Senioritis

A Final Thought

2005-05-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sadly to say this will be my last blog entry. I am graduating and moving on into the business world. I wish all my fellow graduates and upcoming grads the best of luck. Just a little side note: The guest speaker at commencement on May 28 will be historical novelist Jeff Shaara. With 18 days left till graduation (at Univ. of Delaware), I leave you with all with this final thought:

Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you
graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the
last day of your life. If you can grasp that , you'll make
a difference.
- Arie Pencovici

Official Graduation Countdown

2005-05-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

18 days and counting.

Never Ending Signatures

2005-05-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I went into the office at the job I will be starting in July ( FirstInvestors) to begin my paperwork. Let me tell you I never signed my name so many times in my life. I thought I would be in and out of there in like 2 hours, but they even let me sit in on a meeting. It was a strange feeling, or should I say a reality check. The paperwork was really annoying. I had to sign a lot of the same things 3 times. Also they made me fill out a 10-year residential history including all my college and high school addresses, and a 5-year work history. They gave me fingerprint cards I have to get done at a police station and mail them back. I also had to bring in 3 letters of recommendation from people other than relatives. This whole process of accepting a job took a lot longer and was a lot more involved than I thought.

Serious Depression

2005-05-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

ONLY 20 Days left until graduation!!!! I don't know about you guys but besides the immense amount of stress I am under right now due to an unusually large amount of schoolwork, I'm seriously depressed about the minimal amount of days I left here at Univ. of Delaware. I mean yeah I complain about it now, but I'm seriously going to miss this place. My advice to everyone out there about to graduate: live up these last couple of days, no matter what the cost (except for failing), cause you will never have and experience like this again.

Senioritis

2005-05-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Wanted to give everyone a laugh with this official definition I found of Senioritis in Wikipedia.

CAP & GOWN REMINDER

2005-05-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to all the UDel seniors at there that cap and gown pic up begins today and lasts till Wednesday, May 6th.Costs for undergrads is $31.99. If you studied abroad and forgot to pre-order your sash, they have some extras for some countries if you still want to buy one. Quick word of advice, the line ffor check and cash goes a lot quicker and is a lot shorter than the credit card line.

P.S. I can't believe I picked up my actual cap and gown today! Just another realiztion that graduation is that much closer. :(

Good News for the Graduating Class of 2005

2005-04-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

According to a MonsterTRAK Entry-level Job Outlook, the job market for college grads is the strongest it's been since 2000. According to the article entitled Job Market for College Grads Strongest Since 2000, According to MonsterTRAK Annual Entry-Level Job Outlook, "Among the findings, 80 percent of companies surveyed with 5,000 or more employees plan to hire 2005 graduates this Spring/Summer and a remarkable 90 percent of companies with 10,000 or more employees plan to hire 2005 graduates." Another point I found interesting is the confidence of our graduating class. The article said that last year 51% of college seniors did not expect any job offers upon graduation. Yet 83% of our class is expecting at least one job offer upon graduation. I can totally agree with a comment made by Michelle Forker, Senior Vice President, Monster Campus, "Compared to recent years, we are seeing strong growth in the number of jobs available for new grads, particularly in sales and support services such as finance and accounting." Being a marketing major with a minor in international marketing I was greatly surprised by the fact that the majority of companies that I was receiving interviews from where these types of companies, when it wasn't even my major! The survey also revealed that "75 percent of 2005 graduates feel they are prepared to enter the workforce." What do you think? Part of me feels ready but there is also a part of me that doesn't. One last finding that I found interesting was the top 5 states for entry level job opportunities. The list was toped off by California at 15%, then Texas at 9%, Florida at 7%, New York at 6%, and lastly Illinois at 5%. Check out this article for some more interesting insights.

Washington D.C.

2005-04-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

After visiting my boyfriend this weekend down in Washington D.C., I began to fall in love with the city. When I got in the area all I could notice is all the business men and women whizzing past me and their beemers and other amazing cars. I loved the whole atmosphere and would really consider working there some day. I don't think I liked it as much as New York, but definitely better than Philly. For more info. about professional, hourly, part-time and internship jobs in Washington D.C., check out this website: href="http://www.dcjobs.com/"> DCJobs.com

Five Smart Money Moves for New College Graduates

2005-04-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

I found this great article to check out called Five Smart Money Moves for New College Graduates. It gives you 5 tips to for financial success after graduation which include:

- Smart Money Move #1: Choose Your Job Carefully
- Smart Money Move #2: Don't Move In With Your Parents
- Smart Money Move #3: Don't Buy a New Car
- Smart Money Move #4: Get In the Budget Habit
- Smart Money Move #5: Educate Yourself About Personal Finance

Check it out for more details!!!

