horrible way to start the blog...

I know, I know.  Not posting for a while, and just in the thick of recruitment, is a horrible way to begin a blog history.

Things have been piling up.

But that's no excuse.

I have many entries, backdated for your pleasure, that should be going up within the week.  Hopefully I can muster up enough energy from sleep-deprivation (remember college?) to get my act together.  Then I can tell you about my interviews, the midterms I had, am having, and will have, and how my weekend is so poorly planned that I might need to start drinking Red Bull (ew).

Until then, I'll get back to my Latin.  And you come back in a few days, y'hear?

a morning chock-full of interviews...

This morning I had two, yes, count them, two! interviews.  It was like a mini-super-day.

The first was for a fairly large, and growing, very famous company, as a human resources representative (ironic, no?).  The second was for a very large, international company who specializes in everything from your Duane Reade dailies to your Oscar-worthy goodies.  The first was at 9:00, the second was at 10:45.  The first went very well, the second went fairly well.  Fas as I can tell as of now.

I'd like to refer back to my advice post on interviews, as it came quite in handy for the first interview.  I went in as I always do, treating this as a conversation that might eventually lead to a job, taking things quite seriously, yet having no nerves walking into the situation.

My interviewer was dressed in a red sweater-set and khakis; I, in a black suit with a fun pink/beige/white striped shirt.  It's more fun than it sounds, really.  Thank you, Daffy's.  I came in and sat down, and we just started talking.  We talked about the weather, New York, California, and the morning crossword, which was either really hard or I was just distracted in the waiting room, what with the barometric pressure rising as each and every new candidate injected their own nervousness into my personal space.

We then proceeded onto the contents of my resume, and those dreams and accomplishments not mentioned there.  I regaled her of stories about times I worked in a team, had conflict, and wonderful (and not so wonderful) products that emerged from toiling away day and night at a project.  

A question that stands out in my mind that she asked me is: "What do you think our next product should be?"  Now this, to me, seems a bit like one of those school projects where companies come in and create a "contest" that involves creating a "mock" advertising campaign for a real product for this company, and the "winner" in the end gets to present their idea in front of executives and have a chance at interviewing (much as I was doing then), but no real guarantee of a job.  What these "contests" really are however, are ways for the company to get new and young ideas without having to pay $50K per year to some entry-level genius from a top-tier school.  What company would turn down free ideas?  Of course, we do it because we feel it's good on our resumes, and it's a good experience.  But when we see our ideas on billboards eight months later and no check in our hands, you realize that you've just been duped.  But I digress.

Then, she asked me this question: "I see here you're a marketing major... what makes you think that skill set would be applicable towards a human resources position?"  Well, there was a question I was hoping I wouldn't be asked.  I took a few seconds and then said, "I think that it's all about marketing.  It's all about understanding people and the things that go on behind their heads.  If you know that, you'll know how to manage conflict, manage motivation, and be better able to understand from multiple directions the issues that arise when in an HR position."

I think I might get a second round.  Let's hope so, then they'll fly me out, put me up, and feed me.  I'll feel like a king.

After the interview was over and I had finished filling out my paperwork, I sat down again to wait for my second interview, which ended up beginning twenty minutes late.  Good thing I had decided to skip class.

I was called in by two people whom I had met before at career fairs and info sessions.  They sat on one side of table, half-smiles, and I sat on the other side of the table, all smiles, but slightly unnerved, because it seemed like they didn't want a lovely conversation.  These guys were serious.

They started rattling off questions, I, answers:

Turn this water bottle into a luxury product.  Describe it.

Which of our products do you like best?

What does the word 'luxury' mean to you?

Why us over the other companies?

Are you willing to learn another language?

Show me how creative you are.

I decided that I would play a hard-ball game equal to theirs, and when it came time for my questions for them, I asked:

What do you dislike most about your job?

Which product do you think doesn't work?

What would you rather be doing?

Do you get tired interviewing people all day?

How many hours a week do you actually work?

Do you feel like you're just a cog in the machine of corporation and that you'll never amount to anything more than face creams, toiletries, and feminine products and that when you die and they have to write on your gravestone some sort of epitaph that you might disgraced up in high holy heaven when it says, "Aaron Samuels, he sold great perfume," when you really would like to change the world with your life, because when you get down to it, what's more aggravating than realizing that your life had no real purpose behind the bottom line of an international earth shaker, despite you not being the one that shook the earth?

Okay, so that last one is a big of an exaggeration.  

That one... didn't go quite as well as the first.  But not nearly as poorly as the one the week before.  

