The Past Four Months Have Flown By!

Over the past four months, I have been writing a blog about graduating seniors who are ready to head out into the real world. I wrote this blog to not only help myself out with the infamous job hunt, but to help everyone else out there who may be feeling as nervous about all of this as I am. I thought that in my last blog, I would do a sort of review of what I have learned over the past semester from my blog and what you out there have also hopefully learned.

Monster and Craigslist are good first places to start the job search when you see your graduation date SCREAMING out at you.

A resume is the first place to begin, where you have to outline each section, making headlines not too specific, and always including the most impressive tasks that you have performed within each section.

You should sit down and really think of what your dream job is. It's fun and it can get that first resume out. My dream job has always been to work for People Magazine and that's exactly where my first resume went to.

During my summer in Manhattan, I learned all about networking and how important it can be to your future and it is the best opportunity to make connections. With a goal in mind, you will be able to find the go-to-person in that industry, talk to speakers and get their e-mail address, and talk to friends of friends, you never know who you'll meet.

An interview can be like a date, you don't want to do anything to kill the mood and you always want to make a good impression. By staying away from being needy, lousy nonverbal communication, falling into the answers-only rut, and rambling, you should be fine with your interviews.

The Job Hunt. Here's some advice: make sure to draw a clear picture of yourself in your resume, making the employer want to know more about you. Don't be narrow, stand out and be unique when presenting yourself to employers. And treat your hunt like a development project.

Apply to University of Dreams and have the summer of a lifetime. While working at Blackbook Magazine, I lived in New York City, saw a Broadway play, traveled to Atlantic City, hung out in Bloomingdales and at the Today Show on my days off, and met the most amazing people.

Appearance is very important to the working world. The appropriate business attire for men is usually a suit and for women is a blouse with skirts with light make-up. You shouldn't chew gum and you might want to cover your tattoos.

Tips to manage stress. Avoid using drugs and alcohol, manage your time effectively, exercise, eat healthy foods, think positively, and learn to control worry.

The job-search timeline. It's the end of April, so that means you should be continuing looking for as many job opportunities as you can find. May begins next week, which means some of you should be finalizing your summer job plans.

Location, location, location. You should really think of where you want to live and then apply to jobs in that area. Your job is only one part of your life, so you should be able to enjoy where you live and its environment and atmosphere. New York City and San Diego are in the top ten big city list and Scottsdale, AZ and Sugarland, TX made it on the top ten smaller city list.

Dress for the job that you have. No matter what you wear, your clothes should be neat and clean and you should still make a good impression while presenting yourself. If your job allows you to wear jeans and cowboy boots, then wear them, but if your job asks you to wear a business suit, then wear that as well. The main idea is to fit in.

The waiting game. You've sent the resumes, done the interviews, now what? Don't put all of your eggs in one basket and keep on searching. You could use other job opportunities to your advantage, but make sure to keep in touch with the employers that you have interviewed with because you never know what could happen in the future, even if you didn't get the job that you applied for.

I hope that ALL of you are a little bit closer to stepping out into the real world and aren't as nervous as when I first posted to my blog in January. I think that I'm a lot more ready than four months ago, and I should be, countdown to graduation is now at...19 days!

After the Interview...What to do?

So...what should one be doing after the interview process, during the waiting game? One thing is for sure, don't stop applying to other jobs, because putting all of your eggs in one basket is not a good idea.

The one interview that I have had went really really well, but since then, I have been involved with the waiting game. I've been crossing off each day that passes, anticipating the day that they told me they would be contacting me. All I can say is that this game is kinda tough. I pretty much did put all of my eggs in one basket and it may have backfired. So, I myself have been looking for some advice on what to do during this so-called waiting game and I thought that I could share it with all of you. In this article, "The Waiting Game," Caroline Levchuck shares some after the interview advice.

The real test after the interview, she says is...waiting for an offer. "Companies can take a long time to make a job offer. And some will conduct a second, third or even fourth interview before choosing a candidate." Here is how you should conduct yourself between the interview and the final decision.

