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Here’s What I Would Tell You at Career Fair

November 5, 2015
A101, Fact, Post-Grad
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Upon reading, speaking with others and experience- I think this is a necessary post. However with the saturation of information and media, it’s unlikely that this will make it to the eyes who need it the most-newbie Millennials who are about to graduate. Actually, this can apply to some people who have already graduated too.

Now, I’m going to go on with a disclaimer: I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, never have and arguably never will. But I’ve done a lot of shit (good and bad) and maybe my mistakes and victories can help you out.

A new dream of mine is to be one of those people who stand behind/next to their agency’s table and share the good word. A recruiter, but one who only goes to career fairs. Those daunting, awkward career fairs. Everyone’s muttering to themselves, timing when they should hand our their business cards…or when it’s okay to ask for the recruiter’s card. It’s more awkward than when you attended your 7th grade formal with your crush. Much anxiety. …am I hitting the right chord?

its-gonna-be-okay

If I were a recruiter, this is what I would say to the youths of the world. Some of these things are industry-specific. Some of these are University-of-Texas-specific. Nonetheless, I think you’ll be able to relate.

15 Important Things I Would Tell You at Career Fair:

  1. Whatever Murph tells you is probably true.
  2. Don’t send a resume with paragraphs of copy. Don’t send one that is more than 1 page. PLEASE check your dates and verb tenses.
  3. If you’re on social- be active or delete it. Ask yourself, “What’s the point?” Someone *will* look at it. Private Profiles are a thing though.
  4. Regarding Work-Life Balance: Successful ladies wake up hella early to exercise- so this should answer several of your questions (about me).
  5. You might work a shitty job (or 12)- but think of it as “market research…”
  6. Re: Shitty Jobs- get the hell out of there, ASAP.
  7. You will probably drink the same amount that you drank in college- but spread out. There’s a reason why Happy-Hour’s exist.
  8. Don’t get on your phone unless it’s for work, or unless it’s Tweet-worthy (this is mostly industry-specific).
  9. Always look at someone when he or she is speaking with you (don’t do #8 when this happens).
  10. Be kind, always professional but unapologetic about who you are and what you want. 
  11. NEVER be afraid to ask for more. More index cards, more work, more responsibility or more money. Make sure that the former two is followed by the last bit. Make damn sure.
  12. Re: #10- Never be embarrassed or weirded out by wanting to express your desire/geek-out for the job you want. People like that. …Anddd you should also like the job you’re applying for.
  13. SHIT AIN’T EASY. But that’s why you’re still in school. Relish in that.
  14. You will not get anywhere alone, but believe in yourself. These, I think, go hand in hand.
  15. This is super important- BE PUNCTUAL. Being late is like you’re screaming to your future employer, “PLEASE. DON’T HIRE ME. PLEASE.”

BONUS TIP: Always say, “thank you,” whether that is in email or card, after an interview, or any time really. Saying thank you goes a long way.

So fellow youths, if you see me at a table in the distant future- pretend like you’ve never read this, you’ll get your resume to the top of the stack (I kid, but also, am I? FIGURE IT OUT).

When in doubt…be like April, and believe that you are a beautiful, brilliant musk ox.

XO,

$thu$

Life’s swimmingly.

August 27, 2015
A101, Post-Grad
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You know when you’ve had almost 200g 400g of coffee and it’s finally kicking in, so you feel compelled to write a blog post about life?

This is most definitely a stream of [coffee-induced] consciousness, inspired by the hilarious Grace Helbig.

Life has been going swimmingly. Sort of, I really just wanted to type the word. I mean, what does that word even mean by definition? The connotation suggests that life has been going great, which is sort of true. I really can’t complain. After having a conversation with a friend who teaches inner city kids, bilingually– I feel like I can’t/shouldn’t complain for the rest of my life. So Christina, if you read this- it’s actually inspired by you and your class.

We take life for granted, everyday. Every. damn. day. And it’s really hard not to do so. Because we get tunnel vision, and we only see what we want…and it’s never enough. We’re hungry, we’re selfish and above all, we’re greedy. We don’t have enough of X, we need to get rid of X or we don’t have X. In reality, we have so much. In reality, it’s arguable that we have too much. I’m sitting on my chair, typing on my computer. I get to work from home. I have a job and I have a home. I have two chalkboards that are pretty freaking cool to write on. What is there to complain about? What more is there for me to “need?” It’s easy to come up with things. It’s difficult to take solace with what we have, which at most times is more than enough.

So what’s the point of this post? There should always be a point, I’m told. Life has been going swimmingly, although sometimes shitty, but I’m going to keep telling myself, “swimmingly, swimmingly, not shitty.”

Life is going swimmingly.

Not All Hope Should Be Lost

July 19, 2015
A101, Post-Grad
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Where to begin?

It still feels unreal, and here’s my forewarning to you: it might get sappy. 