I should hear back within the next two weeks on the both.  So you should be hearing back, too.  Lucky you.  Lucky me.

haiku...

one interview down

not a job i want, practice

hope for the future

interview #1...

I bet you're wondering how the interview went.

I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seat.

You've been wanting to know for the entire day it's taken me to post.

You can say it: you were worried, anxious, nervous for me, and slightly excited as well.  ELB's first on-campus recruitment interview.

Well, I'll tell you how it went:

Pretty well.

I got there early, after leaving my class early, dressed in a nice black suit (thank you, Thailand) and a stripy green shirt (I look good in green), and a fly black tie.  Needless to say, I was pretty pimped out.

I walked up the stairs to our career center and shivered as I sensed the evil of career services seeping through the glass doors.  I walked past the reception desk to the OCR desk and swiped my card, which denied me, entered my ID, which denied me, and finally tried a third time to be accepted.  Career services really needs to work on their infrastructure.  After that, I sat, and I waited.  I pulled out my crossword and I waited.  And waited.  I was a little early, they were a little late, you know how it works.

Jennifer, as she introduced herself, then found me and led me back to Tim, who conducted my interview.

I walked in, shook his hand, did the obligatory introductions, he sat down, I sat down, and he looked at me.  We went over my life's history according to my resume, and I told him about some projects I had done, embellishing only slightly, and definitely dramatizing things to make a good story.  What can I say?  I like a good story.  And then he asked if I had any questions.

That's it?  That was the interview?  I wanted some hard hitting questions.  

What's your greatest weakness?

Tell me about a time you were in a group project and you had a problem.

If a lily pad on a lake doubles in size every minute and at the end of sixty minutes it fills the entire lake, when does it fill one quarter of the lake?

How many ping-pong balls would fit inside a 747 (boy would that be a fun one)?  

None of that??

Well, I was a little disappointed, so I decided to challenge him instead.  You see, the company I interviewed for is sort of a high-class company, and they had just released word that they were contracting to use the product, name, and likeness of a celebrity known for products in lower-class stores starting in fall 2007 for home decor and linens.

So I asked, innocently,"Why would you do that?  Doesn't it devalue your brand?"

I think it caught him off-guard.  I think I saw his pupils dilate.  Quickly, he regained his composure.  "Um... I'm not sure about that.  Let me tell you how it relates to luggage," his specialty.  Unfortunately, home decor and linens relate very little to luggage.

Pretty soon thereafter, I realized that this might not be the best company for me.  Yes, I want an entry level job, but not at the cost of my sanity.  That's why I'm not an investment banker.

After the interview, they had me take a forty-question exam that seemed more like a mini-LSAT than a job screening process.  And, please, they do a screening exam for candidates who will later tell non-sequiturs about luggage to an employee who asked about branded linens?  I don't think so.

interview prep...

I have an interview in just about two hours.  So, not too far after my last advice column, I've decided to give another:

ENTRY LEVEL'S INTERVIEW ADVICE COLUMN

Most people hate interviews.  Most people don't suck at interviews, in my experience, but most people hate interviews.

I like interviews.

Maybe I just like meeting new people, having conversations, talking about myself endlessly (or at least for half an hour to an hour) and having it be socially acceptable, or just the fun of the game.  Any way you slice it, I kind of like interviews.  I'm at ease during them.  I don't get clammy hands.  My voice doesn't quiver, and I can confidently look the interviewer in the eye the whole time.

So I've decided to impart this abilitiy to the World Wide Web.

Here's my secret: it's not really an interview.

The way I see interviews is that they are conversations.  They have my resume and they've found me as a qualifier based on my being on paper.  Knowing my being on paper, that's a huge step in and of itself.  So what the interview really is is an assessment to see if they would like to work with someone like you.  They want to know if they can get beers with you after work (or during... whenever).  

And you want to know the same thing.  If the person interviewing you is a loser with no social skills and a skewed sense of the world of which you would not like to be a part, chances are you won't be too happy at the company.  I know that's not an objective for many people (money is), but for many others it is (and for those who it isn't, start thinking about your own happiness--it's kind of important).

So really, the way I look at interviews is the same way I look at conversations.  I act like I'm getting together with a new friend.  Talk about the news, talk about how your experiences coincide with the other party's, discuss things that aren't even on the topic of the job.  If you show you're an interesting person, they'll want you.  And if you're looking at it like a conversation, you're bound to be less nervous.

Unless you have serious social problems.  In which case, I can't help you, but I hear prozac can.

