Trick- or -Treat

...The infamous saying we are all accustomed to during Halloween. Usually you think of happy children at their neighbor's door, waiting to be be awarded with some sort of treat. I can't help but apply it to the present stage in my life.

I will start with the latter.

The Treat:

For Khiara; she has fulfilled our blog's #1 mission - land a job. Not only in NYC but at Glamour Magazine.

For myself; I had an interview. Not only in NYC, but at MTV Networks ! AND just had a phone interview this morning with an HR from Hill Holliday.

The Trick:

For my Co- Blogger; To survive- literally. After college loans, NY taxes and train fees, her allocated budget alone to find a place to live, never mind eating , is scary.

For myself; The horrific feeling of actually being unemployed for the first time. With the golf course coming to a close, my source of income will also. I have been proud of the money I have saved all season, but in reality, without additional income it will be spent fast. Watching Khiara struggle financially frightens me. As elated as I would be to get a job in the city, I could be in the same situation if an offer comes too late and my "cushion fund" is gone. Not to mention the feeling after one interview after another - the phrases such as, " keep on checking in to see if a position opens" feels like a trick. Is anyone really hiring!?!

All I know is- ghost and goblins are not the things frightening me around this time of year. The only dressing up I have been doing...is putting on heels and business suits AND I continue to knock on doors.

"Pleasure To(oth) Meet You"

It was our last day of events at FutureM and we were ready. Although the previous events were AMAZING, we found ourselves sometimes wishing we had done some things differently. For two girls who find themselves more confident than not, we didn't realize how intimidating networking at this level of sophistication could be. So like I said, this time we were ready...

Elevator speech. Check. Outfit. Check. Rule #4 -No glass of wine until our last event. Check. List of things not to bring up (for example: The reason I have a lisp...."I have a fake tooth in my mouth that can be removed - want to see?") Check.

Unfortunately the dreaded tooth removal (read post) had taken place the day before and the result of it was as obvious as a bad hair cut. The fake tooth caused me to have a terribly embarrassing lisp, and a tooth that would occasionally pop out at the most inconvenient times- like when I was introducing myself to Barbara, CGO of Digitas, or while I was eating cheese and crackers at our last networking event. My eyes lit up in horror as I realized I was chewing on a piece of plastic- now toothless- at a black tie event, while Khiara had to cover her mouth from shrieking in laughter.....

So it was a tiny bit of a hassle, but hardly a damper on the day. Khiara, Dave and I were going to make the most of it- and we did. Our first event, Rich Media and Mobile Advertising was held at Digitas. (The building was something out of a movie!) Speakers gave their perspective on the path of Mobile Advertising and the barriers it has been breaking thus far.

 After, we grabbed some lunch and decided to head to Hill Holiday in order to get good seats for the next event, "The Pitch". We waited in the lounge on the 34th floor and envied employees on their lunch breaks - to them, this was just any other standard work day.... We had another chance to connect with some employees of Hill Holiday. Khiara introduced us to both Chris and Lauren who happened to be walking through, and it was yet another chance to practice our networking skills. Finally the Pitch began, and it was by far one of the more exciting events. Five people representing real start-up companies entering the market, had to give their pitch in a matter of eight minutes, followed by a real live panel of judges made up of journalists and agencies.

Boris from CampusLive receiving feedback from the panel

The seminar was then broken up into a networking event, where Khiara and I broke rule #4 and found ourselves sipping on some wine as we mingled. We had a chance to meet with the young entrepreneur of CampusLive, Boris and his lead sales member Melanie. Melanie was nice enough to share her story of how she got to where she was in Boston, and encouraged us to reach out to her.

Leaving Hill Holiday we had some time to kill and headed over to Faneuil Hall. Khiara dragged me into Coach where we almost impulsively bought a bag (the equivalent of half a months of rent in Boston). In return, I dragged her to the Salty Dog across the street to indulge in something more in our range of financial capabilities, Sam Adams on tap.

One drink later we headed back to our final event, Content Curation, where we had the chance to get more insight on start- up companies from a Community Manager herself, Elizabeth.

Although this conference wasn't going to result in a job offer, the insight we now have about the industry is twice as much as we had a week before (and nothing we could have learned in class). Above all, now that I've had a taste, there is nothing stopping me from having anything less.

Living My Life Like It's Golden

At times like these, I need to do two things.

1. Sit back, reflect, and be thankful for the amazing opportunities that have come my way.
2. REMEMBER this moment during the times I feel discouraged.

As a result of the Jack Brand Camp (which I still need to talk about) I was informed of the FutureM event that is happening this week. I am now home from the first two days of workshops, panels, and networking and recharging for the rest of the week. Let me give you a run down of what my life has consisted of the past few days.

Sunday: Photo shoot with SERAi Hair and Makeup Artistry at the Bridal Garden in East Greenwich. As soon as we walked in the door at 4pm, Gessenia and I played Bride-To-Be: trying on dresses, picking out jewelery, and getting our hair and makeup done by Samara and her team. Our session of playing dress-up was followed by a photo shoot that would have made anyone feel like a celebrity!

