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!