And, once again, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them or e-mail to entrylevelblog@gmail.com.  I don't charge for my consultations!!

resume workshop...

Tonight at school I had an obligation via a group of mine to attend and help out at a resume workshop.  I'm pretty sure all schools that have professional aspirations hold them from different groups on campus.  Anyway, this time was our turn.

And let me just say: most people's resumes suck.

Now, I'm not in HR, I don't have a job, and I'm not a career coach, but I'm critical, and I know ugly when I see it.  And these resumes?  They was ugly.

I've been told that I should put some advice-like posts in my blog so I'm not just entertaining (I hope), but also helpful.  I like being helpful, and I can't stand ugly resumes.  So here I am to give you...

ENTRY LEVEL'S RESUME ADVICE COLUMN

I'm going to get this out in the open: do not use a Microsoft Word template.  It shows lack of creativity, lack of dedication to the resume process, and that will warrant itself to translate to lack of creativity, dedication, and competence on the job.  If you're not creative enough to make your own resume, then maybe you would be better fit to fill out a job application at your local McDonald's.  I don't think you need to submit a hard resume for that.

HEADING

So, let's begin at the top.  Put your name, for god's sakes.  And make it big.  

Put your address under your name, but not so big.  And if your current address isn't your permanent address, put your permanent as well.  Then you don't need to go through the beauaucracy of "Oh, but I thought this was your place of residence," and you sounding unprofessional by going, "Yeah well, that was my dorm because I'm still in college, so I'm changing it every semester.  You're just going to have to deal with updating your records everytime I decide I want to move."  Also, if, say, your permanent address (where you vote and pay taxes) is in California and you're currently located in New York, it shows greater experience of inter-state citizenship and the fact that you're flexible about geographical living arrangements.

Also, put your phone number (the one they'll most likely be able to reach you at: your cell phone) and your e-mail.  The proviso for the e-mail address is that you shouldn't put XxCuTiEpiE854735xX, or any other lame-ass e-mail address you've had since the sixth grade when AOL was the coolest thing and IMing was a good way to bypass the fact that your parents would only let you talk to that cute girl you had a crush on on the phone for a certain amount of time per day.  Put something professional.  Educational institutions are always a good bet.  Also, anything involving your first name and/or last name is good.  Numbers, strange capitalization patterns, nicknames, and seemingly random symbols are not good.  I know this may come as a shock to some.

After that, we get to the meat of the resume: your life's history.

EDUCATION

If you're still in school, or just graduated (think three-ish months "just graduated"), put your education section first.  And yes, these should be sections, with clear headings and separators.  Put any educational institutions in reverse chronological order.  That means put the most recently attended at the top.  Indicate dates attended, location of the school, field(s) studied, and degree obtained.  Some people say it's good to have GPA and accolades, but I'm not too keen on that fact.  Maybe it's because I don't have a good GPA or any awards... but more often than not I've heard it's unecessary unless requested.

Unless you are a freshman or sophomore in college, do not put your high school.  Yeah, yeah, you did international baccalaureate, you were a part of the key club, and you had a 4.5 inflated GPA with star track and field.  So you were great when you were a teenager.  You should have translated that greatness into college and not spent all your time hungover playing Super Smash Brothers, then you might still be impressive.  In short, after sophomore year in college, nobody cares, and you should have moved on to better and greater things than high school.  If you haven't, they probably don't want you.  It's a harsh world out there.

EXPERIENCE

After education, you should show your relevant professional experience.  Note that "relevant" and "professional" means that if you worked for Abercrombie & Fitch in the past as a "sales representative" (i.e. model who sells clothes, but really just stands at the doorway with their shirts off, you know what I'm talking about), it's probably not the best idea to put that on your resume if you're applying for a job at say, the NAACP or ACLU.  They might not think too fondly of that experience.  

This relevant professional experience should go in reverse chronological order, as well.  If there happens to be a job that overlaps, put the most important/relevant one first, and the less important one after.  As always, put the dates you were in the position, the title of the position itself, the employer, and the employer's location.  As well, and this is quite important, underneath each write two to three bullet points about what exactly you did while in the position.  Do not write a novel.  Do not leave something unexplained.  Be specific.  Be succinct.

OTHER

After your experiences section, you should have a place for the bits and pieces that don't really fit anywhere else.  On my resume are computer proficiencies, language proficiencies, extracurricular activities, board memberships, and interests.  You can put awards here, you can put special skills here, and just any other things that don't really fit the realm of education or work experience.  The trick is that for any position you held or award you won, write when it happened.  And as for proficiency in language or technology: don't lie, and be specific.  If you can read, speak, and understand French, but can't write it, don't say you're fluent.  It'll get you in trouble.

