sister's friends, but have yet to find somebody that's in my "life stage." I can only handle so much talk about who's dating who or what classes the local colleges are offering and my pockets definitely can't handle how much money they spend on movies and food. Wow. Has my concept of spending changed that much, that quickly? They're only 2 or 3 years younger than me. Stupid "real world" life lessons. Psht.

So, I have to admit that my complete obsession with work-related research is just as much due to the fact that I need to kill time as it is a result of having a legit interest.

Have a spectacular weekend. (woot.)

Looking to the Internet for Answers

I don't know how many people pay attention to comments, so I'm throwing this in another post instead of doing a comment add-on to this past post.

This article is chock-full of links to websites where you can learn just about anything on the internet. If you're passionate about something, but haven't had the opportunity to pursue it through education, or don't have time to read 1000s of pages of books...or if you're just curious, the internet is a beautiful thing. The only problem is, everybody's on the internet telling you what to do, so who do you trust?

If I'm researching by myself (a.k.a. without referrals from flesh-and-bone people) I start with major websites that I trust who publish authors that they trust as well as other popular blogs that have links to more information. With so many pages out there, most of a site's reputation depends on its validity. So much so, that a site's page rank takes into consideration how many other legit sites link back to it. If you haven't noticed from my previous links, I'm a fan of MSN's career advice articles and the one above was appropriately listed on the side of an article that might help you figure out how to optimize your job search.

What sites/ apps are you guys using to learn something new?

How much are you worth to your boss?

The "after 30 days, we will discuss my salary"-talk that I demanded be in my contract happened today.

Before I get into the flow if it, I thought I'd let you guys know that I've been trying to prepare for today's conversation for about two weeks. Money's a sore subject. I know what I need. I know what I want. The salary I was on wasn't enough for either and I had no clue how much to ask for or expect. And I hate discussing money. Even more, I hate being a burden. So asking a business owner for more of his money makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

Am I a valuable asset to my place of employment?

So now, post graduation, post employment- I networked. I emailed the SU Career Center for some really great feedback and talked to my very well connected Uncle (I'm not kissing ass- it's the truth) to figure out how much to expect. How to bargain. What to say. What to prepare for. Everybody was on target and I was way off when going to sites like salary.com (pure garbage).

They started off by saying that I was more than they could have ever expected. Holler. They asked me how I liked the job and were ecstatic with my honest answer that I like that I get to multitask, I'm good at it and I don't get bored of one thing (plus side to working for a boutique). And I love everything I'm getting to learn. Oh, and the environment in the office isn't too shabby either.

So these are the things that stood out to my bosses (both positive and negative):

• They don't have to tell me what to do. They show me how to do something once, and I'm off.
• Based off of what they show/ tell me, I brainstorm great ideas for marketing and content and website architecture and so much more.
• I don't vocalize those ideas to them enough. They need to be managed. I need to speak up more often.
• I'm learning fast. I'm studying things related to what I do and things related to what they do- both on and off the job. They were really impressed by the fact that I care enough to take the work home with me, even though they had no expectation of that. (It's definitely beneficial to understand exactly what you're doing, and when that involves trying to promote what somebody else is doing- you have to know what they do too. And it's all incredibly interesting to me.)
• I'm bubbly around the office. I fit in well in their atmosphere."You complete our team."
• They know I'm worth more than what they're paying me, and they're looking forward to being able to compensate me more down the line. (That might be B.S. for all I know, but it was a good line to throw in.)

They went on for a while, but that was most of it. I ended up with a 15% raise. I guess after a certain point, I have to learn that I'm not being a burden by asking for/expecting more money. I'm a valuable asset that's deserving. Nothing about that is burdensome.

So it looks like this small business values somebody who's intelligent enough to take charge, isn't afraid of responsibility, looks forward to a challenge, is willing to go the extra mile, will speak up, and can take a good joke.

I still can't get over how this was supposed to be a part-time secretarial position.

What do you think makes you a valuable asset to your boss/future bosses?

Not Such a Side Note

I know my blog entrees are unconventionally lengthy. I just wanted to say thanks for taking time out of your busy work/job search schedule to stick around. :)

I came across some company in similar efforts at work today. Of course we know we're not the only ones, but it's always nice to put a face to a name.

How is everybody's job hunt/ new job/ internship going?

Books is for Learnin'

I'm discovering I've lived a very sheltered internet existence up until very recently.

I guess I'm fairly old fashioned in that I always felt all my learnin' should be done with books. Sure, I knew the internet would change everything. Sure I wrote about how the internet is changing everything. But did I ever actually expect the vast universe that somehow seems to be flowing freely inside my laptop to be a source of information I could depend on? OK, so it's not really inside my computer, but it might as well be.

