Dear GGG, Help! I’m a communications student trying to land a summer internship, and so far I’m having no luck. I’ve applied to dozens of posted positions on literally every job board I can think of—and nothing.  I’m even willing to work unpaid! What am I doing wrong? – Madison, age 23, Washington, D.C.

Hi Madison!

Well, it sounds like your major mistake is relying on job boards! Don’t get me wrong; job boards have a place in the hiring eco-system. It’s just usually not the best way to apply to and land open positions, especially in glamour-type professions such as publicity. Why not? First, if it’s a big job board (e.g., Monster), or the website of a large company, your resume is a needle in a haystack of literally tens of thousands of resumes gathered for the position. Even if it’s a smaller board, you’re leaving too much to chance that a “key word” search of the database will pull up your application, or that a recruiter’s quick glance of your resume will sufficiently grab his or her attention.

Second, most good jobs are either 1) already filled –or ‘slated’ with internal candidates– by the time they’re posted or 2) not ever listed on a job board. This is particularly true for highly-competitive industries in which the supply of candidates far exceeds the demand.  Before even looking through a stack of new resumes, managers usually have a handful of folks on their radar—such as people who have informational interviewed with them before, former employees, or other professional acquaintances—that they can pick up the phone and call about the opportunity.  Which is why you’re kind of wasting your time mindlessly dropping your resume into a job board black hole.

You’d be much better off spending zero (you read that right: zero!) time on job boards. Starting today, research a dozen medium-sized companies/firms that really inspire you.  Do some investigation on Google, Linked In and even Facebook and figure out how to get in touch with the company’s executives. Send ‘em a letter or email passionately expressing your interest in the company and any opportunities there. Include your resume. Ask for an informational call or meeting. No, you’re not being “too aggressive.” Think about it: What do you think you’ll be doing if you actually get hired to be a publicist? You’ll be cold calling people, trying to sell yourself and your client! The skills needed to be good at the job—e.g., confidence, fearlessness, resourcefulness—are exactly the skills you need to get the job.

Now, get after it!

I hear searching for a job is in itself a full-time job, or at least one should treat it like it is. But how is one (me) suppose to pay her (my) bills? This has been an ongoing debate in my current household. I understand that I need a temporary paying job, but with me going to my (unpaid) internship three days a week, that leaves just two week days and the weekend to work – which pretty much means a retail or food service job. I’m not opposed to working seven days a week (we’re go-getter girls after all!), but I’m nervous that I’m not going to have any flexibility in my schedule for potential job or intern-related opportunities.

So, the question of the week, how do you manage job-hunting with paying your bills?

Yay:

The obvious reason for getting a temporary job…money. I’m never going to move out of my parents’ house if I don’t have any money. If I work hard enough, I can fund my own move to New York. And, on the positive side, I would be increasing and adding skills I can use for future employment. Odds are I’m going to start out as somebody’s assistant, so I’ll need more skills than writing and editing to get a job. And lastly, it will provide a way for me to escape from my computer. It would be a break, not the funniest thing I can think to do, but still a break.

Nay:

If I got a temporary job, what am I going to do if I have to travel for a last-minute interview? I had a job interviewer once where she wanted me to come in the next day. I flew to New York in the morning and had an interview late in the afternoon. If I were employed, what would I say to my current boss? Next week, I get my first feature writing assignments at one of the magazines where I’m interning. When do I do the interviews? I asked to volunteer on some of the magazines’ photo shoots to gain some set experience. Maybe I won’t be able to help anymore because I have a full schedule. But, after all of these questions, I have to understand that these are all “what if” questions. I need to remember I have to stay in reality, and the reality is, I need the money.

The Verdict:

The truth of the matter is I have to find some type of work. I’m lucky that I don’t have to pay for much in my current situation, but I know that I’m not going anywhere if I don’t start really saving for a goal. Besides, believe it or not, I can’t wait to be financially independent. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

–Samantha Hyde

The day of the long-awaited job interview arrives, and you’re feeling as confident as can be. That is, until you panic, realizing you did not prepare for the big finale of the interview.

What? There is a big finale to an interview? Absolutely! The big finale is when the interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions?” To set yourself apart from other candidates in the running, you have to ask questions—and smart ones. By doing this, you prove to your interviewer that you are a prepared and enthusiastic potential employee who is the right person for the job.

After acing the whole interview process, the last thing you want to do is ruin your great impression with an 11th hour faux pas. So, what questions fall in the category of NEVER ask? Here are some examples of what NOT to say (and really, people have asked these things):

• So, I’m curious how much money will I make here and do I get paid for the Holidays?
• I’m newly single. What is your policy on workplace dating?
• What exactly does your company do?
• Do you track Facebook usage and Internet shopping at work?
• How many breaks can I take throughout the day?

All kidding aside, you want to ask questions that convey your passion for the company, genuine interest in working there (and for this manager), and your industry expertise. Here a couple of appropriate questions that you could ask at your next interview:

1. What about your company sets you apart from other companies in the space?
2. How can the person in this role help you be successful in your position?
3. What does a typical day consist of for this position?
4. How would you describe the workplace culture here?
5. What is your favorite project you worked on this past year and what projects are you excited to work on in the future?

Also, pay attention to what the interviewer is saying throughout the meeting, and use his/her comments about the company to formulate thoughtful questions on the spot. Bottom line: Don’t be that girl who looks like a deer in headlights when asked, “Do you have any questions?” You can always fall back on this fail-safe option: “I’m curious, how did you arrive in your current position?” (People do love to talk about themselves!).

For even more suggestions on smart interview questions, click here.

