Name: Marian Schembari
Age: 23
Current Location: London, England (by way of NYC)
Year Graduated: 2009
Major: Sociology with a concentration in Gender Studies
School: Davidson College
First Job: Associate Book Publicist
Age: 23
Current Location: London, England (by way of NYC)
Year Graduated: 2009
Major: Sociology with a concentration in Gender Studies
School: Davidson College
First Job: Associate Book Publicist
Company/Type of Company: Boutique PR firm specializing in book publicity
Current Job Title: Social Media Advisor for Authors & Freelancers
How Long at Your First Job: 3 months
How Long at Your First Job: 3 months
Still there? Nope
Website: http://marianlibrarian.com
How did you land your first job after college?
Facebook advertisements
How did you land your first job after college?
Facebook advertisements
Tell us about the process of getting your first job.
It was a gargantuan pain in the butt. Resume after resume, informational interview after informational interview. Basically, lots of responding to jobs on major sites like Monster and smaller, more niche sites like Bookjobs.com and Mediabistro. I'd also obsessively scan the job boards of the companies where I wanted to work most.
What was the most challenging aspect of securing your first job?
Getting my foot in the damn door. I had the experience, the drive, but even getting heard was a challenge. I didn't even know if they saw my resume, let alone considered that.
It was a gargantuan pain in the butt. Resume after resume, informational interview after informational interview. Basically, lots of responding to jobs on major sites like Monster and smaller, more niche sites like Bookjobs.com and Mediabistro. I'd also obsessively scan the job boards of the companies where I wanted to work most.
What was the most challenging aspect of securing your first job?
Getting my foot in the damn door. I had the experience, the drive, but even getting heard was a challenge. I didn't even know if they saw my resume, let alone considered that.
What was the biggest challenge once you were on the job? How did you overcome that?
Getting used to having a schedule! It was really hard for me to adapt to the 9 to 5 lifestyle with a set time for lunch and sitting in front of a computer all day. Going from the flexible lifestyle of the job seeker to gainfully employed was surprisingly difficult.
Getting used to having a schedule! It was really hard for me to adapt to the 9 to 5 lifestyle with a set time for lunch and sitting in front of a computer all day. Going from the flexible lifestyle of the job seeker to gainfully employed was surprisingly difficult.
What did you wish you did differently when it came to finding, securing and performing on the job?
Honestly, I wished I hadn't wasted a second of time on job boards. In three months I didn't land ONE interview from a job board or company website. The three interviews I did snag (and the job I eventually got) resulted from a contact of a contact within the company or a contact I made myself through social media.
What was the best thing about your first job?
After years of part-time jobs and summer internships, a look inside "real" corporate culture was priceless. I learned that entry-level sucks, end of story. You're not given a lot of leeway or creative freedom. You need to be okay with that.
What didn't you expect about your first job?
I didn't expect everything to be so regulated! Email and browser history was monitored, lunch was timed, etc etc. Who knew some jobs treat employees like kindergartners?
If you're not there anymore, why did you leave--and after how long?
I left because the Facebook ads that helped me get a job brought in more freelancer work than I expected. I also didn't adapt too well to the 9 to 5 lifestyle and realized I could be my own boss, make more money and generally have more fun working for myself.
How long did you think you'd be at that first job?
At least a year.
Do you wish you stayed longer?
Not even a little bit. Am glad I had that experience, learned about Corporate America and had hands-on experience in the publishing industry, but 3 months was more than enough.
What was your next job--was it a good move for you, personally and career wise? My next job was selling tickets at a Manhattan museum, but that was only part-time and until I generated enough income freelancing to support myself. Thankfully, I only needed to do that for another 2 months before I went full time as a freelance consultant.
I didn't expect everything to be so regulated! Email and browser history was monitored, lunch was timed, etc etc. Who knew some jobs treat employees like kindergartners?
If you're not there anymore, why did you leave--and after how long?
I left because the Facebook ads that helped me get a job brought in more freelancer work than I expected. I also didn't adapt too well to the 9 to 5 lifestyle and realized I could be my own boss, make more money and generally have more fun working for myself.
How long did you think you'd be at that first job?
At least a year.
Do you wish you stayed longer?
Not even a little bit. Am glad I had that experience, learned about Corporate America and had hands-on experience in the publishing industry, but 3 months was more than enough.
What was your next job--was it a good move for you, personally and career wise? My next job was selling tickets at a Manhattan museum, but that was only part-time and until I generated enough income freelancing to support myself. Thankfully, I only needed to do that for another 2 months before I went full time as a freelance consultant.
What is your ultimate career goal?
I don't have one! I'm a firm believer in our dreams and passions changing. Not to be corny, but I have no desire to set up my life for some Ultimate Career Goal. I love my job right now, I love working for myself and I think that's something I'll always want to do. Do I want to help people with social media for my entire life? Probably not. Someday I want to go to culinary school, open up a bakery, write a book, maybe study again... who knows?!
What are your next steps in attaining that goal?
Right now I love where I'm at, it's teaching me a lot about business and the world and technology and for the next few years this is exactly where I want to be. My goal for the next few years is to keep building my business, learning more and more about how the internet is changing business, how I can leverage that and just keep making as many friends and contacts as I can!! How awesome is my job? ;-)
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