So I’m Leaving Google to Rejoin Landor

Tags

career, Google, interview, job, Landor, London, New York, Zagat

 

So I lied. The previous blog entry was not my last. A lot has happened in the past month and now that everything is official and winding down, I thought I should write an update.

My decision may surprise some of you, given my love of free food and the fact that I’ve had this job for less than a month, so I’ll walk you through what happened.

Oh Truck Pit, I'll miss you so much.

So about a week into my job at Google, I had met up with the Director of Client Services at Landor (Mimi) who Lorenz, a former Landor London co-worker, had put me in touch with for an informal chat. She informed me that there was a new client services job opening on the Diageo team at Landor. At first I was crushed that I had already started my job at Google and that I would not be able to pursue it; however after asking everyone and their mom (thanks guys!) for their career advice, including strangers I had just met at a start-up launch party, I decided I should at least interview for the position to see where things go.

And I’m really glad I did. As soon as I walked into the Landor NY office, as cheesy as it sounds, I knew that was where I belonged. It was a bit eerie how similar and dissimilar it was from their London office. When I saw a guy running around the office wearing skinny jeans and a flannel shirt, it struck me how long it’s been since I’ve seen a creative. I miss those guys.

I know my serif from my sans-serif.

After that, everything was a whirlwind. My first interview was a Thursday; my second was the following Monday and I received a call that evening to iron out some details out about the job offer.

Of course in such a situation, I wanted to involve my supervisor at Zagat (Google) and she was extremely understanding and wished me all the best. I gave my two weeks notice and things became official. My last day at Google is this Friday. My first day at Landor is this Monday.

I really couldn’t have hoped for a better situation. I know Google is an amazing company with a power house brand, but I just know Landor is the right choice for me in this situation. If I were in engineering, I’d go to Google; if I were in law enforcement, I’d go to the FBI; but, I’m in branding, so I’m going back to Landor.

Day 33: I GOT THE JOB!!!

 

You are now reading words written by an employed person. I did it! 33 days of job hunting have now come to an end!

And it’s about time- I was seriously reaching a low point today. After I gave up on contacting more alumni, I laid in bed and napped for 2 hours, haunted by the recurring thoughts, “Why wake up? You won’t get a job. You don’t have enough connections. Just give up now.” Seriously, that was super weird and depressing. It was as if I had a horcrux around my neck. I now understand why one of the hardest things about the hunt is just gathering the strength and drive to keep going. Then I ended my depressing nap by reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and found myself analyzing the differences between me and successful Eastern European Jewish immigrants in 1890′s Manhattan. Luckily before the chapter ended, I received a call from my recruiter telling me I have a job.

I know, I know. You’re probably wondering about the who, what, when, where. I’m such a tease.

I will be a Survey Researcher with the Zagat team at Google in New York! Squeal! I will be starting next Monday! Another, different squeal! I won’t be occupying Wall Street! Yay! I still believe in the American Dream! Double yay! I get free breakfast and lunch! TRIPLE YAY!

Google is a company that I have fantasized about working with since the February 2006 issue TIME Magazine did on them. I have tried and admittedly failed to get a job with them my senior year (they were the only fulltime employer I actually applied to), which ended up being a blessing in disguise as that allowed me to get my awesome internship with Landor in London. And given my love of food, traveling, culture, etc., the Zagat team is a natural fit for me. I also <3 NY now.

I am very excited to start this new chapter in my life. My only regrets are not being able to attend SXSW and as many NY Social Media Week panels as I had planned. Oh well. You win some; you lose some.

On another sad note, this also marks the end of my blog and my blogging for the foreseeable future. I had so much fun writing this one and it’s (re)connected me to so many people, but I know it must come to an end. From my past experience, it’s very difficult to write regular, interesting, public entries about your life once you’ve entered a routine.

Au revoir for now,
Tam

Day 30: Still Waiting

They said they would let me know by the end of the week. It’s the end of the week.

Why won’t you call me?

Day 28: How’d it Go?

Tags

interview, interviewing, interviews, jinx, Job interview, late, New York, New York City, post-interview, preparation, subway, superstition

Ah, the dreaded and unavoidable question. How’d it go? Of course people want to know. It’s only natural and it shows that they actually care enough about your life to follow-up. Unfortunately for me, I am sometimes superstitious (I did sleep with a worry doll underneath my pillow for days) and always afraid of jinxing things and looking like a fool.

My sassy worry doll from Belize

But as an acknowledgment of the fact that such beliefs are irrational and what I tell my friends after the interview will probably have little bearing on its results, I will write an entry about how it went.