To graduate or not to graduate?

2005-04-12T13:59:00.001-07:00

After walking home from class the other day with my roomate, Tara, we began to talk about how seriously deppressed we were about graduating. She explained how her sister graduated last year and is living at home and working and is miserable. We realized that we seriously do not want to graduate, and especially live at home (which is what I will be doing for at least the first year). However, today I came across this article about a boy who is on his 12th year at the University of Wisconsin. He is actually getting so much publicity for it that he is beginning to make money this way. You have to check this article out: Perpetual student finds national fame. Honestly, I love college and all, but 12 YEARS!!! Is this guy out of his mind.

It's Official

2005-04-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

I finally got over my denial that I need to get a job and accepted the offer from First Investors Corporation. And now the fun begins. I have to go in on April 29 to fill out paperwork, which includes: 10 year work and life history, 5 year residence history, fingerprinting, and beginning in 3 letters of reference (excluding relatives). My only problem is I said I could start working June 2. The more I thought about it I want a little time to wind down after graduation. But not too much otherwise I'll be bored just sitting at home. So I talked to the secretary for recruiting and she said it probably wouldn't be a problem to wait till the beginning of July, but I need to e-mail my manager to make sure.

My Spring Break: Interview #1

2005-04-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

While many of you are sitting on the sunny beaches of some exotic location, I'm at home in Philly. Why? I got another call. Yes I was trapped by another phone call from a recruiter (at least this time I was a little more prepared). I get e-mails and may not necessarily respond, but when you get a phone call it's a little harder to say no. So for me, who is in denial about this whole process, being trapped into going in for an interview was probably a good thing. The company: First Investors Corporation. It puzzles me how I continuously get asked to interview by financial and insurance companies, and not a single marketing or advertising firm when that is my major. First Investors is a privately owned company with about 70 companies nationwide. As a sales representative you use face-to-face contact to build a client base and help them with savings, educational investments, and retirement investments.

My interview was on Wednesday at 10am. I got to experience my first train ride alone, which for some reason I was quite nervous about. You see I have a horrible sense of direction and I seem to worry about everything. So getting off the wrong stop and being late was a huge concern for me. Anyway I got a ridiculously early train and ended up hanging around in the train station for 45 min. and still got there a half hour early. When I got there I had no idea what to expect. The building was amazing. Marblish walls and floors, huge brown doors with gold handles, and security everywhere. As I entered I was greeted by an extremely nice secretary, ushered into a conference type room, and handed an application to fill out. Then it began, PANIC. I didn't have a pen to fill out the application. All that went through my head was, "Oh no, am I going to have to ask for a pen? If I do they are going to think I'm unprepared and that will be the end of my chance." A little drastic I know, but it is my first interview. Then I noticed a little table off to the side with some pens, and my heart finally began to slow down at least a little. My second fit of panic set in when the door opened and the secretary brought in another candidate. Now I was thinking, "Is this going to be a group interview? Am I going to have to compete directly for the interviewer's attention? Is the other candidate going to be super smart and charming and make be look stupid?" As I continued to fill out the application, a third fit of panic set in when I read: Please list personal references (excluding relatives and former employees from the area you are planning on working, their address, and phone number). I had references but I didn't bring the list with their addresses and everything and many of them where former employers or my host families abroad (in case I applied to an international job. I listed a professor, and new the town he lived in, and at the last minute listed my best friend's mom.

More candidates arrived with a total of 7 including myself. There was only one other female. Many of the candidates where seniors at Drexel University, and all of them were finance majors. The manager who was interviewing us was really nice. He was young, very up-beat, and not to mention kinda cute. He gave us an interactive presentation of the company asking us questions along the way. Surprisingly I talked the most out of everyone. I was shocked because I was so nervous. The interviewer ended with one-on-one exit interviews and I was first. To make a long story short he asked back the next day for round 2. At the end of my second interview I he offered me the job. The job seems great, good location (market and 16th in center city Philly), the money even better (basically commission based averaging around $50,000 first year). I told him I would think about it and get back to him in a week. The problem is, it was my first interview. What if there is something better out there? It almost seems too good to be true. I need advice a.s.a.p.!!!!

