Death and Taxes

Still unable to believe I have a job I thought I could share a couple things:

1.  The unexpected parts of having a job

a.  Budgeting

b.  Background check

2.  Thanks to my Professors

1.  So I have a job.  And I am so pleased with the position (Consulting) and the location (New York City).  Now the formal contract comes with over 30 pages of information.  I had to sift through it with my Mom and Dad before signing the next two years of my away.

a.  The money is great, the benefits are great but there are a few confusing things.  I have about 12 health insurance options.  How do I know how much I need?  How do I know where to find a doctor?  I’m young and healthy, I don’t want to think I’ll ever get sick! That brings me to Vision? Dental?  Life Insurance?  WHAT?  I named my parents the beneficiaries, their response, “thanks but we have already invested more than that in you”.  Well at least I know they won’t toss me under a bus for my money.  Then there is the business of taxes.  I had NO idea about how much you have to pay in taxes each year.  Seriously, look up the brackets!  I created a budget, and I think I should be able to save a good percentage of my salary while paying for insurance, utilities, rent, food, and taxes.  Now I get to settle into the dog eat dog world of apartment hunting in Manhattan.

b.  Background check.  I have had one before for my internship but this questionnaire was pretty in depth.  I was surprised they didn’t ask me how often I floss (which isn’t as often as I should admittedly).  A word to the wise, do not over extend what you did on your resume because they WILL call everyone and anyone you have ever worked with.  Just saying, it is important to be honest and be able to explain why you wrote what you did.

2.  Professor Love Fest.  I have gotten so lucky with my professors.  They taught me so much.  I am not just talking about equations and definitions but actually skills for the workplace.  Professor Dillon taught me, “how a Scripps woman shakes hands” as well as poise and grace that I try to emulate at every turn.  Professor Odell taught me to never, ever back down.  I think a owe a lot of my resolve to her.  Our faculty are so tight knit here I have learned things even from Professors I have never had in class!  I ran into Professor Haskell on another continent and he spent over an hour with my family and I even though we had barely exchanged a few words previously.  My Core I Professor and I still chat about our lives, usually spouting doom and gloom about Wall Street.  I think the interpersonal connections are what have prepared me most for the ‘real world’.  Knowing how to talk to people (really smart people) and getting to learn from them (academically, socially, holistically) has made me ready for this next step.

So if you were to ask me what I would rather have: my time with Scripps Faculty or having to never pay a tax on anything I would have to say…

Only two things in life are certain, death and taxes, and my Professors have taught me it is futile to avoid either one.

24 Hours in San Francisco

(Editor’s note: this post was intended to be posted prior to Pauline’s prior post–apologies from the editor!)

Tomorrow I will be in the friendly skies winging my way to to San Francisco.  The purpose of the trip: business and pleasure.  Sunday will be for walking, sampling culinary delights, and studying.  Monday will be my interview.  My final round superday for a San Francisco firm I would love to work for.  I don’t want to reveal too much but the firm is an international one with a fantastic reputation and great growth potential.  San Francisco is a fantastic city, and my parents, who I am extremely close with have told me they wouldn’t mind re-locating to that neck of the woods.  This could be a win win for me.

The more interviews I do the more I realize the fit has to be right and the location is important.  The older I get, and I am getting old, the more I realize what is truly important.  Its not money, though money is important, it provides independence, mobility, opportunities.  My parents are important to me.  Time together is a precious commodity and I am willing to pay a premium for it.  But getting a GREAT job AND my parents near by…that is a match made in heaven.  So there is a good deal of pressure riding on this interview.

Stepping back slightly, I try not to get nervous as I pack and re pack my bags.  So what does one bring for just over 24 hours in San Francisco?

1.  Interview attire, blouse, jacket, skirt (all wrapped in plastic to avoid wrinkles), good shoes and two pairs of pantyhose (simple jewelry);

2.  Umbrella, padfolio, contact info, company info to brush up on;

3.  Computer and smartphone;

4.  Cosmetics for the ‘interview face’ and similar toiletries;

5.  a ‘play’/’fun’ outfit and comfy shoes for when I am on my own

Not a lot of objects, just exactly what I need.  My advice to anyone right before the superday: the day before, do something fun!  Well, trekking through the hills of San Fran sounds like it could be the perfect remedy for me.  It looks like rain, but that doesn’t bother me.  I have done my due diligence, I feel prepared.  I want to savor these moments of being involved and wanted by firms.  Now isn’t the time for self-doubt.

Lest I use a quote: “Being loved deeply by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage” Lao Tzu 600 BCE

Stay tuned for updates,

Pauline

Bragging

My hands tremble as I type this…I have a job offer!  Remember those three superdays I blogged about earlier?  One was in LA, one is San Francisco, and one in New York City.  Well all three have passed and LA was a no, San Francisco is a maybe, and New York is a yes!

Countless interviews, hours of preparation, and endless searching has led me to this point.  Soon I will be able to shed my pseudonym and blog as myself!  So how do I feel about receiving an offer with a top firm in a dream city?

Mostly tired.  Relieved.  And though I was raised to be humble I can’t help but feel a little bit proud.  Also I feel trepidation.  What will next year hold for me?  Of course no one tells you what the protocol is for when you get THE CALL.  Mine was simple, call parents, text close friends who expect updates, and immediately search for dream apartments on Craigslist.  And if you are a numbers nerd as I sometimes am: you make a budget.  Oh boy oh boy.

