Valentine’s Day for spinsters

I love Valentine’s Day. If you know me, then you know I adore Jane Austen, worship Nora Ephron and have pinup tendencies that are not to be ignored.

 

So Valentine’s Day is a holiday I naturally embrace, despite being perpetually single.

I try to send Valentine’s cards to people every year, and really, I’m more fond of this tradition than I am of sending Christmas cards.

This year I bought blank, recycled cards and made my own, unique cards for each person. It was a great excuse to have craft nights.

I also (finally) had enough income to have a sweet treat delivered to people I appreciate. I have cupcakes delivered from Cako to two of the offices I worked in last year. It was my way of saying thanks and just knowing that it was a surprise for people made my day. Sure, I’d love to horde the cupcakes for myself, but knowing that others had a pick-me-up made me happy.

So yes, I am cheesy about at least one holiday. I’m shameless about my affection for heart-shaped anythings, and I’m happy to share that with other people during this time of year.

Don’t let Valentine’s Day become a thing that makes you feel bad about being single, or stresses you out about gift-giving. Own it as a day to celebrate love in all its abstract forms, not just romantic.

Also, dream of Mr. Darcy.

 

Career Shower!

When I landed my adult job that successfully put me on my career path I threw myself a Career Shower.

What is that? It’s just like a Wedding Shower or Baby Shower, but for my career. It’s a way to supply my home and home office with the necessities I needed when I moved away.

It really just consisted of me registering at Target (wedding registry, because Target doesn’t yet have a category for celebrating my own success) and having a farewell dinner.

I made the decisions a long while ago to not have babies or get married. (I’ve had people argue that I may get married one day, but since I’ve prioritized my career I won’t be getting married soon. I feel even more validated in having a shower now, when I’m starting off and trying to get settled, than when I’m older and will probably have enough money to provide my home with simple things like lamps and plates.)

My career is my baby. Think of it that way if it helps.

I’ve given my career YEARS of love, money and mostly tears. I think I’ve spent more time on my career than most people do planning a wedding or a family.

(Cue sounds of a gauntlet being thrown.)

I’ve had numerous people argue this, but the fact remains that the society I live in still doesn’t accept the life-choices of young career-driven ladies as easily as it does men.

I want Career Showers to become the norm. I want society to celebrate female success that doesn’t involve a baby or a spouse.

I’ve been told that Sex and the City tackles the career-woman issue in much the same way. Carrie has a friend with a baby that just doesn’t respect her life decisions in the same way she respects that woman’s family planning choices. It’s sad that not much has changed since the episode aired in 2003.

And I totally took note of the people who didn’t contribute to my shower. Those people aren’t getting shit for their weddings or babies.

 

Career Tip #2: Don’t give up.

That was my last tip in the previous post, and it’s true.

Real-talk: I was working holiday retail with a master’s degree from a well-known university months after graduating. And I applied for every job I could. I never stopped trying.

“But applying for jobs is HARD!” I hear you say….

Yes, it is.

In fact, applying for jobs is a FULL-TIME JOB! (Cliche as it is, it’s true.)

Until I had slightly more solid employment I had the same routine:

• Wake up. Make coffee.
• Finish applications I didn’t get to the previous night and search job sites for new listings. (There weren’t usually a lot of new jobs listed in the mornings, I assume because HR people haven’t gotten in to post them yet.)
• Go to work/internship.
• Start looking through job listings on way home (via handy apps) and send self links that I can open and respond to on my laptop.
• Get home. Eat. Pop on a DVD or Netflix and finish going through my regular sites until I had every single job I qualified for in my queue.
• Apply for as many as I can before sleep takes over.

Really. That was my daily life. Weekends were grand because there weren’t usually new listings so I actually got to go outside and enjoy sunlight.

Everyone has a different method, but here are my favorite sites:

• Indeed: You should get the app. Login to save your searches, create alerts and have resumes on hand for instant applications.
• Craigslist: Not as great as Indeed for jobs, but I found a pretty groovy internship through it, so give it a try. Also has an app.
• MediaBistro: Great for media jobs. Great variety for the industry (art, photo, etc.).
• Journalism Jobs: Same. Good media jobs, mostly papers and broadcast.
• Idealist: Mostly non-profit, do-good jobs. Random communications jobs sneak their way in.

