A Victim of the MBTA

I survived my first week at LPP. The office has been a little slow given the holiday season, but nevertheless GREAT. I am sure next week I will have more than enough action to talk about... in the meantime I am taking advantage of the office being almost empty (literally, there is 7 of us here today, compared to the usual of fifty!). I am taking the time to get familiar with my accounts, the software, ( I got to sit in some conference calls too ) and not to mention getting a handle on the MBTA. I have the train schedule down like clockwork. Let's just say I have officially sold my soul to the the MBTA, well at least for the next few months anyway. I know I will be looking at some apartments come spring....

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....)

City Lights

Here we are back at Sophies. Walking in from the torrential down pour we couldn't help but reflect on our first meetings here at the beginning of the summer. It really put the time that has passed into perspective comparing our cold shiver to the heat we were trying to escape just a few months ago.

Today's goal- make business cards. (Don't get me wrong, there's a list of 50 other things behind that) We've been brainstorming for nearly an hour now. How can we be creative while portraying the right message? What will differentiate us from the millions of others while still being professional?

...That's what we've come up with so far, but no purchases have been made yet.

This coming week is the FutureM in Boston. Gessenia and I are registered for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for awesome events involving Sports and Entertainment, Branding, Social Media and virtual workshops as well. While the intentions behind this production is to educate marketers and keep them on the forefront, we want to take it as a networking opportunity and be as prepared as possible.

It's been a hectic week of playing catch up all the while trying to stay ahead of the game. My trip to Oklahoma was just what the doctor prescribed. I enjoyed spending time with my family, clearing my head and finally having time to relax. I soaked it for all it was worth because the fantasy world came to an abrupt end as soon as I returned home. Wednesday morning I was off to New York for yes, my interview at GLAMOUR MAGAZINE! That day I spent 8 hours traveling for a 45 minute interview and to me, it made perfectly good sense. Thanks to the "I'm Awesome" chart Gessenia and I had worked on just a few weeks prior, some serious research on the company and a good friend in NY, I walked out of the interview beaming. Finally an interview I had no hesitation when saying it went really well. Not only that, the role of Promotion Assistant turned out to be one that I genuinely believe I could thrive in- Creative proposals, budgets, event planning, even stuffing bags- it's a position that would get me excited. I can just see it now......*sigh* (daydreaming)

Before I left the city, my sister and I had the perfect dinner date at Alice's Tea Cup on the corner of Lexington and 64th. The tiny place sweeps you into a fairy tale as soon as you step in. Fairy dust is sprinkled everywhere, the food is exotic and tasteful,and the waitstaff are super sweet.



The whirlwind of my return didn't stop there. I afforded myself 5 hours of sleep when I finally got home only to make my way up to Boston for an all day Brand Camp at Jack Morton. SO worth the lack of sleep!

...more to follow

A Quick Hello from OK!

Thank goodness for my BFF, Gessen. While I am away for a week with limited internet access- she of course is constantly keeping me in the loop (and sane) by tweeting job opportunities and sharing her job search status via #GraduateSwagg. What would I do without her?!

During the first 20 minutes I had a chance to get on my laptop, I opened my inbox to a formal invitation to Jack Morton's Brand Camp September 1st. More than a little excited!! ....as well as tip that there may be a job opening at Glamour Magazine in NY! I said I wasn't going to limit myself...so let's put that to the test! I forwarded my resume... and we'll see what happens next.

I've only been gone for a day.

Time To Shake Things Up

Yes it is time to shake things up around here! And Yes the pun was intended. For those that haven't tuned into their T.V.s and Facebook pages - (Doubtful)- Today the East Coast experienced an earthquake. I however, didn't feel a thing other than the vibrations from my cell phone from the countless notifications on Twitter and the news talking about it.

In Other News...

I had a successful phone interview with the HR from Lois Paul & Partners. I have to admit, I have been really lucky so far because again the HR (Christine) was very welcoming and made it very easy to talk to. I had my "Marketing Plan" in front of me, and overall felt very prepared. It went so well in fact Paul (the man that gave me the introduction) E-mailed me, and said she was impressed and I am near the "top of the list" to contact when a opportunity opens.

What does this mean? - It means I keep going to the gym, keep eating my veggies, keep searching. The #jobhuntcontinues and it is time to mix my strategy up a bit. What can I do now to really WOW the next interview that presents itself?

I have concluded that a Public Relations Career in Boston = Working in the IT, Health/MediCare/ Clean Tech industry, rather than NY which is more consumer based. I do a decent job staying "in the know" when it comes to PR, but I need to learn more about these specific industries. I have started following IT companies on Twitter, reading articles and blogs, and even contacted an alum from URI's Public Relations Society, who did PR for Dimensional Insights, (an IT company in Boston) and asked her for advice on where to gain further knowledge. While reading some of these articles and posts I find myself Googling words I don't understand - how else am I going to learn!