There's just so much and it's all so accessible, I don't even know what to say other than "wow." Thank G-d for having friends and strangers who tag and rate so I can dwindle some of the information down. My current list of blogs to follow is extensive, time consuming, and incredible. I could make a living sifting through blog entrees. I should try to figure out a new way to do that.

I found a new apartment, but don't get to move in until the 1st, so I've been stalking different design blogs for ideas and inspiration. I've also been trying to get immediate help and a little bit of guidance on my efforts towards small business internet marketing, seo issues, and copywriting. (Just a couple.) Then there's news blogs. And technology blogs. Art blogs, photography blogs, and poetry blogs. My bookmark list is out of control. (I never really got into del.icio.us and I heard it's pretty out of it as of late, so how are you guys keeping all your stuff organized? I can't handle my jumbled list anymore.)

So many different things. So much niche information. So much to learn.

After this weekend, while alternating a couple of SEO books I recently purchased and an assortment of blog posts, I realized that when it comes to current information, taking the time to find the right blogs (ones that are up to date, that you can trust, and have the information you're looking for) is well worth it. The present is such a temporary thing. All the information I'm looking for is constantly changing. Sure there are certain books that have information that might be relevant for the next...mmm... year or so, but the books I'm reading take time to be put together, to be published, to be put on shelves and for me to find and buy and then to find the information I'm looking for. With blogs, I just skip to that last part and it's usually free... and it would be as current as "2 Seconds Ago." The closest you get to that with a book is "hot off the press." But it's not even hot anymore.

I know. Duh.

The thing is, I feel like my secondary education had me trained to look at books for the best information. To spend 100s of dollars each semester for irrelevant knowledge because, well... it's embarrassing to say you went all four years without ever checking a book out of the library. Isn't it? I only had two professors in all four years of being a communications major, who encouraged me to look for course-relevant information (other than world news) on the web, but every single professor in every class made at least one textbook purchase a requirement. And here I am, out in the real world, practicing what I should have been trained for... and though I might know an awful lot about the history of advertising, I have absolutely no training on where it's going.

I promise I'm not discrediting books. I loveeee books. The classics and the novels and timeless faux philosophy. Poetry and pictures. Collections of short stories. I plan on having an entire room devoted to them once I design and build my dream home. With a ladder that slides. MMM...

What I'm really trying to say is, why are we all so hesitant to let go of print?

Did I, the aspiring novelist, just say that out loud?

But who's really original anymore? What's left that can remain timeless? Maybe the communications field has left me a little jaded when it comes to ink and paper.

I get distracted easily.

Which is probably why I get so bored with things when I'm forced to do them for an extended period of time. Probably why I work so well under pressure. Why I'm a procrastinator at heart. Why working 9da5 desk ish (for those of you not familiar with SoFlo slang, I'll elaborate: ish = shit) doesn't seem to be working for me.

Don't get me wrong. I am INCREDIBLY, incredibly thankful that I have a job. Incredibly thankful that I have a job that pays. Incredibly thankful that I have a job where I can be myself (as in they embrace my loud and obnoxious personality, as long as I'm not too loud- which I can be). More than anything else, I'm thankful that I'm learning so much. That this is a fantastic stepping stone and will look splendid on my resume.

Future employer: "Graduated 5.09? Director of Marketing for successful internet start up 7.09? Eeeempressive!"

Really.

It was great in the beginning because, well- beyond the fact that everything is great in the beginning, I got to write. But this week, doing the same writing has been torture. In fact, I've halted all personal writing because I just can't stand it right now. That is tremendously disappointing.

I've read, in a lot of different places, to beware turning a hobby into a career. The problem with applying that theory to me is that I become incredibly passionate about whatever I'm working on. At the same time, I get bored after about, hmm...a month. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Back in early spring, I got turned on to Hugh MacLeod's brilliant sex and cash theory. I thought that meant writing at night and doing mindless stuff during the day, like transcribing or walking dogs. What I didn't take into consideration, was the fact that I might have a real job with real projects, that I really care about that would really drain me and leave me feeling less and less like I've got the right creative juices to produce real Erin writing. So, considering the rate I'm at right now...I've got a mediocre amount of cash and am celibate?

Ish.

I need to learn to balance my free time between teaching myself internet marketing stuff for work (thanks so much college, for doing such a ga-reat job at giving me the knowledge I need to succeed) and forcing myself to work on my own projects.

Except.... I'm so uneasy about my internet marketing skills for work, that I'm incredibly anxious about making personal writing goals. What do you do to balance your responsibilities to your career and your responsibilities to yourself?

The Morning Blues

The sky is kind of white at 6:45. I guess it transfers that blue to the inside of our alarm clocks, making us all feel faded when the "eeeh eeeeh eeeeh" wakes us up every morning. The first thing that went off in my head today was "Just skip today Erin." Oh...wait...it's not college anymore.

I'm not sure what's worse. The mornings where it takes me two hours to get ready and I'm running late or the mornings where it takes me 15 minutes to get ready and I realize I could have slept for another hour and a half.

