Category Archives: Isabella

It’s All About Who You Know… Or Is It?

Posted on by
Reply

You may have heard this line before: “It’s all about who you know”. It seems like it’s on repeat among different internships and job circles. While I’m sure your stellar activities and grades have an effect on your future endeavors, I have been told countless times that having connections really does get your foot in the door. However, I have often thought how this disadvantages a lot of people who don’t have the access to certain contacts or institutions.

Is our future mostly determined by the people around us that can get us a really impressive job?

TL;DR: Not quite, but it really can help.

So for those of you brave enough to read on, how do we navigate this complex balance between having connections, making connections, being personable and open all the while being qualified?

Seems like a lot to balance, but with a few tips, it shall not be too overwhelming!

gifs_16

Although, having connections with former employers, family friends, and local business groups is extremely helpful in knowing people in your preferred industry, it is not the golden ticket to your next new job/internship. You still ought to be personable enough in order to make a good impression in interviews and make further contacts through networking events!

So let’s say you want to expand your network of connections. You’ve tried reaching out to Scripps Alumnae through Life Connections, but now you’re ready for some face to face networking! (DUN DUN DUNNNNN)

Networking Pro-Tips:

  • Be confident and humble. Even though you might be shaking in your boots about meeting someone, try not to show it. When appropriate put out your hand and introduce yourself. It’s okay to be nervous, but come across strong (especially if its your first time meeting with them). Also try not to come across cocky, they can sense when you’re intentions are pure and when you’re just showing off, so try to find a happy medium.
  • Be prepared! Know who you’re talking to, try looking them up on LinkedIn before and impress them with your knowledge about recent work related events. They’ll be impressed with what you know (plus this gives plenty of conversation topics, so you have less awkward silences!)
  • Ask them for their contact information. Don’t be shy about this, if you want to follow up with them, then by all means do! Send them an email, stay in touch, and add them on LinkedIn. If they have the relationships with the kind of people you want to get in touch with, be persistent in getting some of their time.
  • Keep in touch. Although this might be hard to do with multiple contacts, with the one’s you want special relationships with, be willing to reach out to them. Everyone’s busy nowadays, but showing them you care about them and the work they are doing will make them notice you.
  • Be yourself. In addition to all these tips above, show them who you really are, what makes you tick, what you’re passionate about, and why you care about the things you care about. There’s nothing that can make up for being genuine! Show them this side of you.

While networking and creating new contacts is important in any career related field, it’s not the only factor that should be taken into consideration. Keep doing activities your passionate about, learning all you can, and opportunities will come your way!

Happy Networking Folks!

Isabella

 

“Hey Girl, Good Luck With Finals”

Posted on by
Reply

Ahhhh finals week. The infamous period of a students life where nothing is certain, especially sleep. Hours spent away staring endlessly into textbooks, guzzling caffeinated beverages, all the while hopelessly dreaming of a more innocent time.

imgres

Often times it seems like the odds are never in our favor. The to-do list grows larger, as does our hope for having the time to watch Netflix (word to the wise, the end of school is not the most ideal time to start a new show, trust me).

imgres

But hey, summer is quickly approaching, soon you are off to exciting new adventures, whether it be going home to revisit some loved ones, working, or maybe starting an internship! But until then, you are faced with the reality that some try their hardest to deny. So how can we best make it through this often difficult week? Fear not, check out these pro-tips to keep you afloat! (because believe it or not, you’ll survive and life will continue as we know it…I promise).

Tips for stayin’ alive:

  • Practice self care. This means that, unlike what I jokingly said before, you should absolutely try to sleep as much as you can, or at least nap as frequently as possible.
  • Move around. Even if that means going outside for a 20 minute walk to get some fresh air. You’ll likely be more efficient and productive when you return to work.
  • Find your study space. Whether that’s a library, browsing room, or your secret blanket fort you’ve created for yourself, find somewhere you’re comfortable and can focus.
  • Nourish your body.Try to eat wholesome meals or snacks and hydrate, your body will thank you later.
  • Take efficient mini-breaks. About every two hours your brain gets tired, energize it by giving it 5 minutes to breathe deeply, do jumping jacks, or smell the roses (literally, have you been to the Rose Garden recently? It’s perfection.)
  • Interact with other humans if you feel the urge. It’s can be nice to have someone to talk to if you feel like you need to vent, get an energy boost, or just share a laugh.
  • Monitor social media. Trust me folks, having Tumblr on your phone is tooooo tempting, but be aware of those mini-breaks, because before you know it, you’ve spent 45 minutes Snapchatting, Facebooking, and Instragramming (those are verbs, right?).

While I hope these are helpful, finals are only as big of a deal as we make them out to be in our heads. Just remember, it’s just a test and only a paper, while it can seem stressful, you are still a person of self worth and your grades do not and will not change that.

STAY POSITIVE PEEPS AND REMEMBER IF RYAN GOSLING BELIEVES IN YOU, YOU SHOULD BELIEVE IN YOU!

6a012876c6c7fb970c019b02a8dd81970b-800wi

Stay calm and take many deep breaths.

Keep rockin,

Isabella

So, You’re Feeling Overwhelmed?

Posted on by
Reply

As I sit here in Seal Court on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I ponder. I ponder what I should write for this blog post, I ponder what internship opportunity to take, I ponder what study abroad program would best fit me, and I ponder the long run average total cost curve for my microeconomics exam this week (if you don’t speak econ, just ignore that last part).

The end of the school year always seems like a very ‘up in the air’ time. Many things are to be determined, whether it is summer plans, deciding where you are going to live next year, or what t-shirt to wear, there are plenty of decisions to make (I’m only partly kidding about the t-shirt).

