It's Saturday. I tried to look for jobs, but failed. Mostly because I:
1. Talked with my parents, aunt and uncle who are in town for my sister's pinning for nursing school;
2. Edited my tutee's paper, which was mildly atrocious, and dodged her efforts to get me to write it for her;
3. Cleaned the apartment so that when Roomie gets home tomorrow he will feel bad and vacuum and take out the garbage and recycling;
4. Changed my sheets;
5. Showered;
6. Watched The Nanny Diaries, which was decent even if it did make me want to turn it off after the first 10 minutes;
7. Made dinner; and
8. Took 400-question practice MBE quiz, scored a 52% which makes me think I'm tracking pretty well for the upcoming study sesh.
I was going to go to the zoo today instead of all of that, but Tutee's paper took a bit longer than I thought it would, since subject-verb agreement is a bit lacking. Oh well...tomorrow's a new (and beautiful) day!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
News: Everyone has a job!
Well, not everyone. But I saw this article today in the Chicago Tribune: Job Gains Largest in 11 Months. Although reading the article, I also see that the unemployment rate rose because, since the economy added jobs, more people are looking for work. I also noticed that the sector with the largest job gains is in the retail sector. So does this mean that we have our largest job gains in almost a year because stores are hiring their Summer help?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Net, work!
First off, Happy Cinco de Mayo! Apologies in advance for the long post, but margaritas make me philosophical...
I hate networking. My personal philosophy on things like "hate" are that we should not hate because the thing we hate is simply not worth the energy that an emotion like hate requires (sorry if that made NO sense). But if there is an activity that I actively think about how much I do not want to do it, it would be networking. Now, there is no good reason why, as I'm no more socially awkward than any other law school graduate out there. In fact, I've been told I'm downright friendly and a good person (crazy internship person notwithstanding). So you would think that meeting people would be no sweat, right? Smile, make a bit of small talk, and see where the night leads? Um, well, the last time I tried that...well...I made a personal resolution (stronger than other resolutions, apparently) to not talk about dates on the internet. Especially ones that remind me of my weak resolutions. So needless to say, the "Smile + Small Talk = Network Success" formula needs to be tweaked a bit to result in a steady paycheck and benefits instead of just benefits.
Today, however, I resolved to network. Papering the DC-metro area with my resume isn't working quite how I thought it would, so I need to think smarter, not necessarily bigger. Focus on my audience. Target, not Wal-Mart. So how many intro emails did I send today? One. And it wasn't even an intro email, it was a "I would like to be your contact on LinkedIn because I want your resume to be mine" message. I also sent out a non-intro-email, which went much less awkwardly. But, because I prefer to dwell on the awkward and absurd, let's go back to the awkwardness that is the intro email/message.
To me, it's much easier to go up to a person and say, "Hi, I'm Sarah, nice to meet you!" than it is to write it. Part of it is that I've found some people think my use of exclamation marks is excessive. Another part is that a conversation can flow much easier than an email that says, "Hi, I'm Sarah, nice to meet you!" when read by a Very Busy and Easily Annoyed Person. A further part is that the verbal conversation can flow how it flows, with each party contributing according to their comfort level. A written email, however, can take two flavors: the general "let's be friends" email, or the more pointed, "let's be friends because I need a job" email. I personally received differing views on where the email should go. Some people told me to go the "friends" route because it's much more casual and inviting and doesn't immediately come across as "I want something that you have." On the other hand, others have told me that when people receive these emails or letters they already know what you're looking for, and so it's better to just come out and say, "I'm looking for a job in this field, if you know anyone, let me know." Or something eloquent. Personally, I don't have enough experience with either to say which works the best (See: Hate of Networking).