It seems so real yet far away to me.  I am afraid if I don’t write this post, there will be no evidence that it actually come true at all.  I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the people that helped me get this offer.  My parents are first and foremost, my professors and friends are a close second.  These people believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself.

Okay, time to come off my cloud and realize I still have a little over a semester at Scripps.  I have duties, responsibilities both academic and not to consider.   I am part of the wheel, I don’t make things happen here, but I do help them along.  My  focus is on staying FOCUSED for the rest of the school year.  To appreciate the people, place, and things that makes Scripps so unique.  As others around me get job offers, I am so proud and excited for them.  It really is incredible the amount and range of things Scripps students take on after they graduate.

They should boast more.  So I will do it for them.  No, not just by boasting about myself, but when I am in a conversation with a CMC professor for example I introduce my friend and say, “this is Ellen, Ellen founded a remarkable Women’s College in Southern California and was a women’s rights champion.”  Maybe its not my place to say, but I hope we can all be each other’s champions and not be afraid to celebrate one another more!

Of course you may call me a hypocrite, as I am writing about my offer under a different name and have told fewer people on campus than I have fingers.  But I had the good fortune to meet former President Jimmy Carter once (through a Scripps Connection) and he told be something relevant here he said: “I don’t go bragging on myself all the time, I have people who believe in me, but I do bragging on others…”.  Well be warned Scripps students, faculty, and staff, as soon as I hear your good news I am going to brag on you.   So watch out!

Not in Oz

I am procrastinating.  And I know it.  My financial textbook is right there, waiting for me to crack it.  However I am scouring our Career Planning & Resources portal looking for jobs and new postings and made a quick blogging detour.  I am lucky: I have three superdays lined up but feel nervous.  What if they all say no?  What if I don’t get my dream job or location?  You know from my previous posts that I am an ‘optimist in an economists suit’ but as recruiting season draws to an end I can help but get antsy.  I want to know NOW.  I want to get on Craigslist and look for apartments, plan out my summer (assuming I get any break at all), and feel secure.

I wish I wish I wish.  But unfortunately I am  not Dorothy. I am not in Oz, nor am I in Kansas.  I am at Scripps College and closing my eyes and wishing will get me nowhere.  I have to stand up, take care, and be the confident woman I am.

My suit jacket is pressed and polished, my notes and due diligence are all done.  All I have to do is hop on a plane and sell myself like there is no tomorrow.  Its so different from sitting in a classroom.  When my Professor makes a point I agree with I nod in acknowledgment.  When they address a question to me I meet their eyes and answer clearly and concisely.  When I pass an administrator I am cordial and helpful.  I eat lunch at the commons, sometimes as a lunch meeting, and make sure not to let spinach get in my teeth.  So you could say Scripps prepares me everyday for these interviews.

If I could describe my time at Scripps to any interviewer in one word or less (yes sometimes they do ask me this), I would say ‘full’ full of life, full of learning, and full of passion for the people and things around me.  I bottle that passion and keep it close for when I need courage.  There is nothing an interviewer can to say to me to break my composure because I have that secret ingredient: courage.  Unlike Dorothy I don’t have to close my eyes and wish to go home, I am the catalyst.  And I am in control of my destiny.

I know this is a bit dramatic but I need a little pep talk, and I bet someone reading this does too.  Now its back to studying and I suggest you do the same.

Best,

Pauline

The End of the End

Its November.  I am living day to day next to my smart phone, with it on my lap or next to my hand.  Every time I get a new email I cringe, opening only one eye, peeping at the first line to see if it starts off with a chipper greetings or a gloomy salutation.  That’s because its recruiting wrap up time in the finance world.  Any offers or superdays will come in within the next week as well as rejection emails and cold, impersonal Human Resources calls.  I have interviewed over a dozen times this fall and although it does get easier, each interview has its own particular challenges.

I had one this past week that was so good they called me that night to invite me back.  I was on my A-game and clicked with the interviewer.  Also I had one that made me want to walk out mid-interview.  The interviewer wanted to push and challenge me, and quite frankly he wanted to intimidate me.  Needless to say I don’t want to work for that firm, even if they’d have me.

As we wrap up these processes I can’t help but feel sad.  There is so much ‘hurry up and wait’ involved that all anticipation is painful and the success of one interview is easily overshadowed by rejections.   I’m not losing hope, just being realistic.

I have one offer, one completed superday, and two superdays on the books, so I’m in good shape…but I want more options, I want to know what office they are going to put me in (New York, San Fran, Chicago, LA, Anchorage?!).  I want to know the salary, the benefits, the lifestyle.  These things do matter, especially if you are moving to a new city.

And then, in my insanity, I was sitting at the computer thinking, “I want to go abroad, I want to see the world and backpack through Europe, I want a few months just to live”.  In my field of work, finance and from my family background, such thoughts are INSANITY.  Though I respect anyone who does them and am envious of their experiences.  They will probably live a longer and more stress free life than myself.

After 10 seconds, my feelings passed, but I can’t help but apply to a few long shot positions abroad.  I want adventure, I want excitement, and I know I’ll get options but I have to wait and be patient.   Patience is a virtue, but at the moment it feels like a thorn.

I am open to any suggestions of how to cope with the stress of full time recruiting: how to tell your professor you won’t be in class tomorrow because you are hopping a plane across the country, or how to remain focused on academics.  I know what I do: I take each day, each moment one at a time, and when I get too stressed, I blog.

Good luck to those of you who are in the same boat, and to those of you who have survived this, I salute you!