I'm not a coffee drinker, so the mornings require music that I can sing along to on the top of my lungs. What wakes you up in the morning?

Dy-NO-mite!

Well folks, I am exhausted. I don't know how long it's going to take me to adjust to the ninedafive grind. Probably not as long as it's going to take me to adjust to sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week.

I won't lie, I already started to fade a little yesterday and today. Forcing myself to write sans inspiration (or knowledge of the topic for that matter) takes me right back to the miserable papers I had to write while completely drowning with senioritis last year.

Updates on the office experience:

• My ability to answer the phone and take down and relay messages has greatly improved. Woo.
• I'm learning a lot of things- and very quickly, ie- HTML (which I despise), tons of marketing stuff, and things about the communications world I never thought I'd give two shits about.
• I was put on salary a week ago, after them only knowing me for a week. I'm rather impressed with myself.*
• I have slowly drained all the technology I was given on day one so that I now must be provided a new monitor that's bigger than my TV at home and new computer to handle my speedy multi-tasking abilities. My new monitor arrived today, broken. My bosses believe that I am jynxed.
• I'm bonding with the other creative, a designer, over how ridiculously nuts and vague our bosses can be. And also how hysterical they are.
• There is an insane lady who runs an "Express Lab" across the hall. She has thin hair that she dyes black and wears hot pink lipstick that rubs off on her teeth. I'm 99.9% positive she has a crush on one of my bosses and she's asked me at least three times if I could help her out with SEO stuff, even though I told her I'm only just learning how.

Now, though, if I have any energy and any eyesight left at the end of the day, I stuff down some of Seth Godin's blog and read quite a bit of media news from where ever the links lead me. My research at work has given me a better perspective of just how much there is going on on the web. Wow.

Other than cool videos or FML-like sites, have you guys found anything cool on the web recently?

*I should note that I'm still making less than half of the average starting salary for somebody in my position and, though I'm alloted, I don't take lunch breaks. But I do get there at five of 9, and leave at 5 after 5. I'm all for working hard and I am very aware that I need to prove myself as an employee, and a creative one at that, but my job search, my research and my experience has taught me something. Business is cold and selfish. Sure we can be friendly, heck- we can even be "friends," but the bottom line is- what are you doing for me? What am I going to get out of this relationship? Are you going to take advantage of me? How far can I push you before you think I'm taking advantage of you? People take advantage of other people in all aspects of life, but if there's one time they're more likely to do it- it's when their money is on the table. Business to business may be more relaxed than business to customer, but it's still money. And it all makes me so uncomfortable. That, right there, is why eventually I want to just write. You know, after I have enough money to be comfortable. :p

First Impressions: Boutique Pros and Cons

Three days of training and my first day under my belt and I think it's time for first impressions.

Summary: The office has four rooms. Two decent sized and well-lit one-man offices for the CEOs, one medium-sized room that the hallway opens up to with my desk and the designer's and another large room off to the side, holding another programmer hostage to silence as he focuses on whatever frustratingly tedious programming task needs to be done by the end of the day. The phone has three lines. Everybody has an extension, (but as the official not-actually-a-secretary, I'm in charge of screening them all.) The bosses walk around barefoot and shout to each other in Hebrew. One smiles and winks a lot. The other is uncomfortable holding eye-contact for extended periods of time. They both encourage being outspoken and openly joke about unprofessional things. There's Budweiser with Lime in the mini-fridge. I am the only woman. The temperature is 68F. The web site needs to be redesigned and revised and they need to create and implement a marketing campaign.

Pros:

• Everybody's friendly. There's no stuffy atmosphere: "She's not in the IT department, so who gives a shit?"
• It's so small, it doesn't take long to get to know people.
• Straight out of college with a title like "Director of Marketing."
• Swearing out of frustration is expected.
• I don't have to spend a gajillion credit bucks on dress clothes.
• I don't have to spend a gajillion credit bucks on dress clothes. (Yeah, that needed to be listed twice.)
• Having a job.

Cons:

• You can't hide when you're in a terrible mood.
• You really get to know people.
• Everybody hears when you answer the phone and stutter because it still makes you nervous. Yeah, it's just answering the phone but jeez there are a lot of buttons. And a whole computer system too. bah.
• It's freezing.
• Straight out of college with a title like "Director of Marketing."
• The title without the pay.
• Having a job.
• That really cute twenty-something from the other job is still at the other job.

That's all I've got this far. I can feeeeeellll the pressure and am beyond anxious to prove myself while I'm still not over feeling like I don't have to prove myself. The first day went well. It was supposed to be part time, but that lasted approximately three hours and was concluded with a discussion about how it's pertinent for me to be involved in everything. Other than the fact that I have serious issues with manning the phones, which hopefully won't get me fired, I think this is a great first job and transition into the professional world. (So they aren't very professional in the suit-wearing, hob-knobbing, beat-around-the-bush sort of way, it's still an office with responsibilities and goals and achievements.)

