Adjusting to Grad School and San Diego

Change is fun for me, but it can sometimes be difficult.  Moving from Scottsdale, Arizona to  San Diego, California has so far been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life, and no the primary reason for that is not the beach.  For obvious reasons it was not an easy choice to move to California.  It takes years to build a support network and relationships do not get replaced over night.  I have honestly just been too busy to get a chance to miss Arizona.  I have started my Masters of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at San Diego State University.  I am also teaching 2 undergraduate statistics class, which has actually been a fun and challenging experience so far.

Just recently I came across the opportunity to interview for a part-time position at an international consulting firm.  It was almost the perfect situation that matched my interests and previous research.  The company president actually graduated from the same program I am in many years ago.  Their products and services focus on leadership development, selection, assessment centers, and workshops.  They also provide 360-degree feedbacks to many large companies all over the world.  I knew this was a perfect match, although I wasn’t sure how I would balance it with all my other responsibilities.  Regardless, I knew this was an opportunity that didn’t come around often so I decided to apply.  The interview went extremely well.  It was one of the first times I felt over prepared for an interview.  I tend to find savvy ways of preparing for interviews, but this time I really surprised them.  I had the opportunity to get ahold of the company’s product from someone who knows the owner personally.  This gave me an incredible edge by having access to the competency modeling cards which had a deck of interview questions and competencies.  The first question they chose to ask was “How did you prepare for this interview?” ,  I decided to go the honest route and let them know that I had google’d the company and their products and that I had gotten the deck of cards from a friend.  Both of the interviews started laughing because at that point they knew I already knew all of the questions.  However, for reliability they still asked me the same questions they asked everyone else and it went perfectly lol.

I have been fortunate enough to encounter many great opportunities that align with my goals and interests in such a short time  in San Diego.  I am going to use this blog as an update of my experiences, to share what I’m learning in the field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and to describe the progress towards my goals in my career.

Realistic Goals for 2010…Resolutions are too vague.

New Years Resolutions have always been a bit cliche for my taste, but after the passing of a decade I can’t help but find myself in this nostalgic state.  Am I a better person than I was a year ago?  Yes, I think so.  However, I’m not by any means satisfied with my personal growth.  This has been a year of learning about myself through my relationships with others.  Moving out with Matt for the first time has forced me to realize the power of compromise.  Having to weed out the friends from college and high school that are just plain a negative influence on me has been difficult because I feel that I can find a good in everyone.  I just determined that as time becomes more valuable and life continues to fly by I have started to realize just how crucial my time here is and I want to make sure I spend it with people I love, that make me think, that make me better, and that make me laugh.

I have come up with some detailed goals for the year.  I really made sure to make every goal detailed, measurable, and realistic.  I figure, what’s the point of a goal if it’s ambiguous and far-fetched.

1. Be more conscientious of my spending. I have always been a good saver, even today with moving out and acquiring new bills I have managed to save 25% of my income.  However, I still think that’s pretty weak.  I could do much better if I cut out mindless spending.  I don’t think being frugal means never treating yourself and counting pennies.  I want to only buy for quality and compare and research pricing before every big purchase.

2. Write more. Writing is a way to document and reiterate to myself what I have experienced and what I am taking from those experiences.  I feel so refreshed and the process of getting my thoughts all down in writing feels very therapeutic.  I want to write at least 2 posts a month and write weekly in a personal journal.

3. Cook more. To be perfectly honest, I still eat like a typical college kid.  Pizza is sure to be in at least one of the weekly meals and luckily Paradise Bakery is across the street so I can frequent at least semi-healthy food.  I need to whip out the cook book and do my arteries a favor and start to fit cooking into my routine.  I want to at least cook 4 out of the 7 days of the week.

4. Secondary Income. First of all, I am very happy with my current salary and lifestyle.  However, I want to use my extra time to act on my ideas.  The people who are developing new products and services are not necessarily the first to come up with that idea but they are definitely the first to act on it.  A realistic goal for this year is to find a way to make extra, effortless disposable income.  It’s liberating.

5.  Read one book a month. There are so many good books out there and so many trashy reality television shows.  I need to trade in 50% of my television time for a good book.  Reading adds to your personality and your experiences.  There are so many books that have completely changed my perception on certain issues.  And I just enjoy the act of learning.  It’s addicting.

6.  Make those around me better. As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to weed out negative influences in my life.  I also want to make sure that I bring positive influence to all of my friends and family.  I want to help motivate them and do what I can to help them reach their goals.  When it all comes down to it we are not defined by our jobs, money, or our image, but by our relationships with others.  I hope I can continue to be a better sister, girlfriend, daughter, and friend.

7.  Stay active and in shape.  Self explanatory.

How do our online friends turn into “real” ones?

