mind the gap: navigating the space between college and career

MIND THE GAP NAVIGATING THE SPACE BETWEEN

COLLEGE AND CAREER

NATALIE SEMCZUK @talkanatalka

I GRADUATED IN 2011 AND JOB SEARCHED FOR ALMOST 10

MONTHS

NOW, I AM A PROJECT MANAGER FOR DIGITAL MARKETING

WHAT I DID AND DIDN’T DO IN COLLEGE

I DIDN’T DO IT ALL RIGHT (OBVIOUSLY)

I DIDN’T HAVE AN INTERNSHIP AT AN AGENCY

I WORKED ON CAMPUS ALL 5 YEARS

SOMETIMES, I HAD WILDLY RELEVANT POSITIONS TO MY

FUTURE CAREER

BUT SOMETIMES, NOT SO MUCH

THERE IS A “FORMULA” BUT I FOLLOWED MY OWN

I GRADUATED, NOW WHAT?

I WAS SINGLE, LIVING AT HOME, WITH NO JOB AND A BROKEN BACK

(LITERALLY)

I APPLIED, APPLIED, AND APPLIED TO JOBS

I TOLD FRIENDS I WAS LOOKING

I TOLD FAMILY I WAS LOOKING

I TOLD FACEBOOK AND TWITTER REPEATEDLY THAT I WAS LOOKING

IT SORT OF WORKED!

EVERYTHING YOU DO CAN AND WILL MATTER

THINGS I LEARNED

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

WORD OF MOUTH WORKS

FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP

USE EVERY RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO YOU

TRANSLATE YOUR EXPERIENCE

PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY NICE, BUT LACK TIME

IN CONCLUSION

THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO GET INTO THE INDUSTRY

PEOPLE ARE NICE AND WANT TO

HELP YOU

ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT

FOLLOW UP!!!!

THANK YOU!