About Career Blog

When Your Fairytale Becomes a Nightmare

One of the best measures you can take to avoid "Cinderella Syndrome" is to remain positive yet realistic about the career field you plan on entering. For example, my dream career after graduation would be to work for Cosmopolitan, Glamour, or another major women's magazine. While I can certainly try to positions that may be open within those companies, I also know that I will be extremely lucky to land such a job on my first try.

Maintaining a realist's view on the job market will certainly help you should you not get the job you had hoped for. At this rate, you should feel so honored to be a mail clerk at any company-- especially when so many are in hiring freezes. It's scary to think that some of the most educated, top-of-their-class graduates from the Class of 2009 may not have a job waiting for them.

The key thing to do is remain upbeat and remember that you are deserving of a great career. And one day, your job [or prince, as Cinderella would have it] will come.

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Posted by Amanda on 1/29/2009 04:20:00 PM
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Cinderella Syndrome: Why Career Success is not a Fairytale.


Many students making the transition from college-life to the real world have contracted a serious condition called “Cinderella Syndrome,” also commonly referred to as “princess syndrome.” Careerealism defines this fictitious disease as a sense of entitlement when it comes to achieving career success.

Cinderella Syndrome can lead people to believe its “unfair” as to why they have not been hired for a particular job, rather than understanding that someone may have been better suited for the position. This entitlement can also lead college students to believe that after graduating the right job will fall into their laps or better yet, that a company will actively recruit them directly out of school. Ring- Ring! Reality is calling…

Today’s job market is a fiercely competitive place and sitting back on the assumption that the right job will find you is not a strategy for career success! Career success is not a fairytale, it’s out there and it can happen to you! But the only real way to achieve it is through hard work and perseverance. You must actively take steps to achieve your goals, rather than waiting around for your fairy godmother to wave her magic wand.

Start by setting realistic goals for yourself. Give yourself a daily dose of success by creating attainable of goals of progress. You are never going to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company overnight; however you can start by taking a course in Management. By conquering small steps, you’ll give yourself a boost of confidence each time making progress towards taming the employment beast and becoming closer to achieving your goals.

Network, network, network! Many times in today’s workforce, it’s not what you know that separates you from the crowd… its who you know! If you’re currently interning or temping, make the most of your opportunities. Go beyond what your employer asks of you, and show your co-workers what you are made of! Be fearless in showing how much enthusiasm you have for your work. The connections you make with your colleagues could potentially lead to job offers, letters of recommendation or just some stellar professional advice.

And remember, being positive can be the ultimate determining factor in your success. So smile on… and you might happen to catch yourself a Prince Charming while working your way towards career success! Good luck!

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Posted by Seymour Jobs on 1/23/2009 11:50:00 AM
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Brush Up on the Company and Yourself!

Whether you're seeking employment at a fast food chain or a Fortune 500 company, it is extremely important that you know what it is you hope to gain from working there.  Saying you're excited for "the experience" will only get you so far and it is imperative that you have more clear-cut outcomes defined.

One of the best ways to figuring out what you hope to learn is by doing a little research on the company and position you are going for.  If you are, say applying to be an intern at a television station, it would help to know whether or not they allow interns to do on-air segments.  This can save you the embarrassment of gushing about your dream to be the face of the station within a year.  And although this is a purely hypothetical example, the game stays the same regardless of the situation.

Another way to understand your goals better is honest self-reflection.  If you know that you are not well-versed at spreadsheets, you should not be seeking a job that requires mastery of Excel.  Just because a job may sound good on paper or bring home a fat paycheck does not mean you should be going for it.  Be honest with yourself and recognize your strengths-- certainly you can work on your weaknesses, but don't hurt your chances of being hired by being unrealistic. 

The main thing to remember when answering this tough question is that only YOU know what you really want.  Through some research and meditation, you should be able to realize your dreams!

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Posted by Amanda on 11/19/2008 01:30:00 AM
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Internships - A window into your future

Although I have never had a formal internship, I have had a few jobs in retail in high school and college and I know that is not what I want to do with the rest of my life! Folding towels, giving out samples and hanging clothes is not something that I want to do forever. Although I learned customer service and responsability by having a job, I want to contribute and accomplish more in life than being a cashier. So knowing that retail is not the kind of job I want to do everyday as an adult, I pretty much ruled out hospitaliliy, business and other such majors in college. Once I decided that Political Science was for me, I was ready to gain any real world experience so that I could have a resume to impress law schools and future employers. Each of my experiences with the legal system (Student Government, Mock Trial, and shadowing law enforcement officers) has solidified my motivation to go to law school or work in international relations. Even though I am fairly certain of how my life will be the next few years, an internship would definitly help me stand out in a group of applicants. In today's industry, an internship could be that one little factor that would enable me to land a job quicker and for a better salary. I think that having insight into my field has not only benefitted me in the sense that it gave me more knowledge of my dreams, it also was an invaluable addition to my resume.
So my advice to anyone in college is that you can't go wrong having an internship, if you can land one.