Social networking websites like Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook have become a popular means of communicating personality.  Users of social networking websites have more control of self-presentation than interactions that occur face-to-face, which provides an ideal setting for precise impression management.  By creating a profile on either Facebook or Myspace users can determine which aspects of their personality they wish to highlight or which photos convey the best images.  It is expected that people strive for favorable self-presentation and will present themselves in a positive light.  For example, by presenting themselves with a lot of friends, posting pictures with celebrities, or spending a significant of time editing their profile.  The social qualms with presenting your true image to the public online, the friendships formed and managed on these websites only scratch the surface.  How are we supposed to fulfill our need for relationships and social support if we are constantly editing our self-image?  Forming friendships should not require so much work on self-presentation, since we are only fooling others into becoming friends with the person we want to be.  This is why there is so much skepticism about meeting someone online.  Anyone can be whoever they choose online, the personal identity easily malleable by the click of a mouse.

Self-presentation online is crucial not only for public image, but also how prospective bosses may interpret you.  It is not uncommon for graduate application committees or recruiters to seek your online profile to gain extra information about you.  Not only are prospective employers seeking the site to find out more information about applicants, but Facebook users are utilizing the website to seek out jobs from friends who are working for companies they would like to get involved in.  According to Hannah Seligson of The New York Times (2008), the younger generations feel more comfortable approaching their social network as the first stop to their job search.  Whereas, the baby boomers strategy would be to have their parents introduce them to the company managers at the top, generation Y is using more of a peer infiltration approach.  It seems as though everyone has their own motive or social need they seek to fulfill by joining these social networking websites.  Personal needs are more difficult to fulfill especially with relationships since those typically require more time and effort from both parties.  Social networking websites clearly provide a means to come into contact with thousands in a short period of time.  Forming lasting meaningful relationships with few is not always possible when these websites only scratch the surface of one’s personal identity.

My way around these issues is to really turn these online interactions into face-to-face.  As we can see, online interaction only scratches the surface of getting to know someone.  I know many business people post the common question “how do I turn these interactions into business”.  You would think it would be obvious, but it’s not.  If you successfully turn these interactions into face-to-face meetings then this will naturally grow your business.  In other words, if you a “cool” then people will tell their friends about you or your name will come up when discussing the need for your service.  It’s all such a simple concept, but it takes a lot of time and work just like any other relationship building would.  This is why most people don’t see the results or benefit to social media.  That’s unfortunate because it’s a fun way to build relationships and your goals all at the same time.

Unrealistic job expectations

If you’re anything like me you came out of college ready to take on the world with an excess of enthusiasm only to find that there was nothing but uninspiring jobs with low pay and horrible hours.  It’s no secret that things are changing in the United States, in the world.  The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman was a perfectly honest and straigh-forward book that helped me understand that we need to get back to work in this country.  Creative jobs are here to stay and those are the jobs most of us would be excited to wake up in the morning for.

This brings me to the next issue…how do you encounter these “creative jobs” or develop the credibility to even compete for these jobs?  Where do you even start?  I can relate, there are so many people searching for jobs right now.  The conventional methods of posting your resume to a million job postings on websites like CareerBuilder or Jobbing.com and keeping your fingers crossed is one way.  Personally, those websites have not done much for me, plus everyone is using them so you are competing against the masses.  Also, it’s difficult to determine which jobs are even legit.  In today’s employer market, there are numerous companies looking to prey on the gullible job seeker who is desperate for employment.

Times are changing, 95% of the jobs that exist today will no longer exist or will be completely evolved into something different in the next decade.  For any new graduates or even young adults looking to start over with something exciting I HIGHLY recommend the e-book Recession-Proof Graduate by Charlie Hoehn.  This is a guide to getting any job within a year of graduating college.  It also offers many unconventional methods for approaching the job search.

Finally, my current interests have always been in psychology.  No, I am not interested counseling or helping you figure out why your boyfriend is ignoring you.  I am mainly interested in psychology applied to business…especially marketing.  As we all know marketing is evolving exponentially through SEO and social media.  Most people will say that social media is the new SEO.  Although, most people don’t fully understand how to measure these results.  Large companies are finally starting to recognize that social media is essential to their marketing and branding strategies, but still remain skeptical that this works.  I have come across TONS of social media positions in the job market and I am confused how one qualifies for these positions…For any of us in our 20’s and 30’s social media is a no brainer and we extremely comfortable using it daily.  However, most employers want experience in these positions and after talking to Jennifer Maggiore at Maggiore Consulting and Marketing, many employers do not even know what this experience looks like!  For any marketing/social media professionals out there…can you give us an idea?

On that note keep evolving and learning new sills while doing what you love everyday.  And talk to those who are doing it.  Good luck!