Life After College...

It's been a minute since I actually wrote anything for myself. Every paper, poem, short story, tweet, and comment were all used as steps to get me closer to my goal. My end game.

I made it. I did it. I did something no one in my family had ever done before. I graduated from college. It's been almost three years since I graduated, and I still have nightmares where I am late to class. In the nightmare I sometimes make it to class but somehow it is the last day of school but it is my first day in class! I wonder if those will ever pass.

Anyway, I did it. For so long, that was the only thing I focused on. Get my degree. All of this chaos will be worth it once I have that degree. All of the sleepless nights, and the endless papers would all be worth it. The degree makes you valuable. Right? 

To say I had tunnel vision is an understatement. I just KNEW that once I graduated, all of my dreams would come true.

What an idiot I was.

The thing I didn't factor in? Networking. Even if you have the degree, it doesn't matter. The job market is all about who you know. And I know NO ONE! I was a full time student, working a FULL TIME forty hour work week job. I have two kids and a husband. I hardly had time to sleep let alone network while I was trying to get my degree. 

Applying for jobs can be soul crushing. Honestly, how can I prove to an algorithm that I am worth the job interview? How do I prove that even though I went to a no-named college that my experience was just as good (if not better) than my peers applying for the same job? The reason why I have my current job is only because I knew someone who knew someone. I didn't "earn" my job. I wasn't "better" than any of the other candidates, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. They don't even care that I have a degree. I don't even get to use my degree. 

Again I say, soul crushing.  

So, now what? Graduate School? Certification of some sort? 

I can't be the only person experiencing this, right? 

I am fortunate that I get to do freelance editing. That is my jam even if the jobs are few and far between. Those jobs are what keep me ticking. They keep the dream alive that maybe one day I will build a big enough name for myself in the publishing industry. 

I think it is important to remind myself that although life after college is not what I thought it would be, it is a huge freaking deal that despite all the odds against me I got that damn degree. It's a celebration. Even if it doesn't always feel like it. 

Happy Reading y'all! Keep the faith! 

Lis

What's Next?

It's time to graduate. The all-nighters are over. You have turned in your final assignments. The only thing left is to walk and get your diploma.

So, what's next?

Now you gotta get a job! The job that helped you get through college now seems like a burden. It's time to hit the pavement (or internet really), and find a job that you have worked so hard to earn.

Let's just pump the brakes for a moment. I had some recent advice come in from my amazing aunt. She told me to just enjoy the process. Enjoy the butterflies you get the first time you land an interview. Enjoy the whole graduation parade. Just take a moment and enjoy life.

It was sage advice. I was getting too nervous about what the heck I was going to do after graduation, that I was missing the actual graduation fun.

So, graduates I say this; congratulations! You rock! Enjoy the next few weeks! The time for job interviews will come, so just bask in your success and relax! You freaking earned it!

Good Luck,

Lisa

This One's For You

A personal letter from me to my family. I love you all.










A few years ago, my cousin sent out a letter to several members of my family thanking us for being her "village." The letter came about because of her oldest son's graduation from high school. The letter stuck with me, because I never realized how much time we put into making sure they had everything they needed throughout the years. Family takes care of family, after all. It's just the way it is. But when I was reading the letter I saw how much we influenced the lives of my cousin and her son.

Years later, I still think about the village and its influence. Now that I am graduating from college I think of my own village and the sacrifices they made to help me reach my goal. It would be unfair for me to take all the credit when there is no way in Hades that I could have ever made it to this point in my life without the help of my friends and family.

My mom, who lives over an hour from me, would drive to my house twice a week and watch my kids while my husband and I went to night classes at GGC. My grandmother, who is one of the most amazing women I have ever met, would be the first person to offer to help out with tuition if I was unsure about the cost of a semester. Summers, my kids would go from my sister's house, to my cousin's, to my in-law's. My dad, who always told me I was way too intelligent to settle for the life I had, would buy my school books when I ran out of grant money. He would tell me that the best debt you could ever have was school debt. He would say that it always paid for itself in the long run. My amazing aunt, who decided to go back to college when she was 41!, would answer my millions of questions about my major and what I was doing with my life. My kids would always try to help me with my homework. My amazing boss always reminded me that school is more important than work.

