Just a Poor College Graduate...

It seems like there has always been a stereotype of poor college students.  You know them, they eat pizza and Ramen noodles and go to whatever bar is serving penny beer that night.  It may be a newly emerging phenomenon, but why does nobody talk about poor college graduates? I guess up until recently it has been expected that the cheap lifestyle ends once you get a diploma and make a seamless transition into a career.  

Let's be honest... how many 2009 graduates actually jumped right into a full-time position?  I have quite a few friends who did, and I'm so proud and happy for them.  But of all my friends who just graduated, a ridiculous number of them are living at home or going to grad school.  These are the options if you can't find a job: either live with your parents (I couldn't do it), incur even more debt at grad school (hellooo, why do you think we're in this mess?), or throw yourself into the real world and try to make it.

I fit into that last category.  Maybe it wasn't the smartest financial decision to move to the most expensive city in the world right after graduation, but what can I say... I'm an optimist.  And I'm determined.  I know I'll make it and one day look back on my poor college graduate days and laugh.

For now, I'm enjoying being a poor college graduate.  I'm okay with having a budget, I think it's a right of passage.  I'm 21 years old, I don't need a huge apartment with a doorman on Park Avenue.  I don't need to go out for nice meals every night and go shopping on 5th Avenue.  I happen to love my tiny studio apartment that's still barely furnished, buying groceries from Trader Joe's and looking for sample sales to buy clothes.   

More "Great" and Less "Unknown"

A few days ago, I wrote about embracing my uncertain future.  After much anxiety about what direction my life would go after college, I finally decided to just go with the flow and stop freaking out about everything.

Well, you know how when you're waiting on food at a restaurant, it always seems to come faster if you leave the table to go to the restroom or something?  Well, this apparently applies to waiting on internships as well.  Four days after I adopted my new carefree outlook on life, I got the phone call I've been dreaming of for months!  

Finally, when people ask me what I'm doing after graduation I don't have to stare blankly at them or mumble something about the economy and the tight job market.  I will be able to tell them that I will be moving to New York in the end of May and interning with Peppercom for the summer!  I couldn't be more excited, and now I have so much to figure out and plan in the next month and a half.   

Are College Towns Recession Proof?

I have always thought living in a college town like Athens is kind of like living in a bubble.  Being in the transition phase of college, where you're finally living on your own but can still turn to your parents to support, can feel like a dream.  You have all of the freedom you wanted in high school, but don't technically have the "real" responsibilities of adult life.  In all likelihood, everything you need is within a one mile radius of your apartment.  Life is basically perfect.

Sometimes I wonder if, for these reasons, it seems that college towns are immune to the bigger problems of "real" cities.  I realize that Athens is a real city and definitely has it's share of real problems (see my posts on my Anti-Poverty Campaign).  However, sometimes it's easy to feel like we don't have it as bad as everywhere else.  The unemployment rate is far lower than it is in other cities, generally because the University provides so many jobs to the community.  Unlike some of my friends in the "real world," all of my peers are students, so I'm not constantly hearing about co-workers being laid off.  Students can still turn to mom and dad to fund their expensive meals out and nights drinking downtown.  

Maybe it's this mentality of "living the dream" that will make it that much harder to graduate and leave this all behind.  Only once we start searching for jobs do some of us start to truly realize the gravity of the situation our country is facing.  I guess we all have to grow up some time, but as I said in my last post, for now I'm going to enjoy every minute of living in my little college bubble.  

Advice on Preparing for Graduation & The Job Search

Last week, I posted about differentiating yourself in the tight job market.  After writing that post, I contributed to a podcast produced by Peppercom to give advice to my fellow seniors and job seekers.  The podcast is an open discussion moderated by Ted Birkhahn, Steve Cody, and Alicia Wells.  A few current Peppercom interns (Tom Showalter, Elle Kross and Amelia Denson) participated, as well as seniors Meredith Hutchins (College of Charleston) and Katie Green (Syracuse University).  

I really enjoyed participating in the podcast.  It was great hearing advice from students in the same position as I am, and hopefully I was able to provide some insight as well.  Click here for a link to the podcast.

At Least They're Getting Social Media Right

As someone who is planning to move to NYC in the near future, I've been trying to follow the MTA fare hike votes as closely as those already living in the city.  Yesterday, the plan was approved to raise single rides from $2 to $2.50, and monthly MetroCard passes from $81 to $103.  These changes will go into effect on May 31st, and the Metro-North Railroad and L.I.R.R. will also see rate increases starting June 1st.  There will also be service cuts, which 

will likely cause even more crowding on busses and subways (is that possible?).  

