Quotes

Phone Interviews? Good or bad?

On Friday, I participated in my first phone interview. I get extremely nervous for interviews in general, and in particular, I was terrified for this one. I was interviewing for a sales internship in Denver. I assumed the other potential candidates had in-person interviews. Am I disadvantaged? I believe so.  The interview process is about showing your personality through body language, handshakes and appearance. I couldn't read their body language, and they couldn't read mine. What if it was negative? 


I already have a slightly high voice, and I know it gets higher when making 'professional' calls. Why is this? I have no idea. Why do I have to have different voices? My professor told me to write "slow and low" on the mirror. Did this help? I certainly hope so. 


Overall, I am terrible at the whole interviewing process. How can someone judge my potential based on a conversation and a piece of paper? Shouldn't we have a two-week trial period where I can show them my hard work, and abilities? After two weeks, if I haven't impressed them, then dismiss me. Don't dismiss me based on questions that are potentially irrelevant to anything I am going to do. 

Eleanor Roosevelt

"The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences."


"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life" 


"Do what you feel in your hear to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't." 


"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it."

To.Be.Considered...

How to be a minimalist:

Stop buying unnecessary things.

Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness.

Reduce half again.

List 4 essential things in your life,

stop doing non-essential things.

Do these essentials first each day, clear distractions

focus on each moment.

Let go of attachment to doing, having more.

Fall in love with less.

Leo Babauta @ mnmlist

The Book of Awesome!

The Process of Applying for Jobs

My generation has it pretty easy when it comes to the job application process. New jobs are posted  on the Internet daily. You can do a simple search, and a myriad of job opportunities appear. The career services center on campus has a database on the web of potential jobs. All are easily accessible. The only risk is that you may fall into a scam (if you don't do your research correctly). But seriously, how freakin' simple is it to do a Google search for a job you want and in the town in which you want it? Pretty freakin' simple. Making it even easier is the microblogging site Twitter. Follow industry experts, or even a hashtag and magically jobs appear. Continuously. Finally, e-mail your resume, cover letter, and references, and you're golden. Right? 

Not so much. Think about the sheer volumes of people who are also applying to the same positions.  Think about all of the e-mails that address is getting. Think about how quickly your resume can be deleted. Think about how you electronically sign your name. You aren't even putting your real signature on your cover letter. How do you make your type stand out from everyone else's? Think about the fact that you are branded by what a potential employer finds out about you on the Internet. Yes, good things can happen, but think about those photos you didn't want you friend to post, but they did. Now imagine your ultimate dream job comes and goes because of those photos. You could get rejected from a job without ever having spoken verbal word to an individual. Crazy. 


Think about having to address snail mail envelopes. Tedious. Think about having to lick all of those envelopes. Gross. Think about having to call, or blindly write to see if a company was hiring. Not so easy. 

So, while we are a generation that hides behind our MacBooks, think about applying to your ultimate job that you are qualified for via mail, and never hearing a word. Well, you sent it to the wrong address. Now, while sitting at your computer imagine typing in the wrong e-mail address. At least you get an e-mail bounced back giving you a second chance! 


"There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult." -Warren Buffett 


Images from: http://www.units.muohio.edu/rsp/recsports/images/aquatics/email.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/teacher//images/snailmail_1_.jpg

Look...I'm Famous!

I had my 5 seconds of fame last night on WIBW Ch 13 news in Topeka, KS. I had the opportunity to be interviewed regarding my campaign class' project. Check it out! Click here.

Does Somebody Have a Case of the Mondays?

Today, Monday, April 12th marks the beginning of my last month as an undergrad. Mondays are typically my worst day of the week. I am attend eight hours of class, and six of them are in Kansas City. However, this day has been absolutely amazing. Today WIBW in Topeka interviewed myself, our client and some fellow students about our campaign class' project. I then found out my Zumba class was canceled. Always a nice surprise, considering they gym we exercise in does not have air conditioning. Additionally, my Professor boosted my confidence by applauding the work I have been doing.

Now, as I sit at my computer I continue to research my future. I was directed to a program called University Of Dreams. They are an internship program/study abroad experience. They provide housing, food, and educational seminars. The reservations I am having are the expenses, and whether or not to go domestically or internationally. Going domestically would allow me to build contacts within the United States (and would be less expensive); however, going to London would allow me to experience a different culture. London would give the the opportunity to explore more of Europe. I always say, "if not now, then when?" But I have to keep my future in mind. What if after the internship culminates I receive a job offer. Would I want to live abroad? Would it have been a waste of money to not build a larger network in the United States? Should I even be considering this program when I am still waiting to hear back from other companies?

I think that I am going to go ahead and apply to the program to see what may come of it. And, as I drive to Kansas City tonight, I am going to roll the windows down, enjoy the weather, jam to Miike Snow, and not think about my future for a few minutes.

PostSecret

PostSecret.com

Unpaid Internship or Job?

Everyday I look at my planner, and realize my time as an undergraduate student is quickly coming to an end. Have I set my self up for success in the future? For me, I am struggling to answer this question. In the middle of last semester I decided to change my double major, to a single major and minor. Inevitably, I also changed the date of graduation. I had planned to have an internship this summer, and then graduate in December. Now, I am graduating in May. 

So, with no previous internship experience in a field related to my course work, which route do I take? Well, my professor told me that taking an unpaid internship after graduation is like saying you don't value yourself, and what you have been taught. Then there was an article in the New York Times discussing how unpaid internships are illegal. Yet, more and more students are accepting such internships in order to get their foot in the door. The article by Steven Greenhouse says, "in 2008, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 83 percent of graduating students had held internships, up from 9 percent in 1992. This means hundreds of thousands of students hold internships each year; some experts estimate that one-fourth to one-half are unpaid."

Then there is the job aspect. How do you get a job without the internship experience? I don't think you can. If you want to work in an ad agency or PR agency, good luck. Most of these places do not even hire INTERNS with out previous agency work. Last semester, I heard from a guest lecturer's mouth that they did not look at interns who did not previously have at least 3 internships! The computer they used looked at key words, and based on these words would sort you into piles. Yes, maybe, and no. Not even a single human being was reading student's resumes. 


 So, then how does someone like me get a job, or internship, or maybe even an internship that might be paid? I guess, I should start relying on my 'network' and 'networking' skills to help. I want to soak up as much knowledge as I can, and prove my work ethic to whom ever is willing to take a chance when hiring me. 

You can access Steven Greenhouse's article here. 

National Championships

As I watched the Duke-Butler game last night, I could not help but think back to the KU-Memphis game two years ago. Yes, I wish my team was playing last night. Yes, I was jealous. But only a handful of individuals have the opportunity to experience their team winning a national championship while enrolled.

I will seriously never forget March Madness of 2008. It was absolutely epic. I know KU has an obsession with it as well. Every computer still has the shot that sent the game into overtime as the desktop background. I wish that everyone had the opportunity to experience such an amazing event. There is nothing quite like it.