A Never Ending Story...
Like thousands of millions of people, finding a job during the middle of a pandemic is stressful to say the least. I feel for many people who have lost their jobs, been furloughed, and who have to now adapt to working remotely. This process is never a light undertaking and in fact, as a college senior, I have been more overwhelmed trying to navigate career options.
As internship applications and entry level job opportunities roll out come spring, I have been making the most of the hyper-virtual landscape we're living in to best optimize the job search. In all honesty, I have no idea exactly what I want to do, but I have a few ideas of where I want to start. As a major in public relations and advertising, most entry level jobs are on the Assistant Account Executive level in a lot of mid-size and large PR agencies.
With Chicago being the epicenter of public relations agencies and communication firms, there are a lot to choose from. I'm lucky enough to have been able to facilitate close relations with employees through PRSSA, which has allowed me to develop a close-knit network and get to know some of the HR recruiters pretty well. At this point, I am weighing all options and with an open mind. I realize, though, that not many people have those resources, so here are a few things I've been doing to get my career options on track that I've found to alleviate the stress and pressure in finding job opportunities fully remote.
Sprucing Up my Resume
One of the easiest things you can do that will make you stand out to recruiters is updating your resume and work experience on a document that is cohesive and easy to read. There are a lot of companies that can provide resume reviews and even your college's career center can be a big help with them. I think color and a unique font that is readable and sophisticated is a great way to stand out as recruiters go through hundreds of them a day.
I was thinking of doing a blog post solely on creating a great resume, so stay tuned! It's always important to start compiling your past work and education experiences so that you can develop a sense of what transferable skills you've learned and how you can elevate your experiences to cater to a position you might apply for in the future.
Maintaining Relations Within my Network
One of the best ways you can stay connected is through LinkedIn. There's also Handshake and the new app, Clubhouse, where you can stay up to date on all things in your desired industry. You can connect with people who work at places you dream of working at, start a conversation with an intern to get a feel for the work they do, or share your portfolio with prospective recruiters, too!
I always try to follow up with people I've met at professional development events, conferences, or who I worked with in previous roles to maintain those relations and perhaps increase my chances of finding an opportunity through those connections, as well. While it's great to build your professional connections, you treat these people as friends, mentors, and guides. You're able to display your authentic self and make your personal brand known.
Creating Informal Coffee Chats
Something I did that extremely helped with keeping in touch was setting up virtual coffee chats with every entry level employee, strategic planner, AAE, and recruiter I have met (or have not met) to get a feel for what has changed within the industry, how the company is adapting to the new landscape, and what future opportunities or roles might become available in the future. Not only are you getting to share more about you and your experiences, recruiters and fellow employees can put a face to the resume when applying comes around. It will be one of the most important ways to let recruiters know you're dedicated because you actively reached out and pitched yourself to people you don't even know.
If you do even just these three things, I am confident you will find opportunities come your way. If there's anything I've learned the most throughout my public relations career so far, it's that developing a network is so important and crucial to building a career in a field that requires you to be a go-getter. I am ready to take on any job at full force, wherever it may lead me.
The start to the year has definitely given us all more promise. January was spent reorganizing, reorienting, and coming to terms with the struggle of a year we had before. It always takes me a while to get back into the swing of things after the holidays, but this time around I was more eager to get my life back in order after a much needed break.
One of the hardest things to do was to focus on the good that I had surrounding me, even when times were so bleak and uncertain. I'm still staying at home, working at home, and finishing my senior year online at home. There's a lot of work I need to do—within myself and for others. My goal for this month is to focus on the good and to continue to choose optimism, as all people should.
This eagerness to start the new year on a good foot brings high expectations, so much, that I think we dwell on making the new year as perfect as we imagined it to be. However, I think the imperfectly wholesome moments are what I need to focus on. Not holding myself accountable for taking the time to take care of myself when I need it the most. Perhaps it means letting go and being able to fully feel and be emotional at times, but to also cut myself some slack. A slower pace is something I chose to manifest.