According to the New York Times, these will be the most sweeping service cuts since the city’s fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s. Only once before in the 105-year history of the subway have fares risen two years in a row (fares last increased in March 2008).  These higher fees and service cutbacks are intended to help MTA with the $1.2 billion deficit it is currently facing. 

After reading a few articles on the topic, I posted this comment to Twitter:

Within 30 seconds, I had an email in my inbox notifying me that "NYC MTA Alerts" is now following me on Twitter.  Wow.  Upon further investigation, I realized the Twitter feed provides up-to-the-minute service updates, and never actually mentioned anything about the fare hikes.  However, I was still impressed with how quickly my tweet was detected (maybe it's automated? is there even a way to do that?).  

Well, slightly impressed.  Not enough to make up for the extra $22 I'll be spending every month to get around town.

How are YOU differentiating yourself in the job market?

Tomorrow, I will be participating in a podcast discussing the difficulties upcoming graduates are facing in the job market, and how to differentiate yourself.  The conversation will be hosted by Peppercom's Co Founder Steve Cody and COO Ted Birkhahn, and I will be among one of a group of senior PR students answering questions.

(For those of you who aren't familiar with Peppercom, it's a PR agency which offers global communications services with offices in New York, London, Chicago and San Francisco. It was also ranked by the Holmes Report as one of the nation's best places to work for three consecutive years, which is why I'm hoping to intern there this summer!)

I've been thinking a lot over the last few days about what advice I can give my fellow upcoming graduates.  With the media constantly in our faces about how bad the economy is and how impossible it's going to be to find a job when we graduate, it's hard to stay positive about our future! We've all worked hard through college, we have internship experience, and we're almost done earning our degrees... so now what?

No matter how bad things get, the fact of the matter is - there are still jobs out there.  You just need to be able to differentiate yourself and prove to potential employers why you are the best one for the position.  Competition is fiercer than ever, but rather than getting discouraged and resigning yourself to move home with mom and dad in a few weeks - do something about it! 

Here is some of my humble advice, based on personal experience and recommendations I've gotten from professors and fellow students:

• Use your network! HR departments get hundreds of resumes and cover letters a day, why should they read yours?  Talk to professors, other students, family friends - see if anyone has any connections that might be useful to you.  This may sound like you're just using people, but based on my experience people are more than happy to help if they can.
  
• Do your research.  If there is a company you're interested in working for, know them inside and out.  Read their blog, follow them on Twitter, find out everything you can about them.  Being knowledgeable about a company will set you apart from other candidates when applying for a job.
• Be proactive. After living and interning in NYC last summer, I knew it was where I wanted to be after graduation.  So, in December, I flew up for a few days for informational interviews with a few companies I researched and was interested in.  Just showing your face and talking with someone shows your interest and can teach you a lot about a company, more than you could ever learn from their website.
• Be open-minded.  Don't just look at big agencies, research smaller companies and internal communications positions.  There are a lot of opportunities in public relations, so look outside your comfort zone to find other jobs than you had imagined you would be looking for.  
• Intern! By now, we all should have internship experience, but you can never have too much.  There's nothing wrong with interning after graduation, and you never know where your connections with a company may lead you.  
• Immerse yourself in the industry and keep up with the trends. There is so much to learn about public relations outside the classroom, it's almost intimidating.  Spend time every day reading relevant news articles, follow the latest social media trends.  I learn so much every day just by clicking through links on my Twitter feed.  There are so many knowledgeable professionals out there with great information, so follow them!

Hopefully some of this has been helpful.  I'm really looking forward to hearing what other seniors have to say, and am so honored to be participating in this! I'll post links once the podcast is finished.

I'd also love any feedback on what you are doing to differentiate yourself, or just any thoughts in general on this topic!

Keeping it Local

One of my favorite things about Athens is the wide variety of local restaurants.  I love all of the unique places that you will only find in Athens, and am especially reminded of this whenever I have friends come to town.  It's easy to take for granted our vibrant downtown scene (and lets not forget all the amazing places on Prince Avenue), which is why I love taking visitors out around town and hearing them rave about how amazing our town is.  

This weekend, I had some friends in town and was so excited to take them to two of my old favorites, Last Resort and Casa Mia, and then we also branched out and went to Big City Bread for breakfast (which I've been wanting to go to for ages).  There's just something so much more enjoyable about going to the quaint, local places than eating at chain restaurants (since I moved to Athens I've avoided Chili's at all costs).  

