A Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Nonsense

If I may quote my favorite Business book,"Networking is not a passive sport. You need to get to the people you want to meet, and it takes planning and work and overcoming inertia."

An idea I've been living by since I've read it. And now, as Carol from New Directions said, "Things are finally getting sticky." A phrase, that right off the bat may seem like an undesirable feeling but makes perfect sense. After six months of introductions, sending an email here or giving a business card to someone there... my network is starting to truly develop.

After a "Black-Hole" day... (as my former roommate calls it. A day where you're feeling particularly "unemployed-ish" and you grieve over the death of your college days)...

I decided it was time to revisit my contacts. Writing, "Hi remember me again" email after another and leading them all with Khiara's personal favorite, " what about this weather?" I finally had a break through. For the sake of "not counting my chickens before they hatch," (I couldn't tell you who came up with that one but everyone knows it) I will be vague about the details. However, I will say this much.

• I had an interview. (I possibly had a booger in my nose for at least half of it but other than that, it went AMAZING)
• It's A PR agency located in Boston (Check, Check)
• I absolutely love the place and the people (I think they liked me too)
• And I think I have a shot

"Only time will tell." (Again, I couldn't tell you who thought of that one either....)

WARNING: Information Overload

Despite a couple minor setbacks, or several... as Khiara mentioned in the last post, I got to my informational interview on time. Note to self- One coffee is good enough for the morning. Call it the caffeine, call it the nerves, I was not feeling like myself.

That changed the minute I walked in the doors of 131 Oliver Street, as a security guard asked for my I.D., snapped a picture of me, and handed me a pass as he directed me to the second floor to New Directions. (Impressive eh?)

I then met with Carol, VP of New Directions and Joan, head of First Directions, ( a program helping recent grads and young professionals in particular- lucky me!)

As I write this post I am excited/anxious- hence, the title - info overload. The informational interview was awesome. They brainstormed with me on how I should go about taking my job search to the next level. They already had my resume printed out with corrections from the header to footer - even my Linkedin profile. For the sake of the length of the blog post I will bullet 10 general pointers they gave me. (Hopefully un-clutter my mind a bit)


1. Who are your resources? Something we all know but they really stressed on how much bigger my network can be. My Mother is part of NAWIC - where plenty of business leaders are gathered for networking conferences. They even suggested bringing business cards to the Golf Course with me.

2. MAKE A LIST- list companies. Find out Companies from PBN, The Boston Journal. Fortune 500's. Companies to research and ask for informational interviews. What I thought was super important about this point, is they said you need to research directly and indirectly. Researching companies in different publications and not only looking at them, but clients they have worked with, and considered them as potential employers. They also said to make lists of what I like, and as i meet more and more people from these companies and find out their corporate culture, I will learn more about myself and where to look. You need a "vision."

3. Be in the Know! Read on-going trends and, check out the "investors" part of these companies websites - the majority have press releases there.

4. Be innovative/Stand out- Carol really broke the mold by establishing a Women's National Chapter for Golf, a place for women to Network and also for her, hence now she is working in Boston (She is a RI Native also.) Both Carol and Joan seemed impressed with "Graduate Swagg" as a way of being innovative, but they both suggested it needs to be somewhere where people can see it. Hence my LinkedIn. They also agreed I should put work from classes and internships as a mini portfolio on too.

5. Which brings me to my next point - Get in front of the person that Hires you. I continued to tell them my involvement with Twitter, and trying to create a real digital presence - they agreed that is a good idea, but those people aren't always the ones that are hiring. Not to toot my own horn or anything - okay I am- but they both said, once they meet me- they will hire me. Therefore I need to become a member of something, go to a workshop or networking event and meet people face -to-face.

6. Which also leads me to my next point - write down what people say about you. When you get to that next interview and they ask "describe to us who you are yada yada" you can sound more modest and genuine. So far I have, well- spoken, high -energy, and a great smile... They said it not me!

7. Be Organized from the start when it comes to networking- And I mean whoever you meet. Whether it was just a run in, an informational interview, a phone conversation, backyard BBQ. Write their name down, when it happened, something particular about the conversation, and follow up. And keep it somewhere where you can get back to. More often then not, in the business world your connections overlap in different ways at different times. Consider it your "database."

8. Add an "Objective" part to the top of your resume. I've had several professors and mentors tell me different - but they stood firm that I need to differentiate myself as much as I can. Meaning, even more than having an Objective at the top of my resume, make it really stand out and be true.

9. Try to reach out to people you can connect with about a mutual interest. An Alumni of URI. If the company has a diversity program or Women leadership program you want to know more about. Angle your reasoning on wanting to connect with them so you're not just another kid desperate to meet.

10. When writing your cover letter, make the connection for them between your traits and what they can do for them. They mentioned that many will write they are hard working, detail oriented etc etc. and any reasonable person would think that It would be a great trait for their workplace. Wrong. You need to draw it out for them. ".. will benefit measuring countless impressions..." I would tackle this problem by..."