And here are some other things that I'd like to mention in my "other" section of this advice blog:

- Don't use font below 10 pt.  It looks cluttered and ugly.

- Don't use margins smaller than .5".  It looks cluttered and ugly.

- Just don't make your resume cluttered and ugly.  If you personally don't think it's pretty, a recruiter or HR professional probably won't think it's pretty.  They won't think you're pretty.  And you'll get rejected.  Some tips for clearing the resume and making it nice looking are: columns, headings, bold when necessary, italics when necessary, and serif & sans-serif font for specific purposes (i.e. headings)

- Don't lie.  I feel like it should be mentioned twice.

- "References upon request" is not necessary, nor are references directly on your resume.  If you cannot procure references upon request, you won't get the job; it's implied.

That's all I can think of right now as far as resume advice goes.  That, and I need to start preparing for my interview tomorrow.  Don't be like me; don't leave it to the last minute.

If you have any questions or comments, or would like someone to anonymously look over your essay, leave a comment or send an email to entrylevelblog@gmail.com.  It doesn't get any more anonymous than that.

on vacation...

I should have posted earlier, but I'm going to be off for a day or two more.  I have a friend in town this weekend.  I know all you dying fans (all one of you?) are waiting on the edge of your seat for more... let me assure you it is coming, and worth the wait, I hope.

breakthrough...!!

NEWS ALERT!  NEWS ALERT!!

I have an interview!

In fact, I have three.  Glory, glory, hallelujah.  Despite our differences, on-campus recruitment and I have made a breakthrough in our relationship, and it feels pretty good.  Do I still hate our OCS?  Yes, but they have some redeeming qualities.  It's like that friend that gets annoying if you hang out with them for more than three hours.  "Small-dose friends," I call them.  And that's exactly what OCS is.

The point is that we have some headway.  I've already lamented about the diappointment of the words "not invited," but I have just experienced the elation of the words "invited," and the pleasure in scheduling not one, not two, but three interview times for three companies that I might sort-of one day perhaps depends-how-desperate-I-am consider working for when I graduate.

Anyway, I have one Wednesday the 10th and two on Monday the 15th.  The down side?  I have to wear a suit.  Small price to pay, I say.

first night spent at school...

Tonight was the first night I spent at school this semester past midnight. My first thought wasn't, "Wow, that sucks," but rather, "Wow, it's so late in the semester for this to be just starting."

Quite often last semester, I was at school until all hours of the morning.  Group projects, individual work, avoiding my roommate who would bring home unnamed (and probably untested) men for nightly sack-romping sessions and would leave me completely awkward in the morning: 

"Hi." 

"Hi."  

"So you're um...--"

"Taylor."

"Right.  Nice to meet you."

"Same here."

*silence*

"Pancakes?"

This isn't to say I haven't had any work this semester, because I have.  Granted, I don't have a job, but I've had enough school to keep me busy past the 9-5 of most stone-cold careers.  God forbid, I should be able to sleep sometimes, a fond, yet fleeting and completely unfrequent memory from last semester.

The strange thing about last night, when I was at school until the (for us, early) hour of 1:30 a.m. was that when the clock hit that midnight mark and I knew I'd be there a while longer, I felt some sense of comfort.

There were three of us in the computer lab.  I was doing my work.  One guy was looking at porn, and the other was playing some online arcade game, Bloons or something.  I felt there was a sense of community.  Or maybe I just felt serene.  It's like I was a world-class horse jockey and I'd been off the saddle for a good ten years.  Like a gymnast, getting back up o the rings after three years of being denied access for anabolic steroid-use reasons.  As if I were Britney Spears, getting back up the nerve, the songs, and the sanity to perform one last time at the VMAs (though not quite so horrendous, I hope... maybe that wasn't the best simile).  

Despite this feeling, I rather enjoy being in my own bed by 1:30 a.m.  It's nice to know you're productive and one of a collective of freaks staying at school until all hours of the morning, but it's also nice to cook dinner at home, talk to some friends on the phone, and maybe even *gasp* be in bed by midnight.

haiku...

spent the night at school

canadian invasion

long weekend ahead

a little slow...

Sorry y'all, but things seem to be slowing down a bit as far as the job search goes, at least for today.  No career fairs on the horizon.  No interviews (yet... let's knock on wood).  School's been building up and I suppose that takes priority at times over this blog.  Don't worry, though, you half dozen who have visited this site once!!  IF you come back, I will be posting.  Silly little things like delays will not stop me from posting the tales of my battles with career services, climbing my way to the top of the job market ladder, and finding that perfect entry level job to toil hour after hour at in hopes of a promotion, raise, and proper use of the company car!!