My second move, is to start working with a Head Hunter. I say working "with" rather than "use" based on an article from who else but @AvidCarreist > http://www.avidcareerist.com/2010/11/05/should-you-use-a-recruiter/

Khiara had mentioned her friend had recently got an HR job, and has worked with Head Hunters and she strongly encouraged it. To my luck, my older Cousin Geoff is a Head Hunter ( he's 1 of my 23 cousins - and that's only counting my Dads side - and no, not step cousins, my parents are together... as of now. ) He works for O'Neill Consulting Group LLC, and hopefully he will have some guidance to step up my game.

I am going to need to keep the level of determination high these next weeks, especially since my best friend and motivator- Khiara- has left me today for Oklahoma. Disappointed I will be visiting the infamous Sophie's Coffee myself - I am reassured by Khiara's promise to continue our job-hunt and coffee sessions via Skype.

Marketing Yourself 101

Well the date is set - this Monday at 11:00am I will be having an interview of sorts with the HR of Lois Paul & Partners- on the phone. Despite my attempt of trying to get physically in the door at the agency, keeping in mind the advice I learned early on this summer - the HR had said it's protocol to have a phone conversation before any meeting is arranged. Khiara who played phone tag with the HR Manager of Alex And Ani last week, found herself getting blind sided with an interview, while babysitting two kids. Being resourceful as she is, she pulled through of course- but we both agreed further preparation is needed in case such an event occurs again. The reality of someone calling you on the spot, and not having a face in front of you to read and detect how the conversation is really going- is nerve wracking. Especially with all our resumes being sent through various networks we have met this summer while trying to get our foot- in -the- door. As thankful as we have been for the people who have been sending our resumes through for us, we find ourselves getting phone calls from business contacts who then begin probing us for a position we don't even know exactly what it entails. ( Half way through a conversation you realize we are talking about Project Management... when you studied Marketing.) We both have realized we need to think outside the box, and be able to take our knowledge about ourselves and apply it in any given situation at any given time.

I faithfully follow @AvidCareetist on Twitter - so helpful! And she recently posted an article by Career Shepra, The Best Job Search Tool Ever. It is basically a Marketing Plan of yourself. Of course ours is slightly different, but thus far its been a great help for organizing all our skills and their related experience.

Hopefully it will help my phone conversation lead to an invite for a face-to- face conversation. I'll let you know.

1 Down... (enter # here) More to Go

As I'm driving to Waltham, MA , I have the AC blasting to keep my curls to their most non -frizz potential before I have to face the heat wave outside. My go- to professional business jacket is hanging in the back seat, my heels are in my purse while I sport my Sperrys in the meantime. I have a folder stacked with resumes and Map Quest directions in my lap that read my destination is only an hour and 20 away -yet I left three hours in advance. I have my A game on. The only challenge left is to get through an interview at Racepoint Group flawlessly. Wrong.

My next challenge is to find the building. After circling a parking garage, walking across the street to the wrong industrial park, asking a few people,walking back- I found it. Leaving three hours early didn't seem so silly after all (hate that my mom is always right.)

Now in my jacket and heels standing tall in the waiting room, smiling at everyone that walks by, I'd say I was doing a good job at hiding the pit in my stomach filled with nervousness. The secretary asks me if I would like anything- a juice a water etc. I politely say "No thank you I'm fine" even though I'm dying of thirst (stupid habit) - she hands me a water anyways and replies "you're going to be talking to a lot of people you'll need one."

With my newly acquired water came along with an increase heart rate. Talking to a lot of people? What was I getting into. To make it worse while I'm filling my application I come across the reference page. Shouting at myself in my head on why the hell don't I have a an already printed out paper with all my references information -(amateur move!)- I fumble through the business cards I brought with me and try to get the rest of the info on my phone that has no service.

Shana, the head HR at Racepoint Group finally greeted me and lead me to a room -and it was all up hill from there. Of course it helped that she was an incredibly sweet woman, but the nerves disappeared and I just felt like - Me. The best part was, I meant everything I said, and I believed it. While talking about my experiences and what I have learned a light bulb kind of went off like - Hey I am qualified for this job! And I could feel my confidence shining through, Throughout the 2 hours there I met with another Account Executive and an Account Coordinator. All three conversations were genuinely pleasant, and It felt great.

Leaving the building, (after switching out of my heels and back into my Sperrys of course) I felt like skipping to my car. But coming down from my high I stopped. As great as it was, I have to keep going, keep applying, keep networking. This is no one and done. But the experience was so worth while and I know with each interview it can only get better. But Racepoint Group isn't going anywhere and either am I. I have a feeling we will meet again soon.

