I have always loved being involved with activities, beginning with my election to student council in fourth grade.  By eighth grade I was voted President of Builders Club, the junior high version of Key Club.  I remember my favorite “job” was to organize an all-school book drive– which was probably my first exposure to coordinating an event.

By high school, I was involved with choir, French club, marching band, soccer, track, two leadership organizations and more.  My favorite two activities, though, were Junior Board (junior year) and Senior Board (senior year).  Our biggest tasks on Junior Board were– drum roll, please!– planning the Homecoming dance and week of activities, and planning the Jr/Sr Prom.  Yep, I started really taking part in event planning by 16 years old.  Then with Senior Board, we were in charge of Senior Week in the spring and planning our Graduation ceremony.

Of course in college I continued my array of event planning.  Sophomore year on the Student Union Board I was in charge of coordinating the entire Homecoming parade, including student organization floats, local business participation, the All-American Marching Band and more.  Junior year I did Marketing for the Student Union Board, and then in the spring of my junior year I was elected as the Director of Greek Relations for the Panhellenic Association.  That spring I led a small committee in the planning of Greek Week, five days of philanthropy and unity-building activities for the four fraternity and sorority councils.  In the fall, I planned our annual Greek Gala event, which included finding and reserving a venue; maintaining contact with the various vendors; designing, ordering and sending invitations; hiring security and bartenders; setting the menu and more.

Since I l-o-v-e public relations and l-o-v-e event coordinating, it finally occurred to me–

why not combine the two into one perfect career?

I love the idea of bringing publicity to a person, product or organization and would love to do that through planning major events.  Obviously it would take a long time to get to this level, but I’d love to plan events like movie premiers, CD launch parties, museum galas, corporate fundraisers, etc.  How to get there, is another issue.  I think my game plan will be to try and start with promotions for clubs/bars in Chicago and see if I can get involved with planning some of the events that might be held there, whether they’re bachelorette parties, office parties or celebrity appearances.

Now that I feel like I have a better idea of where I’m wanting to go from here, it’s time to make a list of the places I’m considering and start applying!

Please note the most liked comments under the video on YouTube:

From itsBarcode: “I bought every single piece of furniture they make, now I live in a pantry closet.”

From HeadoftheHydra: “If only Anne Frank had this technology.”

PS- I’m pretty sure the Franks’ annex was accessed by a hallway behind a bookcase.

Let me back up a second.  In May I had an informational interview with an old friend of the family, who works at Marketing Werks.  I really liked what I saw and enjoyed the people I met, but nothing really happened after that.  At least, not right away.

Three weeks ago, I got a call from HR at Marketing Werks, saying that Chris (the family friend) had passed my information along and asked if I would send her my resume.  After emailing it to her, we set up an interview for the following Tuesday (July 27).

The interview went really well; we talked mostly about my experience and my interests, so my interviewer could get a feel for what teams at Marketing Werks would be a good fit for me.  The next day she called back, asking if I could meet with the head of the Lego team on Friday (July 30).

Well, that interview went really well, too, and I felt pretty good about it.  I tried not to get my hopes up though, since I’d felt confident after previous interviews that ended up turning me down.  After a week and a half of waiting (and a lot of prayers from my family) I got the call this morning and am so excited about this next step in my career!

Less than an hour ago, I got home from the wonderful #SMDay networking event at the Ivy Restaurant in Wheaton, Ill.  Organized by Angel Oakley, the event featured a series of brief but valuable speakers, in addition to plenty of mingling.  Everybody seemed to have a great time and really connect with others who work in/love/use social media.

Personally, I met some awesome people who offered me a great deal of valuable tips, encouragement and additional contacts as I continue my job search.  While I was nervous about my second-ever social networking event, I loved that I had so much in common with everyone else there and we were all able to get excited about the same things.  I already have several new Facebook and Foursquare friends, and I hope to stay in touch with them and see them at other meetups in the future!

At the beginning of the month, I was flown to Detroit for an interview for a traffic coordinator position.  It sounded great and after roughly two hours of interviewing, I felt like it went well.  Two weeks later, the rejection email once again made its way to my inbox.  I would’ve loved that position, but realistically it makes more financial sense to stay here in Chicago.

For every rejection, I have tried to find the silver lining: a miserable commute, a moderate fit for me, an impossible relocation.  I know (and everyone keeps reminding me) that eventually I’ll land the right job, but this doesn’t make waiting for Eventually any easier.  One of these days, the networking and interviews and hours spent reading job search blogs will finally pay off and I’ll land the position I’m meant to hold.

In the meantime, friends and family have been passing me part-time job leads and available internships, so I guess I’m not too worried about the rest of my journey to Eventually.  One of these days I’ll be the candidate who fits their needs!

I’m also starting to do a little bit of advertising sales work for my neighbors who runCress Creek Links magazine.  With a readership of over 6,000 in neighborhoods of Cress Creek Country Club members, established residents spanning children to older Boomers and homes in the $450,000 to $2.9 million range, CCL has a very specific demographic which allows advertisers to really know (and hit) their target audience.  One of the coolest things about CCL is that they’ll design your ad for free if you don’t already have one to run!

Of course I’m still applying (and interviewing) for jobs & internships everywhere in and around Chicago, but so far nothing has panned out for me.  I’m looking into an internship or volunteer work with Almost Home Kids (they were our NPO client from my PR class in the fall; @almosthomekids1 on Twitter) and I also started babysitting in the afternoons as another source of income.  For someone without a “real” job, I sure feel busy!  I’m not making great money but it’s enough for now, until I land a summer internship or my first full-time job :)

November and December were absolutely crazy for me.  I had so many exams and projects to finish up, plus a few phone interviews.  Finally, I graduated from Purdue on Sunday, December 20th and moved home that same day.  My bedroom at my parents’ house is still a disaster; I’ve been trying to clear out old stuff from high school while finding space for all my college stuff.  Not too fun.

On the 22nd I had an in-person interview with a chiropractor office for a part-time public relations assistant position, similar to what I did as the marketing intern for CHM.  They have been following up with all my references (a first for me!) and I have yet to find out whether or not I got the job.  Tomorrow I have an interview with a restaurant downtown Naperville as well, so hopefully I’ll end up with two part-time jobs!

The holidays were fun, I got to see my family and my boyfriend (yay!) and I even had a little graduation get-together with family and neighbors.  Now my time is spent working on my room, gradually taking down Christmas decorations, and working on my resume and my boyfriend’s resume.

It’s nice that my parents’ house is a rent-free space, but I’m eager to finally get a job and save up enough money to move to Chicago and have a place (and life) of my own :)