Besides, we're only posing. For now, anyway.

Let me reiterate, Stay Positive.

I've been to hell and back this summer, all while staying wrapped up cozily in the same comforter I spent four years of college in (what? It's a really nice one.)

Lacking a desk, most of my computer usage, and therefore job searching, has taken place in the comforts of my bed. Also lacking any proximity to my friends, most of my socializing has occurred through computer usage. Other than cleaning and the grocery store, I spent the majority of the summer so far hiding from the humid and rainy Florida summer by sleeping.

I've read many a Facebook updates and Tweets (is that the right terminology?) that hit every shade of the spectrum when it comes to the summer after graduation. Summer classes to finish up, getting that last bit of traveling in, "bonfires, beers, and blunts," job searching, job interviewing, job going, job complaining, lack-o-job complaining, internship bitching, internship appreciation, getting married, having babies, and the list goes on. Really, it does.

I am, unfortunately- but for the sake of my friends still searching, admitting to my lack-of-life and bed-induced craziness to let you guys know that you will all find something incredible when it's right.

I really did start to lose my mind the week before last. I sent out and emailed and cold called until I was so discouraged I hated everything. I felt like I was waiting around for somebody to respond to my email and say "Wow, ERIN! YOU'RE PERFECT FOR THIS JOB! Please come work for us! I'll start you at $60,000!" Finding a job in the wrong market, in the wrong economy is a full time job, a full time commitment and a full time downer.

They aren't offering what I think I want to do.

What do I want to do?

That is not what I want to do.

I really like that, but they didn't respond to my resume.

Should I send a .pdf or a .doc?

Is this cover letter pretentious?

That's not enough money to get an apartment and pay my student loans!

That's too far away with traffic.

That's not enough hours.

They aren't offering an insurance package.

What if I can't find something?

But then I hit a point and said, I need something to get me started, to get me going, and ultimately- to get me out of my parent's house, so let's get this ball rolling. The job I got was posted as an administrative position for a small company that wasn't sure what they needed. Turns out, they needed someone more than to just answer phones, a Director of Marketing. I know I got really lucky, and I say that knowing that the pay is not competitive in the least and I also have no insurance.

Most of the people I know who are actively looking for jobs right now have portfolios that put mine to shame. Most of the people I know are personable, intelligent, resourceful, and motivated. (Most :-P). And, because of the school I got to go to, most of the people I know are also lucky enough to not have the same financial pressures that I do.

So, what I want to say is, enjoy this odd liminal period in our lives. So what job searching is a pain in the ass? So what you feel like if you hear "well, because of the economy we..." one more time you're going to punch a wall?

When in your life are you going to WANT, want- not neeeed, a job as much as you want one right now? Enjoy the excitement and the urgency and the lure of something new. Enjoy the yearning to prove your accredited knowledge and your unpaid experience. Enjoy it if you can, because it'll be over before you know it and it'll never be this way again.

The Snarky Job-Search Attitude...

...Must be put on hold because....

I GOT A JOB!

I put six weeks of pessimistic searching to a halt this weekend and replaced it with the attitude that this week would be different.

Before I elaborate, I have to say that I am quite impressed with myself. Discounting employment agencies, I sent out countless resumes and cover letters or no cover letters or pdf resumes or .doc resumes or cover letter with pdf.....and so on- I only got three actual interviews within my job search. All were obtained through email applications. The first was prior to the start of this blog and was purely informational. For the second, I sent just the .doc resume and well, you heard lots about the interview in the two previous entrees. For the third, I sent just the .pdf resume. Both interviewers told me right off the bat that my resume stood out.

I guess I did too, because both places offered me jobs this week.

A few hours after I posted my previous rant, Interviewer #3 called me and after speaking with them, the position sounded great and I was really astonished I got a job offer the same day I met with them.

The untimely editor-in-chief called me today to offer me the editorial assistant job I thought I'd be perfect for, but, I'm positive I made the right decision in taking the other position.

Though it was advertised as an admin job, I've trained and talked with the CEO's of this computer programming company for hours and it's obvious that the admin stuff is just a product of them being such a small company and needing filler. What they really need is a Director of Marketing. Somebody to re-vamp their web site, create a marketing plan and materials for them and so much more. I'll be forced to learn the future of advertising, the entire digital world, and a little bit of programming lingo too. The possibilities are endless and this will look fantastic on my resume.

I'll be sure to keep coming back to write about the little idiosyncrasies of the professional world that drive me bonkers and other random little related tidbits (though the office I'm in is the one that requires uber amounts of casualness - including barefootedness, beer in the fridge, and shouting to one another from separate offices.)

Until then, good luck to all of you still searching. Keep it positive because it really does make a difference.

