How to Find a Job After College Without Internships

Posted in Career by

If you’re like me, you graduated college without ever completing an internship. In my case, I worked full-time and was unable to add other responsibilities to my already full plate. Below are some tips that helped me in my own job search:

1. Work an entry-level job for a large company

This worked brilliantly for me. I worked a job I didn’t necessarily love – but paid the bills. It was for a huge company that offered a lot of opportunities in different departments. Upon graduating, I applied for different jobs outside of my department where I knew I could use my degree. I was able to land an amazing job 8 months after graduation.

2. Find a Mentor

If you have a job with a large firm, your mentor can be found within your company. If not, work with your family, friends and college professors to find someone who will take an interest in your future. Finding a mentor is pretty easy as long as you are comfortable bringing up your upcoming graduation as often as possible. If you mention that you are graduating with a marketing degree, someone might mention that their friend works in marketing. That opens up the opportunity to ask if they can mention you and see if you can get some time on their calendar to learn about their field.

3. Social Media

The obvious social media account for a job search is LinkedIn. Make sure you have your account updated and use it to interact with recruiters from different firms. Also make sure you leverage your Facebook friends list. Make a status update about your job search to see if anyone knows companies that would hire you.

4. Leverage Your College Professors

College professors love giving advice and tend to have a very large network. Take time to build relationships with your professors before actually asking them to help you find a job. This way they can get to know you and help find you a good fit.

5. Exploratory Interviews

Make sure you complete as many exploratory interviews as possible before you start your job search. Find individuals with jobs that interest you (networking events, guest speakers in college, etc) and ask to set up a meeting where you can ask questions about their job. Don’t use this to ask FOR a job – simply use it as a learning opportunity. The person you interview will appreciate the effort you made to learn about jobs before making a decision – and this will make it easier for you should you ever apply for a job in their firm. At the end of the interview, ask if there is anyone else they think you could speak to. They can help by doing a soft introduction so you continue to meet new people.

I have used all of these methods and continue to do so – as I believe we should always be thinking of our next career move. Make sure you give these a try and let me know how it works! Good luck!

Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights – Orlando, FL

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If you are ever in Orlando, FL around the holidays, you HAVE to make your way out to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for this amazing light show. I found out about this only four years ago and have been going back since. I filmed this on my GoPro Hero 3+ using the head mount.

Have you ever seen this amazing light show?

Holiday Cheats on my Canon t5

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As I mentioned in a former post, i am a shopping addict. I snagged a Canon t5 from QVC for a great deal and now I am playing around with it. Bear with me as I am a DSLR newbie…

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these tiny oreos make you feel a LITTLE less guilty

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and here is an adorable picture of my pekingese, Charlotte 🙂

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Have you ever used a DSLR?

Tips for Holiday Shopping on a Budget

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Admit it. You have a shopping problem and the holidays only remind you of this terrible awesome habit. I love to shop.. for myself, for others, just for the heck of it. A few years ago, I stumbled into in some financial difficulties that made it difficult for me to spend a lot at one time. I was also in a new apartment and in need of many things. Below is a list of some of the tricks that I use to make the most of holiday shopping.

1. QVC/HSN – This is my number one shopping strategy. I am sure that there are other websites/networks that are similar, but these two are my main choices. They offer easy pay on all of their higher-cost items, so you are able to pay for your purchase in 5-6 month installments. This does not require a credit check, and they simply withdraw the funds each month from your credit/debit card. I also don’t find that the item prices are raised much higher than any other stores. Even if they were, I am sure that it beats having to pay credit card interest! I bought myself a TV last year that was on sale and ended up paying only about $80/month! This year, it’s a DSLR camera for about the same!

2. Ross/Marshalls/TJ Maxx – These stores are incredible. I bought my mom a frying pan last year for $12 that I saw elsewhere for $40. You can buy brand name clothes (I love buying nike, adidas, reebok gym clothes) for dirt cheap. They also sell very inexpensive dumbbells, workout videos and other items for the gym rats on your list. I also like going to their candle/bath section. You can stock up on $3 candles and hair products at a very reduced price. These stores are also great for children’s toys. I bought most of my nephews toys at Ross when he was born.

3. Outlets – If you live near an outlet mall, ALWAYS shop there before going to the mall. While the coach outlet may not have the exact bag you’ve been eyeing, it will have bags for about $80 and you will get a coupon when walking into the store for another 20% off. That’s my experience, at least. Outlets are great for purses, brand name clothing and jewelry.

4. Department Stores – If you’re in a financial pinch and have a lot of women on your list, it is a great idea to go to a department store. During the holidays, they tend to give away a huge box of makeup with certain perfume purchases. If you get creative, you can make 3-4 gifts with that makeup. Buy glittery boxes, fill them each with 2-3 items from the box and hand them out. Then give the perfume to your mom, sister or yourself! 🙂

5. Candy/Sweets – If you know anyone who is traveling abroad before the holidays, it is always a good idea to ask them to bring back candy from the other country. Chances are that with the exchange rate you can buy several large bags of candy for under $20. You can then repackage these into adorable gifts for many people on your list. These are great office gifts, as they are cultural and help your friends learn about another country.

6. Dollar Store/Flea Markets/Tag Sales – I rarely buy gifts at these locations, but instead go there to buy home decor. During the holidays, we tend to switch it up every year. Last year I had a lot of gold decorations, this year I want silver. Instead of spending hundreds on new decorations, I go to these places to see what I can find for cheap. The dollar store is great for paper plates, candy dishes, pinecones, etc. Flea markets tend to have a lot of small toys, flowers and random decorations. Tag Sales will have trees, wreaths and a lot of other decorations!