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Posted by Suzanne on 10/03/2008 01:56:00 PM
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Black & White Writing Not For Me

I have wanted to work in the media field for a long time now, but it wasn’t until I spent a day on the job that I realized which type of journalism appealed to me. During my senior year of high school, I was afforded the opportunity to work side-by-side with reporters at a major Florida newspaper. Though my mini [and I do mean MINI] internship lasted a mere eight hours, the day was more than enough for me to see that news journalism was not my cup of tea.


The experience was invaluable because it taught me quite quickly that I wanted to focus my studies at the collegiate level on magazine journalism. I found that my love for adjectives and thorough description are not welcome in the black-and-white world of newspaper. Instead, creative writing is best left to the columnists at glossy magazines.


I’m very excited for the coming semester, because the mass communications program at the University of South Florida offers students the experience to intern for class credit. Those months will hopefully cement my future within the journalism field and I am definitely looking forward to making connections and learning the basics of real-world journalism. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes as long as you promise to look for my byline in the latest issue of Cosmopolitan in a couple of years!


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Posted by Amanda on 10/03/2008 12:26:00 PM
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Social Networking Damage Control

Saturday night was great.

So great that you don’t even remember it.

You log into your Facebook account, and suddenly, it all comes back to you. Every drink consumed, every obscene gesture made, every porcelain god desecrated – each has been painstakingly documented for all to see, complete with a link to your full profile.

You had just interviewed for that dream job Friday. You know that employers have finally gotten with the times and will likely be scouring your page to learn more about you and assess your character. Uh-oh... time to panic!

When not properly configured, your profile can be a huge liability. Luckily, there are measures that can be taken to keep you secure and mitigate fallout from PR disasters such as the one described above. Facebook and other social networking sites care about your privacy (and avoiding lawsuits), so they’ve implemented a number of features designed to keep you safe and lead prying eyes astray. Knowing what they are and how to properly utilize them can mean the difference between getting a promotion and getting the boot. It bears mentioning, however, that more tech-savvy HR departments have ways of circumventing whatever measures you’ve taken to cover your digital footprints – unfortunately, your safest bet is to erase the offending profile altogether. Having said that, the following precautions are a must if you’re not willing or able to jump off the face of the Web just yet.

1.) Set everything to “Private” or “Friends Only.” Always. This one’s a crapshoot, but it’s the simplest way to divert unwanted traffic from your page. All you need to do is tweak your account settings so that only friends or specific individuals can access your profile. Some sites allow you to choose exactly which components of your profile are friend-exclusive and which can be viewed by the public. Protection of this sort is laughably easy for someone with the know-how to bypass, but hey, you have to start somewhere.

2.) Delete all potentially incriminating or offensive material from your profile.If this sounds too much like selling your soul, don’t worry, it’s not. You’re simply concealing certain aspects of your inner being because they are embarrassing and shameful. Actually, “selling your soul” sounds better. Let’s stick with that. The bottom line is this – you shouldn’t have anything on your page that you wouldn’t mind your parents or kid sister seeing, regardless of how laid-back you perceive your employer and co-workers to be. If the wrong person stumbles across something questionable on your profile, it won’t be long before you find yourself in a difficult place. Better safe than sorry.

3.) Choose your friends wisely.If the Internet has taught us anything, it’s that appearances can be deceiving. No matter how credible they seem, always look upon unsolicited friend requests with suspicion. The person on the other end could be a wily employer.
Or a spammer.
Or a stalker.
Or the Feds.
You get the picture. Also, consider removing any “friends” that you have no legitimate real-world connection to. People know other people, it’s a small world, and word gets around fast. This may sound overly paranoid, but remember that saying anything online is usually tantamount to barking it through a megaphone in a public square – you’ll want a small crowd should you say something inappropriate.

Networking sites can be excellent social and professional tools, and their benefits generally surpass their drawbacks. Just be mindful of the fact that they’re to be used in certain ways – and broadcasting the intimate details of your personal life to the world’s half-billion Internet users isn’t (usually) one of them. If you play it safe, this shouldn’t be a problem. If you don’t, I eagerly await next Saturday’s batch of pictures... They’ll be good for a laugh!

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Posted by Seymour Jobs on 10/03/2008 11:18:00 AM
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If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

I am now going into my second year of college and I still have no clue what I want to do with my life. I have figure out what I do not want to do, however. For instance, after working at a grocery chain for a few months I realized that working for part-time and minimum wage at a place where you do the same menial tasks, every single day, is NOT the job for me. I never realistically considered moving my part-time job into a full-time career, but after working there I knew that I definitely would never want to work there again!

Finding the right career for you is all about trial and error. Like the old saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, try,try again!" So this past summer, I worked part time for a fairly large company in their marketing department. I was working in an entry-level position on a project that I would definitely not consider fun, but I got to see how the PR and Marketing departments worked from an insider's point of view. I got to attend brainstorming sessions and meetings. I basically got a little taste of the real world and realized that working in an office seems way more appealing then working at a grocery store. Although it may not have been the job I want to have for the rest of my life, it has helped me to narrow my choices. The next couple of years that I am attending college, I will continue to test the waters and each time get a little closer to finding my true passion in life.

