Those Who Will Be Graduating, or Graduating Soon

It has gone by so quickly. Four years couldn’t have gone any faster, and at times it couldn’t go any slower. It will be a weird feeling knowing that school will be forever for me. Well, I can’t say that just yet. Who knows if I will be offered free schooling for a master’s degree, but if that happens that will be a long time down the road.
I have talked about my life as it progressed during my last semester at Rowan University. You have heard everything I had to say from job searches, resumes, job interviewing, career fairs and anything else I have encountered over the past several months.
At times I have given you a chance to hear from other people, such as Carly, Steve, and Tonya when I did my, “Those Who Lived Past Graduation” series. I have talked to my internship bosses and did a feature on how one must intern to get themselves a chance to get in the real world and experience life outside the classroom.
In this post, I hand it over to Rowan graduates of all majors who will be graduating in May, this summer, or in the fall. There will be many persepctives from different people and it will be another series of voices to hear from that isn’t mine.
I approached these students and let them know that I am curious about what they are doing for graduation and what their life plans are. After I told them all about it I sent them an e-mail with a few questions to work with and gave them some time to think about it. Here are the list of questions I sent them for references their answers.

• How long have you been preparing for graduation?
• Are you excited? Scared? Nervous? Can’t wait to freakin graduate?
• Have you done any job searching? Have a job lined up?
• What are your plans after graduation? Will you live back at home or do something different?

Pictures are credited from Facebook.com with the consent from those I interviewed. However, one student answered in a Q&A format because they didn’t want their picture posted online.

So, here are some graduates and upcoming graduates and what they have to say. Enjoy.

Tom Majocha, 22, senior history and secondary education major with a minor in Internation Studies.

I can’t really say I’ve been preparing for graduation at all. It really hasn’t hit me that I will be graduating from college in two weeks. I figure that when exams are done, it will start having an effect on me that the fun is over and its time to step into the real world. I would say that I’m both excited and nervous about graduating. I’m excited for the fact that I graduated on time, making my parents both proud and happy, and will have the opportunity to have a real job in the near future. I’m nervous because another chapter of my life is ending, and I don’t really know what the future has in store for me. Being a teacher instead of being a student in someone else’s classrooms sounds kind of weird. I am excited to graduate but these have been four of the best years of my life, and are something I won’t have the chance to experience ever again. My job searching was put to a hault due to not passing the Praxis II. Social Studies Exam the first two times I took it. Also, this kept me from Student Teaching this spring semester. However, I passed it the third time and have been giving resumes out. I will be going through the Alternate Route Program to be a Secondary Education Social Studies Teacher. However, I do not have a job lined up at this very moment. My plans after graduation is to continue my summer job of caddying at a private country club close to my home, while hoping that I get an interview for a teaching position. I will be living at home for the time being.  

 

  

Erin Tideman, pictured right, 21, senior Public Relations and Advertisting and Journalism major

I don’t think I have really every been preparing for graduation…all of a sudden it just crept up on me. I thought that I was going to be sad about graduation but I am actually ecstatic. With all of the work this semester I am ready to be done and move into the next phase of my life. I have been searching and searching for jobs but it wasn’t until recently that a few jobs have really jumped out at me. I have found that you really don’t get interviews unless you have contacts with the organization. I am freaking out about finding a job a little bit, but I think everything will end up working out. I am planning on moving back home for a year or so to save up enough money to move out on my own. Since all of my friends are doing the same thing it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me!

 

  

 Ashleigh Ries, 21, senior Journalism Major

Graduation is very VERY close and I have to be honest it’s a bit scary. I’ve technically been preparing for graduation for 4 years. But realistically preparing probably since December. That’s when it became real. That’s when I started looking for potential jobs and thinking about the what if scenarios if I don’t end up with one. So far my whole graduation/job seeking experience has been a bit scary. I’ve applied to about 5 places so far and haven’t heard back from any of them, so its getting a bit discouraging. However, I do have a lot to put on a resume and to be proud of two internships and working for The Whit for three years. So I’m sure to find something (I hope). For now the plans after graduation are to move back home and find a job either in journalism or go back to the temp agency until something does come my way.