When I had gone through the LinkedIn group membership listings and finallychosen my prey figured who I would most likely hear from, I didn't really know what else to do to get the other person to listen to me. So, I did internet research and came upon this article: How to Write a Networking Email (post written by Janice Darling). Since I just tried it today, I haven't been able to actually see if it works. However, the three, short steps seemed very comfortable. The article mentions to ask the person, not for a job, but rather for advice, which I think is key. I love to give advice, and give advice all the time to anyone with ears. I lovelovelove it when someone comes up to me and says, "Hey, Sarah, can you help me with this? You did it, and you did it well, so how did you do it?" I go into this crazy professor-mode with graphs and pictograms, and the person can walk away and write a doctoral thesis on how I get my brownies to be the right fudgy consistency or something. Even if they didn't want to. But the thought that someone wants MY advice, above others, is a very self-satisfying feeling. Not to mention, I want to make sure that I gave good advice and the person's brownies actually turned out well. Now just trade out "Sarah" for "Wise Attorney" and "brownies" for "practice," and we got ourselves a deal!
I'll try again tomorrow and see if it works. If not, back to the drawing board...
I hate networking. My personal philosophy on things like "hate" are that we should not hate because the thing we hate is simply not worth the energy that an emotion like hate requires (sorry if that made NO sense). But if there is an activity that I actively think about how much I do not want to do it, it would be networking. Now, there is no good reason why, as I'm no more socially awkward than any other law school graduate out there. In fact, I've been told I'm downright friendly and a good person (crazy internship person notwithstanding). So you would think that meeting people would be no sweat, right? Smile, make a bit of small talk, and see where the night leads? Um, well, the last time I tried that...well...I made a personal resolution (stronger than other resolutions, apparently) to not talk about dates on the internet. Especially ones that remind me of my weak resolutions. So needless to say, the "Smile + Small Talk = Network Success" formula needs to be tweaked a bit to result in a steady paycheck and benefits instead of just benefits.
Today, however, I resolved to network. Papering the DC-metro area with my resume isn't working quite how I thought it would, so I need to think smarter, not necessarily bigger. Focus on my audience. Target, not Wal-Mart. So how many intro emails did I send today? One. And it wasn't even an intro email, it was a "I would like to be your contact on LinkedIn because I want your resume to be mine" message. I also sent out a non-intro-email, which went much less awkwardly. But, because I prefer to dwell on the awkward and absurd, let's go back to the awkwardness that is the intro email/message.
To me, it's much easier to go up to a person and say, "Hi, I'm Sarah, nice to meet you!" than it is to write it. Part of it is that I've found some people think my use of exclamation marks is excessive. Another part is that a conversation can flow much easier than an email that says, "Hi, I'm Sarah, nice to meet you!" when read by a Very Busy and Easily Annoyed Person. A further part is that the verbal conversation can flow how it flows, with each party contributing according to their comfort level. A written email, however, can take two flavors: the general "let's be friends" email, or the more pointed, "let's be friends because I need a job" email. I personally received differing views on where the email should go. Some people told me to go the "friends" route because it's much more casual and inviting and doesn't immediately come across as "I want something that you have." On the other hand, others have told me that when people receive these emails or letters they already know what you're looking for, and so it's better to just come out and say, "I'm looking for a job in this field, if you know anyone, let me know." Or something eloquent. Personally, I don't have enough experience with either to say which works the best (See: Hate of Networking).
When I had gone through the LinkedIn group membership listings and finally
I'll try again tomorrow and see if it works. If not, back to the drawing board...
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Hmmm...Very Tempting...But Something Seems Fishy...
So hanging out on the Craigslist job boards in my spare time (which, let's be honest, is all the time) I come across this. If you notice, the title is "Hiring Ladies as Social Companions." Now, are social companions really paid by the hour, and you need to send your picture in order to get an interview? Or are these a bit more than "social" companions, really? *
Although, let me pull out my trusty calculator....and I could pay off my loans in a year if I did this. Too bad I just resolved to raise my standards...
* Total judgment-free zone here. If you are a social companion, more power to you. I was more like, "waaah?" that they would post a job like this on the part-time boards, honestly.
Although, let me pull out my trusty calculator....and I could pay off my loans in a year if I did this. Too bad I just resolved to raise my standards...
* Total judgment-free zone here. If you are a social companion, more power to you. I was more like, "waaah?" that they would post a job like this on the part-time boards, honestly.
News: A Bun in the Oven
Sorry, I was baking today. And I was baking brownies, not buns or anything like that.
