It's ME. I'm Next.

Today I officially received an offer from Lois Paul & Partners; and I accepted (OBVIOUSLY!).

Words can't express how I feel; all my dreams are coming true ( WOW, didn't think this post could get any cheesier, but It just did).

On a serious note. I couldn't be any happier... and it's not even a full-time job (What?!).

It's a paid internship, 40 hours a week, and it's the opportunity I have been looking for. A real boot-camp internship where I can LEARN all the fundamentals of PR, at a prestigious company in BOSTON, but small enough where you are ACCOUNTABLE and NEEDED on a day-to-day basis. That extremely long sentence consisted all of the underlying values I looked for in my future employer. LP&P exceeds every one of them.

Patience is a Virtue.

Not to mention, there is a high success rate for those interns who do well to become an Assistant Account Representative, which includes salary and benefits. If the opportunity doesn't occur, (which it will!!!) I am confident that the experience will be a crucial stepping stone in my professional career path. It is a foot-in-the-door in Boston, the industry, (they specialize in IT/health- care/clean-tech - a huge market in Boston) and I will be truly qualified for whatever comes next.

Ironic as it may seem, #thejobhuntcontinues. As one of my interviewers from LP&P said, "Work for the job you want, not the one you have" and I know I will be working plenty hard to earn my spot there.

Empire State of Mind

I GOT THE JOB AT GLAMOUR MAGAZINE IN NYC!!!!!!!

Friday night Gessenia, Dave and I rushed out of work to meet at my house to celebrate the good news. It was a whirlwind of squealing, "OMGs", and champagne toasts.

The big day is on October 24th and I have quite a bit to do before the big move. For now, I'm leaving out the "what ifs" and the answer to "what happens now" and I'm just going to enjoy this moment.

All the stress, hard work, and persistence has paid off...and it was so well worth it.

A Light Bulb Just Went Off - (Or On)

Yesterday around 5pm, a light bulb simultaneously was ignited by not only electricity but also an epiphany.
After going Five whole days without power, running water and cell phone service, I was feeling disconnected. both the world and myself.

A lot can change in a week huh? To get everyone up to speed. Following the freak- of -nature earthquake on the East Coast, came Hurricane Irene (said to be in the top 10 deadliest hurricanes to hit the US ever). Rhode Island was fortunate enough to not get hit dead on with the old broad, but the storm that radiated off her caused 60% of the Ocean State without electricity, and some still won't expect it until Labor Day Weekend. Of course it could of been worse, at the end of the day you realized what's important, your family and friends- and life basically - but still... it was TERRIBLE.

Not only did Irene come abruptly, so did a a job opportunity. A friend of mine gave me a lead to an opening at Konnessi, (a company he's been helping while finishing his MBA). The lead turned into a interview, which then lead to a second interview, which then lead to a job offer and a " See you on Tuesday at 9 and we will get started."

For those who have been keeping up with this blog, have most likely gathered the following: I am determined to get out of RI - want to have a career at a prestige agency - and have a career in Public Relations or Marketing. On the contrary, this job opportunity is in RI - is a small start up- and is a sales position. To my surprise all my determination for a goal I have been tirelessly working for was being thrown out the window, and I was beginning to entertain the idea of this new career path. After all this market is unforgivable, I don't have any planned interviews or ins at the moment, I am young and everyone needs stepping stones, and time is passing faster than sand in an hour glass.

I weighed the pros and cons back and forth. I would be excited at one moment as I envisioned a day working for this company, and the responsibility I was accountable for, and overall dominating the human race. The excitement would then be replaced with anxiety and second guessing. The salary being offered was "peanuts" as my father said. Granted in sales, the sky is the limit to make income, but there was an undeniable risk here for what seemed to be an extensive demand for a more than 40 hr work week.

But in the end, it wasn't the amount of work being asked that bothered me, nor the pay check. It was my vision. Life throws you windows of opportunities at random times and there will always be a risk in taking them- that's the only way you get anywhere. But the one thing I hold dearly is this vision, well- you all read it in the first post. And this wasn't it. As Khiara puts it - "do you feel like you have exhausted all your options?" - and I don't. The fight in me is not even close to being tarnished.

So what did I do? The unthinkable for an inexperienced college grad living in this economy. I said I respectfully declined.

As I sat in the living room with my father, as I internally made my decision ...A sign from God, Buddha, or just the right tilt of the earth in this universe - The electricity I was lacking all week fired back on literally and figuratively all at the same time.( I am not even lying.) Not to mention Khiara was back in town and I finally had a phone that was charged long enough to be able to fill her in. After talking to her I felt grounded again...so as of today we are both officially signed up for a marketing conference in Boston in two weeks and it looks like the #jobhuntcontinues.

Speechless

Looks like I'm still unemployed, except this time I can't even complain about it. I walked into Eident Sports this afternoon a nervous wreck with my speech playing over and over in my head...."I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your offer..." Except when I actually made it into the President's office, I didn't even get that far before he interrupted me.

"Hold on kid, I already know where you're going with this....and if you have a vision, go for it. Don't worry about turning this down, you're making the right choice."

Mentally, I envisioned my mouth dropping while I tried to keep my cool. Never in a million years did I expect that response! The rest of the time in his office could not have gone better and he only helped reassure me that I made the right decision. I could not be more thankful for that.

I love Eident, I loved interning for them, I love the people there and I love what they do.... but right now I'm ready to break out of my comfort zone. There's no turning back now....Boston better be ready for me.

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?