And please, come back.

NOT INVITED...

Logging onto our career services web program today, I was greeted by the following two words in multiple boxes regarding my acceptance (or lack thereof) into interviewing for two big-name companies on our campus:

NOT INVITED

Needless to say, my heart cracked slightly at the sight of those two words.  

Why did they have to put it in such tones of rejection?  "Not invited."  Couldn't they have said something like, "Not selected, would you please consider applying in the future?" or at least something nicer?  "Not invited."  Like it's an exclusive party that I'm just not cool enough to get into.  "Not invited."  I know the last time I felt like this: it was when Greg my down-the-street neighbor had his birthday party in the fourth grade because I started hanging out wiht girls because they played handball and I played handball and I didn't think that was weird, and he and his friends thought it was a little strange because they liked playing football a lot more, but it wasn't really my fault that I'd rather get out my young aggression by smacking balls against walls than playing some pansy-ass touch version of a game where you should be tackling your oppenent and making them pray for mercy.  "Not invited."  It's like being rejected from prom from all of the girls in the school.  "Not invited."  Like the last time I called up some old friends to see if they wanted to rekindle the flames of amicability but instead they brushed me off saying that they had better things to do with their investment banker friends, who are a lot cooler than me because they make more money and get tables at clubs, which, by the way, I probably don't have the right kind of trendy clothes to get into anyway.  "Not invited."  I felt like maybe if I had put a fancy font on my resume they might have thought, "Well, he's cool enough to let into this soiree, let's bring him in," but instead they just said: "Not invited."  

It's funny how just those two days could turn my day upside-down on its head, because until then I was actually feeling pretty accepted by the world in which I live.  I still feel good about myself for the most part, but to not be invited based on a few lousy criteria and not on my actual ability... I tell you, I'd bring ten times the personality, audacity, and panache than any of the candidates who did get invited to these human resources conversations.

Not invited.

Fine.  I'll throw my own party.

converstation with my father...

I was talking with my father recently about what exactly I was doing on the Eastern seaboard with no job and a pithy 14 units in school.  The dialogue went something like this:

POPPABLOGGER: So, what have you been doing?  No job or internship this semester, fourteen credits--

ELBLOGGER: Six classes.

PB: Yeah, fourteen credits... so what exactly do you do?

ELB: Well, I've been getting really involved in school.  I'm on a few advisory boards, I'm part of a few clubs at school, I've been involved in my fraternity....

PB: Right.  Anything else?

ELB: I'm getting kind of intense on looking for a job.  Going to information sessions, career fairs, mock interviews, and networking.

PB: ....

ELB: What?  It's a full-time job looking for a job!!

PB: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

I don't know what was so funny.  I was being serious.  He laughed for like, a full minute, too.

inconsistency...

I notice that there are a few people actually visiting this site, yay!  I've accomplished my goal of my sitetracket not just being populated by myself.

Anyway, you'll notice there haven't been many posts for a while, but don't worry.  There should be a bunch backdated popping up in the next few days.  I got a little behind and wrote drafts, but never finished them.  This weekend is my catch-up weekend.

Be expecting.

And please come back.  I like to see my statcounter go up.  It means I'm doing this for more than just me, and it makes me feel less self-centered.  If you like me enough and have something to say, you can even comment.  Or you can always e-mail me at entrylevelblog@gmail.com.

Thanks, and see ya.

haiku...

Recruiting is so

Tiring, but I go on.

I need a stiff drink.

new york, new york...

There comes a time in every era where the era has to end.

My era in New York may very well be at its end.  And I have to deal with that.

I think I mentioned this in the about me post, but I'm originally from California.  Yes, sunny California.  Though, where I'm from it's more like "morning fog" California (welcome, Bay Area).  Thus, when I came to New York, I was going a long way from home.  Now, this gets hard during Thanksgiving and and my birthday when I can't go home, but I suppose it opens more doors upon graduating; I can stay in New York, or I can go to California.  Technically, I could go anywhere, but really, do I want to go live in the Midwest? (no offense, Midwesterners, but I'm a coastal guy--I need the beach, and blue states)

The problem is: am I done with New York?  I'll only have been here a bit short of four years by the time graduation rolls around, and I'm not sure if that's enough time.  I always just assumed I would stay here.  How I would balance that with going home for Christmas, I had not thought about.  I mean, I like New York.  I've liked it since I've been here.  Besides the obligatory "home for Christmas" and a stint studying abroad, I really haven't left.  I like the hours (24), I like the food, I like the culture (somewhat), and I like the environment.  Does San Fransisco really compare in the same way?

