23.

“Oh, life”

When my good friend Jenny and I let this phrase escape our lips, we know what one another is saying:
“I’m completely overwhelmed with the direction of my life.”

Today is my 23rd birthday! Well, it’s my sister’s birthday too, we’re twins. She’ll be quick to point out that she is older by three minutes, but looks at least a year younger than me. When I celebrate my mature appearance, she doesn’t let me forget that, “when we’re 50, I’ll look years younger than you!” Humph.

I distinctly remember my 22nd birthday. I was freaking out about graduating and if you were to tell me that I’d be loving my job as a Social Media strategist for the Army’s official homepage, ARMY.MIL, I’d probably laugh in your face. It’s not that I can’t imagine working for the military (I’m a proud product of a military family) or that I wouldn’t want a job in social media (what could be better?). It’s just that, a year ago I would have never let a position like this enter my radar. I thought I knew what I wanted.

Graduating and transitioning into “the real world” is hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sitting here being a whiny, narcissistic millennial who’s asking to be coddled and doesn’t understand the value of a hard days work. Having a student loan, a car payment, and opting to live at home until I pay those off has certainly provided me with a VERY clear understanding of the value of a dollar. Despite these “debts” and “sacrifices,” I still consider myself very fortunate and well off compared to many of my peers.

Whats hardest is the glaring reality that nothing at this age is stable, though we are told we can have it all. We’re somewhat fresh out of college, wide-eyed and ready to take on the world, but trusted companies are failing before our very eyes, people our parents age are getting laid off, people our age are getting laid off, and our brothers and sisters are fighting a war halfway around the world.

…but despite it all, us millennials are excited about the future.

I’m so excited about the future, I’m overwhelmed.  The lives we are living, and are set to live are very different than any generation before us. My friends and I are not experiencing or following in the footsteps of traditional, “boomer-esq” post-college behavior. Unlike generations before us, we won’t have the same job forever. My friends are scattered all over the world, pursuing their passions, giving back and I can assure you, they’re not doing it for the money (that they’re not getting). The millennial’s and I are out searching for our passions, not our careers.

As exciting and empowering as all that sounds, it’s quite daunting and overwhelming too. It might even bring you to say, “Oh, life.”
How can I pursue my passions, pay off my student loan, move out on my own, contribute to my community, and cherish those around me?
That’s a pretty tall order, but I’m learning to force myself to step outside of this vision and remind myself:

I’m young! Despite the fact that 23 sounds old (I know, I know), I am so blessed to remain excited about the future, even if I cannot have the future I want at this very instant.

Yesterday I had coffee with a friend who’s in a very similar situation. We’re both military brats, living in the same town we went to high school in, living with our parents post graduation and we’re both completely restless.

“We’re gunna be alright…we’re going to be better than alright,” she concluded our conversation with.

I’m confident that she’s on to something.

This year, my birthday present to myself is a pledge of perspective. I can have it all (or at least a good chunk of it), but it doesn’t have to happen overnight.

If you’re more seasoned than I am in this game of life, please feel free to leave me some birthday wisdom.
What was 23 like for you? What surprised you? What didn’t? Any advice?

Want a Job? Don’t say this in your next interview

“I don’t even know why I was called about this position”

Recently, I had the opportunity to co-interview a candidate for a position my company was looking to fill.

The candidate showed up 15 minutes early, was well dress and seemed personable. I wish I could say that it was the start of a very great interview, but I can’t. All twenty minutes of the interview were horribly awkward and disastrous.

A few “high-lights” include:

-Her cell phone rang
-She fiddled with her purse on the conference table throughout the interview
-Direct quote: “I don’t even know why I was called about this position”
-She never mentioned how she would actually do the prospective job or why she would be good at it.
-The Web site’s URL listed on her resume was her name, but redirected to something equally as childish as “www.snuggly-carebear.com”
-She generally failed to show any enthusiasm about the position.

Needless to say, she didn’t get the job.

It felt very “full-circle” getting to be on the other side of the table. Having just been hired in late October, my mind was pretty fresh on the “do’s and don’ts” of an interview: dress well, be prepared, know about the company, be excited, show off your skills, etc. I can’t say I’m an expert on how to get a job or how to ace an interview, but I ended up snagging a job in this turbulent economy when more than one person was up for my position.