Another Interview

Alright ladies and gents. First I should say that I'm sorry the last post was cold and not very Erin-esque. I guess I wasn't in the mood to write.

On to the business:

I spent an effing lot of time in the last interview- almost two hours- and they didn't even so much as grace me with a response to my follow up e-mail, which included my references, or my follow up phone call over a week later.

Dear Editor-in-chiefs everywhere:

Thank you for showing interest in my resume. Thank you for taking some of your precious time to spittle the workings of your magazine at me. No thank you for not asking me most of the standard interview questions that I was wayyyy prepared for. "I think that my strongest characteristics include my ability to ....." No thank you for not showing appreciation for my clever way of taking your negativity, "Unfortunately, there would be some clerical where you would have to run some forms up to IT," and impressively turning it into something positive "Oh, well that sounds like a great way to get to know people around the office."

PSHT.

Please do not introduce me to your team, encourage me to chat away with numerous other head honchos, and then IGNORE ME.

I may be just another college graduate trying to put my foot in the door in the wrong market in the wrong economy, but I am a human being! My time is precious too and you know what?

My feelings are hurt. I could check off everything on the MSN article's Top 10 Clues your interview went well and yet.... no response from you. At the very least you could tell me you didn't think I was qualified for the position or that somebody more qualified came along.

STOP LEAVING ME HANGING.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

EBJ

On a brighter, less rant-induced note:

I had another interview today with a really laid-back internet company. The Craigslist post had some content that seemed a little sketchy to me like "Cleavage won't get you the job, we want somebody with skills." Apparently that's necessary in SoFlo. I wanted to respond with "Well what if we have both?" but I thought that might be unprofessional. It was under the post as a part-time admin position but after talking to them it sounds like they need a lot of copywriting. Lots of room to grow, both financially and with hours, and the company is incredibly small and casual and they seem really cool. I felt awkward going to a job interview in jeans, but they were insistent on dressing casual. Glad I did because they were all wearing t's, shorts and Birkenstocks. The previous company I interviewed with also claimed to be casual, but when I showed up in dress pants and a cardigan, I still seemed fairly underdressed. Who knew casual was such a flexible term?

Also, a fantastic upside to interviewing lots and still being unemployed: I'm learning my way around. Considering how anxious I get when I don't know where I'm going, this is an incredibly good thing.

Roller-coasting and Interview Prep

Sorry for the delay, I've been..... dun da dunnnn- busy (hooray!!)

So let's start with the roller-coasting.

Monday morning I got my act together really early: I made arrangements to meet with another employment agency and filled out a rather extensive pre-interview form, got an e-mail from a local marketing group requesting an interview with me, got a call from a web site I sent my application to on CareerBuilder, and filled out an application for a part time management position at a retail store close to my house.

After being thrilled about speaking to a more professional employment agency, I got even more excited when I got the e-mail from the marketing group who's job posting looked almost perfect. Then I Googled the company and found out they've scammed quite a few people and don't even have a real site (for an internet based company.) But I didn't let my positive glow fade. I was confident in the application I did for the agency and how many resumes I had sent out. Not 15 minutes after I found out about the scam, I got a call for a copy editing/ editorial assistant job (YAY!!!) The woman I spoke with was enthusiastic and said that my resume looked impressive, "a perfect fit."

Arrangements were made for an interview the following day at 5:00p.m.

Interview Prep:

First thing's first: I picked out an outfit that was both professional and comfortable. Too many times I've gone on interviews in full suits to places where jeans and collared t's are the norm. Too many times I've been uncomfortable in a button-down that doesn't sit just how I want it to. This time, I opted for black dress pants, a button down and a sweater - an outfit I know that won't be a distraction from conversation (either in my head or the employer's.)

Second: I got my study on. I read numerous articles on their web site, took some notes of three things that stood out to me (approachability, cleanliness, ease of navigation.) Then, I searched for AP (Associated Press) style quizzes to brush up on some rules for the copy editing test I would have to take. I came across this fantastic site that offers an assortment of quick lessons and quizzes, written by authors with a snarky sense of humor.

I also checked my resume to make sure it was perfect, as well as made sure that I had a complete list of my references and their contact information with me.

Beyond the "good night's sleep," I made sure not to eat anything funny (hey, I haven't been on an interview in a while and I know that regardless of what I'm interviewing for, I immediately get that "first day of school" nervous belly ache when I take the exit ramp off of I-95.

So, the interview.

I showed up and met the chief editor, who I spent the next half an hour discussing the workings of the office and my previous experience at my internships. She explained that their were two openings- one editorial assistant job (part-time and entry level) and one copy editor job (full time and full benefits.) I, and I believe the interviewer, thought I was a better fit for the first opening, but of course I want a full time position! We talked for a while before she sent me on rounds to meet the rest of the copy team and interview with the head copy editor and her assistant, as well as the person below her in the editing line (who told me that the owner of the company was an SU graduate!)