01. Investing More Time in Myself
Last year was a year to worry about others. When everything went wrong, I was always looking for ways to find compassion and be there for others. Suffice to say, I have always been one for self-care, but didn't realize how much I needed a pause. I needed to not feel the urgency to attend to people's needs before myself every single minute. While this is one of my greatest personality traits, it has its downfall of making me invest everything into the people I care about, even if they don't reciprocate the care back. No more of that this month or this year. ¡Adios!
02. Dedication to Meditation
The calm, cool, and collected side of me would digress into a lonely, anxiety induced shell and I couldn't figure out why. I had terrible sleeping habits, and that's when I realized just how much my body and my mind depended on yoga and mediation. Taking an hour out of my day to focus on myself, my growth, and clearing my head of all the negative thoughts that accumulated in 2020. This year, I have even signed up for a two credit yoga class as one of my last classes to take my senior year. I'm excited to start this journey again after not having been to a yoga studio in a year.
03. Listening to My Creative Passions
This blog has saved me in more ways than one. I really want to invest my time into the creativity that I had when I first started. Whether it be coming up with more unique blog ideas, showing different parts of my life that I haven't before on this blog, or just continuing to be constantly inspired and let the creative juices flow. Whatever it may be, I want this month to be filled with having a new outlook and discovering unique perspectives. Possibly even challenging me to get out of my creative square a bit!
As the months go by and I come to finishing my senior year of college and begin a new chapter of my career, I want to remember what I've accomplished and also hone the skills and strengths I've fostered over the years. February is the month of love and changes, but I realize the importance of finding and cultivating a love for myself above all else. I feel 110% when I am confident, grounded, and motivated in my own creative momentum, so this month will be about just that.
It's that time of year when the Chicago winter chill is excruciatingly unforgivable and all you want to do is snuggle up with your pup. I am prone to dry skin during the cold months, as you might know, but I've also had to manage my acne prone skin without using products that are going to overly scale and dry out my skin as most acne products do. It's the constant struggle, but I am loyal to the brands that I've been using and have mastered using small amounts here and there. I used to be the type of person to glop everything on and hope for the best, but piling on product can do much more harm than we think.
Using a light, foaming cleanser has helped keep my skin hydrated and also helps gradually treat my acne. I have always heard praise about the Kate Somerville EradiKate Daily Foaming Cleanser which has three percent sulfur to help with blemishes and doesn't overly dry out the skin either. When I'm looking for an even deeper clean, which I would say is once a week or so, I will use the First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Purifying Red Clay Mask around my T-zone and the more oily-prone areas of my face. I love it because it is a gentle peel off mask to help get rid of pesky black heads!
After my face is all cleansed, I have been using very light moisturizers so that I can regulate my skin's oiliness. I have always been a huge fan of Clinique because of my sensitive skin. The Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion is my go-to during the winter months. If you are trying to minimize pores, reduce acne, and also tackle dry skin, this is a great lightweight moisturizer for it!
I can never leave out my dry eyes. I always have extremely dry eyelids in the winter because there's no humidity and there's nothing worse than not being able to open your eyes in the morning. It's the worst, itchy feeling, so I always make sure to have an eye cream on hand. I've used the Cera Ve Eye Cream, but at the moment I am using the First Aid Beauty 5 in 1 Eye Cream that helps moisturize, firm, and get rid of dark under eyes. The perfect Zoom meeting savior.
When I am really feeling like a self-care night, I will bust out the Lush Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub to refresh and exfoliate my dry skin. It smells like a tropical vacation in a pot! With grapefruit oil, coconut oil, and avocado butter, it's the perfect, mineral rich product. It is coarse, hence the sea salt, so personally I would not recommend using it on your face (as it might scratch delicate and sensitive skin), I like to use it on my arms and legs the most!
I love sharing the evolution of my skincare routine. Honestly, because I can recall what I liked and didn't like as my skin ages and also when the weather changes. I have had to become more mindful about how much I put on my skin, but also what I don't put on my skin. For someone who has combination skin that is sensitive and at times, uncontrollable, I have also been talking to a dermatologist since middle school and that has definitely helped with my hormonal acne. What are some ways you take care of your skin this time of year?
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