It was the worst of times, it was the best of times in these cities to which we, Gen-Y, are living and notes on The Alchemist later, this Gen-Y was hired. 
If I could write a letter to me… I would tell me what I’m going to tell you …
If you’ve been following me on Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn — you’ve noticed something drastic and something just looks different…
You could probably figure out who I work for without any question if you didn’t try hard enough … but for obvious reasons stated in the About & Disclosure of the Little Pink Book, that name shall never be mentioned in association with me on this website. So now that {Confessions of a PRetty Social Girl} is coming to the end of a new beginning, let me impart some recent wisdom upon you my fellow Gen-Y on the job hunt who are considering relocation, new fields etc:-
- … it happens quick.
- … it happens when you least expect it.
- … no matter how bad you want it, no matter how prepared you think you are, no matter what you think — nothing works out exactly the same way you pictured it in your head.
- … the lessons of the past will play into your future, if you learned them properly.
“When life gives you limes
& some salt,
make margaritas that sparkle…
or one heck of a kick-a$$ caipirinha!
Pass me the
cachaça,
please… x.”
- ME ♥
Let’s see…
Day 1: …cried.
Day 2: …was frustrated.
Day 3: …wanted to strangle someone, something or stab with stiletto.
Day 4: …put in an application to apartment, mulling and second-guessing the meaning of life over pizza.
Day 5: …became apathetic and got angry with stupid man at Bloomingdales who couldn’t help with black Uggs.
Day 6: …got lease.
Day 7: …signed lease.
Day 8: …the excitement finally took root inside of me.
Day 9: …job started, lots of information, lots of people and sushi.
…
Day 10: … it rained ice chips.
Day 14: … the SNOWpocalypse came down from the sky and it looked like a snow globe all around me. So pretty…but it’s the slushing from the sky and on the ground I could do without.
So you want to relocate
for a job?
Are you sure? No, really are you sure? Like abso-freakin-lutely sure?
Then let’s talk.
Where do you want to work? Think hard about it. Sure I know people are always saying all you need is a foot in the door, but that’s a load of garbage if you ask me. If you’re relocating, you better be applying to places you want to be. You are lifting up your entire life from it’s roots to go there, so you better as hell want to work for them.
I put in applications for five solid months to cities I wanted to work in and no one ever got back to me.
Heck, folks I was in Business Week for crying out loud! One would think or at least hope a few people would come my way banging down my door.
I read Heather Huhman’s e-book Relocating for an Entry-Level Job, even though I’m not at an entry-level. The beauty about this book is that it doesn’t matter what level you are, the same information applies to individuals relocating in general…period.
Around mid-October 2009, the second month that I was aggressively searching, my cousin Billy suggested to me, that I take a trip for 2-3 weeks to the city I wanted to work in (in my specific case, this would have been New York City, NY or Orlando, Fla.,) and line up job interviews by telling the potential future employers that I was already in town should they wish to interview me.
I’ll be honest — I didn’t take him up on his advice until January of 2010:-
- One week = 5 working days
- 6 interviews (including 2 ‘exploratory’/'informational’ ones)
- As many applications as I thought I qualified for, I sent out there
- Reached out to my network in New York City as well as my home network in Miami
- Asked for contact information to introduce to myself to others. (***NOTE: Sometimes, people don’t feel comfortable referring you to someone if they don’t know you very, very well. So make life easy on them and grow a pair — ask them for the contact information of the person and introduce yourself.***)
- Did lunch dates
- Had extra custom-made business cards (***NOTE: This means a personal business card that represents YOU, not a company or associated with one.***) with me at all times
- Toted extra résumés everywhere I went
- I didn’t wear jeans or Uggs for 5 days in rainy, cold weather … it was dress pants, good shoes and cute sweaters — aka — I was dressed for potential employers every. single. day.
- … I was on a mission to get a job. That was my focus. The one ‘fun’ thing I did in my week of job hunting was go to the MoMA to see the Tim Burton exhibit. All my energy and focus otherwise was all business.
One week, to the day I was interviewed later, I was offered a job.
Should you change
career paths?
I was thinking about it. Maybe, public relations just wasn’t for me. Then, again, my ever so wise, cousin Billy told me, your degree doesn’t dictate your future, don’t limit yourself by it creating a box around yourself.
He was right.
I’m a girl who has a BSc in Public Relations with a concentration in International Communication and a minor in Dance as well as a Master of Arts in International Administration with a concentration in International Communication, who ended up working for a well-known public relations agency inside of their digital advertising division (which happens to be a sort of separate company.)
*whew!*
In other words, I’m a public relations graduate working in advertising doing bits of social media etc.
Get it?
Keep your ears and mind open.