 Jim O’Brien, 22, senior Radio/Television/Film Major with a minor in journalism

 

I’ve been preparing for graduation since I started college. I’ve always had the personal philosophy that school is your job and you are supposed to be A) good at your job, and B) graduate from college.  I have had fun with my classes but I always took a business like approach to my school work.

I’m kind of numb to the idea of graduation right now. It has not really hit me yet that I am going to be completely done with college, mostly because how fast it’s gone by. It will probably hit me in September when hopefully I’ll be working. But more specifically it will really sink in when it’s a Thursday night in September and I won’t be at Landmark.

I’ve done some job searching but, it has been tough. I have a job lined up for the summer but it’s not what my degree is in. I graduate in June so I do have a little more time than others.

After graduation I plan on sending my baseball play by play tapes out of every professional team in America, and some college teams. In the mean time I’m going to be living at home, unfortunately but I give that a year or two before I move out max.

Candace Hutchinson, 21, Elementary Education and English Dual Major

Candace preferred not to have her picture posted, but has answered the questions in a Q&A format.

How long have you been preparing for graduation?
Basically, since I started college. I received my associates from CCM but did not attend their ceremony but am attending Rowan’s. so that is exciting and I am also dreading it because I heard last year’s ceremony lasted 6 hours. The only preparation I have done for graduation is filling out paper work and inviting my family members. I probably did all this within the past month. I think it is stupid that we have to pay for gowns and pay to graduate – Rowan gets enough money as it is.

Are you excited? Scared? Nervous? Can’t wait to freakin graduate?
I cannot wait to be done with school and classes but it is still nerve -racking. I am very anxious because of what comes after graduation. Finding my own place to live, being completely dependent on myself for everything, finding my own health plan and praying I don’t get sick or hurt, and finding a job to support myself.

Have you done any job searching? Have a job lined up?
I have not done any job searching because I am still at Rowan for a semester for student teaching. I do know that I would like to work back in North Jersey in the school systems I was raised in. I will be sending out my resume’s this summer in hopes of getting my name out there and getting a job for the following year, or even substituting for the spring semester that I am finally done with classes.

What are your plans after graduation? Will you live back at home or do something different?
I will be living back home. I am hoping for only a year at most, and hopefully I will have a job in which I will be able to support myself enough to find a place of my own.

What I have learned through these people and through my blog
I tried talking to as many people as possible and getting numerous responses. It’s very hard to find someone who has a job all lined up before graduation. I thought I might find one, but unless I interview dozens and dozens of people, I probably won’t find one person who is about to graduate that has the job they want all lined up. It will take some time as you have learned from myself and those above. Everyone in this post has explained how they are either scared, nervous, and excited for graduation and that sums up my feelings as well. There is so much going on in my head that it makes it tough to think.
I have learned that many people will be going home after graduation and aren’t rushing living on their own and I feel the same exact way. There is no shame in living with your parents until you get on your feet and are ready to officially move out.
The job market is very tough and these people mentioned how they have sent out resumes and are awaiting future employment. It seems as if everyone here at Rowan is in the same type of boat. It appears that people are focusing one day at a time and are focusing on graduation first, and then the rest of their lives after that. I mentioned in my last post how I should take it day by day and that’s what I will be doing. I can’t rush things and expect results with the snap of my fingers.
As Tom explains, it has been a great four years of college. I believe everyone feels that way and with less than two weeks to graduation and finals week approaching, life after college isn’t the number one thing on someone’s mind.
I have sent out my resumes and established my connections and only time can tell what can happen. The best thing I can do is let things happen and just stick around for the ride.
I have learned a lot in this blog about my last semester here and the challenges that are ahead of me as well as learning a lot about myself. I have posted in this blog as if it were my personal journal and for those who read this, I appreciate you taking a look at it and maybe getting some tips. I will try to keep this blog updated as much as I can and perhaps I will start posting about what I’m doing once graduation is finished. Until then, we shall see.

Getting Closer…

There are 18 days until I graduate, but who’s counting?

Well, I guess I am. But should I be?

I still have a full week of classes and papers to write, but I am almost there.