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!

Spell Check

Thanks again to another week of Rhode Island's humid rainy weather, I have been forced to be indoors, glued to the computer as the #jobhuntsontinues- but, I finally got something accomplished. (I wasn't being sarcastic- thank you R.I. )

After writing my first cover letter of the summer, sending it to some friends and generous alums, getting it back changing it, revising it, starting over completely, changing it back-two weeks later- I came up with my final draft. Well, what I thought was my final.

For those that don't know, I freelance once a week for the Media Department at RISD. By only fate, is my supervisor a former employee of an agency in the Great Boston Area, Racepoint Group, and was kind enough to offer to take my cover letter and resume and send it through some people she knows that still works there. Ironically, I follow them on LinkedIn, and notice they were hiring, Like I said, fate.

I admit, I am a little rusty on the whole cover letter format thing, I haven't written one in over a year. It is a little awkward starting off, finding that balance of modesty yet wanting to show off your skills without sounding so desperate-"PLEASE HIRE ME." Not to mention the pressure, you have one shot, one spelling error, and BOOM- trash can- or I guess in these days "DELETE."

Therefore, I thought two weeks was more than enough time, and this cover letter had to be complete. I sent it to my supervisor. SEND. I reopen it to give it one more read, and right there in the first paragraph, I am missing a period. My heart stops. IMPOSSIBLE. So I come up with an excuse that I sent the wrong CL, resent it in a PDF, after adding the period and a couple other things... Two hours later. I re-read it. And my mind is going back to Journalism 341 Editing for Publication (my least favorite class) I know numbers over 10 should be typed in numerals, and majors should be capitalized... I didn't do these things. CRAP. I am really messing up on this one. I go back and forth on the options to my bff Khiara- should I just accept defeat? or confront it, resend ANOTHER , explain and make a fool out of myself. Khiara votes- fix it, and it will show you want to have things right.- So for the THIRD e-mail, I make the revisions and admit to my supervisor my nervousness and lack of experience writing cover letters. I don't hear from her. My thoughts are , she's thinking - "I am not putting myself out on the limb for someone as idiotic and careless as this."

To my surprise, at the end of the day she responds that she understands, is more than happy to help and even made a suggestion herself. THANK GOD. Goes to show you, people remember how it was first starting out, it's scary, we are new at this, and all we can do is learn. So lesson? It's important to get it right. Maybe not always four e-mails worth of trials, but my mind was in the right place and I am sure my supervisor saw that (I hope.) Regardless, I get a good laugh every time I open my e-mail and see that ridiculously long thread (seriously ,click the picture- you will too) But despite it all , I wrote three more cover letters,even one to CONE in Boston, and it's only getting easier. Wish me Luck.

Unknown Number

"Always keep your phone charged and answer every unknown number." Words of wisdom from who else but my other half. Our day at Sophies is already paying off! I just received a call back from Jack Morton in response to my request for an informational interview. #ThereisaGod I couldn't be more ecstatic. I'm all about experiential marketing- and if there is one agency that rocks at it, it's Jack Morton. Follow them on Twitter to check out their latest work- In the mean time, I have some preparing to do.

Making Room for the New Me

I finally started transferring all of my belongings from the foyer into my bedroom. Yes, it has now been three weeks and I still have not given my mother the relief she has been begging for. Every morning I wake up to:

"Rise and shine, sweetie! So...will today be the day?! Can we please make some sense out of your stuff down my hallway?"

"It's a process, Mom." I always reply with a smile.

I decided to give her some hope a few days ago and managed to get a few bags of clothes together to donate to the Salvation Army. I was feeling good until I started setting up picture frames on my dresser and my dad mentioned additional shelving he would make for me in my closet.

"Yeah! That would be great, thanks Da-"

No. This is not happening. How long do they think I'm going to be back here for?! I immediately texted my other half: Sophies in the morning? She knows the routine.

At 9:30am the next day we grabbed our iced coffees and sat at the table closest to the outlet. With the exception of our what-word-am-I-looking-for-convos, we sat in complete silence. Before long we finished our cover letters and continued applying to our list of potential careers. For her, the focus of the day was Racepoint Group and for me, McGarry Bowen. We swapped some fun facts about the companies: Racepoint Group was the first agency to follow her on Twitter and McGarry Bowen recently acquired the Burger King account- does that mean free fries for life?! and then as usual, drifted off into our dreams for the future. We wrapped up our Sophies date by shaking our hands wildly in excitement and left with big smiles knowing we were one step closer to our dream jobs.

My mom has been patient long enough so I promised her the hallway will be cleared by tomorrow... however I'm sure I can get away with keeping  at least one bag packed.