Buckeye to B.A.

I can't take it anymore! I'm blogging. Since May 20 I've been feeling a ping in the back of my head reminding me that it is social media malpractice to skip more than a week of posting. Well it's been a month so shame on me. I went from studying for finals and writing papers to taking finals, then jumped right into celebrating my last days as a Buckeye with friends and classmates. Graduation weekend flew by with rehearsal and a three-hour ceremony, a trip to Lake Erie, and finally I came back for my last two days at my old job. I took the first step into post-grad life on Thursday when I was hired on as the writer/editor for the marketing and communications department of the Ohio State University College of Dentistry. So, no excuses, but this resulted in zero blogging.

Graduation was absolute chaos. The whole morning was a big rush, and once my family was there and my boyfriend Dan was ready to take pictures, my jaw dropped. My tassel was not on my cap and I had absolutely no idea where it would be. Mind you this is 15 minutes before I had to be in line. Trying my best not to hyperventilate (it's only one of the symbols of graduation) I tried to come up with a quick plan (this mainly consisted of me fanning myself-- I overreact slightly) but realized I now had only 10 minutes to get in line about three blocks away. Dan and my dad jumped into the car and took off while I ran for the French Field House where everyone was already lining up. I looked around trying to find someone else without a tassel and was unsuccessful.

Dan had been texting me and calling me with updates on the tassel situation, and during one of these phone calls I zipped up my gown, which promptly split down the middle. You have got to be kidding me. Promising safety pins and a tassel he got off the phone. I'm trying not to cry because it's already an emotional day with my family in town and graduating from college. I sniffle as we walk toward the stadium, sure I was going to walk across the field with a gown split up the middle and no tassel. They most certainly withhold your degree if you're in that bad of shape, right?

Just before we walked in to the stadium Dan comes running at the stadium with a tassel in hand, attaches it to my cap, and says, "Don't freak out, they didn't have safety pins..." He whips out a pile of paper clips (yes, paper clips) and starts shoving them through both sides of the zipper and twists each in place. Meanwhile my dad is standing up on a ledge laughing at the scene and shaking his head. As if I wasn't a mess as it was, before heading in to find a seat my dad gives me a hug and says, "Hey don't worry about it, you'll be fine. We are so proud of you." So I start tearing up one last time before I walk in. Luckily that was the end of the excitement-- everything else went smoothly and it felt amazing to walk across the field of the Shoe to receive my Bachelor of Arts degree.

The job search is proving more difficult than I thought. Openings are few and far between, and interviews are even fewer. Luckily I have a temp job that I'm enjoying and will have until fall, so I have an extended period of time. I've reached out to many people in my personal network, and taking the advice of an old co-worker, I'm being more direct and utilizing all the resources I can. I'm submitting resumes and asking for informational interviews where there are no current openings, am asking my friends, family and mentors to keep an eye out for me, and am exploring my LinkedIn network to check for connections to companies which are hiring. Hopefully this route proves successful by fall, and I will have a full-time job. For now I am building my portfolio and am happy with my job as a writer/editor for the College of Dentistry. I've been working on interesting stories and have a folder full of things to write about and work on. I'm mainly writing and editing for the homepage and e-newsletter, will be working on the annual magazine, submit press releases to local media and have random side projects along the way.

Especially for all of my fellow recent-graduates and for those of you graduating in the near future, I'll keep posting my status on the job search process.

I'm reading: Buckeye to B.A.

Crunchtime

22 days to graduation. Mr. Anxiety is creeping in like a plague. At first he would just kind of poke me every now and then, then at two months out he would randomly punch me. Now I'm being attacked daily. I tried to tell him to go away and he responded with, "Get a job loser."

I might be a complete nerd, but I actually have a working spreadsheet in Google Docs of every job I've applied to, when I applied, when the application deadline is, and if the employer has responded yet. The list is growing daily which makes me feel productive on one hand, and like I'm shooting aimlessly in the dark on the other. I do feel much better every time I add another line to the list-- it's the only thing that makes my daily beating subside a little.