Throughout my blog posts I have talked about the fears and thrills of graduating and what it’s like to be a senior in their final semester here at Rowan University. I have posted about resume and job interview experiences and help guidelines and talked about the craziness that is the job search. Also, I have talked to three fellow journalism graduates from Rowan to get an insight from them.

That’s the first thing I would like to go over and that’s the three students who graduated and their responses. Their posts have been sporatically posted over the last couple weeks so I can space out some material, but I have drawn conclusions from these three and the main one that sticks out to me is that all three love what they do.

Carly says she couldn’t be any happier with her job right now, Steve simply says he loves it, and Tonya said the same thing as Steve by saying she loves what she does.

At first I was paranoid that I would never find a journalism job no matter what. Professors and fellow students kept telling me that you really have to love what you do to even find a job and be content with it and that’s even if you do get a job. I kept hearing from everyone that the job market for journalism jobs have decreased and readership for publications have gone done due to online journalism and the advent of blogging.

These three graduates each took a different route in finding their jobs, but it seems like they realized they wanted to do journalism all along. Carly heard about her job position through a former Rowan grad, but Steve and Tonya found their jobs through online job searchers. Steve talked about how he found his job through journalismjobs.com, which I briefly went over in an earlier post. Tonya on the other hand found her job through Monster.com, which I have definitely used to help find a job and to realize I was looking in the wrong places.

Another crazy thing I realized when going over my Q & A’s is that all three of these grads were not too fixated on their income. Carly took it into consideration when comparing it to her part time job, but in general all three did not care about the monetary value of their jobs. They seemed content with their jobs and were happy to be doing what they are doing and that’s how I want to be. This whole time I thought I would be living in South Jersey because I told myself in my head that I would have a job right after college, but getting a job that I want can take some time and I’m content going back home and finding something or pateintly waiting.

The latest update on myself is this; I have given up on all these online job seeker search engines and have tried to find a job a different way. It turned out this whole time I had resources around me and didn’t utilize them. My friend Jenn’s father knows a bunch of people in the newspaper business in North Jersey and hopefully can help me out and the only thing I had to do was just talk to my friends and see if they knew of anything or anybody to help me out.

More importantly, I had my internship boss right there for me. Andy has been working for Comcast SportsNet for over 10 years and I didn’t realize all along that he could have helped me in my future endeavors. He has also been platooning interns for several years now and he would have some good insight in what his past interns have done and the best places to look for jobs.

So one day there it was. Andy left me something in my inbox, which could be something I have been waiting for all along. Before he started working for SportsNet, Andy interned at ESPN through their paid training program, which runs mainly through the summer and fall months.

He told me that I should definitely apply and to use him as a reference. With what I have done throughout the years in publications and the work I did for Andy at SportsNet, I feel that I could have the chance of spending my summer in Connecticut at ESPN headquarters working as a possible paid intern.

Let me just type that again to myself… I COULD BE WORKING FOR ESPN!!

That’s the possibility right now and who really knows what my chances are. I feel fortunate to even have this great of an oppurtunity. I have been stressing way too much over getting a job and made it such a priority that at times I forgot how much I just love sports journalism and writing in general. The last semester at school can go so fast and some people take different routes in what they want to do. My route was to do everything in power to try and get a job, but what I felt like I should have been doing is letting things progress by themselves.

My mom and most moms say the world works in myserious ways and I firmly believe that now. My mom kept telling me throughout my job searching process that I will find something and to be patient. Mom usually knows best, right?

To kind of conclude things, the Q & A’s from the three Rowan graduates have really helped me in the fact that I got three different prespectives and the conclusion that they love what they do. This is the career path I chose and that’s what I will do.

As the semester comes to an end, I am proud of my accomplishments thus far in my college career. I am proud of the resume and clips I have compiled and I can only hope for the best after I graduate. For the meantime I will take things as they go and live my life one day at a time.

Those Who Lived Past Graduation (Part 3)

In my two earlier posts about Carly Romalino and Steve Stirling, I found out a little bit from each person about what they have done past graduating Rowan after receiving a journalism degree. They were definitely in the same boat as I was and reading their answers has been very insightful. The person that answered these series of Q & A’s is named Tonya Kenevich and she goes into some detail with her responses. Take a look at what she has done since she has graduated Rowan.