Now more than ever, it's important to support these local businesses.  During an economic downtown, chances are the corporate giants can sustain themselves much longer than the small "mom and pop" stores that we know and love.  Branch out from your regular Tall Latte at Starbucks and try something from Walker's.  Or if you're really wanting to keep it local, do your shopping at the Athens Farmers Market or eat at restaurants like Farm 255 that use all locally-grown food.

Of all the things I'll miss about Athens, the unique restaurant and bar scene will definitely be one of the hardest to leave.  

New Respect for Valentine's Day

I'll just come out and say it.  I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day.  As someone who is usually very happily single, this is the one day that throws it in my face how much "better" it would be to be in a relationship than to be alone.  It honestly makes me kind of nauseous to walk around town and see flowers and pink balloons and couples everywhere.

Naturally all of my single girlfriends (that number seems to be smaller than ever this year) share my feelings, and even some of my coupled-up friends dislike the holiday because of the pressure it puts on relationships.  And the one complaint that everyone always has is that it's too commercialized, simply a "Hallmark Holiday."  In years past I've been annoyed by a holiday that forces people to spend money to celebrate, however this year I think it's just what our economy needs.

While some couples surely cut back on the typical spending (homemade cards and personalized poems instead of long-stemmed roses and diamonds), one business which surely flourished was the service industry.  I'm positive every restaurant in town was booked solid all night, which these days is pretty rare.  

As someone who works in the service industry, I've seen first-hand what effects the economy has had on people's disposable income.  Sure, I joked at first that my sales would go up at work - people will come drink away their sorrows as things get worse, right?  Wrong.  As time drags on, our sales are dropping (I've noticed an overall dwindling in the amount of patrons downtown).  On the rare occasion that I go out to eat (after all, I'm cutting back too), the once-packed restaurants are almost empty.  That was certainly not the case this weekend.  

So if nothing else, I can appreciate the serious increase in business that bars and restaurants experienced this holiday weekend.  Thank you, Valentine's Day, for helping me pay my credit card bill this month.

Buying an Internship?

As a tangent to my post about being optimistic despite the state of our current economy, I read an editorial in my school paper (based on this article in the Wall Street Journal) that literally made me sick.  If you have yet to read the original article, Buying Your Kid an Internship, please take a minute to right now.

Based on the article, parents who are concerned about the job outlook for their kids are now paying for-profit companies to place them in unpaid internships.  Other parents are buying internships at charity auctions.  

One girl paid $8,000 for a sports marketing internship in NYC after unsuccessfully applying to 25 other internships.  CharityBuzz.com, a fundraising website, sold a music-industry internship for $12,000.  

Is this seriously happening?

What happened to working hard in school, paying your dues (NOT literally), and earning an internship based on your own merits?  When I said students should be prepared to do anything to set themselves apart to future employers, this is pretty much the opposite of what I meant.

Aside from how ridiculous the concept itself is, has anyone stopped to think that behavior like this is exactly why we're in a recession?  Spending the last bit of your savings (or taking out a loan? I really hope that's not happening) to place them in an unpaid position is just making things worse in the long run, not better. 

Recession? What recession?

When our country first entered a recession, nobody wanted to admit it.  Political candidates, the media, everyone nervously danced around the term. We all knew what was going on, but labeling it and saying it directly seemed like it could somehow make things worse.

Well, it’s all out in the open now. I can’t turn on a television, open a newspaper, even walk to class without seeing or hearing something about the economic state of our country. While I’m glad we’ve realized what’s going on and are trying to move forward, I’m getting really sick of the word recession.

Yes, I’m graduating in May. Yes, I realize this is a bad time for our economy.

No, I don’t have a job lined up. No, I’m not worried about it.

If I get one more sympathetic look from someone when I say I’m about to graduate, I may scream. Sure, times are tough, the job market is tight, blah blah blah, I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard it so much that it’s just starting to sound like a clichéd excuse.

Recent and upcoming graduates need to take control of their lives and, dare I say it, ignore the recession. Expand your search, put in more hours at that unpaid internship, do anything you can to set yourself apart and make yourself attractive to potential employers. The fact is, there are still jobs out there, landing them is just becoming more competitive. So instead of complaining about the economy, get out there and make things happen for yourselves. If you have a dream, follow it. Everything will work out in the end, because it has to – at least that’s my attitude for the upcoming months.