My husband. Man, I don't even know where to start. He is my biggest cheerleader. He constantly reminded me to stop stressing. He would make me cup after cup of coffee during those late nights where assignment after assignment was piling up. If not for him forcing me to stop working and to have a life outside of work and school, I would have had a nervous breakdown, and probably never finished school. He is my rock who always reminds me that I am wonderful.

I have been so lucky to be surrounded by such a great support system. 

So, it's finally happening. I'm graduating in just a few short weeks, and I can't help but think about how I honestly never thought it was going to happen. And how grateful I am to those who helped my dream come true.

Love you all, 

Lis :) 

Atlanta Career Fairs 2018

Graduation is around the corner, and the pressure is on to find a job. I have had several people tell me they are landing interviews left and right. When I ask how they heard about the job I am surprised to hear their answer is at a Job Fair.

The Job Fair. I always figured these were mythical events created to have in movies and books. I found it hard to believe that so many people seeking out such limited job openings in a central location would actually be successful at landing a job among all the chaos. Alas no. I even had one classmate share that she not only got an interview because of the fair, but she also got the job. 

WOW. A Job. With vacation, 401K, insurance...a REAL job. All because she listened to her mentor and attended the job fair at Georgia Gwinnett College. 

It was an important lesson for me to learn. In the digital age it can be easy to get lost in the sea of online applications. The job fair is a great chance to meet someone face to face and make a lasting impression. This is a chance to outshine your (possibly) mundane resume.  

So let's take a look at a major job fair happening in Metro-Atlanta this year. 

Eventbrite.com has information on Atlanta Career Fair. The fair is on April 5, 2018 at The Westin Peachtree Plaza from 11am-2pm. The web page gives you the opportunity to upload your resume on the site when you register for the fair. It is a free event, so if you have the time you should make an effort to go to the event. The job industries represented range from accounting to entertainment. It looks like it will be a great opportunity at landing an interview. 

Good luck to you all! Happy hunting! 

Best, 

Lisa :)

C's Make Degrees, But What About Careers?

If you are about to graduate you have probably heard the saying, c's make degrees, and never have I believed that more than now. The pressure of graduation gets heavier every day. I feel myself start to slip on my papers and assignments. I keep thinking that as long as I graduate who cares what my GPA is?

Well apparently, a lot of perspective employers care. With graduation coming in a little less than two months I have been living on Indeed.com. It is a website that connects you to thousands of job listings around the world. That search will leave you with the need to curl up in the corner and beg for your mama. Anyway, I have noticed that more and more companies are asking for my GPA along with my degree or graduation date. Also, there have been a handful of companies asking for a copy of my academic transcript. Let me be clear, these are not jobs in the education field, and these are not jobs for any type of school systems. These were jobs in PR, Marketing, Administrative Assistants, Editing...the list goes on.

So, now I can't help but wonder if the adage should be, c's make degrees, but not careers.

I always believed that grades only mattered if I wanted to go on to graduate school, but now I am not so sure. In an age of over saturation for several careers such as, pharmacology, education, nursing, business, marketing...it looks like companies are now looking for other ways to sort out the cream of the crop from the job pool.

 I recently noticed that in my college career at Georgia Gwinnett College I have only had two professors who did not have their doctorate. It wasn't until I started thinking about graduate school that I realized GGC was making a statement with their staff. They choose to hire the best of the best.

So, yes you can graduate with c's and you will have the same degree as the girl you sat next to in every composition class, but it may not be enough to get you the career you always wanted.

Keep Calm and Make the Word Count!

Hugs,

Lisa