1. Where are you currently employed?
I am currently an associate editor of a company that publishes three trade magazines in the nutrition/organic industry.

2. What exactly do you do?
I write various articles and columns about information and trends in the nutrition industry. I interview companies from all over the nation in the industry, and also attend trade shows all over the nation, in places like Anaheim, Orlando, Long Beach, New York and more.

3. Do you like what you do?
I love what I do! I was just promoted, so it’s been really exciting. Our company is small, but our trade magazines are very well-known in our industry, so it’s really great to talk to nutrition experts and they know exactly who we are. I love the variety in my job, everyday I learn something different, and my co-workers are amazing people. the opportunity is great; I didn’t realize it when I was in college, but trade publications are the way to go. They are a GREAT outlet that people aren’t completely aware of. A lot of young students who want to work at magazines automatically think “Cosmo” or “Rolling Stone,” but there are SO many more media outlets that journalists don’t even know about.

4. How did you find your job?
I found it on Monster.com. I was on about five different job sites and it STILL took me six months to get a job in journalism. I found the job on an e-mail alert system I set up on Monster. I also used Mediobistro.com, CareerBuilder.com, Craig’s List and a few others I just looked at on occasion.

5. What did you do before you graduated about for your job search? Were you well prepared?
I made sure my resume was ready to go at the drop of a hat, and I had a few professors (including Quigley) review it and make changes. I went online and looked at samples of resumes, took ideas from a bunch of sites and incorporated those ideas into mine. I sent my resume to a bunch of relatives with well-paying jobs to get some advice and opinions about my resume, and what I should change. It worked out in my favor; every single company I had interviewed with prior to my current job would actually tell me how impressive my resume was, AND how neat and orderly it was. My resume aside, I also got very involved in college activities. I started as a staff writer at The Whit in my sophomore year, and by my senior year, I had become Editor in Chief. And that is a nice thing to put on your resume. I wrote as much as I could, and by the time I graduated, I believe I had over 40 clips from The Whit, and then picked my best ones (features, news stories, etc.) for my clips on job interviews.

6. Is your pay something you considered in your job search?
No. Journalism doesn’t pay well….unless you become EiC or somewhere up there. But it’s not about the money. I could do a job for way more money, but not be as happy. My job can be very fulfilling. This was my passion, and I had to go for it. And you know what? And like I said, in trade publications, it can be a LOT easier to get higher up than starting as a stringer or freelancer at a newspaper or large corporate magazine.

7. What are some tips you can give to upcoming Rowan graduates, whether it’s the journalism program or not?
GET INVOLVED. I can’t say it enough, and trust me…I saw the apathy of many, many freshman journalism students, even when I was in college. At the beginning of the semester, The Whit meetings would be totally full of happy, excited journalists. By the end, we were lucky if five newbies continued to stay. Some freshman said the meetings were too early (11:30 a.m.???) and that they “felt ignored.” But no one handed me anything when I first started, nor should they. In journalism, you have to just take an assignment, ANY assignment, and make it your own. Make a name for yourself, get yourself out there, and don’t be nervous or afraid that you’ll offend. Good journalism is FILLED with controversy. Otherwise, why read it? You need to have a hunger for knowledge, for learning and for the truth. But no matter what the major, getting involved is the best thing to do. Join clubs related to your major (and even ones that aren’t). Meet people in your major, share ideas…maybe you can even start our own club or program. Go to Rowan events. Yes, some are lame, I will agree. But some were actually really fun, and I got to have some free fun and meet new people at the same time. College is what you make it; you won’t get anything out of your major (or life) if you stay in your room all day and do nothing.

I have found my three Q & A’s have been very helpful with my situation. In my next post I will talk about the three journalism graduates I talked to and a little bit more about myself and what I have come to learn from everything in my last semester here at Rowan University.

Surprising Series of Events

As I walked into my Problems in Contemporary Journalism class last Thursday night, I was pulled aside by my journalism professor, Claudia Cuddy. The way she opened up the conversation and the way she was talking started to scare me a little bit.
She started the conversation along the lines of, “Billy I got to talk to you about something.” I couldn’t get the exact words since I started to worry and or panic at this time.
I thought to myself, “Oh great, she is going to tell me I’m one credit short of graduation or something is wrong with my transcripts.” Everything horrible that could pop up when talking to an advisor popped into my head.
Instead, Mrs. Cuddy gave me some awesome information.