Although the tendency to deal with this might be to jump in my bed and cover my entire body in pillows and blankets forgetting my worries and never resurfacing (which sounds both plausible and completely soothing) I am reminded of Robert Frost’s poem, A Servant to Servants, which states

“The best way out is always through. And I agree to that, or in so far/As that I can see no way but through”

Although it is extremely important to take care of ourselves and get back on track, we then must deal with what may lie ahead of us. But often getting to that place can be very difficult. So how do we get there or most importantly ‘through’?

Here are some self-care pro-tips that may prove beneficial!

  1. If you’re stressed or worried about something and can afford some time, try to take a break from it for a while. This is the phase where I suggest you do anything you love doing. Whether that may be watching Gilmore Girls, doing yoga, reading, writing in a journal, talking with a friend or loved one, just do something that can healthily distract your mind and will let you come back to your problem feeling refreshed.
  2. Strategize. Set up a game plan for how you are going to address your issue. Map it out, organize yourself, and fill in any holes.
  3. Be practical. Accept the fact that you’re only human and give yourself the time you need to take care of yourself.
  4. Make progress. Even if its slow, some movement is better than none. As you start dealing with your issue, realize that you’re getting somewhere and soon enough it may be resolved.
  5. Enjoy the ride and try to accept the occasional bumps on the road.

    tumblr_m8bdyf4BcA1rcgrtdo1_500

    Time for take off folks!

Best of luck my fellow Scrippstas,

Isabella

April In Paris

Posted on by
Reply

The sun just set. You are newly arrived to one of the most magical cities in the world. Armed with a warm baguette in one hand and too much cheese in the other, you are wandering down a charming alleyway. As your feet glide over the uneven cobble stone streets, you see the glittering of the Eiffel Tower shining through the Art Nouveau inspired rooftops of the many Parisian apartment buildings nearby. As you look up in a fit of incredibility, you forget all your worries, including the fact that you feel lost in more ways than one and you begin to melt into the very street you were once standing upon.

giphy

Now whether or not I may be idealizing or romanticizing *my moment* when I know I’ve officially landed in Paris for my study abroad program next spring, there’s a lot to be said about realizing the beauty of a particular moment, no matter how scary it is. And guess what? The same can be said about future jobs, internships, or other exciting applications.

It is often when we are extremely vulnerable that we can begin to make more sense of the world around us, of course that comes after much panic, many worries, and lots of silent or loud cries. But it doesn’t always have to.

You know when you look back at something that you once thought was stressful, but then realize it worked out and it was all dandy, rainbows, unicorns, and the like. But what if, instead of letting our fear for the unknown (in my case, getting through the lovely but maze-like alleyways in Paris in an attempt to not get lost 100% of my time there) we just enjoy the adventure that life throws our way?

I’ve noticed that for myself, I get so carried away in my own nervousness that it often detracts from an otherwise exquisite moment. If we could just be in the present, look at the moment in front of us, as if we were reflecting on it as if it had already passed, knowing it would all work out, imagine how rosy everything may be!

Now it may just be my unrealistic optimism or love for Edith Pilaf’s La Vie en Rose, but if we just rest assured that our street smart skills will kick in when we need them too, or that I will find an extremely helpful Parisian to guide me home, or my inner Francophile will understand the crumbled map in my back pocket, things will work out somehow and someway. And maybe things working out involves me getting even more lost, going in the wrong direction to get to the right direction, and finding this really cute back road, that’s all apart of the beauty of life and its adventure, right? Right (well at least I’d like to think so).

Now whether you can relate to this from having studied abroad or traveled alone or even hoping to get an internship and applying for jobs, it’s best to keep this little dose of optimism in our jacket pockets, in case we ever need to cash it in someday. Because either way, if you get lost, don’t get this job or that internship, you’re life will unravel quite beautifully, and whether its a surprise or not, trust me, it will be okay.

We’ll always have Paris mes amis,

Isabella

 

WWHDD. What Would Hilary Duff Do?

Posted on by
Reply

This weeks inspirational career message is inspired by A Cinderella Story, starring the one and only…. drumroll please….Hillary Duff. In this movie, when faced with adversity, she listens to this quote that her father once told her (well technically Babe Ruth said it first, but I’m an avid Lizzie McGuire fan, so you understand my biased motives).

“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”

So if you’re not a baseball fan or haven’t seen this film or have no idea how this relates to the struggle of finding summer internships or jobs, let’s ask ourselves what would Hilary Duff do..? (Did I mention I love Lizzie McGuire?)

602988_original

Weirdest but best tv show opening credits, am I right?

Although it is often scary/frightening/daunting when you apply over and over again to different career opportunities and you can no longer stare at a computer screen or move your fingers across the keyboard, you ought not be discouraged.

Even though there is a chance that you might not hear back from a potential employer or a start-up company you thought was perfect for you, you will never know what the end result will be, if you don’t give it a chance in the first place.

Before Hilary heard this inspirational quote:

Ready to play!

The I-can’t-handle-life-right-now pose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After she understands the importance of giving it her all no matter what:

004ACS_Hilary_Duff_026

Ready to play and tackle those internships!

From my experiences of watching this wonderfully indulgent film and being at Scripps for the past two years, I’ve learned that the key to my success is being open to new opportunities, and if it is something that you are passionate about, pursue it no matter the odds.

Often times we are too worried about what might happen or what could end up happening, that we end up loosing sight on what really matters. Whether it be a new volunteer position you are head over heals with or a highly competitive fellowship you’re applying for, try not to get discouraged about these opportunities that seem out of your league.

Who knows? Maybe the internship that you thought you’d never get is the very internship you end up getting for the summer! Your future self (and Hillary) will thank you for just giving it a shot, no matter the result!