Monday, February 29, 2016

Ace The Interview!



Good morning!

If you've been checking back on my blog from time to time, you may be sensing a theme.


My New Year's Resolution was to become more career driven. True to my word, I'm still working on it people!



So it only makes sense for me to keep the momentum going and write to you all about how to ace your interview.

Define your goal, find the internship, secure the interview, get the position.

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1. Pick your outfit out the day before

Pick out your favorite, work appropriate outfit. If you're dressed in something that makes you feel great, you'll end up looking great and acting confident!  I promise you, your confidence will show. Also, pretty please - for me- iron your outfit the day before too. 

2. Have 3 stories you want to share

Sure, an employer looks at your resume before interviewing you. However, your resume is only compiled of bulleted achievements. You have the power to give those words life.

 I was recently told in an interview to have 3 stories in the back of my head that I think truly define my accomplishments. For example,  if someone asks,  "When was a time you ____?"  I'll know to pull out my story about how I put on an art event for 100+ people in Ireland. (True story) When you have your achievements already laid out in your head, you'll be more comfortable talking about them and won't have awkward silences in your interview.

3. Research, research, research

Never enter an interview blind. Know what you're applying for! It sounds so simple, but because it's an extra step, a lot of people actually overlook this. You may be asked about the company or why you want to work there. If you say something vague, your interviewer will  know.  They interview people on the regular. Dig a little deeper on LinkedIn or on the company's website. Doing your homework will be duly noted and leave your interviewer impressed.

4. Follow up with a thank you

Use the manners your momma taught you! Follow up your interview with a handwritten thank you note or email. You have 24-48 hours to craft a well thought out response to your employer/ interviewer. Thank them for their time, bring up something special from the interview, that you're looking forward to hearing from them etc. Taking this extra step makes you *extra* memorable and shows that you appreciated the employer's time.

***

Interview season is in full swing. And guess what? It may be tedious and stressful, but we're all in this together! ... I may not be as cute as Troy Bolton aka Zac Efron, but boy, do I have as much spirit as him. 

You can do it! 

With love,

Saturday, February 27, 2016

This Just In!


Hey y'all!

Remember the other day when I said I had exciting news?

Well this is the news.


Have you heard of the wonderful blog called The Young Hopeful?

If you haven't- get with the program, girl! It's one of the best sites around to learn how to combat all things college and life related. 


How does this relate to me? Well, your girl was just appointed Social Media Editor. Woohoo!

Get ready for super fun gifs, quotes, motivation and exciting tips and tricks!

 I wouldn't be doing my job correctly if I didn't pester you to follow The Young Hopeful! (But let's be real, you want to follow all of this goodness)


What do you *love* to see on social media? Let me know. It'll help you and get my creativity flowing!

With love,


Thursday, February 25, 2016

Wake Me Up When it's Spring Break

Guys!

Somehow it's already February 25, which means next week is March.


 Spring break is in March. All the hours buried in homework will soon be alleviated!

Please stand by as I rant about how excited I am to go home.

There's tons of things I love about Spring break. A break from crazy work? Check.

For me, the best thing about Spring break is being with my whole family. There's 6 of us (wowza!) and our schedules are so different that it's hard to all be together at once. 

So when we are, it's really, really fun.


I also CAN NOT WAIT to snuggle and squeeze my pup for hours on end. Look at that face, how could you not miss that little goofball?

Being home isn't complete without delicious food. Gotta love home cooking. New Jersey is also full of insanely delicious gems.

 Like Broad Street Donut Co. These babies haunt my dreams, so I'm making it a point to get some while I'm home.


I'm drooling.


It goes without saying that I am so ready for extra shut eye as well. That's going to be mighty nice.

What are you looking forward to?!

Before I go, I must tease that I have some exciting news on the horizon! Y'all are going to love it. Details to come.

With love,


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Hating our Appearance

Hello there, beautiful!

This week for class, I had to read an article titled "Why It's Harder Than Ever For Women Not To Obsess Over Their Appearances". I was hooked before I even started reading.

This Huffington Post article is from 2014- yet nothing has changed. If anything, the way we view women's bodies in the media has gotten worse.


Just the other day it was released that GiGi Hadid- one of the most beautiful individuals on this planet- had her beauty marks removed. Because fashion.

No, no, no.

Photoshop is nothing new, but the direct effects of it still hit hard. On the other end of the spectrum, at least some people are finding the humor in things... 

Snickers just released this ad:


Is blatantly bad Photoshop what it takes for companies to realize they're being absolutely ridiculous or is this advertising campaign just as bad as the rest? 

When are companies going to 'get it'? I encourage you to read the Huffington Post article here.