How do you know when you're finished living some place?  Sure, I get discouraged that I don't have a car and that my apartment is the size of a shoebox.  I want some fresh air sometimes and nature that isn't Central Park.  But am I really going to be ready to be done with this city in May?

Somehow, I don't think so.

getting down...

I'm going to get serious for a minute.

I was recently asked if I ever get tired.  Tired of the search.  Tired of the school.  Tired of being "on" all the time.  The answer?  Of course.  Of course you get tired of working so hard for so long just to get a little recognition and find yourself in a good job.  

Think about it.  In high school I worked hard to get into a good college.  I thought that would be the end.  But it's not.  In college, you work hard to get a good job.  So, in a sense, you're working hard in high school to get a good job, too.  And then, I assume, you work hard at your job so you get more money, more responsibility, and more houses in Beverly Hills next to Will Smith.

Who doesn't get tired?

It seems to get magnified in these leaps from one era to another.  In high school, when applying for college, I was always tired.  The day that I found out I got into my university, I was in bed, asleep, skipping school because I was so tired that I had made myself a little sick.  IB classes, AP classes, projects, finals, social pressure--it just got to be too much.  When I found out that I had made it in, it seemed like there was an elation in my life and I could deal with those classes, those projects, and those exams.  Little did I know that four years later I would be in the same place, but an even larger culmination of my life: a job.

I imagine that, when I get a job (hope hope hope), that it'll feel the same way that it did when I got into college.  I'll feel a sense of comfort and stability, at least for the foreseeable future, and I'll be able to sit down and actually enjoy a glass of wine.

The truth is, it's a lot of work to find a job.  Those of you who are looking know this to be true.  It's a lot of work.  You have to update your resume, find places to send them, send them, wait for responses, follow up, wait for responses, follow up, wait, wait, wait, interview, wait, interview, wait, wait, and you hope the end point isn't a stock rejection letter.  If it is, then it just makes you want to give up.

That's why I'm always "on."  If I ever turn off, which is sort of what I'm doing writing this blog entry, if I ever turn off, then reality swiftly smacks me in the face and shows me that my resume isn't as good as a lot of people's, my skills aren't as honed as some, and my connections aren't as good as I'm to believe they are.  Everyone else seems to calm, so collected.  Some people already have offers.  They know where their lives are going.  Where will mine go?  Where will I be, not just in five or ten years, but in five or ten months?

Uncertainty is not a comforting feeling.  In some cases it can be fun: traveling in Southeast Asia, going out on the town for an adventure, getting lost in the concrete jungle.  Uncertainty in contained physical aspects such as those is fine.  But when you are uncertain about your future, where you're going to be, and if you'll even be doing well enough for yourself to live off of your livelihood, I don't care who you are: it's not comforting.

You have to be "on" to come out of this with all of your neurons intact.  You need to be "on" to keep yourself going on through it.  You need to be "on" if you're going to trick yourself into believing you are more comfortable than reality would have you believe.

Sometimes, you are down.  But soon after, flip that switch or you ain't getting out of that sand trap you've set for yourself.

being a student forever...

I've decided that I'm going to put my life on a new plan:

I'm going to be a student forever.

I'll have my B.S. in May.  After that, I think the only natural progression is to an M.S. or an M.A.  That should take about two or three years.  Then, I'll go for a Ph.D.  That should take another three.  I'll decide I want to be a doctor then, and go get my M.D.  That'll take another four (let's be optimistic).  I'll go to law school, get my J.D., take another three years.  

I figure that if I can run from student loans so long as I'm a matriculated student, then there's no harm in getting myself into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt.

I'll have five degrees.  And I'll be thirty-five.  Entry Level Blogger, BS, MA, PhD, MD, Esq.

Not nearly old enough to die.

I hear in Europe and England they have all sort of initials for higher education.  Maybe I can extend this idea over there....

lack of opportunity...

Let me talk about on-campus recruitment again, and how unfair my particular university is.

If you remember from this entry, I am required to attend a pair of seminars before I gain access to our on-campus recruitment and interviewing program.  Well, I attended the seminars and now you're reading the blog of one, certified, interviewing maven.  

The problem is that today I went and looked for jobs to apply for.  I selected all recruitment jobs and came up with a long list, exactly 358 long.  The problem?  351 of them were for financial analysts, tax auditors, investment bankers, hedge fund managers, and entry-level banking positions.

