The New Girl #14

Making it to the finish line!

Almost there... You can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

This past week has been crazy but who else has been just relaxing with the end of the semester coming to a close, finals week right around the corner, and all projects being due on the same date. I recently just finished my practicum for this Spring Semester and had my exit interview with my Site Mentor and my professor. It went well but not as well as I had hoped so I learned a few lessons when working with another department that I'm not familiar with for future references. I also had to defend my final Written Comp Exam this week and it went about as well as I thought it could. I was praised for my APA format (whew!) and my outside articles that related to the topic as well as key points addressed in my courses through out the past year. Oh and related to my job search, I was at an on-campus interview as well so if you couldn't tell my week has been crazy and I'm glad it is Friday! Oh and I graduate in like a week or two!!

My On-campus interview went well from my perspective so I'm staying positive. I believe that I made a good first impression when I first met them and by going to their campus, I was able to showcase my personality more and the skills I could contribute to their group!

One thing I wanted to address is work ethic. It is hard to persevere through some difficult times or over a long period of time, but I found a few methods to keep myself motivated. The first was to really connect with the people you are interacting with. Whether it is a job search or an internship outside your department, getting to know the individuals makes me want to work harder for them and really do my best rather than put off my work. Second, think about the end goal and don't change it! Set a realistic goal using the S.M.A.R.T. technique and stick to your goal. Work while remembering the end goal of either getting a good review or that perfect job because you didn't give up. Third, stay positive! There are going to be a lot of ups and downs but you need to stay focused on the positives. You can accept the negatives but learn from it and move on, especially if you can't change it. For example, if you don't do so well with a phone interview, reflect on how you could have answered a question differently, or prepared better before the interview and use that as a reminder for your next one!

I know the last one, staying positive, can be really hard, but remember that job offers come in waves. Sometimes, the second or third waves are bigger and better than the first and the jobs you have been looking for most!

You know you can do it! XOXO, Graduate Girl