My biggest strategy was to be over prepared. Before I went in, I made sure that I knew the company’s mission, understood the job description, and more importantly, I was prepared to show off my skills and how they would help the company achieve its goals.

In my interview, I brought my portfolio, showed the team my blog, and described how my work on previous projects had prepared me to take on the position I was interviewing for. I brought crisp resumes and an “about me” page that included a brief description about myself and  links to my blog, twitter, and LinkedIn profile.

For those of you entering your final semester of college I would recommend you start putting together a portfolio of your past and current work. You’ll be surprised to see how much you’ve done and how it actually relates to jobs you might want to pursue.

Don’t confine yourself and only highlight conventional skills, think out of the box. My portfolio includes writing samples, power point presentations, short bio’s about my extracurricular involvement, and  screen shots of the Shop Boysz MySpace Page (Yes, Party Like a Rockstar) and Amy Winehouse’s Facebook Page (Rehab, yes, no, yes, no…yes) that I managed while interning at Universal Music Group. Before I put anything in my portfolio, I made sure I had a clear purpose for it and could describe succinctly how it reflected one of my skills.

I can’t say these are the end all, be all steps one should take, but I know they helped me. If you know yourself and know your skills, you’re ahead of more people than you think.

What tips would you include? Do you value conventional skills more than transferable skills?

Keeping our Passions in Perspective

As I wait tables and figure out my life, I manage a band. They’re called Earthtone and they’re some of the most passionate individuals I know. Honestly, these guys live and breathe for the opportunity to share their music with others.

A huge thing I love about them is their ability to dream big. To them, the sky is the limit and no idea is impossible. Personally, I look at life quite realistically- I think about all the “if’s,” “ands,” or “buts,” and evaluate the pros and cons before actually pursuing an idea. Now, this doesn’t mean I won’t pursue something if it seems “hard” or “impossible,” but I definitely consider and weigh the options before doing so; I want to know what I’m up against.

About two months ago when I became their manager, Earthtone decided that they wanted to perform at Howard University’s annual Homecoming concert, Yardfest. It didn’t matter that the deadline to register to perform had passed, these guys had it set that they would perform at HU’s Yardfest. They did their research, contacted the head of the steering committee, got an extension, and had their application and demo in his hands the following week.

Two weeks later, we got a personal call from the head of the steering committee saying Earthtone had been selected to perform and that they were among the top picks for the show. Yardfest is nothing short of a big deal: legends such as Jay-Z, Kanye West and Diddy (P.Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Jean, Sean Combs…tomato tomato) have graced the Yard. Needless to say, it was an honor for the boys to be selected and invited to perform.

This past Friday was Yardfest. I was up at 8am preparing and getting ready to face the traffic that would inevitability invade DC for the event. As we checked in and prepared to head backstage, the staff told us they were already big fans of Earthtone and were excited to see them perform. Shortly after checking in, Earthtone was called to stand on deck, they were going on next.

As the host introduced the group as, “a fresh sound out of Richmond, Virginia” the boys jumped up on stage and really got the crowd going. Up until the boys went on, the crowd had been quite unresponsive; Earthtone changed that. People were cheering, dancing, clapping, singing along (mind you, the song was new to the crowd).

While all of this was going on, I stood on the back of the stage with tears in my eyes. What I was witnessing was so beautiful: people boldly pursuing their passion. I felt so blessed to be able to help them do it.

With the state of the economy and lack of job security these days, it’s easy to loose sight of our dreams, and settle for security. Being a band manager is stressful, there really is no specific blue print as to how to go about it, and really, its not easy. But moments like standing on stage watching people I care about fully pursue their passion, reminds me why I decided to become their manager.

A few days ago I was organizing files on my external hard drive and I came across my application for admission to the Music Industry program that I completed in college. One part of the application required us to outline our “professional goals.”

As I read it, I realized that I was on track to achieving my goals in the music industry, it just it took the help of people doing what they love to remind me.

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve.
But I was outside Bagdad Theatre in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for 15 minutes, and he never opened his eyes.

After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.
It is as if they are showing you the way.”
-Don Miller, Blue Like Jazz

Earthtone and their Manager at Howard University’s Yardfest, October 17th, 2008