Boston Intern Survival Guide

1. When choosing a seat on the MBTA commuter rail, fight your laziness and walk to the front cabin and pick a seat near the exit. (Yes,the smell from the bathroom lingers, but you get off faster and beat the crowd.)

2. When leaving South Station, stay left while passing through crosswalks on Summer Street. (Beats crowds that are crossing to Atlantic.) Run around the blind man with the walking stick you see every morning on Winter Street, he doesn't mind.

3. Upon entering the office building, have your wallet in hand to take out pass. Continue to keep it out, you will need it to get in the office on the second floor because no one is there at 8:15am.

4. Take off Uggs, put on your high heels you have stashed in your drawer - question yourself, if you put on deodorant. Use restroom now, or get coffee etc. No one likes to see an intern getting up from their seats every 30 minutes.

5. Say hello and good morning to everyone you see. Smile and say their name.

6. Answer emails pronto! Always be professional; Address their name, and always sign yours.Be careful you never CC a client on an internal email- (lesson learned).

7. ASK QUESTIONS, ASK QUESTIONS, ASK QUESTIONS. If you don't understand, ask, and you will learn. PROBLEM SOLVED.

8. Don't ask dumb questions . Yes I understand this conflicts with #8, but before asking for help, BE RESOURCEFUL. Did you completely read the task? Is there an example in the T-Drive? And, honestly think- how can I get this done? If it means researching, finding a number and calling someone from Kansas, DO IT. Results speak for themselves.

19. Be particular about how many emails you send. People are busy- make sure you have all the information you need before involving someone else and wasting their time with confusion and follow up emails.

10. Be professional. You haven't earned weekend story time yet. You are there for a reason. BUT, don't be a robot, social skills are key in PR and know when it's appropriate to talk about non work related things. "Excited about the Pat's?" in a Boston office, they will go all day long with a response.

11. Bring a notebook and pen whenever you leave your desk. (Not including bathroom breaks.. well I don't know, maybe).

12. Ask for deadlines. You haven't learned how much time certain projects require. Ask, and you will learn how to prioritize accordingly.

13. Bring snacks. If you don't eat and drink water, you are useless by 3.pm. Replace two snacks with fruit or vegetables. If you don't think a bag of Chex Mix and Kashi Bars won't catch up to you after sitting for eight hours? You're wrong.

14. Speak up during client meetings. Know your boundaries, but show you are attentive, and there for a reason. You are on their payroll, show you are valuable.

15. Go above and beyond. You might not have been asked to do a task, but if you noticed a writer from Forbes is writing on the exact topic your client is positioning itself on, flag it to the team. Don't just send a link, explain what you found and why it relates. Get involved with other aspects in the office, or ask how you can learn more.

16. Never leave right at the time you are allowed to. ( Besides, if you did, you would be waiting at South Station for 20 minutes standing up anyways).

17. Leave your shoes at your desk. Say good bye to everyone you walk by.

18. Arrive at South Station between 5:29pm - 5:31pm which will be the exact time the display board will reveal what track T.F. Green Airport is on. (Usually, 9,8, or 5 ). Walk fast and beat the flock of cattle. also #1 applies.

19. Go home, eat, don't binge! Floss teeth. Get as much sleep as you can. Wake up.

20. Repeat #1-19, but this time do it better.

Cheers to Maya Angelou

Crazy excited for the news!

Simultaneously, we endure the slippery train seats, walk as fast as we can through the bitter cold to our building, fight against the 3:00pm crash, and on Friday morning- truly appreciate the phrase TGIF.

It was such an amazing feeling to have a virtual champagne toast with Gessenia a few weeks ago after she accepted her position at Lois Paul & Partners. We've finally come full circle and I could not be happier!

Now if only we didn't have 231 miles in between us...

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.

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.

All I Want for Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth - And A Job.

Following Khiara's last post - I admit I was withholding the same sentiment. It is getting tough. Some weeks are easier than others, some feel down right hopeless.

It doesn't help either when you had three days off in a total of three weeks. You go to a dentist appointment and they tell you that the line-drive that hit you during softball practice six years ago in high school - an accident that left me with seven root canals, three crowns, and some funny yet embarrassing home videos- is now coming back to haunt me with a bill that my insurance won't cover and over a year of future surgeries. Several Surgeries, that with my time of healing in between them will leave me with a temporary fake tooth that needs to be removed at night. All I could think of is Obie Trices song- Hopefully she's got some teeth as the Dentist explains all this to me. Not to mention a scale that reads I am five pounds over my usual- a direct correlation of now living at home and having food already supplied for me rather than my college days when a bowl of soup and grilled cheese would last me a good day and a half.

Depressing? Yes. Dramatic? Maybe. Nevertheless- down.

Being sick and tired of this funk I was letting myself get in, I decided it was time to take control. I have been to the gym everyday taking classes at the YMCA, brushing my teeth three times a day, and eating basically only fruit veggies and salmon. This health kick has been uplifting, not only physically, but inside too. My newly acquired energy has altered my attitude and I feel people taking noticed. Especially on Monday while working a double at the golf course...

A day that is usually dead, hence only one bartender is needed that day, but of course -it was extremely busy. Doing my best to make sure I was servicing everyone at the bar, golfers coming in to grab a pick up order, and groups of people sitting for lunch outside on the patio- all with same enthusiasm and quality service. I had waited on this elderly man with his grandson who began making small talk with me - half of me wanted to throw his hot dog on the table and run considering I had X amount of other people to attend to and didn't have time to chit-chat... but Instead, smiled sweetly with my bright white teeth, (that will soon be removed) and engaged in casual conversation. He overheard me speaking to some customers about my goal to be in Boston doing PR, and that he was in fact a Public Relations Practitioner affiliated with Lois Paul & Partners based right outside of Boston.

Lesson: Never throw a hot dog and run aka treat everyone as if they are a potential network facet.

Turns out his grandson went to high school with my brother - so Rhode Island- and we exchanged contact information. The next day I followed up on his offer of sending my resume through some contacts, and a week later I got an email from the HR of LPP.

Yes it is tough right now. I mean, everyone said it was going to be - but every now and again a lucky break comes your way.

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.