Overload? I'm still sweating over the fact If I should send hand written thank yous in the mail. (According the the book I am reading, Women, Work & The Art of Savoir Faire - Hand - written is a must. ) Or Just an Email? or Both? I am deciding on both for the mere fact the 4th of July weekend activities ( My Graduation Party, Blocked Island, and Kayaking-...all future posts!!) have postponed some of my professional goals and I would hate for my thank you note to seem like an after thought rather than a sincere thank you.

So I am tired- I worked a double at the golf course today and my mind is running laps now with so much that needs to be done. Not to mention following up with Bank of America, Cone, Race Point Group and RISD. I am unplugging myself in 3..2...1..Good Night.

Bostonians

7:30am: (401): So excited for todayyyyy! I'm on my way...Boston here we come!

7:55am: After getting to her house, Gessenia and I spent a considerable amount of time deciding which shoes she should wear to her informational interview. It was between her reliable "mature" white shoes or her stylish nude suede heels. After weighing the pros and cons, we obviously agreed on the latter...(it may be an interview, but you still have to look fabulous!) With the assistance of her mom, Gessen's outfit was complete and we were ready to catch the 8:38am train.

8:38am: We're only at exit 20 on 95. "Looks like we're taking the 9am train!"

8:45am: We purchased our tickets and it wasn't until we stepped out of Cafe Le France (or whatever it is) that we realized he said the next train was at 9:48. What?! Not possible. Turns out we somehow managed to read the schedule wrong the night before. After a brief moment of panic we did what he had to do and paid the extra money to buy another ticket for the 9:16 Acela.

9:05am: As we were waiting outside for the train I grabbed my camera off the ground to snap a pic of the State House. Silly me forgot I was using my camera to keep my ticket from flying away. Sure enough my ticket took off. As it drifted toward the tracks I had a moment of poor judgment and envisioned myself doing whatever I had to do to get it back in my possession...even if that meant jumping down to the tracks to grab it. Thankfully I caught it just as I stepped onto the yellow section. Gessenia and I died laughing at my frantic scramble and it wasn't until we read the sign "Caution live wires below" that we fell silent. That could have been bad.

9:48am: We arrived in Boston after numerous mock interviews and the extension of our Boston dream. We had just enough time to find New Directions on Oliver Street and grab a multi-grain bagel at Starbucks.





12:00pm: I got quite far into my book, Firefly Lane, while I had waited for Gessenia outside on a park bench down Oliver Street. When she finally walked out of New Directions it looked like a whole new level of excitement had come over her. She was reassured, motivated and was so excited to share the information she had learned during the past hour and a half. (I'm sure she'll go more into detail in her blog to follow)

We lost track of time for the rest of the day and it only continued to get better. We walked around Quincy Market and found Gessenia the perfect graduation party dress at Urban Outfitters. We grabbed lunch at a little Mexican restaurant where we discussed our next move (career wise) over apps and a pitcher of white sangria. We made a lengthy check list and decided to step our game up even more (after the 4th of course!). After we paid the bill and checked our statuses in the mirror, we took off-with no plan in particular just to make the most out of our trip. We hopped around from place to place, even tried watermelon flavored beer, until Gessenia got a call from a friend (who saw her tweet- that she was in Boston) and we made our way to The Landing. It was so exciting to be in the Boston crowd, mixed in with people who were just getting out of work and really feeling like we belong here.

After too many drinks and too many laughs my boyfriend scooped us up after his night class at 10:15pm and we headed home. It was such a perfect day....and we still have unused tickets back!

Informational Interviews 101

Another rainy day - it's OK- Another productive day.

Went to the doctors and got medicine for this on going sinus infection- Kept up with the Weight Watcher's Diet... Soup for dinner followed by 6 Oreos (It's within the points!) And got a confirmation for an informational interview.

Thanks to a friend of a friend my parents know, I was able to reach out to VP of New Directions in Boston. They are a Portfolio company, and from my understanding a little mix of life coaching, marketing and branding for individuals and businesses. They help people get to their next step. (HELLO Just what I need!!) But- I am not going there as a client, but as a young professional to ask questions and flatter. We finalized the date, for Thursday next week - in Boston (YES)- I already have my outfit picked out in my mind. But that is the only thing I have prepared thus far.

I need information on how to make use of an informational interview.
Kind of Ironic when you think about it. Your are going there to get informed, yet I need to be informed before I get there.


The way I see it, is people of these industries love talking about themselves and an informational interview can play out in 2 scenarios. 1- they do the same song and dance that they do for every graduate that reaches out to them, telling them the same story of how they got to where they are. or 2- I suck this interview for all it's worth and really make and impression.

Now how to accomplish situation 2. Dissect their company's website. Make a list of questions pertaining to my life at the moment. etc. etc. There is going to be some major preparation for this, and this isn't even a Real Interview. I might even go buy Crest White Strips. Over the top? I don't think so people, this is a recession.