I thought the interview went pretty well, but, as the article says, you never can tell if somebody else interviewed better than you. I'll keep you all posted.

Until then, Happy 4th of July everybody!

It's All Stagnant to me...

The search continues and with all my friends everywhere but here, my sanity is only as present as my ability to entertain myself. I've become fairly obsessed with a "Third Eye Blind" Pandora station and researching different opinions on the worth/worthlessness of a college degree.

When I was beginning to apply for colleges, and in talking with my younger sister, who's first semester will begin this August, my family came to the conclusion that college has become a pertinent part of this generation's resume. It'll be impossible to get a job without a degree. I know we're not the only people who started to think that way, but I believe that because of the resulting rush to University, the value of a degree is diminishing.

Most of the job postings I've seen require secondary education for a position that pays, the lowest I've seen- but I've seen it often, $9.00 an hour. If I would have picked my position back up at the retail store I was seasonal at during the past few years, I'd be making more than that.

Granted, in a real position my ability to grow and earn more could move a lot quicker than it would if I was back at a corporate retail outlet (where you're considered for a raise only once a year and management positions are hard to come by.) Regardless, it still really pulls the rug out from under me to realize how incredibly financially limited I am right now- especially when the ability to earn more was one of my main reasons for getting a secondary education (beyond my passion to learn :-p).

Between my job search and my apartment hunt in Broward County, where there's quite the range of socio-economic communities, I've realized that I can't live- where living means rent, food, gas, utilities, internet, student loans, and credit card bills from four years of flying to Florida for Thanksgiving and a semester abroad- for less than $13.00 an hour when working 40 hours a week. That would get me by by the skin of my teeth, and excludes luxuries like my summer movie addiction, my passion for traveling, and my obsession with accessories. Or, you know, saving up for that graduate degree that I eventually want to go back for.

I knew this was coming, but my current inability to find a job that pays less than I need to survive is making it incredibly difficult for me to focus on a future of being able to afford life.

This article was featured on MSN today and, though it's really radical, I think it poses some really interesting ideas about the secondary education system. (And the discussion at the end helps to explicate the points Hough misses.) Definitely worth a read.

I'll go back to my different forms of entertainment for now, but my endeavors continue tomorrow.

P.S. Get your vote on to my right! A poll isn't much of a poll if nobody responds.

Scams Galore

It seems as though every insurance agency and marketing firm in Boynton Beach desperately needs me.

That sounds rather optimistic. I should clarify.

Let's start with the "need" in that statement. These establishments are all looking for people to fill sales positions. Unless you know that's your ticket, it's a difficult position you have to be incredibly invested in - and that's when people are actually willing to spend their money. Whether you're selling insurance, credit service, clothes, or office supplies, your target is looking for the best deal possible. In our current financial state, a sell takes just as much effort as it does skill. It seems we're severely lacking people who have the skill and/or will make the effort, so all of these companies are reaching out to anybody they think might be naive enough to give the position a go.

Next, onto the "me." Me here is in reference to any and every poor shmuck who has left their contact info on their internet job-site posted resume.

Yesterday at about 11am, I got a call. Not wanting to answer a work call with morning raspyness, I got up to brush my teeth. I came out and there was another call and a voicemail. I listened and got excited. "My manager was impressed with your resume. I'd like to speak with you and perhaps arrange for an interview in the near future. Please call me directly at ...." OMG A JOB. YES.

Drink some oj, get my voice together. Google the company. No webpage for a marketing firm? Hmf. That should have been my first clue but my overwhelming optimism kicked in and I ignored that little tidbit. The careerbuilder profile made it look like something I wouldn't mind doing.

I told my mom and she said they must be very interested if they contacted me first. OoOoOo JOB A JOB A JOB.

Then I went to grab my cell phone to get the number and saw that they called another two times. Then my mom started to get suspicious. Anxiety on the part of the employer is not professional. I gave the place a call and our suspicions were confirmed. They were very subtle about it though and it took some digging to find out the position was sales and, though had a base salary, was mostly commission. I'd be trying to convince local small business to use this marketing/financial firm to process there major credit card bills. BAH.

Well that was a let down I was not prepared for. I'm off to remove my home number/cell number/ and address from the resumes I have posted on the internet. Everybody is more than familiar with email and that is a sufficient first contact.

This page lists an assortment of links to helps us spot the scams in our online job searches.

Amphibian Adjustments

For many college graduates, moving back home is an inevitable and stressful adjustment. We've gotten used to living by our own rules, under our own roof (ok, so maybe the school or mom or dad paid for it- but you know what I mean,) with our own transportation, our own grocery lists, and our own consequences. Ah, independence.