– Erin Lucido

When people ask me what magazine I want to work for, I tell them (as written on my website) “I want to become Editor-In-Chief of a nationally published magazine. I don’t have a specific magazine in mind; I just want to make whatever magazine I work for the best it can be.”

Once, an editor told me after an internship that her only critique for me was I talked a lot about my long-term career goals, and she was worried I wasn’t thinking about the steps that will help me get there.

And after my recent failed attempt to move to New York City, I said it’s not about the city. I’ll live wherever I can get a job. I’ve applied to jobs in Houma, Louisiana to San Francisco, and I honestly believe I would be happy working anywhere.

Maybe this is my problem: I don’t know exactly what I want to do. I try to come across that I can do all the duties listed on the online post, that I don’t show any excitement to work at that particular magazine. In a business that is so competitive, publishers are going to want somebody who is passionate about working there. But it’s hard to be passionate when you don’t know what you want.

Maybe I’m at the point where I need to concentrate on what I want and do a little soul searching. My business-minded parents suggest I move to a bigger city where I can find a “normal” job for a little bit and save money. We’re talking administrative/clerical. But that feels like such the wrong step for me. When I was in New York, one of the potential roommates told me how she moved to the city to work in magazines. She got a job on the production side of book publishing and it completely changed her career course. She warned me that I should be careful with my first job and be positive that it’s the right step for me. If I take a clerical job, I don’t understand how that is going to help me get a magazine job. But, on the other hand, I’m broke.

During my HR informal interview, we discussed where I would be a good fit in her company. She read some of my writing samples and told me that she read more of my voice in my lifestyle clips. As it turns out, the clips she picked out where my personal favorites as well. So maybe that is an area I should try to concentrate my focus. But in doing that, I feel that it limits my potential jobs. I’ve believed being all-around good at everything is better than being an expert in one thing. Is this not the case? I honestly do not know what my next step should be, and I don’t like it!

–Samantha Hyde

Samantha Hyde graduated from the University of Texas in 2009. During her time spent in Austin, she interned and contributed to Austin Monthly, Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Highways magazine. She served as president of the magazine club and editor-in-chief of a college magazine, burntORANGE. Her issue, “How to be a Longhorn,” won second place in general excellence at the 2009 AEJMC awards.

Name: Jennifer Padron

Current role: Account manager at a marketing agency

Job Search length: Seven months

When I graduated from college, at first, life indulged me. I had a paid position as a full-time intern for a global snack food brand. I spent eight months filling my head with vast amounts of knowledge in my field, and learning lessons great and small (great being how to interact with the media, small being how to un-jam the copier).  Ultimately, there was no full-time position available to be offered at the end of my internship.

The next six months were like playing a game. At first, the hunt for my first “real” job felt like a fun challenge. I’d find something that intrigued me during one of my many online searches, giddily reply, and await a response. After a lot of waiting, the game had gone on too long, and I was tired of feeling, well, tired. And broke. And defeated. Job-searching became my full-time job. I would wake up, eat breakfast, apply for jobs, take a lunch break and walk the dog, send resumes out, break for dinner and walk the dog, and apply for more jobs, all the while refreshing my e-mail continuously, just in case.

I applied for hundreds of jobs (no kidding), and interviewed for about ten positions. Some interviews went better than others. There was the position I applied for at a temp agency an hour and a half from my home. The position sounded fantastic, so I dressed in my nicest pant suit and memorized my resume, only to be told at the end of the interview that the job I had applied for was filled. Then there was the interview at a green engineering firm that I was positive I nailed. I met with the CEO, we talked business and shared a laugh, and he said I’d hear from him within two weeks. After the two weeks were up, I got in touch to say I was still very interested. Two more weeks after that, the empathetic human resources rep called to deliver the bad news.

However, with each meeting, I learned something new and improved my technique for the next time.  During one interview, I noticed that I kept saying “I love it!” after almost everything the employer said. I “loved” that the building had history, that they had an office cat, and that I would have a tiny office with an even tinier desk. I knew I should stop saying it, but I was nervous, so it escaped from my lips after every other sentence. Though I’m sure that my enthusiasm was evident, I took the rejection letter I received in the mail a week later as a hint: tone it down.

I also figured out how important it is to always, always ask questions. I learned this lesson the hard way, after missing out on a few great opportunities because I was speechless at the end of the interview. The employer wants to know that you’re interested, and that you have a stake in the company and in your own career.

Also, the more I interviewed, my vision of what I wanted became clearer. It’s easy to forget that while an employer is interviewing you, you’re also interviewing them. After several interviews at large, corporate firms, I decided that I could make more of an impact at a smaller company. I also realized that it was important for me to be a part of a team environment, and not to be isolated with my work.

Finally I interviewed at my—spoiler alert—current place of work, after applying for the position on a popular online job forum, as I had applied for hundreds of others. As cheesy as it sounds, I got “the feeling” as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. Maybe it was because I was so genuinely impressed by the company’s work, or maybe it’s because I truly felt confident in myself and what I wanted. I think it was a mixture of both. I went into the interview feeling self-assured and was able to hold great conversations with several of my interviewers. When the end of our meeting rolled around, I was prepared with several thoughtful questions.

I was called back for a second interview about a week later.  Though I hadn’t had direct experience with every aspect of the job I was applying for, I felt that the opportunity to learn and grow was strong. The interviewers emphasized the value of learning from “the bottom up”, which I appreciated. As cliché as it sounds, the position just felt like a good fit. They thought so, too; on my birthday, they called me and offered me a job.

Through this seven-months long process I found out that it’s important to keep an open mind, but also to listen to that gut instinct. And when the right opportunity did come along, the Go-Getter Girl inside of me was grateful… and ready to rock it!

– Jennifer Padron