So, the way I see it, an interview is like an exam, except this one has immediate, tangible bearings on your future and career. You spend hours studying for exams, right? So logically, you should be spending much, much, much more time studying for an interview.

I’m a good student; I know how to study. I studied like crazy for this interview, despite originally feeling like this wouldn’t be a very difficult interview. Besides the usual preparation/research work, I consulted with a career advisor and a headhunter (thanks Tung and Sameer!); I structured my social plans so I could casually throw in where I was the previous night in the interview small talk (that ended up never being brought up); I woke up early the next morning to study and buy their product; I scheduled a tour and lunch at the office beforehand with my friend who happens to work there (thanks Dave!).

Well, thank goodness I was meeting Dave at the place hours before the interview because  I ended up getting lost on my way there. Pretty badly lost. Really badly lost. So Google Maps told me it would take me 11 minutes to get there by subway. I’m not the best with directions so I gave myself 30 minutes to arrive. Plenty of time. Wrong. 11 minutes turned into an hour. Let’s say the interview was near 14th St- I ended up at 125th St, 111 blocks away. Just FYI guys, catching an express train in the opposite direction of where you want to be headed is a timely mistake to fix. But thank goodness I planned on being at the office hours earlier to have lunch with Dave. I was already cursing the lack of cellphone signal on the subway and panicking hardcore about being so late to see Dave (sorry again!). Imagine if I was on my way to the interview. I’m shuddering at the thought of it. Imagine being an hour late, missing your interview and bursting into tears out of sheer desperation and panic.

So after lunch, I wait across the street in a bookstore nervously reviewing my three greatest strengths and weaknesses and the times I’ve demonstrated leadership abilities as if I’m cramming for a bio exam. This time I leave 45 minutes early, despite only being across the street from the building. I can’t take anymore chances! What if I cross the street and get hit by a taxi?!? Surely those extra 30 minutes will come in handy.

It’s go time.

The interview goes smoothly. It goes as well as interviews go. I didn’t get tongue-tied. Similar to any exam or test, you study some things that never actually get a chance to resurface (like the place that you went out to last night) and there are some topics that you probably should have spent more time thinking about (like your ultimate career goals).

It wasn’t the best interview I’ve ever given (that award goes to ConocoPhillips) and it wasn’t the worst (it’s a tie between my first Google phone interview and Landor, both of which I felt like breaking down and crying in the middle of and both of which I “succeeded” and made it to the next round).

I guess only time will tell how it really went. And time will tell soon- I’m supposed to find out by the end of this week.

Fingers crossed, worry doll tucked in,
x

Day 23: Job Interview in NY Scheduled and Flight Booked!

Tags

America, career, interview, job, job hunt, job search, marketing, New York, New York City, recruit, recruiter, United States

I apologize; this girl is weirdly smug-looking.

So Day 23 rolls around and I got a call today from someone in New York asking me to come for a onsite interview THIS Tuesday, January 31st. I am beyond excited because this is a company I have wanted to work with for a long time; however, I will not raise my hopes too high. This is only a first-round interview, after all.

Now I will be in New York City from this Monday until February 24th, possibly jobless. So, hit me up, people!

The SXSW Blues

Tags

Austin, Austin Texas, conference, Perks, Recreation, South by Southwest, SXSW, SXSW Interactive, SXSWi, tech, Texas, volunteer

So I signed up to volunteer for Austin’s famous South by Southwest conference and festival so I could earn an Interactive badge and just go crazy over the panels and talks. But being able to actually make it to SXSW, an event held on the second and third week of March, means that I would have to be jobless up until that point (because let’s face it, what employer is cool enough to let their new hire travel halfway across the country to attend a tech conference?). This is a depressing thought.

You don't know how badly I want to be milling about in that crowd, having people desperately trying to market their iPhone/Droid app development start-up to me.

But you know what might be an equally depressing thought? Missing SXSW. I have missed SXSW every year despite the fact that I lived in Austin for the past 4 years. This means that for the past 4 years, I’ve had to refrain from checking Twitter for fear that everyone’s tweets about what a marvelous time they’re having in Austin will induce some kind of jealous rage in me that will result in me crushing my iPhone.

SXSW always falls on spring break and I always spend spring break doing something to further my career. Freshman year I attended Leadershape, a leadership retreat in the middle of some forest. Sophomore year I was in Washington, DC interviewing for an internship. Junior year I was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin after returning from Berlin (ok, I can’t really complain about that one). Senior year I was in Belize teaching students how to write resumes, interview, apply for micro-loans and just achieve their hopes and dreams in general.