The seven that weren't?  Four of them were Macy's, one was Polo Ralph Lauren, one was L'Oreal, and one was Google.

Can't my school offer me more choice?  What about those thousands of poor kids who aren't majoring in finance and/or accounting?  Thanks, university.  I can see you're looking out for the wee ones.

haiku...

i say good spirit

no job, no luck, but so fun

optimism sucks

diversity in advertising...

So today was the day of the Diversity in Advertising Career Day up at the Hilton on 52nd Street in New York City.  Sounds prestigious, huh?  Well let me tell you about it.

I got there around one-thirty, when a seminar titled "The 10 Commandments of Getting Hired," is starting.  That's one of the main reasons I went, so I rushed into the room.  For about an hour I sat about five rows back from the 8 or so panelists made up of different people of different functions from different agencies and listened to what they like to hear in resumes, cover letters, interviews, and follow-ups.  A lot of the stuff was things I'd heard before ("Proofread your resume," duh), but some of it was useful.

The real fun part of the event came after the seminar, when I got to visit the booths of 60+ agencies from around the country.  Who was there?  Ogilvy, JWT, Lowe, Saatchi, Google, Goodby, McCann, MTV, AdAge... just to name a few.  I was excited to have some conversations, rub some elbows, and meet some new people.

The first thing I had to do though was visit my good ol' HR ladies over at Lowe Worldwide.  Last summer I had an internship as a brand strategist at Lowe Worldwide in New York and it was one of th ebest experiences--it got me into the whole advertising industry, and I'm grateful for that.  What was the best part of the internship though was the people I met.  Half the reason I decided to go to the career day was to see them, once I saw Lowe would be represented with a booth.

I walked up and down the aisles of booths until I spotted Lowe.  One of them spotted me at the same time and got up running towards me, giving me a big hug in the middle of the expo.  The other one was talking to someone who wanted a job.  I felt kind of bad that I had wavered her attention, she had to say, "Sorry, I got distracted" to the guy she was talking to.  I'm sure he deserved a job, too.  I sat and talked to them for a little while, we caught up on how the agency was doing (no comments...) and how my schooling was doing (equally no comments...) and how the rest of the interns were doing, live, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  All that fun stuff.  They sent me off to go talk to some potential employers and I said I would visit later.

The first I visited with was Ogilvy.  My old Advertising Management teacher actually knows Mr. Ogilvy, so I thought it might be zen to start with them.  I get there, and the woman is opening a Coca-Cola, so I wait for her to finish, take a sip, and shake my hand.  We have some small talk, it comes out that I'm graduating in May and she says, "Oh... you're a little early."  I told her I realized that, but just that I wanted to come and say hi and have some conversation, and asked when would be a better time when there would be more of a chance to get a job.  "Um... I guess around April."

That damn scarcity again.

So I moved on to McCann.  I went to them, we had our small talk, this times sans Coke, and when we got to the point of giving a resume, I gladly handed it over and she looked at it.  Within a second, her brow furrowed up and said, "So... you graduate in May?"  I replied that yes, and that I knew I was a little early, but that I was here for the experience (and my Lowe gals).  "I'm sorry, we don't really hire this far out.  I can take this resume, but I don't think I can do anything with it."  So now we're killing trees.

I get it, people.  I'm early.  But isn't that good?  I'm eager to enter the business.  I want to get my name in, get my face in.  I want to meet people.  It's not like I went to the career day expecting a job out of it.  I went to meet some nice people, have some nice conversation, and maybe score a few free gifts and a meal at the same time.  Is that a crime?  

Saatchi told me the same thing as the others.  So what did I decide to do?  Just have a little fun.  I went to Lowe, dropped my bag off there, and galavanted around just talking.  

My best fun stop was at MTV.  I was attracted to them because of their table overflowing with free DVDs, notebooks, and belts.  Yes.  Belts.  Belts with blinged out buckles that said "SPIKE" on them.  I had to have one.  Or two.  I hadn't quite yet decided.  So I went up to the table, started talking about the channels, what they do there, marketing positions, and then we got on the subject of Flavor of Love.  Let me preface this with one sentence: I hate Flavor of Love.  So I asked them what they thought of it.  They hated it too.  Good to know there's such strong brand support in the company.  About five minutes later, after having gone through Flavor of Love, I Love New York, and that old show where they would play five seconds of a song and you'd have to guess what it was, the recruiter said, "Why am I even talking to you?  Are you trying to get a job?"  I said no, unless she was offering.