The possibilities are out there, you just need to stay focused and aim for what you want in the future, rather than the present.
If you aim for the future, the present will follow suit.
Take Jennifer Nettles’
advice,
“I Ain’t Settlin’!”
I did it too. I took other jobs along the way just to get by. Believe me, I get it. I too, have the crazy amount of student loans on my name. Let’s face it, one degree, let alone two degrees, aren’t cheap.
But for the love of all that is holy, spiritual and Time Lord Victorious in this world, do not settle.
My daddy always told me, keep the main thing, the main thing.
He was right. Take his advice.
Take the jobs that suck; the ones that make you cringe for many reasons. You need them to get by. But that’s all you need them for: to get by.
Don’t put yourself in harms way and leave if you must. Take it from my personal experience, your mental health, physical health and all-around health are exceptionally important.
Keep applying yourself to what you really want to do along the way.
That’s your focus; that’s your goal; that’s what you are meant to do.
Nothing can stop you, but yourself.
If you believe you can do it, you will. Period.
Do. not. settle.
Short + Simple + Sweet
=
You CV/Résumé
& Cover Letter
Never do
this.
Never. Ever. Ever…Ever.
However, do, do this. One of best pieces of advice I read on how to write a proper cover letter was from the Harvard Business Review. It was an article published in early 2009 by a man named David Silverman called “The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received:-”
To illustrate, here’s the best cover letter I ever received:
Dear David: I am writing in response to the opening for xxxx, which I believe may report to you.
I can offer you seven years of experience managing communications for top-tier xxxx firms, excellent project-management skills, and a great eye for detail, all of which should make me an ideal candidate for this opening.
I have attached my résumé for your review and would welcome the chance to speak with you sometime.
Best regards,
Xxxx Xxxx
Here’s what I like about this cover letter: It’s short. It sums up the résumé as it relates to the job. It asks for the job.
I started following the advice and changed my original cover letters to suit. Believe it or not, it worked.
Here’s the thing, the potential employer may not know you. Actually, chances are the potential employer doesn’t know you at all and your cover letter is a way to get them to know you. It’s doable in this format. It’s totally doable in this format.
I altered the letter to suit and you should too.
Be concise and smart.
Leverage Social Media
It’s free, you can do it too.
Me?
- Personal Website.
- Blogged.
- Facebooked.
- Tweeted.
- Gave away Google Wave invites.
- Networked, communicated & engaged.
etc.
On that note, I leave you this with one piece of advice:Â God is great, beer is good, & people are crazy.
… and most of all, don’t forget to thank your references and those who helped you along the way
Be confident in
your abilities,
be cool, be smart,
*remember yourself*
&
don’t look back.
- You may also be interested in “How To Rent An Apartment in NYC.”
–
Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ . She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida with a minor in Dance (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami (’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her @SashaHalima or get a copy of the ‘Little Pink Book’ delivered to your Kindle.
Copyright © 2009-2010 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.
Great summary of your last few months, Sasha. congratulations, again! And even though we're (ahem) one or two generations apart, the points you make still apply. The life-roots holding me in one place might be a little more entangled, but looking ahead I think a relocation may be in my future once the kids are out of school. You inspire me to at least dream about it!
Congrats on your job! This is probably one of the best compilations of job advice I've seen in a long time. You brought up a great point about settling. I think a lot of job seekers get scared so they take a job they may not want and just stop looking. They end up getting stuck and never come out of it. Thanks for providing a great example of how to find short-term jobs on the way to what you truly want.
Good luck!
Way to go Sasha! Just saw your story via #happo. As someone in the same situation, I can't even begin to tell you how inspiring your story is! Thank you for being brutally honest with the hard process you went through to land the job you wanted. It's definitely not easy – I'm at the starting point now. But knowing someone else can and has done it gives me faith that something is waiting for me out there (and if not, I'll create it).
I can't wait to hear more about your adventures!
Way to go Sasha! Just saw your story via #happo. As someone in the same situation, I can't even begin to tell you how inspiring your story is! Thank you for being brutally honest with the hard process you went through to land the job you wanted. It's definitely not easy – I'm at the starting point now. But knowing someone else can and has done it gives me faith that something is waiting for me out there (and if not, I'll create it).
I can't wait to hear more about your adventures!
Congratulations! And I agree that this is a GREAT list of job advice. As for the not settling I whole-heartedly agree but I think it is also important to remember the THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX part. When I started my position with Americorps* I felt like I was settling because I couldn't find a “real” job but it's so far turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for myself; so always be on the lookout for hidden opportunities.
Good luck with the new job!
Congrats, Sasha. I hope you're going to be super happy in your new diggs. Keep us updated.