Primerica

2005-03-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

So Friday morning around about 1:00 pm, just as I began to roll out of bed after the previous night's St. Patty's Day festivities, I got my first job opportunity call. I answered my cell phone despite the unrecognizable number, and somewhat annoyed by the wake up call. The voice said, "is this Kimberly?" I answered quite rudely, "yeah and who is this." The guy on the other end then proceeded to tell me he was from Primerica Financial and saws my resume through UDel's e-recruiting. Boy was I surprised and feeling bad about my rude greeting. He proceeded to ask me some question about what my plans are for graduation, and gave a brief job description of the company. He then asked me if I would like to come to an orientation up in Pike Creek, DE, to get some more info. about their company and decide if I would like to proceed with an interview. Unfortunately the job description didn't sound very interesting, financial counseling for middle income families. The other problem was that orientation is this Tuesday night, and it just so happens I have 2 midterms this week. He said he'd give me a call when the next orientation came up. Most importantly I realized how unprepared I was. Yeah, he caught me off guard and a little hung over, but I was stumbling over my words. This made me truly realize what I already knew all along. I need to interview with this company and other ones that I don't find interesting just for practice, so I can mess up and learn from it. So now I await their call.

A Cool Site to Check Out

2005-03-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

The true careers blog (that I also have linked on the sidebar) is a really cool site to check out. You select from a list of job titles and then plug in the area where you want to work. You then get a complete report including things like: how much the average person in that position in that area is earning right now, percentages for their bonuses and benefits, a full position description, how much the cost of living is in that area, and more. I highly suggest you check it out.

At least it's a start!

2005-02-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

About a week ago I decided to get my act together about this whole job thing. I decided to post my resume on both monster.com and through U Del e-recruiting. While I'm not actively seeking any jobs out my self, and I'm merely sitting back and waiting for responses, I figure it is at least a start. Within a weeks time I've received several responses to my resume. I was kind of surprised that all the responses were to my posting on monster.com, and none of them through U Del e-recruiting. However, I was disappointed with the interview offers I received. None of them seemed interesting or very profitable. I also found it interesting that many of them were from financial and insurance firms when I'm a marketing major. I guess I'm looking for something more directly related to my degree such as a marketing assistant. I'm also starting to realize two things. First, my hopes may be somewhat high right now considering I'm only an entry-level candidate. I need to take into consideration that I am an entry-level candidate that may needs to start at the bottom. This may include taking a job that isn't exactly what I'm looking for right now for some experience. Eventually I should be able to work my way through that company, or change jobs a couple times until I reach a more desirable position. The second part is that my undesirable responses are probably due to my laziness and denial of graduation. If I were to actually seek out jobs, instead of waiting for them to come to me, my responses would probably be a better fit. I've decided that I'll probably interview with a couple of these firms so for the interview experience. Looks like I got lots of work to do on the job front.

Here are some of the companies I've been asked to interview for:

- RemX
- Bankers Life & Casualty Company
- American Income
- United American Insurance
Company
- American Express
- Primerica Financial Services

Is it really the end????

2005-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has finally arrived: END of my college career (or at least as an undergrad). Ever since the end of my first semester freshman year, my roommate Tara has had a count down. I'll never forget her saying, "Only 7 semesters left," and then "only 6 semesters left," etc... And now, NO SEMESTERS LEFT. It has gone so fast!!! All I want to do is savor every last night out at balloon, at Kate's, every last late night, every last college memory in the making. However, this seems to be putting a damper on my schoolwork habits. I'm sure many of you will agree with this. Which leads me to one of the biggest decisions of my life, what do I do now? Here are the options: take a year off and travel, grad school, or get a job. I'm in such denial of graduation, which has caused me to probably miss grad school admissions deadlines, and to have not even begun to interview. I'm starting to freak out though because everyone I talked to (especially in the business school) has been interviewing for the past couple months. I haven't really talked to many people that are going right to grad school. While traveling may seem like the easy way out, for me it's a little different of a story. I've been traveling to Europe almost every summer for the past 5 years. (Check out the International Experience Section of my resume for more details). After extensive travel in Italy I've come to the conclusion that I would maybe want to live and work there. So if I travel for a year I will probably spend most of the time in Italy to improve my language skills, and possible look for jobs. But for now I'm definitely still in denial about entering the real world!

2005-02-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

Test Post

2005-02-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

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