Purple Squirrel

"You're in a market that is searching for the purple squirrel candidate, which is hard, but I believe you're someone's purple squirrel." A wonderful friend said this in the midst of a frenzied Google Chat discussion (she has three kids -- that's more than a full-time job). 
I love it. Mostly because most days, I feel like a purple squirrel. I have enough work experience to make me dangerous, but not enough in any one place to look proficient in my field. A little funky, but mostly just weird. But I've learned so much.

Speaking of learning, I'm in the last week of my internship. I'm finishing up news releases, trying to  get last-minute coverage for my client and preparing to pass the baton to the next intern. I've gotten a great taste of working in public relations and observing all the kinds of people involved. If I'm a purple squirrel, the internship's given me a bit of a Mohawk to make this rodent a little funkier. 
The chairman of my university's journalism department said that getting an internship was nearly a guarantee of landing a job. I'm about to put his claim to the test.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Greek Chorus

Image
Job searching is exhausting. You ride the emotional roller coaster of hopeful application, giddy anticipation of an interview, and the stomach-lurching drop of the "no, thanks," or worse - the no reply. After a few gut-wrenching turns, you're ready to get off this harrowing ride. My experience in job hunting is quite noisy. On bad days, I imagine that inside my head is an ever-expanding Greek chorus that forms a diabolical Diana Ross and the Supremes-style antiphony in three-part harmony. Here's what they frequently sing: "Yoooou're a failuuuuuure! No one will hire you! You're just dressing up in a professional suit! So what if you aced your PMP? You think that someone will give you a chance? You're trying to network? HAAAAA!" It's a really worn-out song, and I'm tired of it. But the Greek Chorus is a one-hit wonder, and it's hard not to listen to them, especially after being in this for a few months. I'm writing about this becaus
Read more

Your Actual Resume

You can lose yourself in the job search. After the umpteeth delicately-tweaked cover letter, painstakingly curated resume and well-written introductory email, you begin to feel like you're faking it. So I created the resume for who I actually am. Here we go: SELECTED EXPERIENCE MahEars, Philadelphia, PA Music Curator and Sonic Aesthetician 1989 - Present Develop classic rock, sixties girl groups and sundry genres into bizarre yet pleasing playlists Retain a disturbing amount of recording trivia and factoids gained from late-night Wikipedia rabbit trails Alienate coworkers and friends with anachronistic song lyric quotes Disturb fellow commuters on the Schuylkill Expressway with morning drive-dancing MahBrain, Philadelphia, PA Smartass in Residence 1986 -  Present Create charmingly/alarmingly specific to-do lists and goals Actively collect strange facts to develop obscure jokes and stories Despises the patriar
Read more

Our Unemployed Brethren

Image
Here's a great profile from the ranks of the unemployed. I find it fascinating that the video was posted in 2006, before the worst of the U.S. economic crisis. But the real question is, did this guy trade in his AT-AT Walker under the Cash for Clunkers program?
Read more