I would never take that spring break back.

Yeah, that all sounds great, but the following is what I am dying to do this spring break:

• Interactive parties and lounges! How cool does that sound? Maybe I’ll run into some famous tech columnists or bloggers while I try to evade people who call themselves gurus or ninjas. Maybe I’ll even meet Pete Cashmore! And maybe I can say something super clever and witty and he’ll add me to one of his G+ circles!
• Stuff You Should Know Live Podcast- It was difficult for me to even listen to last year’s live podcast because I wanted to be there so badly. I think I would die if I met Chuck and Josh. So I guess my family should start on the funeral arrangements if I still don’t have a job by the end of February.
• Attend awesome talks with names like these: Catch Me If You Can: Frank Abagnale 10 Years Later, This Will Blow Your Mind: The Prius-Inspired Bike, Potterize It! Sharing the Magic of Fan Culture, Media Measurement: Science, Art or a Load of Crap, Guerilla Marketing @ Your Library, Tech + the Evolution of the In-Store Experience
• Free Stuff- last year I attended the last day of SXSW (it doesn’t really count as attending SXSW because I couldn’t be there for the whole week) and I got so much free awesome stuff in just one day: iPhone 4 cases, iPad cases, headphones, T-shirts, CDs, habenero sauce. Man, I really love SXSW!
• SXSW Yoga- I’m not even into yoga but I like the sound of this!

Ahhhhh my heart is racing just thinking about this stuff! I don’t know what would happen if I actually got to attend. I’d probably have a huge geek-out and they’d have to cart me away for making a fool of myself.

So I guess, either way, I’ll be having an awesome March 9-18th. I’ll either be employed and happy in NYC (if not a little jealous) or attending super awesome talks and scoring free stuff in Austin (if not a little unemployed).

Day 20: Depressing Job Search Articles that Make Me Want to Cry

Tags

blackhole, Business, career, Employment, job application, Job description, Job hunting, job search, jobs, Pete Cashmore, resume, Resumes and Portfolios, tracking systems, Wall Street Journal

So I started my day with a Wall Street Journal article titled “Your Résumé vs. Oblivion.” You can already tell where this article is going. It includes choice facts such as:

At many large companies the tracking systems screen out about half of all résumés…

Only 19% of hiring managers at small companies look at a majority of the résumés they receive…

Which means human eyes may not have even seen the resume I lovingly crafted and submitted to the company that rejected me yesterday. :,(

Tracking software has its pitfalls. It may miss the most-qualified applicant if that person doesn’t game the system by larding his or her résumé with keywords from the job description…

:,,(

One small error, such as listing the name of a former employer after the years worked there, instead of before, can ruin a great candidate’s chances.

I do that! My chances are already greatly ruined!

And of course, just as WSJ planned, this article sent me curling in a ball, sobbing into my blanket and playing “Stephen” by Ke$ha on repeat, replacing every “Stephen” with company names.

Why won’t you call me?
I’m sitting here waiting
Why won’t you call me?

I’m feeling pathetic
I can’t take rejection
Why won’t you call me?

This resulted in my friend Bobby looking at me with absolute pity and handing me a hard copy of HBR’s “Nine Things Successful People Do Differently.”

Low point.

Anyways, after that, I decided to attend WSJ’s Live Chat with Rusty Rueff: Rescuing Your Resume from the Black Hole and seek the solace of my fellow unemployed bums who probably also made the mistake of listing their job dates before the company name. Although listening to a career advisor, especially when they’re named Rusty, always soothes my soul, they made the mistake of linking to another career advice article, “Five Common Reasons Resumes Get Discarded.” Now this Meghan is very blunt and scares me a little. While Rusty and his white goatee says it can’t hurt to include a picture in your resume, Meghan says cutesy things, especially photographs stop many recruiters before they’ve read word one. WHO DO I LISTEN TO?!?! Rusty or Meghan? They both work at the same company!

Also, these articles seem to be very anti-infographic resumes, but Mashable is always so pro-infographic resume! Now it’s an even harder question, who do I listen to? Pete Cashmore with his handsome handsomeness or Rusty or Meghan?

Go ahead. Change that font to Arial Black. I won't tell.

I guess in the end, it’s just about tailoring your resume to your specific position in a way that honestly reflects you. I am uncomfortable with an infographic resume (I’m not a professional designer so it’s also a little irrelevant) and I think it’s cheesy when people include a picture of themselves (although mine would be super classy and tasteful). Although my resume is getting a formatting overhal as a result of today, I don’t think it’ll ever look like this:

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…

Tags

cash, jobless, li xi, Lunar New Year, Tet, Vietnam, Vietnamese

I'm just a girl, standing in her áo dài, asking for some lì xì.

