Congratulations, Sharon!

This is Sharon, one of my best friends. We met in college; she shared all those great experiences with me that made up my college life. If you read the book, you remember that I was devastated to leave college--leaving "Shu" behind (she graduated after me) was a huge reason why.

But it's funny that now we're in our 30s, still friends and still going strong. I miss seeing her everyday. I miss being single together in some respects. I miss living down the hall from her.

But this weekend, she married the love of her life and I could not be happier for her. Again, things have changed, but I'm most happy that we are able to remember good days in the past but grow together in the future. Our best days are still ahead of us:)

Much love, Shu!

My First Job: The Entrepreneurial Path, Marian's Way

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

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

Still there? Nope

Website: http://marianlibrarian.com

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.

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.

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.

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? ;-)

And Who Am I? A College Kid That Never Goes to Class!

I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a huge fan of the CW show, Gossip Girl. Every Monday night, without fail, I am glued to my couch and TV to find out what happens in the "scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite."

(This previous Monday was a challenge--Monday Night Football with the Patriots giving the Dolphins a can of whoop-ass, or trying to figure out if Chuck Bass' new chick is for real? Conundrum! In the end, Gossip Girl won, but don't think I wasn't flicking back to ESPN during commercial breaks.)

Anyway, what puzzles me about this show is that the characters are all in college now, but not once this season have they shown them in class. There have been a few "on campus" shots of Blair and Serena trying to get into the elite social house, but that's it.

I realize that it's only TV, but it kind of makes you think (if you, too, are following this show), what the hell are these people doing? They're sophomores, they're not at all focused on their studies. I mean, they have to be involved in charity galas and pretentious rumors because, well, otherwise the show would never have lasted this long, or been this good. (I know, many of you will argue!)

But couldn't they at least show that these socialites actually care about their studies? Or don't they, figuring they'll have everything handed to them, anyway? How realistic is this depiction of college life?

This is probably why I needed my breaks of reality during the show, hence switching on Monday Night Football. On the field, things are real. You work hard. You get pounded. You excel. But sometimes it's good to indulge in positively horrible-yet-wonderful TV. Even if Serena, Blair, Nate, Dan, or Vanessa never actually see the inside of a classroom, or care at all about getting an internship. Hey, at least they look good. Who needs a resume, anyway?

Which Debt-Destroying Strategy Is Right for You?

Chances are, you've got some debt hanging over your head. Whether it is from student loans or credit card spending, having the weight of "owing back" is never fun.

Check out this quiz, "Which Debt-Destroying Strategy Is Right for You?" Hopefully it will help you find a personalized plan to squish that debt!

It is interesting to know that some people do not pay off the debt with the highest interest rates. Instead, they work on small balances so they can eliminate those. Thinking about it, I've done that too. But I still vote for consolidating debt if it makes sense, and making at least the minimum payments.

LinkedIn Focuses on College Students and Recent College Grads with Career Explorer

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 80 million members globally, today announced Career Explorer in collaboration with PwC US, one of the largest employers of college graduates in the United States. The new LinkedIn Career Explorer tool provides current college students with unique, data-driven insights to help them build their careers.

Career Explorer enables college students to chart potential career paths, build a professional network and gather valuable insights into the careers they are interested in pursuing. Career paths are easily mapped out for students, based on aggregate paths that LinkedIn’s 80 million members have taken before them. Additional resources for college students, such as relevant job opportunities, the type of education and experience required, and relevant salary information are also available via Career Explorer.

"PwC and LinkedIn share the goal of helping young professionals maximize career opportunities," said Bob Moritz, US chairman and senior partner, PwC. "Our collaboration has produced an innovative resource that engages people with PwC in a way that personalizes our brand while also helping them make more informed career decisions.

“LinkedIn is about connecting talent with opportunity at massive scale. Career Explorer is the latest example of how we make that possible by providing one of our fastest growing demographics, students and recent college graduates, unique and valuable insights enabling them to develop the optimal career path,” said Jeff Weiner, chief executive officer of LinkedIn. “We’re excited to be launching this product in partnership with PwC, one of the largest and most forward thinking recruiters of new graduates.”

Career Explorer is the first of many new products that leverage LinkedIn’s unique career data to provide useful insights for professionals.

Key functionality includes:

-Career Mapping: Explore the paths taken by professionals in various careers. Students can also save and create multiple career paths with Career Explorer.

-Connections: See who in your network can help advance your career within a certain field or company, and meet potential mentors.

-Statistics: Learn interesting facts and statistics about potential professions.

-Jobs: Career Explorer has a module that shows you not only relevant job openings, but also how you can use your network to secure or find more information about those positions.

-Follow Potential Employers: Career Explorer highlights the LinkedIn Company Profiles of potential employers. You can then “follow” those companies and receive updates about them in your news feed. The updates include job postings at the company as well as notifications when people get hired or leave the company.

Availability of Career Explorer:

Career Explorer is free and available immediately in a limited release beta for students at 60 universities across the United States that are sources of talent for PwC. Current students enrolled at those 60 schools will see a “Career Explorer” link under the “Jobs” menu at the top of the screen when they sign in to LinkedIn. The availability of Career Explorer will be expanded to a broader LinkedIn membership over time.

LinkedIn and PwC will be showcasing Career Explorer to students during on-campus events across the United States, starting today with a launch event at New York University's Wasserman Center for Career Development. Additional on-campus events will take place at Boston College, Brigham Young University, the Ohio State University, the Pennsylvania State University, Syracuse University, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, the University of Southern California and the University of Washington.