With love,

Monday, February 22, 2016

Music Monday: The 1975



Happy Monday!

Being not only a 20 year year old female, but also an avid user of Tumblr it's near impossible for me not to see a post regarding The 1975...


 A barren hipster bedroom and The 1975 poster or record.


 An arty black and white photo of lead singer, Matt Healy.


 Aesthetically pleasing edits of 'Chocolate' or 'Girls' lyrics.


Maybe you've seen this cool-kids-concert-shot and didn't realize it was The 1975. Or maybe you did. (I didn't)

I've seen it all, and I'm sure you have too.

It wasn't  until just recently that I actually gave the band a listen. Man oh man, now do I understand the hype.

The band has been teasing new songs, as bands do, sporadically over the past few months. Luckily for me, I don't have to wait too much longer now to hear all of their new songs. (The album comes out on Feb 26!)

Here are some of my favorites:

Somebody Else


Love Me


The Sound


Take a listen. Really let your inner hipster/glam rock/ 80's superstar shine this Monday morning!

This album is going to be everywhere. Including my Tumblr dashboard.

With love,

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Farewell Forever 21: Online Clothing Sites


Some days, I'm doing work one minute and the next I'm somehow looking at clothes.

 It's a mysterious phenomenon.

As much as I love Forever 21, or H and M, going on those websites all the time gets boring. So, as a part of my *unofficial* homework I decided to compile a list of interesting clothing websites that are both cute and affordable!



Are there any clothing gems out there that I've missed? Let me know and have fun shopping! 

Thank me later.

With love,


Wednesday, February 17, 2016

How To Get Inspired And Gain An Internship


Hello there!

There are very few things I love more than career topics.  I know I just lost some cool points right there, but resumes, internships and LinkedIn- GOD BLESS LINKEDIN- are some of the coolest things around.

Now is the time to start seeking out those Summer internships! It's almost as if I can hear your booing from your computer screen as I type this. I feel you.

Starting out, searching for an internship seems very monotonous and time consuming. As one to never lie to you let me say that the internship process, can at times, be this way. However, by simply looking at the different options out there, you may surprise yourself.

There will be things you've never even knew existed as jobs or you'll find out about different companies that are actually really awesome. Soon, you'll be fantasizing of all of the internship possibilities.

To do an internship, or not do an internship. If you don't want the answer to be an adamant YES, then you best be asking someone else instead of me!

Internships are so important. 


You gain real world skills,  get to network with some really cool people and the best part is that you find out if what you did at your internship is something you actually want to do for an extended period of time. (Notice how I didn't say forever, the way we look at careers is changing people!)

What do you want to be doing this Summer or the rest of your life? Now is your chance to search and get it! And I'm going to help you.

Here are the internship websites I often frequent:


Check internship sites often. Positions are always being added and now is the time to secure one. If you're not fully committed yet, keep an eye out for exciting things you may want to do in the Fall!

Is there an internship search engine you have an affinity for? Let me know.  I'd love to take a looksie.

With love,

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Artist Appreciation: Ed Sheeran


Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday.

Fresh off his Grammy wins- I think it's appropriate to talk about Ed Sheeran.

Many people can be performers, but not many can be artists. Ed Sheeran manages to, brilliantly, be both.

I urge you to take a listen to Ed's + album. It's been around for 5 years, has been played through my speakers thousands of times, yet each lyric resonates just as it did the first time it ever came in contact with my ears. Now that's powerful.

This album is easily in my top 5 albums of all time.

Take a listen on YouTube or Spotify and let me know what you think!

With love,

Monday, February 15, 2016

Media Minutes: Barbie's Makeover


Happy Monday y'all!

Today I wanted to talk about Barbie. We all grew up with one. Love her or hate her, but the childhood staple isn't going anywhere.

I don't know if you've heard or not, but Barbie is now going to be offered in a range of different sizes (tall, petite and curvy)- this also includes different hair styles and eye colors. 

Swoon.

Alright, but why is a 20 year old talking about Barbies? I'll tell you why. 


Children all around the world play with Barbies and the fact that there are more options than ever, that are all beautiful in their own way is remarkable. This teaches children that beauty is more than just blonde hair and blue eyes. Playing and learning, getting used to these ideas when we're younger, help shape our values for a lifetime.

I'm a lover for body positivity, and while we can all agree that this move is long overdue, it's definitely a step in the right direction.


One last thing, watch this to see what young girls think of the change. It makes me happy to see these young girls happy, and at the end of the day that's what matters.

What do you think of Mattel's new Barbies?

With love,

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Sitting in Class, Thinking About Being Abroad



Hey there friend!