She informed me that she talked to my internship boss (Andy Schwartz of Comcast SportsNet) and he had so much good stuff to say about me. Mrs. Cuddy told me that I would be getting a good evaluation grade for my Field Experience II sheet, which is part of the internship program here at Rowan. She said that Andy basically told her that I was a good intern and that if she could find interns that are like me that she should definitely recommend them to him.
I am not tooting my own horn here, but this series of events came as a shock. First, as I mentioned before, I thought the conversation was steering towards the negative side. Second of all, I didn’t even know I was doing that great of a job. I thought I was just another intern doing, well, intern stuff. So, it turns out that this internship has been going much better than I hoped and with this good review, hopefully Andy can be a great recommendation for any job I apply for in the journalism field.

JournalismJobs.com

As mentioned in my previous post, Steve Stirling (a previous Rowan graduate) got his job by going onto journalismjobs.com. This is a great Web site for journalism majors and here is what I liked about it.

Unlike Monster or Career Builder, the site posts companies that actually have an interest in journalists. They aren’t looking for people of all different majors who can work in their sales departments. As I have learned through job interviews through companies registered to Monster or Career Builder, all jobs are related to marketing or sales. They mention that they want writers, or in my case, “sports minded people,” but when it comes to it, they are just looking for another body.

Journalismjobs.com’s Web site is very easy to navigate. On the top of the page, it lists the certain jobs one could be interested in.

• Newspapers/Wire Services
• Magazines/Publishing
• Online Media
• Television/Radio
• Trade Publications/Newsletters
• Public Relations/Media Relations
• Non Profit/Academia/Government
• Financial/Technology New Jobs
• Sales/Marketing/Circulation Jobs

I would say that is easily broken down.  When deciding which job you want, the site lists the industry you want (as mentioned above), various positions, state location, and keyword search. From there, the site  gives you a list of all jouranlism employers and the day they put up a “help wanted” ad so to speak on the site.

When someone picks a job from that category, there is a description of the jobs along with qualifications needed and where to send your resume, clips, and information to.

Some examples of places I would like to work that popped up in the search were feature writer for The Press of Atlantic City, Copy Editor/Page Designer for The New Jersey Herald, and the News Desk for The Daily Record.

On top of looking for a possible job, the site gives a person the chance for internships, fellowships, freelance jobs, and posts awards/contests.  The site also contains many articles related to the field and articles that relate to finding the right job for the journalism field you are looking for.

Overall, it’s a great site with so much to offer and has given me hope to perhaps land a journalism job after all.

Those Who Lived Past Graduation (Part 2)

Along with Carly Romalino, Steve Stirling was also another Rowan University journalism graduate. He was recomended by Kathryn Quigley as well. I asked him the same questions I asked for Carly and here are his responses.

1.Where are you currently employed?
TimesLedger Newspapers in Queens, New York

2. What exactly do you do?
I’m a beat reporter covering Flushing, Whitestone, College Point and Auburndale

3. Do you like what you do?
Love it

4. How did you find your job?
It was one of several I applied for as I approached graduation. I’m fairly sure I got this particular notification on Journalismjobs.com.

5. What did you do before you graduated about your job search? Were you well prepared?
I worked to get all the experience I could. I wrote for the Whit and eventually became the Editor-in-Chief. I applied for and completed two internships in the job market I hoped to end up in (New York City), one at the Village Voice and another at the New York Daily News. Garnering experience you can show future employers as proof of your worth is essential in my mind. I of course wouldn’t have known this without the marvelous guidance of the profs at Rowan, such as Prof. Quigley heh.

6. Is your pay something you considered in your job search?
Not really, but I more or less knew going into the newspaper industry that I shouldn’t expect the big bucks. It’s not really a career for the fiscal-first person, you’ve really got to love it to do it.