So Tết, or Lunar New Year’s has long been my favorite holiday. Once I year, I get to gather with my many first, second, third, etc. cousins and gamble a bit in a game of bầu cua, perform a dragon dance or two, but most importantly of all, receive CASH MONEY.

Traditionally, the act of giving children money in red envelopes (lì xì) stops when the child is about 16 or so and can fend for themselves. To that, I say WAKE UP, PEOPLE! It’s the 21st century! We’re in America now and we are much needier now than we have ever been in the past. I want to extend the lì xì tradition until the “child” is at least 23 or 24 years old. Some of us still depend on the generosity of relatives, especially in this horrible economy. So I urge all you Vietnamese adults out there to open up your pockets and give, especially to the jobless college graduates in your life.

Thank you and chúc mừng năm mới.

Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 2012 Edition

Tags

100 Best Companies to Work For, Boston Consulting Group, company, Employers, Fortune (magazine), Google, JM Family Enterprises, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Mattel, NuStar Energy, Perks

So Fortune recently released their 100 Best Companies to Work For list. As a job seeker, I was understandably very curious.

After doing a very unscientific examination of the Top 20 companies and a few random clicks based on curiosity, I’ve determined the common traits found in the Best Companies to Work For:

• Strong financial performance over the last year or more (aka few layoffs and huge bonuses)
• Employee empowerment
• Concern for employee health (e.g. free healthcare, on-site gym, smoking-cessation classes)

Free food doesn’t hurt either. But, YAWN, we all expect respectable companies will do that in some shape or manner. Show me the quirky stuff!

Hot Wheels lead the way!

Here are my favorites (and I won’t even bother with Google because that’s obvious and overdone):

• #2 Boston Consulting Group invests 100-plus hours and thousands of dollars to recruit EACH consultant. That’s a lot of wining and dining!
• #15 NuStar Energy lends the corporate jet to employees in times of crisis. And I thought it was cool that ConocoPhillips let the interns use the corporate jet to fly from office to office.
• #16 Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has blindfolded bed making competitions. Cheeky!
• #17 JM Family Enterprises keeps a fleet of yachts for use by employees during appreciation events. Yachts or corporate jets? I can’t decide which is better!
• #79 Mattel gives everyone paid time off to volunteer in schools, which makes perfect sense seeing as they are the largest toy makers.

Well wherever I end up, I hope it’s at a company that is as awesome as the ones who made the list. Congratulations to the companies and congratulations to my wonderful friends who are working or have received offers to work at one of these Top 100!

Day 13: Finally Some Recruiter Interest and My Review of Post Grad

Tags

Alexis Bledel, Business, England, English majors, job hunt, Job hunting, job opportunity, job search, Lily Allen, LinkedIn, Post Grad, Rodrigo Santoro, United States

So after 13 days of publicly being on the job market, I finally get an unsolicited message on LinkedIn from one of AdAge’s Best Places to Work telling me to apply for some open position. Yessssssssssssss. Honestly I expected something like this on Day 2, but better late than never.

Of course I know that nothing is guaranteed and I’m sure the recruiter messaged hundreds of others, but I think this is a sign that things are finally picking up.

So to reward myself after submitting two additional applications, I watched Post Grad- a mediocre movie released in 2009 about a college graduate played by Alexis Bledel who couldn’t get a job after college so has to move back in with her family and job hunt from home. Sounds familiar?

 

So when I watch movies like this or read things like this:

She messed up by leaving England.

I like to analyze where they went wrong so I don’t make similar mistakes. These were Alexis Bledel’s biggest mistakes in Post Grad:

1. She majored in English with a minor in Communications.
2. She didn’t do her company research for the subsequent jobs she applied for.
3. The soundtrack doesn’t include enough Lily Allen.
4. Spoiler Alert: She didn’t end up with her hottie foreign neighbor played by Rodrigo Santoro. What kind of idiot lets a man who looks like he should be modeling for Lenscrafter go?

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid girl.

She chose this guy instead?

But in the end, the takeaway message was that she was too concerned about her future to really care about the people in her present. In the end Alexis Bledel quits her dream job to move across the country to New York, jobless again, to be with a guy. I told you she was stupid.

So to remedy the whole not-paying-attention-to-the-people-who-really-matter problem in my own life, I took my little sister out for some Dippin’ Dots. It was great. Lesson learnt. Can I have a job now?