But then, after we've gotten speeches and lectures about how we're fully responsible for ourselves and ready for the real world, we have to temporarily adjust to that post-graduation summer where we move back in to save up some cash, find a job, find a place to live, etc. All of a sudden, we have to set the dinner table, clean up after ourselves before we go to bed, hang the keys up by the door for the person leaving in the am, make sure our siblings are being responsible, and remember that our parents are parents and not just roommates.

When I come back home to the small, three-bedroom townhouse in South Florida with my parents and my two younger siblings, my make-shift bedroom that blocks off the downstairs bathroom and laundry room is an inconvenience to everybody. Not only does my mom have to pause and knock every time she switches the wash and my little brother has to ask to grab tennis balls off the storage shelves, but I have to work extra hard to keep my room presentable so guests can use the bathroom.

Well, over the past 10 days or so, I kind of let go and let my infamous pile of worn-but-not-dirty clothes stack in the corner. Tonight, (yes I am aware it's currently 4:30a.m., but I clean best after midnight,) I decided to straighten up a bit. I moved around some small furniture to make some room, cleaned up a pile of papers at the foot of my bed and then tackled my pile of laundry last. Down to the homeless hats and gloves that I brought back from my tundra-ed university, I gathered them to shove them into an empty crevice of my closet... but ended up screaming and doing a backwards somersault when I discovered a 4inch lizard jumping out of my fleece lined glove and scurrying across the hall to find another home. (Yeah, it was a gecko- and he didn't try to seduce me into buying car insurance with a British accent.)

Naive little me forgot about the climate adjustments. At school, with a can of air, I guarded the spout of a pitcher I used to trap a hairy, long-legged spider for three hours, waiting for my roommate to wake up so she could kill it because I couldn't handle the squish. In South Florida, I have to get my sister in the wee hours of the morning so she can channel her Elmyra tendencies and put them to good use.

Now, I'm itchy all over and feel really guilty about tossing, at least, an extra load of laundry onto my mom's pile- but I just can't handle the thought of those little suction-cuppy hands crawling all over my t-shirts...and who knows what else he was up to? *shiver*

Apparently there's also a rather large snake living in the rose bush on our patio.

Welcome Home.

Couch Potato Internships

The time between jobs.

Apparently my smile and excellent typing skills can be resisted because last Thursday, the law office told me they had nothing for me to do the next day and that my assignment was complete. It being my first temporary position, I was half expecting them to keep me much longer because I was more efficient than some of the salaried employees- but I'm not one to mess with the flow of things. Also, because they had run out of things I was brought in to do, they looked for things to fill the time on Thursday and I ended up hole-punching monthly invoice records. Half-way through a stack of sheets, I came ridiculously close to welling up, realizing the awfully productive way I was putting the last four years to use. Ouch.

Anyway, I called the employment agency first thing Friday morning asking to be re-assigned as my shtick at the law office was complete and I got an answer that I thought I wasn't going to have to experience: "We don't have anything right now, but we'll give you a call as soon as something comes up."

So, my miserable case of unemployment continues. Now it's a matter of filling the time so I don't become an unproductive lump of jobless depression. Over the weekend, I started searching for apartments (jumping the gun maybe, but it's a seriously involved process.) I continue to fight with the gritty lines of pastels and have tried, unsuccessfully, to read Anna Karenina countless times. Oh, and the find job post, write cover letter, send resume, get no response cycle continues.

Keep on Keepin' On

When I got up the nerve to tell my Aunt (my family's number one...uh..."Motivator") that I was going to settle for temporary positions, she was more than disappointed and told my mom she thought I was giving up on my dream.

But I'm not. I still come home every evening and check craigslist, careerbuilder and monster for anything that might fit me. Tonight I started searching in Miami with the thought process that if I'm temping in Boca and don't mind the drive on 95, what's to stop me from going further south, especially when I know the doors that could open for me in Miami? Well... I found an internship that seems fairly perfect. A boutique custom publishing/marketing agency with a tag line of "Be Unique." 12-15 hours a week (I could still hold paying temp jobs... because this is unpaid.) BUT, without traffic, it's almost an hour and a half south of here. With traffic, and trust me, at 8 a.m., there is an exorbitant amount of traffic, I'm looking at over three hours of driving for a three hour day? I guess I should wait and see if they respond to my email first, huh.

How far are you willing to travel, heavy traffic included, if your dream job is on the other side of the terrible commute...(Shave while driving? Really Miami?)