TL;DR: I got offered a pretty perfect position, and I’M STOKED. And I will be returning to Austin, TX…sometime.

LONG READ: Fall 2014. I’m feeling a little mopey, but I’m searching for jobs on full blast. I have an extensive Excel sheet to prove it (thank you Jaime for inspiring that). My Excel sheet had everything: company name, contact info, what industry, when I’ve contacted them, links and status. Down the list, you would see a company called Manes & Co. I found them through ACL. Yes, that’s right, Austin City Limits Music Festival. I had been Twitter stalking, and found the agency because I discovered that one of their clients was one of my favorite brands: Cuvée Coffee.

An email was sent out of curiosity, and I wasn’t expecting anything back…but I received a response from the Mane guy himself. Pro Tip: People will tell you that submitting emails to “info@companyname.com” or submitting a form is futile, but let me tell you- I’ve gotten a job offer/agency tour/contacts from submitting a form. Not all hope should be lost. 

Anyhoo, emails were exchanged, questions were answered, but unfortunately they were not hiring at the time. I was bummed, but the overarching theme: not all hope should be lost. He let me know that 2-3 months down the road, I would have a shot. Excited for the possibility, but continued on my search. If you’ve been keeping up, I’ve experienced a few jobs since then and now.

*Fast forward to July 2015*

Scrolling through my Twitter Feed, as I do, a job posting caught my eye. It was from Manes & Co. Here it was, that shot. It was a long shot, but it was a shot nonetheless. And I kid you not, as I was drafting my email to Manes, the Mane man emailed me. A few revisions to my resume and several drafts of emails later- *airplane e-mail noise.* A phone interview was scheduled and a talk later- I was offered a job.

I was offered THE job.  

I would get the opportunity to represent one of my favorite brands, be a part of building another one and be a Mane team member. (I am already obsessed with making this my Mane pun. Now, I finally understand why people make puns out of my name.) What a feeling. To not only be offered a [pretty perfect job], with an ideal situation, and for your soon-to-be-but-now-is boss to be so confident in you and your abilities.

It’s nice.

For a couple of weeks, I was feeling static, professionally. I love what I do, but I didn’t know where I was going…and I was wondering if I was going anywhere at all. A part of it was feeling directionless, but a part of it was the lack of motivation to pick up a map. You know? But I was 100% aware that no one was going to give me that map, I had to go and direct myself. Hope is not lost, but it’s if you keep that door open, if you keep going toward it, if you still want it. (Whatever “it” is.)

And while some people may believe that this job fell into my lap, I assure you it did not. Feels like it, sometimes…but no job ever does. Nothing ever falls into your lap, but maybe if you knock something over while sitting. *knee slap* (No one? Ok.) So, yes, I will be making my way back to the city of music, the city of breakfast tacos, the city of every festival, the city of ESK, Pieous, ABW and of course, Cuvée Coffee (and Tecovas Boots!). Sooner than I expected, but not too soon! I’m still slinging coffee, so come visit me sometime Houston friends.

What’s the title of this blog post again? Oh yes, not all hope should be lost.

thu texas flag

A Fork in the Road

May 13, 2015
A101, Post-Grad
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So, I work two part-time jobs. I barista and I intern at a marketing agency. I’m your basic, typical “post-grad-20-something-year-old.” *waving hand emoji*

I’m lost, I’m broken and I don’t have direction. I’m standing at a fork in the road, and I have no idea which path to go down. I’ve talked to friends and family. At the end of the day, it’s up to me.

Damn it.

So, naturally I’m blogging about it (re: typical “post-grad-20-something-year-old”). I know I’m not the only one, I work with other baristas who struggle with similar to identical dilemmas. They are in transition, working and trying to figure out where they want to go after this. Recently, I’ve been gaining more responsibility in both respective jobs. I’ve been learning more about my performance and more about my own work ethic. How does this help me go down a career path? Strangely, it doesn’t. Or maybe I’m not paying attention. I’ve talked to one of my bosses about my concern. My concern that I’m familiar with a lot of skills, however, not an expert in one or two. Specialization, that’s what the Industrial Revolution was all about, wasn’t it?

Has the status quo changed? I shouldn’t even be concerned with the status quo. Yet here I am, thinking to myself, “What am I supposed to be doing?” I’m thinking to myself, “There must be an answer (and someone else knows it, if I don’t).” This is when the left side of my brain kicks in, the logic…however illogical it actually is. A question is proposed and there should be an answer. Should. Right?

A part of me knows the answer to that question: it’s a fat “no.” The answer is my own damn answer, whatever I choose. But there is so much weight that comes with it that I can’t bear to stick to one answer. I’m noncommittal. It’s something I’m trying to fix, and I’m not given the proper time…and unfortunately time stops nor pauses for no one.

So I come to this fork in the road, and I have these paths to choose from: Do I want to pursue more agency experience in content marketing? Do I want to go back and see if I want to do client services in another setting? Do I want to start at square -1 and pursue design? Or do put all of my time and heart into propelling the coffee shop that I work at (in addition to succeeding in latte art)? These are all real questions.
I’m not bullshitting and hiding behind vagueness, not today.