Remember how I said that when you're busy being homesick, the tables will turn and you'll be homesick for abroad? (No? Refresh your memory here)

Well, that time has come. Actually, it's been around for a while and I can't escape it.


Ireland. I. Miss. You. A lot.


And. Greece.


Oh. And. Lovely. London.


Last, but not least- Paris for good measure.

( Shout out- Thanks to my friend Nicole for snapping some of these beautiful memories!!)

No one tells you how weird you'll feel coming back from a semester abroad. I came back from the Emerald Isle feeling like my college campus shrunk.  Granted, it was a small school to start with.

I also felt like everyone was so much more prepared than me- even though it was only syllabus week.

Here I am now, starting week 5 of the semester, and I can say I feel a lot better about being back in the states. Sure, I miss my old class schedule, my favorite pubs and coffee shops  and professors, but I've accepted it now as part of the territory. 

*
Here's some tips to cope with post abroad sadness:

1. Stay in touch with your old professors, faculty and staff

The connections you made over 4+ months are too valuable to be thrown out the window! In talking to past professors, faculty and staff about readjusting, the new wave of students abroad, things that made you think of them etc.- you'll still feel connected. They'd love to hear from you so send them a quick message!

2. Meet up with people who went abroad and share stories

The first week back, my school had a re-entry meeting for all the students who studied abroad. We got to swap stories and eat pizza. What is better than that? You can tell stories about your time abroad to many people, but only a few people will truly get them, so it's really comforting to touch base with the people who went through the same experiences as you!

3. Dive back into your passions at school (or find new ones!)

Getting back into leadership roles or clubs is so comforting. They're things you loved pre- abroad and things you most likely missed while you were gone. Reignite those passions. Going abroad I realized that I love traveling, so I decided to make it a point to work in my Study Abroad office at school. In doing this, I got to find a new passion and still link back to my adventures abroad. This leads me to my next point...


4. Shout from the rooftops why others should study abroad

Remember the days where you were practically jumping at the chance to study abroad? And wasn't it one of the most magical feelings when you finally could? (Answer: Y E S) You listened to everyone's stories, you read all the information you could and you asked all the questions you could possibly think of to upperclassmen. 

Now it's your chance to be that vessel of knowledge. There's tons of students that are now looking to you for advice. In being a study abroad alum, so to speak, you get to tell everyone why they need to go abroad. It helps spread the word, soothes student's worries and you get to talk about your kick ass experience.

*
Just like being homesick while abroad, remember that you're not alone when coming back to college. Some of your peers are going through the same thoughts and feeling as you. It's ok to be nostalgic and it's ok to be sad! Just remember, there's always people you can talk to. 


Above all else, don't forget what fire sparked in you when you first chose your college.  (Burlington, you're such a babe. Always beautiful and #1 in my heart) You felt a sense of belonging then- and chances are, that sense of belonging is still in your heart now! It may be trickier to find at the moment, but I can promise you that it won't belong before you rediscover it again.

With love,

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Valentine's Day, Shmalentine's Day


Hello loves!

I feel as if every post I write now begins with "How is it already ____?" "Time escapes me" blah blah blah.

Hey- it is all true.


How are you!? Do you feel all the love in the air? No? Neither do I. I actually feel anxiety radiating off of other people in the midst of papers, assignments and projects piling up. I must admit, that I am also contributing to that vibe.

This weekend is Valentine's day- make of it what you will.

In our last trip around the sun, I had a wonderful relationship, watched it struggle and finally fizzle. All of it was a lesson well learned so I can't even be sad about it- yet I'm obviously not jumping at the chance to celebrate Valentines day. 

 However,  let's take a step back from all of our anxiousness and do something that we love or that others love. Show people that you care about them! Here's some ideas below:



I don't think much needs to be said except for Reese's. They make everything better. This recipes looks so delicious I'm practically drooling.



Every Monday night, my friend Chelsea and I watch The Bachelor. ~Spoiler alert!~ I am so happy that Olivia is gone. IT'S ABOUT TIME.  I love this list that Chelsea actually sent me. Yes, it's aimed for couples, but I whole heartedly believe that you can also do this with your gal pals. Chelsea and I actually have a game plan for our date this weekend, using this list as inspiration... sadly, we had to omit a hot tub in a exotic location from our itinerary. 



I like this printable because it's cute and can be used all year round! Geometric prints are definitely in, so finding one for free that you can just print makes this a necessity. You can see more DIY pins on my Pinterest by clicking here.

Watch a movie on Neflix, give yourself a facial, get your favorite ice-cream, watch videos on Doug the Pug ... Do what ever makes YOU happy this weekend.

With love,