Temp Job # 1: Transcriptionist at a Law Firm

Picture It:

• Wednesday at 5:30p.m.: temp agency calls cell
• Wednesday 5:45pm: The Breakdown- law firm needs help with Word Perfect. Thursday and Friday. 11:00am to 6pm. $12.00/hour. Boca Raton, FL
• Thursday 11:00am: five minute break down of expansive file system and dictaphone machine
• Thursday 11:05-3:00: Transcription
• Thursday 3:01-6:00: Corrections (almost illegible handwriting, have to regularly ask near-by full-timers for assistance)
• Friday: Repeat of Thursday
• Friday: 6:00pm- asked to return indefinitely

The people are nice and the woman who works with me regularly, the assistant to the head partner, is both incredibly helpful and has a fantastic sense of humor (constantly flustered, but swearing - and laughing- under her breath and complaining about she might lose her pinky toe to her heels.) The firm deals with property law for community associations all over South Florida, so the letter's aren't as entertaining as they could be and, beyond the incomprehensible handwriting, the new-to-me legal jargon requires a tap dance on the dictaphone pedal when I'm transcribing. Right

(play) - lift (pause) - left (rewind) - right.....- lift- type- left- right...- left- right- lift- right- lift- right- life. Find the right file, save. Print. Find the right printer.

Sitting in front of a desk but still getting to socialize with the people who are losing their minds about getting the letters out on time is way more forgiving to my feet than 9 hours of organizing stock-room shelves or demoing the newest lotion. I'm not sure what kind of fake wood the floor is, but it's impossible to walk without sounding like an elephant who's shoes don't fit.... but there's a real, live water cooler :p The pay's good, the hours are perfect. However, temp is temp. They can say "Don't come tomorrow" at any point (though how can your resist this smile and my wonderfully speedy typing skills.)

Poser's Potential: High, if you're interested in law.

Bottom Line: I'm sure if it wasn't temp and you were anxious to enter into a life of law, it'd get boring very quickly. What I do for the office could definitely be done by an intern, but I'm getting paid pretty well all things considered.

3/5 Prop

This website breaks it down if you're interested in the field of law.

A Poser's Platform

It goes without saying that I'm not the only twenty-something that has an unfathomable amount of debt racked up in a bank note that's hiding somewhere beyond my levels of (now highly educated) comprehension. Is it even necessary to say that I'm fairly clueless as to what I want to do with my life now that I have a degree in something that I borderline despise? I do believe I should say that for a certain amount of time, and sometimes even now, it does feel like I'm the only one.

That's why I decided to start a blog about my encounters with the -quote- real world -end quote- now that college life is the kind of memory that PHI 117 taught me might just be a trick. A priori or a posteriori?

Here is my empircal knowledge (aka, this is what my silent post-college resume says):

Schoolin':

A regionally infamous private university has dubbed me worthy of my $200,000 diploma (or I should say that they handed me a branded portfolio and a letter that said they'd mail me the elusive diploma) that seems like it has already lived up its value even though I only earned it a month ago. When people read "B.S. in Advertising," they laugh.

Baggage:

• I've spent the past seven years convincing people, including and sometimes exclusively myself, into thinking that I really care about any of the following:

a) how many items go into the dressing room

b) whether or not the package is upgraded

c) where the lien paperwork gets filed if it's sent to a client of the client

d) how many bottles of shower gel are wrung up in the next hour or which cream will actually get rid of wrinkles

e) which article database is trustworthy

f) what aisle the spade shovels are in

g) that a job is more than just a job

• I'm broke. I'm broke minus a comfortable savings account.
• The thought of yet another summer in retail makes my heels ache and my head throb.
• My network connections from the past four years are minimal. Fantastic references, but useless when it comes to finding a job that's 1500 miles away from where the network started.
• My parents are broke and anti-social. Dead end.
• I live in my parents' hallway with the raw addition of a few slabs of graffitied sheetrock.
• Both of my parents, my 18 year old sister, and myself all share two vehicles.
• My to-be roommate is leaving her developed life in her hometown to come live with me across the country...in approximately 10 weeks.
• All of my relevant experience (three internships spanning from academic integrity research to editing to design) is somehow related to my University, and therefore, I have been informed, makes it seem as though I am not "serious" about entering said career.

Extracurriculars:

I moved to South Florida two weeks before I started college in central New York. My main social network consists of the recent high school graduates that are entertaining my younger sister for the month.

Awards:

• Dean's List
• Proudest Mom
• Most Contagious Laugh (9 years running)

Competencies:

-I know where a comma belongs and doesn't belong.

-My over-priced private education has taught me how to navigate the most advanced programs and operating systems that technology has to offer. Much to my demise, most places of business cannot afford such systems and currently run Windows 98 or the like, lacking any or all of the complex webs of pull downs and short-cuts and right clicks that I've mastered.

-I'm passionate about..... figuring out what I'm passionate about.

-I can type 80 wpm according to employment agency skills testing software.

*Excellent references available upon request.

For all the reasons listed above, and a month of cold-calling that has left me freezer-burned, I have decided to register with assorted employment agencies. This blog will follow my adventures as I explore and maneuver the professional world in the all-too-often-used excuse of a "bad economy."

Come back to read my weekly assessments of life as a struggling recent graduate: life as a temp, life as a freelancer, life as a slacker, and hopefully, eventually- life as a professional.