Tips to Slay the Job Search Beast

This is a guest post by Julia Nizinski, an assistant media planner at Hill Holliday in Boston, Mass. and a former intern at Fleishman-Hillard's Washington, DC office.  She graduated in May 2008 from Syracuse University with a degree in political science and a minor in communications.     

Ah, the job search.  It's like the mythical creature of the professional world: you've heard about it, but you have to see it to believe it.  When I graduated college I never expected the job search to be such an emotionally trying experience.  I never expected it to be so bizarre, so memorable, so forgettable, and so everything else in between. I was called Natalia by an interviewer (my name is Julia), sold men's shoes at Nordstrom, and watched many jobs disappear due to the recession, including the first internship I was offered at a PR agency in DC. But, just when I thought I was going to go from magna cum laude to magna cum loser I caught a break: the same senior vice president that hired me for the PR internship in DC had another position for me.  She told me she liked my tenacity and offered me an internship on the new Marine Corps account.

I went down to DC for the internship with the intentions of getting hired, but seven months later found myself still unemployed for factors out of my control.  Some people might say that my efforts were a lost cause, but I'd beg to differ.  I didn't find a job, but I did find out the importance of having job search mentors.  I met the two people I consider to be my professional mentors and who helped me during my search.  I think finding a mentor is an important component to the process because the job search is often too difficult to tackle alone.  I feel fortunate that I was able to find guidance during the process.  

Although my DC experience was positive, I left sans job. I went home and back to Nordstrom and men's shoes and was unhappy.  I felt badly about myself, I felt angry about what was happening to me and, as the summer went on, I started to feel defeated.  One day, after breaking down in tears in the stockroom somewhere between the Sperry Topsiders and Eccos, I knew I had to get a grip on myself before I gave up.  I knew I had to find something that made me happy and would help me get through my search and that thing for me was joining the press team on a political campaign.  Although I didn't get paid, it kept me busy, relevant, and, most importantly, it kept me happy.

My internship and campaign experiences eventually led me to my current job as an assistant media planner at an advertising agency.  I went in for an informational interview at the agency last summer, but they had no open positions.  However, they said they'd keep me top of mind if anything opened up and, to my surprise, they did. I've been there for a little over a month now and enjoying my new adventure. 
 
I've learned some important lessons along the way I'd like to share, which I've listed below:
* My favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut once said, "I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."  I not only live my life by this quote, but I also lived my job search by it.   Don't forget to notice when you're happy, even during difficult times.  It helps you carry on.  

  * Persistency pays off.  Just because it didn't work out the first time, doesn't mean you should give up.  Don't be overbearing, but do keep in touch with people you've met along the way. 

* Last but not least, don't get upset or discouraged.  It's important to stay positive because, trust me, you WILL find a job.