What do I do? I’m at a fork in this weird, weird road.

Senior Stories: ohlife

July 17, 2014
General
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On August 28, 2010, I finished my first week of college. I thought it was the longest week of my life, and I also went to Brackenridge orientation. On August 28, 2010 and I quote, “I have no life. For real. No life.”

On October 10, 2013, one of my classes was cancelled. I did some work, and then I went on to go to Varsity Bar with my friend Ross to drink ABW, a tallboy, and a shot of gin…and then we went to class. This was my first semester of senior year, day drinking was my hobby.

How do I have such an amazing memory?
Because I’m actually part elephant.

JUST KIDDING! It’s because of ohlife.com.
ohlife screengrab

It’s pretty simple how it works:

You sign up and they send you emails asking how your day went. You can choose the frequency of emails you get from them, you reply to the email, and they store your reply as an entry. Every time they send you an email, they’ll start to add what you wrote last week, two weeks ago, 367 days ago, 765 days ago, etc.

I signed up for ohlife on August 28, 2010…and I’ve been writing/replying to emails every so often ever since my first week of college.

Basically, I chronicled my whole college career. Raw, angsty, and everything in between.
Because it wasn’t a public blog, I never gave grammar or word choice a second thought.
Because it wasn’t a journal, it was just plain text, no pictures or doodles (but you can add pictures now!).
Because it isn’t social media, I’m the only one who can read it.

It’s just me, replying to an email. I didn’t realize I chronicled 4 years until recently.
But thinking about it now…that’s pretty freaking cool. I can’t say the same about my blog (because it’s barely 2 years old) or any other communication medium in my life. Maybe Facebook, but let’s be honest- my Facebook isn’t that personal.

Ohlife let me air out a lot of feelings into an email, privately. As I said, there’s angst in there, from moments I didn’t remember until I got that email that said, “1000 days ago you wrote…”
I love that. Because that means things change, and would I know that 1000 days ago? Probably not. I was tied up in frustration from some trivial moment, and happened to document it. It gives me perspective, from where I stand today and where I stood then. It’s all about perspective. (You can roll your eyes at me now.)

I continue to get emails from ohlife because it has become such a habit, like breathing air (or responding to emails).

This is one of my Senior Stories: memories and things.

Day 23: Binge-Watching and an Outing

June 8, 2014
Post-Grad
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I know, I did one of those things where I didn’t blog on time. I’m sorry. But now you get to sit, watch Sons of Anarchy and read my blog posts!

…Because that’s what I did on Day 23. The majority of my day was watching 8 episodes of Sons of Anarchy, eating Raising Cane’s, and hanging out with my Dallas cousins.

thutexas family

Family Love

If you don’t already know, if I haven’t said anything about it, let me tell you know: I love my family. My cousins, especially. We grew up together, we napped together, we Thanksgiving together, and we drink together. They’re like my extended brothers and sisters. Bless each of their souls.

ANYWAY, enough of my blabbering about my awesome family. As I said, most of my day was my butt glued to a bed. It only became unglued when I was hungry. Isn’t that what summer is about? A little tangent on summer: I never thought that I would have a post-senior summer. So, bless the market? But for real, bless the market…so that I can get hired. This post is very scatter-brained so I apologize again…because I’m typing and watching Sons of  Anarchy again. Whoops, it’s addicting y’all.

Dallas, THE STOP!

Day 21: Exploration Expansion

June 5, 2014
Post-Grad
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booties thutexasIt seems like I may be tacking on some more destinations to my trip. This may or may not include Portland and Seattle.

So it’s not only #thucali, but also #thuoregon and even #thuwashington. Get it? It’s like I’m going TO there. Because I am. Not only TO those places (travel), but Thu (me). Or is that lame? Whatever, I’m going with it. Owning it.

Do I have an actual plan for my trip? No, no I don’t. And while some people have a mini-heart-attack without a plan (usually that’s me), some people are excited (who I’m becoming). It’s kind of a cop-out, because sometimes you really should make an executive decision and stick to it. Spoiler alert: I mostly don’t have a plan because this accurately reflects my life (no plan).

On this note. One of the most horrid (a tad exaggerate) thing a parent, relative, neighbor could ask of an almost or recent grad is: “So what’s your plan?” Without any sort of light banter or easing into the situation, they just straight up ask.

I wrote everything above at around 11am this afternoon? I was feeling much more enthusiastic and opinionated at the time…this conversation about “the annoyances of being a grad” will have to continue later. It’s mostly insecurity. Asking that question makes me feel insecure, not comfort. 

Now I just feel exhausted. Tomorrow, adventure. A mini one anyway. To Dallas I go, tomorrow. G’night. Leave suggestions as to where I should go. I hear Mudsmith is nice…