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Posted by Jen on 10/02/2008 01:34:00 PM
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My (Brief) Life on the Beat

During my junior year of high school, I had this insane notion that I was going to eschew a post-secondary education altogether and jump into the world of private investigation. A family friend had opened his own firm, and I, eager to break into the business, researched the art of snooping quite thoroughly. As an all-around gadget geek, I had the tools and knowledge of a seasoned pro, or so I thought.

School let out for Winter Break, and I interviewed with the head of the firm. I was given my first assignment a few days later. I'm not at liberty to divulge the specifics of my subsequent adventures, but let it suffice to say that I'm a lousy private eye. After being unceremoniously tossed into a swimming pool by a couple marks who weren't at all happy about my clumsy surveillance work, I decided that maybe the whole gumshoe thing wasn't my bag. Raymond Chandler had this racket all wrong -- it's not glamorous or particularly thrilling; it's risky drudge work mired in a bunch of bureaucracy, at least on the entry level. And I wound up getting tossed into a freakin' pool by Pruneface and Flattop. A week into the gig, I quit and never looked back.

Let this be a lesson about the importance of testing the waters before jumping into your "dream job." Sometimes, you'll find that they're a bit cold.

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Posted by Brian on 9/29/2008 10:49:00 PM
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College Internships: Test Drive Your Dream Job!

The internet has dramatically transformed the way businesses find and hire new talent. You are no longer vying for the same job as the person next door, now you’re in fierce competition with job seekers around the world. And, if you want to get noticed, you need to stand out!

While your education will crack the door to new career opportunities, employers want to know what’s behind the good grades before they invite you in. Your studies will give you the foundational knowledge you need to pursue your career goals, but only experience can give you with the practical knowledge and skills you need to succeed in the workplace. That’s the inestimable value that an internship can provide. The real-world insight, hands-on experience and contacts you’ll make will move you one step closer to the job of your dreams.

Experience, Experience, Experience!
If you’re looking for a competitive angle in the job market, an internship can provide the tangible experience you need to gain the attention of sought-after employers. It’s the proverbial “X” factor that will set you a part and prove you have more to offer than mere book smarts. Even if an internship is not in your field, the business exposure it provides is invaluable.

Once you have an internship, seize the opportunities. Ask lots of questions and learn as much as you possibly can about everything. View it as an extension of the classroom—it’s meant to be a learning experience, so treat is as such. The more you learn, the better you’ll do when the real-life tests come. There is so much to glean, from the work experience and social interactions to the workplace dynamics that no textbook could ever teach you. It can help you identify your talents and strengths, while affording you the opportunity to work on your weaknesses. An internship will also give you insight into the do’s and don’ts of the business world, while teaching you the communication skills necessary to move from college student to workplace professional.

Is this really what I want to do?
Let’s face it, college cannot possibly prepare you for the challenges you’ll face in the workplace. There’s only one way to be sure the major you’ve chosen will take you down the career path that’s right for you—and that’s through an internship. Like test driving a new car, an internship will bring you face-to-face with the real deal. And, after you take it around the block a few times, you’ll be well-equipped to decide if it’s a career that will take you where you want to go. It could just be the career confirmation you’ve been looking for all along.

It’s not just what you know, but who you know…
While what you know is important, who you know can open doors that knowledge alone can’t. An internship will put those people right in your path. What’s more, if you do a good job with the tasks you’re given—whether it’s answering the phone, stuffing envelopes or filing documents—you could earn yourself a good recommendation letter that will speak volumes to your next employer. For a college student, that’s like earning an A+ on a term paper, only this grade will take you much farther in life!

So, while you’re earning the reputation of an A+ employee, licking those envelopes as fast as you can, make sure you’re networking! Here are some tips to help you on your way: Ask people questions about their work. What does it entail? How did they get there? Do they have any advice they could offer you? People love to talk about themselves. Suggest going to lunch one day to delve deeper into what they do. Use your internship wisely. Network all you can, make contacts and do you’re best to foster those relationships even after you leave. LinkedIn and other social networks are designed to help you grow and maintain your list of professional contacts. You never know where they may end up, or how they could help you in the future.

A hard-working intern today, a full-time employee tomorrow
Often, internships will lead to real job opportunities. Many companies use internships as a recruiting tool to help them find their next great employee. Don’t underestimate the power of an internship. Work hard, earn their respect and be willing to take on greater responsibilities. Go above and beyond what you are asked with every task, no matter how menial. When asked to contribute, present your ideas and take the initiative to implement them. Show your supervisor what a well-organized, self-motivated team player you are. Who knows, they could be test driving your skills to see if you have what it takes to succeed in their organization!

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Posted by Seymour Jobs on 9/26/2008 01:44:00 PM
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