Although stress is running extremely high right now, I know everything will turn out even if it's not within my ideal time frame. And I cannot wait until I'm finally there! All anxiety aside I am seriously excited to graduate and love the prospect of going out into the real world and doing what I enjoy most. There are so many things I would like to do; I'm curious to see where I end up. It could be public relations, marketing, social media, event planning, writing, or something I don't even expect. I keep visualizing myself starting my new job and looking back at the months I was freaking out and thinking, that was such a small span of time compared to the big picture, and it all turned out to be okay. It may be a couple of weeks, a month, or even a few months after graduation, but I will continue working hard so I will get to where I want to be. The emotional roller coaster that comes with the coming weeks will only make beginning my career that much sweeter.

I'm reading: Crunchtime

Not Failure, Opportunity

A great deal of Easter weekend was devoted to the application for 10X, a competition through ONE Fund offering money and mentoring to tech startups. The Metropreneur explains the competition in more detail. The project team matched the set of criteria and could answer all of the questions thoroughly, so this seemed like the defining moment that was going to kick start the business. Not only did the ten chosen teams receive $20,000 in funding and a summer full of mentoring and aid from professionals, but they also had the chance to be placed in front of a panel of angel investors at the end of the summer. This was it-- this is what the team had been waiting for to really get the ball rolling. Everyone read the questions multiple times and had several brainstorming sessions before finally tackling every single question and getting the answers (in 125 words or less) to be concise and meaningful. This went on for about seven hours on Saturday and for another five hours on Sunday. Everyone was trying to get inside the heads of the judges and the mission of the competition to answer to the best of their abilities. After thorough editing the final submission went through with about half an hour to spare.

And so we wait...

The answer came through surprising soon. Less than four days after the submission the rejection letter came explaining the competitiveness of the competition-- of the 120 worldwide submissions just 25 were chosen. Luckily even to those not chosen advice is offered by the local experts, so the team is waiting to hear back from them to see what they need to improve or change. This was a major disappointment and blow to the team's steam, but everyone is trying to look at it as an opportunity. This apparently isn't the road the business is meant to take, and another one with come that better fits its needs and goals. It is extremely disheartening to put your heart and soul into something you're really passionate about only to be rejected, but it's no reason to quit or even slow down. Will it be a harder and longer road? Yes, but this gives the company a chance to regroup, find out what needs to be done, and find the opportunity that will lead to success.

While the engineers are working to improve the prototype and prepare for alpha testing, those on the business side are continuing to crunch numbers to prove the product is definitely a great investment. Also, we've created a spreadsheet to compile a running list of any personal contacts, educators, local experts, mentors and investors we can think of so we can get as much advice and guidance as possible. Though the 10X program would have been a huge asset, we're doing the best we can to attain some of the benefits of the program ourselves. We're continuing to look for networking and funding opportunities for tech startups to get the business of the ground.

I'm reading: Not Failure, Opportunity

Commencing Countdown

There haven't been many updates on the project lately other than the usual fine-tuning continuously being done on the hardware and software. There's now a team working on the software which should help somewhat distribute the workload. There was a meeting with a family friend who has invested in and aided startup businesses before, which boosted the confidence of those working on the project. It was great news for them to hear from someone who'd gone through similar endeavors that their product is marketable and the cost of start up and production is reasonable. The next step is to work out the kinks before sitting down with a patent lawyer. I haven't been working on it much lately either, but I've laid out a rough PR plan and definitely have some ideas for getting feedback before going to market as well as getting the company's name out there. I'm currently taking a communication research methods course which is giving me a lot of ideas for surveys relating to the company and the product to be distributed to upper level personnel within the industry.

Although there haven't been any major updates on this, another reason I haven't been working on side projects much lately is because I'm graduating in two months. Two. I'm trying to remain calm but wow-- I always imagined the end of my senior year as being totally laid back and fun, mainly used just for creating memories. I am so much more stressed than I was at this time last year. And so, the pressure is on and all free time must now be spent submitting applications to potential employers, and the eye strain begins from scouring the Arts and Sciences Career Services site, the PRSA job board and others. Once I've submitted applications for every job I could possible qualify for, I guess all I can do is cross my fingers and pray. Having a job lined up before the day I graduate will make the walk that much sweeter. 

I'm reading: Commencing Countdown