BUT I saw this article in the ABA Journal that talks about the legal pitfalls of surrogacy. As a frequenter of the part-time Craigslist job board, I see ads for surrogate mothers every day. Not going to lie, "being a surrogate" is on the list of "Jobs I Can Do If I Need To." At the waaaay bottom, right under "Children's Birthday Clown" and "Bar Mitzvah Dancer."
As Surrogacy Becomes More Popular, Legal Problems Proliferate
(ABA Journal)
BUT I saw this article in the ABA Journal that talks about the legal pitfalls of surrogacy. As a frequenter of the part-time Craigslist job board, I see ads for surrogate mothers every day. Not going to lie, "being a surrogate" is on the list of "Jobs I Can Do If I Need To." At the waaaay bottom, right under "Children's Birthday Clown" and "Bar Mitzvah Dancer."
As Surrogacy Becomes More Popular, Legal Problems Proliferate
(ABA Journal)
Thou Shalt Not Be a Bad Person Who Steals Files
So the other day I received a phone call from the same person with whom I interned a couple weeks ago. Essentially, they couldn't find a file I had saved to the laptop, and wanted me to go over there immediately to retrieve it. Now, note a few things:
1. At this point, I was no longer an "employee" for about two full weeks
2. The person wanted me to go over there immediately because this was a "very urgent matter."
3. The laptop crashed the day after I left (which was blamed on me and not on her spilling her coffee on it the day before)
4. This person also casually threw in how they were also missing some bank documents, so I needed to see them anyway to "turn over everything."
Of course, there was no way I was going over there. I had no bank documents, I saved the document on the faulty laptop, and it's frankly not my problem that the person can't find it. However, I gave the person some guidance as to where to look for the document amidst the thousands of other client documents the person has saved on this laptop that crashed the day after I left (so really who the heck knows where this thing is). I don't really know if this person heard my guidance, since they were talking over me and telling me how horrible of a person I was, how I care for no one but myself, how this reflects very poorly on myself, etc etc. Luckily for all involved, my roommate came home in the middle of this episode and took away the fork and knife I had in front of me left over from lunch - he probably stopped an outbreak of violence right there and then.
When I got off the phone, I realized that this person called me, not just because they couldn't work their "search" function in My Documents, but because they were frustrated at themselves and needed someone else to blame it on. In fact, this person actually said, "If you would have stayed, this wouldn't have happened!" Well, this is true, if I stayed this wouldn't have happened. But that's mostly because I would have lost it and burnt down the house in a murderous fit of blind rage, so the laptop just wouldn't have existed at all. But they don't realize that, and need a scapegoat so they don't look like a fool in front of the client (who, by the way, is a very nice person). If that's me, fine. As long as I don't have to see the person ever again for the rest of my days, I don't really care. Because really, who wants to continually talk to a person whose sole purpose for calling you is to inform you that you are a bad person? I thought people stopped doing that in high school. Fo' realz.
So this whole episode (which I consider to be over, and if the person calls again they will get an email informing them as such) just reminds me to always trust my instincts. There's no point in working somewhere where I fantasize in burning down the place weeks after I leave.
1. At this point, I was no longer an "employee" for about two full weeks
2. The person wanted me to go over there immediately because this was a "very urgent matter."
3. The laptop crashed the day after I left (which was blamed on me and not on her spilling her coffee on it the day before)
4. This person also casually threw in how they were also missing some bank documents, so I needed to see them anyway to "turn over everything."
Of course, there was no way I was going over there. I had no bank documents, I saved the document on the faulty laptop, and it's frankly not my problem that the person can't find it. However, I gave the person some guidance as to where to look for the document amidst the thousands of other client documents the person has saved on this laptop that crashed the day after I left (so really who the heck knows where this thing is). I don't really know if this person heard my guidance, since they were talking over me and telling me how horrible of a person I was, how I care for no one but myself, how this reflects very poorly on myself, etc etc. Luckily for all involved, my roommate came home in the middle of this episode and took away the fork and knife I had in front of me left over from lunch - he probably stopped an outbreak of violence right there and then.