I also went directly to the source. When I was living in Los Angeles I was searching directly on the Disney Careers site and network sites (like CBS, NBC and Fox). A lot of sites will let you subscribe to a mailing list that will notify you when new listings come up.

Pro tip: Have multiple resumes and cover letters saved on your desktop. I had sets made up for a variety of jobs I was applying for. My production assistant resume was very different from my sustainability assistant resume. My general cover letters were reserved for jobs that didn’t require a cover letter, but accepted them. I always had a general template for different industries and inserted company names, position details and highlighted different qualifications as needed.

Don’t reinvent the wheel every time you apply for something. If you’re applying for 30+ positions a day, you just don’t have time for it. (But make sure you proofread. That’s essential.)

Yes, this all gets overwhelming and there will be times that you can’t believe you’re applying for some jobs (HOLIDAY RETAIL!), but if you need to make rent, you won’t question it. No job is below you because, like Drake, you can sing about how you started from the bottom one day.

*This is mostly helpful for media-centered jobs. Don’t ask me about teaching or science jobs. I’m out of my element with those.*

 

The sweetest thing anyone said to me all day

 

Career Tip #1: That Intern, Temping, Free-lancing game

There is no shame in interning. There is shame in not being paid fair wages (but that’s a discussion for a different day).

I spent the year and change after graduating from USC bouncing from internship to internship to free-lancing to temping opportunities. (In that exact order.) It was a rough road, but I feel like it ultimately helped me get to where I am.

What I learned from those non-permanent positions has stayed with me.

1. Overachieve like a bandit. Cliched as it is, don’t let any chance to shine pass you by. Are there editorial meetings you could attend? Are there blogs you could write that will highlight your journalistic prowess? Can you use your fab multi-media skills to create a great portfolio piece? Do it.

2. Make friends. Most likely to other interns and free-lancers are feeling your struggle. You don’t have to become besties, but you never know where you or your peers will end up, so stay cool with your cohort.

3. Network. This is something I was wholeheartedly against in school. I even left an all-day “retreat” when I saw a networking workshop coming up (it didn’t help that I was hungover). Shamelessly add everyone on LinkedIn. Become coffee-buddies with your fellow caffeine-addicts. Become allies at work and that should help you follow-through on assistance when you need it.

4. Dress for the job you want. Again, as an undergrad I would have rolled my eyes at the very thought of eschewing my tie-dye and jeans in favor of slacks and a neat jacket. Oh, how times have changed. My closet is now 90% office appropriate wear. I take inspiration from Nasty Gal and H&M. Invest in simple separates that are easily interchangeable and you will thank yourself. I dressed like I was going to a job interview as often as I could at my internships. I know using appearances to judge people is the devil’s work, but I honestly think it makes you stand out. It makes you seem like you’re taking it seriously and you’re smart enough to dress like you don’t stay up for $1 tacos after brews with the bros.

5. Observe. See how the overall operation works. Notice where the papers you file end up going, or how they got there. Part of interning is working toward understanding the inner-workings of the industry you want to break-into. Become an expert on the mechanics of the place. Doing that helped me see the qualities of good producers (and bad producers) over a year before I would get to produce.

6. Remember what it was like. Don’t forget how frustrated you were when people grouped all the interns as one, when that one high-ranking staffer always messed up your name or the terrible rudeness you endured as the underling. Remember that so when you get into a position of power you never treat the newbies like that.

7. Don’t give up. Just don’t.

 

Journalista: What’s to come

Via http://partylikeajournalist.com/

I’ve been stagnant on the social media front (GASP!), at least in terms of my personal accounts.

I finally landed a dream job so live has been a whirlwind of change. I’ve had a lot of blog posts sizzling away on the stove-top over the last year and I think it’s finally time for me to get back to blogging and vlogging.

Stay tuned for more regular posts.

 

Hispanic Heritage Month

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month. I challenge all of you to record your family’s immigration story in some way. Whether you use your voice memos on your phone or a fancy camera, it’s important that we keep a record of how and why we are here today. Here’s an interview with my father about his journey from El Salvador to the US during the war.