You may be asking questions, such as, "How often should you follow up?" "What can you do to keep yourself in contention for the job?" "And is there any way to speed up the decision-making process?" The answer is simple...Stay in Touch.

But how does one stay in touch without coming across as being annoying?

Levchuck says that there is a fine line between being conscientious and being annoying. "Don't wait for the recruiter to contact you. You need to keep in touch not just to stay informed about the interview process, but also to stay fresh in the recruiter's mind."

After the interview, candidates should wait one week before following up. And when you follow up, remind them of your interest in the position. Ask them what the next step is and find out when the company anticipates making their decision.

Levchuck's next major point...Don't Stop Searching

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket

Don't take a break from your job search, this is one of the biggest mistakes that job seekers make, in the hopes that an offer is certain.

It is hard to predict if you'll be offered a particular job, so even though you may be confident, keep looking.

If the offer does come, you won't lose your momentum, and you'll also increase your chance of getting another offer, which will helpful when negotiating.

Next...Strategize

If your job search is going pretty well, and if you're lucky and ambitious, you may get other jobs offers while you're waiting for others.

You could use your other job offer to your advantage, especially to speed up the hiring process, but be careful. If you're a top-candidate for the job, then the company may speed up the process in order not to lose you, but if you're not, it may be unsuccessful.

Let the recruiter know that you have recieved another job offer and are seriously considering it. Give the recruiter a certain date that you need to respond to the other job offer and if it would be possible for them to give you an offer by then.

Don't expect a decision in 24 or even 48 hours. Make sure that you give the recruiter a reasonable amount of time.

And finally...Don't Think It's Time Wasted

Put yourself in this position (and maybe even in my shoes): You don't get the job and you have been waiting for weeks, counting on an offer. Don't think of it as a waste of your time. You have made valuable contacts throughout the process within the company and within the industry.

If you have established a good relationship with the recruiter or the hiring manager, send them a brief note, thanking them for their time and how much you have enjoyed meeting with them and ask them to keep you in mind for future positions.

Take Caroline's advice and good luck with getting offers! But in the meantime, don't forget about that job search, it's crucial!

Countdown to Graduation...26 days!

I had no idea I could spend my summer wearing cowboy boots and sandals to work everyday...

I think that the way you present yourself is one way in which people judge first impressions off of.

As I prepared for my first internship last summer, one of the things I was most curious about and the one thing that I wanted to make sure was perfect, was how I was supposed to dress at my new job. I really had no idea. The internship was in New York City at Blackbook, a progressive culture magazine. Luckily, my boss sent me an email explaining the proper attire according to Blackbook's standards. She wrote, "As far as dress code goes, all I ask is that you look presentable. 99% of our staff wears jeans everyday. If we go on a walk-through of an event space or you have to deliver a package to say, the VP of Ralph Lauren, I just ask that you look presentable in representing BlackBook. ABSOLUTELY NO need for any sort of corporate attire…definitely not our scene…" When I saw the word, "jeans," I was ecstatic! I never thought that I would be able to wear jeans everyday to work, I had had a picture in my mind of a nice suit. As long as I looked presentable, I was fine, and I was SO ready to shop.

I tried to think of living in Manhattan and style my look off of things that I had seen in magazines and what I felt was in style at the time I would be spending in the Big Apple. I found cute, yet comfortable shoes that would soon be traded in for my now favorite cowboy boots and gold Jack Rogers, (a sandal that was seen in every color in Blackbook's office) jeans of every shade of blue, shirts and tanks with crazy designs, and a few dresses that would soon be fashioned at some of Blackbook's events. I actually ended up buying most of my wardrobe once I got into the city and after I spent my first week at Blackbook. What I realized most was that I needed to fit in to their work environment, dressing for the job that I had.