7. What are some tips you can give to upcoming Rowan graduates, whether it’s the journalism program or not?
Get all the experience you can before you leave first and foremost, and take advantage of what the school offers to you, whatever your major. If you know what you want to do, ask around and see what it takes to get there, and focus you energy towards achieving that. If not, keep your options open get your resume and clips together (if your a journo major), check out some job sites and apply for anything that piques your interest. Sure you might hate it but you also might find your niche.

When reading Steve’s response, I was very surprised I have not heard of Journalismjobs.com. It would have made my journey a little easier knowing this web site opposed to using Monster or Career Builder. My next post will talk a little bit more about the site and my overviewon it.

Change of Plans?

This whole time I have been contemplating either staying around the South Jersey area around Rowan University, or go back to North Jersey and try to find a job where my permanent address is in Mount Olive.

At first I thought I would want to live more independently and live out on my own or even stay with the roommates I have now. As I have noted in an earlier post, I don’t think I can live with my roommates any longer.

My two good friends from home have found full-time jobs around the Mount Olive area and the three of us were in talks about living together. This would be better considering I know they are much tidier and probably more easy to live with. On top of that, the costs would be much cheaper.

But what about staying home?

Located within a half hour’s drive of New York City lies Mount Olive, New Jersey. It is a township that consists of two towns, Budd Lake and Flanders. It is the home of the Marauders. Photo courtesy of epodunk.com

Everyone knocks on other people about going back to mommy and daddy’s place and living there for some time. However, it can be a good idea. You can save some cash when you do get a job and not worry about paying so many bills.

It would be beneficial to most people to get used to the job they get after college and save some cash while they are it.

I thought about getting a job right after graduation and finding an apartment right away. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I don’t want to do it. No one wants to be living an apartment by themselves and have work consume their lives. Instead of rushing my plans and trying to have everything perfect, I am going to slow things down and let whatever happen, happen.

Those Who Have Lived Past Graduation

Many Rowan students have graduated the journalism program and have gone on to do multiple things. With the help of professor Kathryn Quigley giving me a few e-mails, I was able to contact past journalism students and ask them a few questions.
My first response came from Carly Romalino. Carly was the news editor at The Whit for a year and was also the editor in chief for her last semester during the Fall of 2007. Here is a list of question I asked Carly and here are her responses.

1. Where are you currently employed?
Gloucester County Times

2. What exactly do you do?
My “official” title is Editorial Assistant, but that does not say anything about what I do. Basically, I do everything here: I edit and type the incoming letters to the editor for the Viewpoint editor; Place different pages of the newspaper, like the comics and wedding, anniversary and engagement announcements; write up an eight-day listing of about 100 things to do from Friday to Friday that is published every week; I post all South Jersey: Living stories to the internet all day; edit photos; and somehow I find time to write a few stories every week.

3. Do you like what you do?
It’s my first job since I graduated in December, and I really could not be happier. Although I am not primarily a reporter, I still love being in the newsroom. Unlike the full-time reporters, though, I get to have a steady 9 a.m. To 5 p.m. schedule every day. Sometimes the full-time reporters will have to work passed their scheduled time to get the story out.

4. How did you find your job?
I heard that The Times was going to publish an opening for the Editorial Assistant position from an acquaintance of mine who is a reporter here, Jess Beym. To my knowledge, I was either the first, or one of the first people to apply and then bug the editor to come in for an interview. About three weeks later, he told me I had the job.

5. What did you do before you graduated about your job
search? Were you well prepared? Since I graduated in December, I began working on my resumes in October. The resume was the easy part — just a list of prior experience and qualifications. The real work was in the cover letters and clip packages. Everything was completed by the end of November, but the first one I sent out and got a response from was the Gloucester County Times.

6. Is your pay something you considered in your job search?
I did consider pay when accepting the job, but all I had to compare it to was my $9.65 hourly wage from my part-time job at CVS Pharmacy in Monroe Township. This early in my career, anything better than that hourly rate would suit me.

7. What are some tips you can give to upcoming Rowan graduates, whether it’s the journalism program or not?
Do not be discouraged if employers are not immediately handing you W-4 forms and sign-on bonuses upon your graduation. Until you get yourself our there, employers do not know you exist. A friend gave me some advice before my first day of work: “Ask a lot of questions, be meticulous, look eager, and stay positive.” So far, I’ve used his advice, and in my short time here, I made it clear that I like what I do — in my opinion, that’s what gets you considered for big stories, or promotions.