When I got off the phone, I realized that this person called me, not just because they couldn't work their "search" function in My Documents, but because they were frustrated at themselves and needed someone else to blame it on. In fact, this person actually said, "If you would have stayed, this wouldn't have happened!" Well, this is true, if I stayed this wouldn't have happened. But that's mostly because I would have lost it and burnt down the house in a murderous fit of blind rage, so the laptop just wouldn't have existed at all. But they don't realize that, and need a scapegoat so they don't look like a fool in front of the client (who, by the way, is a very nice person). If that's me, fine. As long as I don't have to see the person ever again for the rest of my days, I don't really care. Because really, who wants to continually talk to a person whose sole purpose for calling you is to inform you that you are a bad person? I thought people stopped doing that in high school. Fo' realz.
So this whole episode (which I consider to be over, and if the person calls again they will get an email informing them as such) just reminds me to always trust my instincts. There's no point in working somewhere where I fantasize in burning down the place weeks after I leave.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thou Shalt Not Steal Files
Hello all and Welcome! I started this blog, today of all days (Tax Day) as kind of an outlet for myself and a way to keep a record of all the ways that us new grads are looking for work. I will mostly focus on us law grads and other professional grads, as we all know you undergrads have no marketable skills yet, and so should rightly give up your jobs for those of us who have hundreds of thousands of dollars of students loans to pay. Unless you have over $50k in non-dischargeable student debt and a degree in a hard science, engineering, or business, stop whining!
Kidding!!
Kind of.
But seriously. Today I ended my shortest internship ever, and I couldn't be happier. Today I was accused of stealing client files, thus the name of the blog. Today I was also ridiculed, berated, called stupid and selfish, told I lacked empathy, and think only of myself. Oh, I almost forgot, I have no regard for anyone's time but my own and cause everyone around me to waste their time on me as well. I was also accused of stealing my own file, as it could not be found and the only possible explanation was that I took it. Nevermind her office looked like a Xerox machine and a paper mill staged a death-match and both lost. The only possible explanation was that I stole the file. Obviously, I did not steal any files. Although, come to think of it, I probably should have as she didn't make any copies of any of the agreements I signed and I should have asked for them.
At least it was the exit interview. I hope to never set my eyes on the lady ever again, and so I'm just going to have to wing it with those copies of the agreements I signed. Hopefully, with no proof that I was there, I don't have to ever include the internship information on any kind of application I ever fill out ever again...especially since I witnessed her botching someone else's application and made the silent vow never to let her do that to me. It didn't help that I was completely uncompensated for my time, aside from Karma. If I could pay rent in Karma points, I would live in Dupont. Alas, I pay rent in $$, so I don't (<3 to my roomie!!).
In the future, I will write about my own personal job-searching and internship stories and include good advice I learn about job searches. It's a rough world out there, but somebody's gotta be in it!
Kidding!!
Kind of.
But seriously. Today I ended my shortest internship ever, and I couldn't be happier. Today I was accused of stealing client files, thus the name of the blog. Today I was also ridiculed, berated, called stupid and selfish, told I lacked empathy, and think only of myself. Oh, I almost forgot, I have no regard for anyone's time but my own and cause everyone around me to waste their time on me as well. I was also accused of stealing my own file, as it could not be found and the only possible explanation was that I took it. Nevermind her office looked like a Xerox machine and a paper mill staged a death-match and both lost. The only possible explanation was that I stole the file. Obviously, I did not steal any files. Although, come to think of it, I probably should have as she didn't make any copies of any of the agreements I signed and I should have asked for them.
At least it was the exit interview. I hope to never set my eyes on the lady ever again, and so I'm just going to have to wing it with those copies of the agreements I signed. Hopefully, with no proof that I was there, I don't have to ever include the internship information on any kind of application I ever fill out ever again...especially since I witnessed her botching someone else's application and made the silent vow never to let her do that to me. It didn't help that I was completely uncompensated for my time, aside from Karma. If I could pay rent in Karma points, I would live in Dupont. Alas, I pay rent in $$, so I don't (<3 to my roomie!!).
In the future, I will write about my own personal job-searching and internship stories and include good advice I learn about job searches. It's a rough world out there, but somebody's gotta be in it!
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