Dawn Rosenberg McKay, the author of the article "Clothes Make the Man (or Woman)," explains that choosing a wardrobe for your job can be difficult. Suits and the usual navy blue are more of a corporate attire, usually for bankers and accountants. So, she asks, what do you wear if you are about to work in an industry that doesn't really have a typical style of dress? What if the job says to dress casual, when do you cross the line between casual and sloppy? Here are Dawn's tips:

No matter what you were, your clothes should be neat and clean.
Keep your shoes in good condition.
Your hair should be neatly styled.
For women: makeup should be subtle.
Nails should be clean and neat and of reasonable length.
And most importantly...Dress for the job you want.

And if you're still not sure, Dawn praises khakis as always being a safe choice as well as sport shirts or nice sweaters.

Like I had wanted to fit in with the work environment after being at Blackbook for a few days, Dawn also says that you want to give the impression that you fit in. One way of doing this, is looking at what the other employees are wearing and try to example what you choose to wear from them.

And if you have any questions, just ask your employer before you begin working. You would hate it if you stepped into the office the first day, dressed in a suit, as if you were ready to make an investment deal and everyone else was wearing jeans, and vice versa. Be confident in what you wear and dress for the job you have.

Happy Shopping!

Countdown to Graduation...33 days!

Location! Location! Location!

As the countdown to graduation begins, I am basically looking for a job anywhere and am going to take whatever I get offered, and wherever. But the wherever part is a little more complicated. I think that location is one of my main factors of where I will end up taking a job. As far as I'm concerned, your job is one part of your life and the other part is where you live and what you do outside of work. Therefore, you would want the perfect location. Whether it's a small or a big city that fits you, here are some of the best places to live in as of 2007, thanks to CNN. You never know, one of these places could be where you end up. Or maybe it could just jump start the job search and resume process.

SMALL CITIES

Fort Collins, Colorado
A city of a population of 128,000, Fort Collins has low-crime and good jobs in a high-tech economy, as well as a great outdoor life. Located in the Rocky Mountains, there are restaurants, night life and culture, and places for boating and swimming.

Naperville, Illinois
With a riverwalk that takes you around the city's downtown area, Naperville is a great place for people-watching and listening to concerts. Having more green space than most cities, there is a lot to offer when it comes to shopping, jazz, and restaurants.

Sugar Land, Texas
Although a very humid city, Sugar Land is one of the country's more diverse communties. Since the 80s, it has become less of a sleepy small town and more a place of good jobs and affordable housing.

Columbia/Ellicott City, Maryland
With a charming downtown, a large selection of townhomes and apartments, as well as a mall that they say has everything. There is also a major music venue and a 30,000-square foot arts center that the county runs.

Cary, North Carolina
With one of the country's lowest crime rates, Cary isn't far from Raleigh, and the software maker SAS is based there. 50% of its 10,000 jobs are in the area, and arts and crafts festivals are common visitors to the downtown area.

Overland Park, Kansas
Considered the secondd-biggest city in Kansas, there is a large job market as a third of Fortune 500 companies have offices in the area.

Scottsdale, Arizona
Although it is seen as a perfect place for golf-obsessed retirees, this Arizonan city offers year-round residents a wealth of job opportunities and recreation and a 113-mile area of paths and parks.

Boise, Idaho
With the rocky mountains serving as a beautiful backdrop, Boise's downtown area is filled with boutiques, restaurants, and a farmer's market ever Saturday in the summer. The capital city has a booming economy and plenty of government jobs.

Fairfield, Connecticut
Considered to be in the New York metro area, Fairfield also is home to two Fortune 500 companies and plenty to do in it's thriving downtown.

Eden Prairie, Minnesota
A hot spot for businesses, this onetime cow town now is home to a tech-industry.






BIG CITIES

Colorado Springs, Colorado
With a population of almost 370,000, HP and Intel are large employers in this large city as well as home to three bases and the Air Force Academy.




Austin, Texas
Claiming to have more music venues and restaurants per capita than any other U.S. city, Austin's nickname is Silicon Hills due to its large number of tech employers. And did you know that the city's unofficial motto is "Keep Austin weird."

Mesa, Arizona
With the cost of living half to what it is in San Francisco, this Phoenix outskirt, has turned into the latest "boomburb."