Another One Just Like ME

Just when I thought cleaning went out of style.

My post from a few days ago talked about how horrible living in a college environment can be. It also included some graphic pictures, but that’s what one can expect when living with three other guys.

However, the same problem can exist with the women of this world. Renee in her latest blog post talks about the importance of keeping your living environment clean.

My post may have been on the negative side, but Renee gives a great approach on how to keep your living environment better and keeps it a bit more positive.

Intriguing Speech

I had the privledge of hearing one of the more interesting speeches from someone last Friday Morning.

The man’s name is Matt Osborne and works for Peerless Marketing Concepts, Inc. Those who were called in for the third interview were invited to hear Matt talk and get one last interview with the head boss before a decision was made on our employment.

Like us future May graduates, Matt had to work his way from the entry level position. He then worked his way up the ranks to district manager. He was told of his promotion a couple weeks ago and shared with everyone that day about how his life has changed dramatically over the years with all the hard work he had put in.

The basis of Matt’s speech were broken down into these segments.

• Time
• Friends
• Family
• Work/Money
• God

He said these five things are what we consider the most important things in our lives. I agree with him since to most people this would be their top five.

For time he talked about how some people have their 9-5 jobs Monday through Friday and don’t do anything with their time.

He mentioned how his parents would work their jobs during the week and they would just come home, make dinner, watch primetime tv and then go to sleep. And then on the weekends they would just lounge around the house because they were so tired from the work week. That perfectly describes my parents. Going out to Chili’s or something on a Saturday night is their highlight of the weekend.

Matt started to explain that time should be a friend of ours. We should use the free time we have and make the best of it. Don’t let your job drain you out. He said there was a fine difference between “working to live” and “living to work”. The more you like your job, the better your time will be.

For friends, Matt talked about how he had all his high school friends and college friends, but mentioned that most of his friends now are from work. It’s great to have your friends that last you a lifetime, but they are very rare to have. What he was trying to say is that having your friends is a great thing, but they may not be your friend throughout your life.

For family, Matt talked about how everyone talks about that family is so important to them. In most cases, people fret going to their grandparent’s house or aunt and uncle’s house for holidays. In actuality, how many times do we call family members and visit them? Family is definitely important for all of us, but when he mentioned that he did bring up a great point. I sometimes don’t look forward to some family functions and don’t always call my family members on a regular basis.

The big part of Matt’s speech was talking about work and money. He mentioned that many people take jobs just for the salary and benefits and are just content with that. His opinion is that you should find a job you really like that involves everything you want and could provide advancement. Matt talked about a job he had where he sold loans and was the sixth best out of the 17 workers that were there. When bonuses came out that year, his bonus paycheck was substantially less than the 16th best worker. Just because he was in his first year he couldn’t make as much money as someone who had been at the company for five years. He said, “Why should I work my ass off and be the sixth best when I can’t be rewarded.” As long as you had a pulse and still had the job, your bonus would keep going up. I agree with that entirely because my dad works for Chase Visa and is one of their top performers and doesn’t get the benefits that he should for working so hard. The people that are ahead of him so to speak can do absolutely nothing and still make more money.

What’s the point of working so hard when you can’t advance or get rewarded? The reason Matt mentioned all this was to show that this company can provide rewards for hard work.

The last thing Matt talked about was God. He talked about how important that is to most people and how going to church isn’t so pleasing as everyone thinks. He mentioned how most people hate waking up on Sundays and dressing up to go to church and that some people go to church just on certain holidays.

Like I said, it was one of the more intersting speeches I have heard in a while. Matt put a bunch of things in perspective. This is what I got out of it.

• Time is definitely valuable. I always try to make the best of my time and I never really let work drain me out. But then again I haven’t held a career yet.
• Friends are definitely important, but it’s true that certain friends won’t be around for your whole life.
• It’s important to find a job that won’t stress you out. I want to have a job that I could look forward to going to and not have the work load drain my life. I want to “live to work”. Work will be work, but I don’t want it to control my life in the future. I want to make the best of the time I have when I’m not in the office.