Maybe I just enjoy career fairs too much.

if i only learned one thing in economics...

It was guns and butter.

But if it wasn't that, then it was supply and demand.

And, if it wasn't that, then it was definitely the scarcity of resources, and the scarcity of time.

Economics professors love to loathe the scarcity of time. What do we have more than enough of? People, and we can birth them, too. Well, not all of us, but about 50% of us. What do we have a lot of? Hydrogen, oxygen, marble, trees.  What do we have just enough of?  Spice Girls reunions, Cat Stevens albums, and varieties of tomato.  What do we not have enough of?  Well, that would be time.

Why do I talk about the scarcity of time now?  Because time has been a big issue in my life.  More specifically related to this whole "recruitment" stint, the scheduling of my timeline.  So let's think about this timeline.

What I really want to do (I think) is advertising.  Specifically brand strategy, but that really has no impact on the discussion of my timeline.  However, as I have come to realize, advertising agencies don't really recruit until March or April, and then it's less of a recruit and more of an, "Oh, we need someone to fill this spot.  Who can start in a week?"  Unfortunately, the way school works, and the pressures of my university and my peers, is that people have been asking me since August whether I have had an offer for the following May.  That, and some jobs that interest me (*cough*Google*cough), though not advertising, are hiring right now.

So here's the timeline:

September: return to school, on-campus recruitment begins, pressure ensues

October: on-campus recruitment interviews, stress begins

November: on-campus recruitment interviews, mental breakdown

December: decisions on recruitment offers (please?) due

March: advertising recruitment

May: graduation

What that means is I can either do this whole recruiting thing and hopefully have a job by December for the following May in a field that isn't advertising but I would still be okay with (especially if it included free lunch).  Or, I could wait, feel pressure and diappointment from my peers, and hope somebody decides to hire me in a very competitive industry in March and, if the case that that fails, return home to my parents and cry on my childhood bed for about three months straight before scrambling together what life I have left in a somewhat valuable degree and a lot of destroyed perserverence.

Which sounds more appealing?

i think white is a color...

I wouldn't go so far as to say we have any sort of breakthrough in the post-May job search, but we do have an event to go to. And, in my stoic life, events are reason enough to celebrate. So bust our your party hats and groggers, it's networking time.

This Thursday, I will be attending what is called the Diversity in Advertising Career Day at the Midtown Hilton in New York City. It sounds so professional, huh? What it seems to be, however, is one big giant career fair with seminars. The seminars sound pretty good, and useful, including one titled "The Ten Commandments of Getting Hired," which we all know I could use greatly.

I could also use the 60+ companies that will be represented there, from Arnold, DDB, and Lowe (my internship alma mater) to Yahoo!, The Washington Post, and Zimmerman. Even Google will be there. And from what I hear (and see) about their food... I'd have no problem getting hired by them. What's 80 hours of work a week if you get lunch and dinner "on campus?" I feel that more companies would have stronger ties with their employees (and the rumor mill among laypersons) if they offered perks like free food to their employees. It's definitely a pull on why I like my university so much. Nothing says "I love you" like free food at lunchtime.

Digression aside, I feel like this could be 1) fun, 2) an opportunity, and, if nothing else 3) a reason to get dressed up and chit-chat small talk.

Now, the reason for the entry is, I'm not sure if you noticed, but the day is called Diversity in advertising.  Not that I've said this before on the blog, but I'm quite Anglo.  I'm about as white as mayonnaise.  In other words, I've never been known to look particularly... diverse.  This could go either one of two ways: either the title of the day has no real impact on the attendees or outlook on the fair, or I'm going to be seen as yet another priviledged white imperialist trying to take the riches from the poor and give to the richer, creating even more elaborate systems of inequality and abuse, ready to only get myself ahead in life so that I can have a casket emblazoned in gold housed in a giant marble tomb on some lofty hillside in the stretched of Beverly Hills where I lived out my last years in a multi-million dollar mansion with maids, butlers, and cooks (who were probably minorities, and probably underpriviledged) because I am the man, and if anyone were to stick something to someone, they would stick it to me because of my Anglo heritage and that would become even more apparent among a crowd of advertising individuals from diverse backgrounds.

I'm not really sure how to play my cards.  But if the Hilton is full of Indians, Africans, Asians, Jamaicans, Latinos, and Canadians (eh?), then maybe white represents diversity in that group.  Though I feel this is a deeper political discussion than I intended to enter when I began the entry.

The point is, I'm going to this day, and I'm determined to have a ball.

I'll let you know how it goes.