Raleigh, North Carolina
Named after Sir Walter Raleigh, this city is an incubator for cutting-edge tech firms and is described as a park with a city in it due to its amount of green space.

San Diego, California
Nicknamed, "America's Finest City," San Diego is now the No. 1 biotech area in the U.S.

Virginia Beach, Virginia
With 38 miles of waterfront, this up-and-coming military town has affordable homes and a growth of tech companies.

Omaha, Nebraska
Home to the world's largest indoor rain forest, Omaha is famous for steaks and Warren Buffet, as well as a booming downtown riverfront.

Columbus, Ohio
Considered Ohio's largest city, Columbus is a thriving college town for those of you who are not yet ready to leave college atmosphere behind.

Wichita, Kansas
With more sunny days in Wichita than in Daytona Beach or Honolulu, this big city is known as the "air capital of the world" with 46,000 aerospace jobs in the area.

New York City, New York
With a population of over 8 million people, the Big Apple has the third lowest crime rate among the 25 biggest cities in the U.S. The city that never sleeps has a little bit of everything for everyone and is definitely the place where I hope to be calling home after graduation in May. One of the many reasons why I heart NYC so much.

So check these places out, you never know, one day you could be enjoying the perks of one of these great cities.

Countdown to Graduation...40 days!

A Job-Search Timeline

Throughout the past couple months, I have been wondering whether or not I was on schedule with the job search process and if I was sending out resumes and cover letters to hopeful employers at the right time. This past Friday I had a phone interview with University of Dreams for a spot on their summer staff in Manhattan for the summer. After reading an article that was posted on FastWeb, I realized that I am on track for landing a job by the time summer approaches. At least that's the plan. Here is the timeline by Peter Vogt that was posted, to help with certain deadlines and to help keep you focused. Within each list of criteria, there are links with further advice from Peter's post.

February and March

In these two months, you should be determining which type of summer job you would like. You should list certain criteria to help with your search:

Where you want or need to get a job.
How much money you'd like to make.
Key skills to build.
Areas of interest and/or organizations to explore.
Assess your current skill set, either by yourself or with a counselor at your school's career center, to determine which key skills an employer might need this summer.
With guidance from a campus career counselor, develop a basic resume and cover letter to apply for summer positions.
Begin looking for specific job opportunities using:
Online resources like MonsterTRAK and Monster.
Friends, family members, relatives, professors and others who can direct you toward job possibilities.
City-specific resources.

April

Continue looking for job opportunities.
Start applying for jobs, being sure to follow the employer's directions. Some companies require a resume and cover letter. Others want you to fill out a company application.
Ask professors, previous coworkers and supervisors, and others who know you professionally if they'll serve as references. If possible, have each person write you a one-page letter of recommendation to give prospective employers.
Follow up with companies you've applied to. Make sure your materials have been received and that each company has everything it needs to consider you.
If possible, schedule interviews with companies of interest.
Start researching housing options for summer if applicable.

May

Practice answering summer job interview questions, either with a friend or a career center counselor at your school. Research companies and jobs before the interview.
Finalize summer living arrangements.
Schedule job interviews.
Go on job interviews, and follow up with thank-you notes.
If the right job is offered, accept it.
If you don't have a solid line on a job, get some help from your school's career center -- preferably before spring semester ends if your summer plans will take you away from campus. You can also step up your networking efforts. Ask your parents, friends, professors and others if they know of available summer jobs.

June

Show up for your first day on time and prepared.
Talk to your new supervisor about the skills you'd like to further develop.
Go beyond the minimum to make a good, lasting impression on your supervisor and coworkers.

And lastly, if you are looking for another place to send out a resume, here's a video that gives an inside look into Google, in which Fortune Magazine describes as the best company to work for in America. Talk about a fun work day!

