Irony is a b—.
Sorry for being so blatant, but it is. I worked through four years of college, in order to pay for those four years of college. Now, as a graduate, my determination to overcome adversity is coming back to bite me in the ass.
This piece is not intended to be the random rambling of a bitter alum, but more so of a useful bit of advice for underclassmen to not make my same mistake.
While most of you still attending Cabrini spent your summer lying on beaches, chilling with your friends and just plain-old relaxing, I was getting all dolled up in business suits (in 90 degree weather, mind you) to attend interview after interview. The end result – “I’m sorry, you don’t have the experience we’re looking for.”
What the hell? My professors, supervisors, co-workers, peers and family members were just as dumbfounded as I was. Despite the fact that my Bachelor’s Degree (Magna Cum Laude by the way) and extracurricular experience at Cabrini more than fulfilled EVERY SINGLE other requirement for the position, the simple fact that I didn’t do an internship was preventing me from finding a job (or at least one that I actually wanted).
Who cares that I couldn’t do an internship because I was working a full-time job to pay for college? Who cares that I have four years of work experience in a fast-paced business environment? Employers don’t. Since it wasn’t in the marketing field, they do not want to hear about it.
Meanwhile, all my friends who had internships are chilling in their nice cushy jobs, not sweating the drama of interviews, resumes and rejection letters.
Of course my first thought was “damn, I should’ve listened to my adviser,” (Sorry Cathy). At the same time, my situation was the way it was, and I was fully aware of what the repercussions could be for my lack of co-op experience. However, I was optimistic and just hoped for the best. I mean…I’m Sharvon…right? Well…I was wrong.
Lucky for me, I was working for a company with managers and supervisors who not only know me personally and the extent of my skills, as well as my work ethic, but who are also interested in investing their time to helping me climb the corporate ladder. It was just a matter of me being patient for the right opportunity to become available.
Although many other companies were reluctant to welcome me onto their payroll, I hold no hard feelings. In the words of my good friend Vince DeFruscio, “It’s their loss!”
Okay – here comes the advice. DO AN INTERNSHIP! Do more than one if you can. As many as possible. They eat that stuff up, and believe me, with this economy, you’ll need it. If you’re one of those types that sits around the dorm playing PlayStation all day or if you’re relying on your “skills” to get you by like I did, then get your butt up and over to the Co-op and Career Services office. You have no idea what your actions today will do for you tomorrow.
Posted to the web by Ryan Norris
