The past couple of years have been difficult, to say the least, professionally. Now I'm finally where I want to be. I now know where I want to go and how to get there as well. With confidence I can say that I'll soon be at the top of the ladder. Sheryl Sandberg, in her new book Lean In, calls it the jungle gym rather than a career ladder. But in my mind, it's a ladder where I'm going forward be in any field.
To recap, after graduating from University of Southern California in May 2011, I desperately hunted for jobs without any clue as to what I wanted out of my life. After six months, I landed an internship at a PR firm in Los Angeles - the beginning of a very long journey. After six months, I moved on to a temporary job at a non-profit firm for a month. Then I landed an internship at one of the most prestigious PR firm - Weber Shandwick. It was a dream come true. This happened after a month of interviewing, waiting for responses, and finally jumping on an opportunity to meet the President. For six months, I observed, learned, made mistakes, and learned some more from my peers, senior coworkers, and my wonderful manager. Unfortunately, it did not turn into a full-time job. Again, I was disheartened and heard a lot of advice, including looking for opportunities in another field. But my heart told me to stay put and continue my search. I did. Then I landed a contract job at another PR firm in San Francisco, which lasted for four months. This was my first real 'full-time' job and I managed to learn a lot in those four months. The end of January brought good news as I got a break at one of the leading technology PR agencies in San Francisco. It was then that I knew for sure I was where I was meant to be.
I mapped out my career as it helped me to understand what pushed me towards success - my passion for PR, my perseverance to stick to the same field despite the many obstacles that were thrown my path and lastly my patience not to give up. Had I given up and moved on to another field, or taken up jobs just for the sake of working I would have been miserable all my life.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and good things never die" - one of my favorite quotes from my all-time favorite movie, Shawshank Redemption. Hope also played a huge role in bringing me here. I held on to the hope that someday I'll get a break that will help me launch my career. And it did. So, don't give up just yet. Success is just around the corner.
To recap, after graduating from University of Southern California in May 2011, I desperately hunted for jobs without any clue as to what I wanted out of my life. After six months, I landed an internship at a PR firm in Los Angeles - the beginning of a very long journey. After six months, I moved on to a temporary job at a non-profit firm for a month. Then I landed an internship at one of the most prestigious PR firm - Weber Shandwick. It was a dream come true. This happened after a month of interviewing, waiting for responses, and finally jumping on an opportunity to meet the President. For six months, I observed, learned, made mistakes, and learned some more from my peers, senior coworkers, and my wonderful manager. Unfortunately, it did not turn into a full-time job. Again, I was disheartened and heard a lot of advice, including looking for opportunities in another field. But my heart told me to stay put and continue my search. I did. Then I landed a contract job at another PR firm in San Francisco, which lasted for four months. This was my first real 'full-time' job and I managed to learn a lot in those four months. The end of January brought good news as I got a break at one of the leading technology PR agencies in San Francisco. It was then that I knew for sure I was where I was meant to be.
I mapped out my career as it helped me to understand what pushed me towards success - my passion for PR, my perseverance to stick to the same field despite the many obstacles that were thrown my path and lastly my patience not to give up. Had I given up and moved on to another field, or taken up jobs just for the sake of working I would have been miserable all my life.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and good things never die" - one of my favorite quotes from my all-time favorite movie, Shawshank Redemption. Hope also played a huge role in bringing me here. I held on to the hope that someday I'll get a break that will help me launch my career. And it did. So, don't give up just yet. Success is just around the corner.
