Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The "Real World" Starts Monday

I've been going back and forth about writing this blog entry. I didn't see myself in this position so soon. For the past month and half I've been trying to convince under-qualified recruiters that I'd be the perfect fit for their organization (side note: not all recruiters are under-qualified, I've just received too many emails from hr departments with misspelled words, poor grammar and even calling me by the wrong name that I'm a little bitter!).  Trying to explain that I had the skill set necessary to be successful and to grow with their company was far from easy. At one point when I was asked where I saw myself in five years I was tempted to say, "In the exact same position, applying for jobs that I'm over qualified for." Of course I bit my tongue on that one, but it is so easy to get bogged down by all of these emails that read along the lines of: We've moved forward with another candidate. Best of luck in your job search. But, you've got to keep pushing. And like everyone says, eventually, something great will come your way.

And it did. On one of my late night job hunts I came across a brand new posting on Meeting Professionals International's (MPI) job listing. It was for an "Internal Sales Assistant" with Windy City Limousine and I thought to myself, I could do this! The job description wasn't exactly screaming event planning, but it was right up my alley in the hospitality field.  Plus, not to mention I've always loved being on the vendor side of things (shout out to Kramer Events). I applied and the next morning I saw that someone from Windy City Limousines had checked out my Linkedin! I received an email 30 minutes later scheduling my interview!

Fast forward and now I'm starting my career on monday! I couldn't be more excited to be starting my next adventure with Windy City Limousine.  Check them out, they're pretty great! Not to mention- we're not limited to only Chicago, we do global transportation too!

I kept getting stuck trying to come up with a title for this blog post. During college we always joked about what the real world was going to be like.  At our Senior Predictions with Alpha Chi Omega, my best friend Purser predicted I'd moved to Chicago (check), land a full time job with Red Frog Events (not check), meet a hot yopro (Young Professional: suit wearer on the weekdays, Sperry Top-Siders on the weekends) and settle down (hahah! yeah right!).  I haven't exactly lived up to that prediction yet. Along with so many other recent grads, I fell into the movement of Post Grad Problems. The life after college.  Going from the mega high of having an incredible position, to barely being able to switch from my pj pants to my yoga pants and opening a new rejection email each day.  But, in all honesty, these last few weeks have been as real as it gets. My little unemployment phase has helped me become a stronger person, an avid reader, a news follower and most importantly more appreciative for the things I do have than ever before.  So although the career world starts monday, the real world has already begun!

Thanks again to all of those who have continued to show their love and support. I couldn't have done it without you! Especially you, Zach- as harsh as you were at times, I needed someone as real as you help me kick it into gear!

xoxo
Kaitlyn


3 comments:

  1. Congrats Kaitlyn! The job hunt is hell, especially when everyone is applying to everything. It's a great feeling when something finally works out!

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  2. Here's to a wonderful monday and many more to follow

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  3. Well done, you deserve it. You will go FAR

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