Thank you for this excellent post. I am a junior concentrating on PR at the University of Oregon, and I am looking to relocate after graduation. Your advice is incredibly valuable to me!
Awesome post, so happy for you. I will definitely be referring people to this post when they are looking for a job. It was very interesting reading about your job hunting adventures online, what a great example to everyone out there to go out and get what you want and to not give up.
Congratulations! Loved your advice. xx
Congrats!! Congrats!! Congrats!! I remember when I first read about you in Business Week and checked out your site and since then I've been a reader & follower (on Twitter). You deserve this success, a true example of hard work paying off.
Excellent advice. I'm glad things worked out for you, have fun with your new job!
Congrats!!! I hope you still find time for your blog!! Yours is my favorite!
Congratulations Sasha! I am really glad to hear stories from other job seekers who are in the same position as I am in the job hunt. I am looking to relocate and the advice you provided in your blog. After reading your success story, I know that I need to make some more changes. Thank you for writing about your journey.
Thank you very much!
I'm glad you can relate and find the information useful. That was my goal. I didn't just want to write a piece about my journey, but I wanted to help/inspire and possibly guide those by handing out what I learned and found the most helpful.
Don't dream — DO! I think you can
Thank you very much!
I'm so glad you liked my post.
Settling is the easiest thing in the world to do, but you'll be miserable. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday.
I think the thing is, about jobs, or anything else, be smart about what you want, prepare and be creative and just do what you need to in order to get buy.
If you want it bad enough, it's my belief the universe will help you
Thanks again!
Hey there! haha, thanks
#HAPPO is great! I would have so been a part of it, had I not been in the current position I'm in.
Maybe next round, I'll be one of the Pros!
It's definitely not easy, but I think you can do anything you want to do if you are smart about it, stay focused and keep your mind at the task at hand. You have to want it to get it and decide to work hard to get it.
I'll try my best to put up a few adventures here and there
Thanks again!
Hey there!
Thank you very much Jessica! Thinking outside of the box is so important, I definitely agree!
Thank you very much Steffan
Whoohoo! Go us PR girls!
So glad you found my advice helpful, good luck to you!
Aww, thank you so much Andrew. I really appreciate that
Looking back, it was an adventure. But you know what, I think life's an adventure in general, lol. Sometimes we just don't know it.
Thank you and you are very welcome
Thank you very much!!!
Thank you and I'll try
Hey there! Oh I will FIND the time, I don't plan on giving up the Pink Book for anything. It may have helped me market myself, but it wasn't started for that purpose.
Believe me, I still have lots more opinions to share
Hi Lisa!
Thank you so much
Glad you found my advice helpful. I really wish, to be honest and not too boastful, I had read something like this when I began my search and that was my goal.
I wanted to write about what I did, but also inspire people so that they have an idea what to expect from a REAL point-of-view; something who experienced it.
Good luck with your journey!
Congrats! Very cool story. Moving is tough, but can be so worth it. Here's my career story: http://bit.ly/social-media-managerS
Awesome post! You've really inspired me. As a soon-to-be PR college graduate, I find myself stressing every day about the future. I'm overwhelmed with job searching, and I really have no clue where to start.
But your post gives me hope, and I know I must never give up!
Congrats!
Hey Sasha! You make so many good points in this post, but the one that jumped out at me was re the 'suddeness' of having to make a decision. No matter how much prep you put into 'getting there' when opportunity knocks, it knocks fast and you have to be ready to walk through the door. The ability to embrace a decision and follow-through is both nerve-wracking and exciting…but worth the journey.
Congrats on your journey! I look forward to reading more…
Thank you and thank you for sharing! I always love to see how people 'cope' in the world.
I'm thinking of writing a followup to this post 6-months later. It'll be interesting that's for sure.
If you have any advice you want to impart, feel free to send it my way
Hey there!
Aww, I'm so glad this helped you. That was its aim. I mean yes, I wanted to share my story, but at the same time, I wanted to help others and divulge some of things that made it 'work' for me.
Best of luck in your future, and if you need some pointers, feel free to drop me an e-mail. I'll try to help out the best way I can. Always happy too
Thank you so much!
You are absolutely right: no matter how much you prepare or think you are prepared, when that opportunity does come — well, it can take you by surprise.
Thanks for your comment
Wow! great post! Congratulations on your job.
I have been considering relocating too, but not in the near future.
Thanks!
Relocating can be scary, but if you do it the right way and prepare, you'll be okay.
I found a link to this on LinkedIn and I'm really glad I did. I am actually looking to relocate to New York City to pursue PR there. I think all of your tips will be really useful in my search. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations! Loved your advice.
Congratulations! Loved your advice.