Managing Stress

I'm back from Spring break and I've come to the conclusion that I need another week to relax from the events of the break. I was definitely not ready to go to my 10 a.m. class this morning and I'm definitely not ready to continue the "sending out resume slash job hunt" process. There are only about six weeks of classes left and with end of the semester projects and tests for classes, graduation details, and the real world job search, I don't know about all of you, but I'm a little stressed, actually A LOT stressed! I found some tips on the University of Pittsburgh's health education website that can help you manage those stressful moments and to make the next couple months go smoother.

TIPS TO MANAGE STRESS

1. Manage Your Time Effectively: Making to-do lists and using a daily planner can allow you to map out all your class assignments, work hours, meetings, and of course time for yourself. You should prioritize the most important activities and do them first.

2. Exercise: Physical activity is one of the best ways when it comes to dealing with stress. While releasing endorphines, it is able to give you a natural "high."

3. Avoid Using Drugs or Alcohol: Drugs and alcohol will only mask the symptoms of stress and once you stop using them, the stress will return.

4. Take a Break: During the day, you should schedule time for short breaks to help minimize your stress. Stretch, visit a friend, or go for a walk. These short breaks will help you work more efficiently.

5. Minimize Interruptions: When you have something really important that you need to get done, make sure to block off a time so that you will not be disturbed or have any distractions. Go to a place where no one can find you and turn your phone to silent.

6. Eat Healthy Foods: Make sure to pack healthy foods if you are going to be gone all day and avoid food that is high in sugar, fat, and sodium. Make sure not to skip meals because that will make you have less energy.

7. Think Positive and Learn to Control Worry: Instead of focusing on the negative thoughts, focus on the positive things in your life and say at least one positive thing about yourself and your life everyday. Worrying about things you can't change or always expecting the worst is a waste of time.

8. Know When You Need Help and Get It: Seeking help is not a sign of weakness. There are many resources, especially at universities, available to students to help deal with stress and other problems.

9. Learn to Say NO: Don't feel guilty when you have to tell others no. If you take on additional projects or work for others when you are already busy will cause more stress that you don't need.

10: Put Stressful Situations in Perspective: You should think to yourself, "Will this really matter in a month or a year from now?"

11. Get Enough Sleep: Most people need around 6-9 hours of sleep per night, but if you're under a lot of stress, many people will just forget about sleep when they have to finish work. Don't let this happen.

To read more about dealing with stress from the University of Pittsburgh's health education website, click here .

How To Dress

So before I leave for Spring Break, I have a few tips for those of you who have been called back for an interview. Appearance is very important and so are first impressions. According to Allison Doyle, here is a little appearance advice on how to dress for your interview. And although, each work place may be different when it comes to the specific attire, but you should introduce yourself with a sharp appearance and a good first impression.

Men's Interview Attire
Suit (solid color - navy or dark grey)
Long sleeve shirt (white or coordinated with the suit)
Belt
Tie
Dark socks, conservative leather shoes
Little or no jewelry
Neat, professional hairstyle
Limit the aftershave
Neatly trimmed nails
Portfolio or briefcase

Women's Interview Attire
Suit (navy, black or dark grey)
The suit skirt should be long enough so you can sit down comfortably
Coordinated blouse
Conservative shoes
Limited jewelry (no dangling earrings or arms full of bracelets)
Professional hairstyle
Neutral pantyhose
Light make-up and perfume
Neatly manicured clean nails
Portfolio or briefcase

What Not to Bring to the Interview
Gum
Cell phone
Ipod
Coffee or soda
If you have lots of piercings, leave some of your rings at home (earrings only, is a good rule)
Cover tattoos

Interview Attire Tips
Before you even think about going on an interview, make sure you have appropriate interview attire and everything fits correctly.
Get your clothes ready the night before, so you don't have to spend time getting them ready on the day of the interview.
If your clothes are dry clean only, take them to the cleaners after an interview, so they are ready for next time.
Polish your shoes.
Bring a breath mint and use it before you enter the building.

So keep Allison's information in mind when you begin shopping for interview clothes and make that first impression stick in your hopefully future employer's mind.

For more information about dressing for interviews, visit, Tips from Allison and others