After a rush of flashing lights and enough lip gloss to last one million kisses, we left there like two teenage girls who just met Justin Bieber. It was so incredibly fun and Samara was absolutely fabulous. However it wasn't long until the reality sunk in that we were leaving for Boston the next day and had a lot of preparing to do. We attempted to do work at her house, but we didn't even make it an hour before our eyelashes seemed heavier than before and called it quits.

Monday: Woke up at 6:45am to meet Gessenia at the office to print our resumes and business cards. Blasting Adele in the background to calm the stress of our "To Do" list, Adele helped us through a dozen failed attempts to align the business card paper correctly. Exhausted, frazzled, and laughing at our situation, we left with only copies of our resume in hand. Dave picked me up at 9:00am and we were finally Boston-bound. The first event Dave and I attended was The Future of Marketing in Sports Entertainment. It was awesome. People from Hill Holliday, NESN, the Patriots, and a Non-Profit were there sharing their marketing wisdom about the one thing that unites people from all over the world-Sports.

One parking ticket later, we headed over to the Microsoft office to Tap Into Gen Y- a panel led by Edward Boches from Mullen. This event particularly got me excited during the segment where it talked about how our generation "brand" themselves while looking for a job via social media. (Hey! Gessenia and I know all about it!) After that event, Dave and I somehow managed to lose the car which took us 65 minutes to realize it was parked only two streets away. (Thank God I took off my heels). We later picked up Gessenia from the Back Bay train station with a surprise in hand...her Mom went to Staples and printed out our business cards!!!! So proud, we headed to the FutureM kick off event where we met a wonderful woman, Alison from Smarterer. She connected with us immediately and offered to help us in any way possible. It's people like her that keep us going!
 
We grabbed dinner and drinks at Red Lantern before making it back to our hotel.

Check out our Business Cards!

 














Tuesday: We woke up bright and early to make our way back to the Microsoft Headquarters for our first event, Massachusetts: The Future of Marketing is Here. A panel of entrepreneurs, venture capitalist and marketing professionals discussed the ways in which they can keep and attract the talent to Boston in order to grow and foster better businesses in the area. Brilliant people with great ideas.

The last session we attended was by far my favorite, "Boston's Digital Showcase." Young entrepreneurs discussed their career paths, and up and coming success stories presented their elevator pitch. The one that made my jaw drop? Krush. Look them up. This guy is a genius. (I could go on and on about these sessions but for the sake of interest, I'm trying to keep this short!) We ended the day on a networking event that directly followed, and met more fascinating people. Boris: CampusLive. Peter Stringer: Celtics Social Media Guru. We made some rookie mistakes during the next hour, for example: when I was asked "Where are you from?" I replied, "Exeter, RI. You know, closer to the southern end." ....He was looking for where I worked... there were a few more- but hey! we are still learning.

While I am gasping for air, I have to say the first few days of this week were an overall success and I cannot wait to go back for more tomorrow.

...Is Another Man's Treasure

I worked illegal amounts during the four days of Valley Country Club's 3-Day Member-Guest Golf Tournament. Between preparing over 500 gift boxes (and by preparing, I mean literally configuring flat cardboard into the shape of a box), memorizing 128 members and guests names ( so when they say "just bill me for it" I don't have to ask, "who are you again?!") and sitting out on the middle of the course persuading people to buy golf clubs they already have, on a record-breaking day of 112 degrees, *gasps for breath* I forgot that I was still waiting for an answer from Hill Holliday.

It wasn't until the very last foursome came through the first tee that we started making small talk about the job search. I explained my situation in that I turned down a great job for a chance at my dream job, Hill Holliday, and instantly Mr. Ricci's eyes lit up, "I have a surprise for you!" My heart stopped-

Is he about to hire me on the spot?!

Hardly, but what he did have for me was a Titleist golf ball he found in the woods that had the words "Hill Holliday" printed on it. I couldn't help but to laugh at myself. I was still so excited to accept his gift, which turned out to be the highlight of my day. The golf ball is now sitting on top of my dresser and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I would love to say it was a sign, but that was a week ago, and I still have not heard back... Whether this opportunity goes through or not, I know I will not let that golf ball be the closest I get to where I want to be.

Looking for Answers

...Never thought I would find myself in this position...
The good news: I got offered a position at the Sports Marketing company I interned at last year.
The better news: My tickets to Boston were used up sooner than expected- I got an interview at Hill Holliday!
The bad news: Now what?

 While I was in school I would have jumped at the opportunity to work at the company I interned at last year- I had so much fun there, the people were great and it was in the sports industry which I really enjoyed, naturally. However, now that it has been a couple of months since I have been out of school, I have really taken the time to get to know myself, the career possibilities out there, and WHAT I WANT. When the invitation was delivered to my inbox for an interview at Hill Holliday, I nearly cried. THIS is what I want. While the interview at Hill went well, I didn't leave there with a job. I did my part but now the rest is in their hands.

In the mean time, I have a huge decision to make myself. Do I turn down a respectable job for a potential one? And what if Hill Holliday doesn't come through? More importantly, if I take the job... will I be happy?