7. Etsy – All women love jewelry. This is a fact. And while we love a good 3 ct diamond ring, it is not always practical to give that gift (sigh). Etsy is a great resource for homemade jewelry. I have purchased a ton of unique pieces from there that my friends always envy. You can also buy personalized gifts. Etsy goes beyond jewelry. You can buy scarves, clothes and many other novelty gifts!

8. Beach Body Videos – If you know a fan of Insanity, P90X, T25 etc, I would consider buying them a new beach body video set for the holidays. They offer the same type of payment plans as QVC and HSN, so that gives you more time to pay for the cost of the videos. While P90x and Insanity are on the higher price-range, there are more inexpensive videos that also give you great results!

These are just a few tips that may help you save some cash. I hope you try some of these out! Remember that its not the gift – but the spirit of giving that matters. Let me know how the holiday shopping is for you this year!

Sin City Review!

Posted in Las Vegas, Travel, Vacation by

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I made it very clear in a previous post just HOW MUCH I love Las Vegas. Both times I have gone, I went with my significant other, but I am sure many of you would opt to fly solo. Either way, it is an amazing and relatively affordable trip. Here are some of the highlights of my trips and my suggestions on what to do!

Hotels

  • Vdara
  • Signature at MGM Grand

Both times I went to Vegas, I stayed at MGM Brand hotels right on the strip. Vdara is your traditional luxurious vegas hotel. The rooms are all suites and you have amazing views. Signature at MGM Grand is less Vegas-y, but the rooms are very large and comfortable. Also, being at the MGM Grand gives you easy access to the monorail and lots of entertainment. To save money, I combined the airfare and hotel. For Vdara I we spent about $1300 for two round trip tickets from Florida and we booked it directly on Vdara’s website. The Signature at MGM Grand ran us about the same and we booked it on Priceline.

Food and Beverage

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Our go-to place on the Strip is the Buffet at the Bellagio Hotel. You pay $20 per person for unlimited high-end food for lunch and $30 each for dinner. What we did was go about an hour before lunch ended so we could try both meals. They don’t kick you out and you get to enjoy more options! We would usually eat a quick, inexpensive breakfast and then wait until late afternoon to go to the buffet. You save a TON this way – more to spend on gambling! For drinks, I would suggest going to the casino and gambling. If you are gambling, the girls who work there will bring you free drinks. The trick is to tip them a few dollars each time so they keep coming back. If you ask me, a few dollars per drink beats the $19 that I paid once for a drink by the pool! (yikes). Also, check out the famous Pink’s Hot dogs (big enough to share) and serendipity 3!

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Entertainment (Paid)

In my opinion, you have to catch a Cirque du Soleil show while you’re in Vegas. There are several shows going on at any given time and if you are staying at the hotel that is playing a show or have one of their free player card memberships, you usually get a 30% discount! There are also many other magic, burlesque, comedy shows going on each night. I would suggest waiting until you get to Vegas to buy anything since you can find great coupons on every taxi cab, hotel lobby and newspaper! You almost never have to pay full price (or even close).

Entertainment (Free)

If you do some google research, you can find a list of fun things to see on the strip. Depending on the season, the Venetian and Palazzo tend to have Italian-themed festivals going on that you can attend without being a guest. I’ve seen wine and cheese tastings, light shows and dancers. Caesar’s Palace also has a free show in the Shoppes. Freemont Street is also great as there is live music every night. You can also enjoy the Freemont Street Experience, where you can watch music videos and a light show just by looking up! Freemont is also great because the casinos usually give you free plays with their player cards. You can pretty much gamble away their money and maybe even win some of your own!

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This is just a basic list of ideas to get you started planning your own Las Vegas getaway. I would suggest doing your research before you go, as Vegas does NOT have to break the bank. If you want me to discuss anything else in detail, feel free to let me know! J

Review of my Bahamas Cruise – On the Carnival Sensation

Posted in Travel by

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Since I mentioned my top vacation destinations in a previous post, it seemed reasonable to review different vacation destinations more in-depth. I live in Florida, which makes it easy to go to the beach, enjoy theme parks and CRUISE.

In May, I took a cruise to Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas on the Carnival Sensation. It was my first cruise and the price truly can’t be beat. I was a bit apprehensive after having read about all of the issues the ships had a few years back, but the cruise went off without a hitch.

We booked the cruise of Travelocity for about $800. That included an ocean-view room for the four day cruise. On top of that, we added the “Faster to the Fun” package which only cost $50 per stateroom. It was completely worth it! We were able to get on the boat at about 11:15 AM and our room was ready. We dropped off our luggage and were among the first people to the lido deck eating. We also had a designated guest services line, which comes in handy in the mornings before the excursions and at the end of the cruise when the lines are packed. The other perk we loved was the priority line to exit the boat. It only took 3-4 minutes to get out of that packed ship!

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The only excursion we did was the ATV ride in Freeport for about $110/person. If you can, DO IT. The tour guides are incredible. They are lively young guys who joke with you and drive you around the island telling you all about the history and culture. Then they take you on a guided ATV tour for about an hour, followed by an entrance to a gorgeous garden and two private beaches. In Nassau we opted to just relax on the beach which was only about a 10 minute walk from the ship. Next time we will probably go to Atlantis or explore another private beach, since the one we went to was crowded.

The ship itself is a blast. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

  • Lido Deck – Unlimited food all day long. To us, this was the best tasting food. Even when they main stations are closed, you can still get pizza, sandwiches, ice cream and coffee.
  • Room Service – On Carnival cruises, room services is complimentary 24 hours a day. The food includes croissants, toast, wraps, salads and juice. I think they also have deserts. The best part was leaving a note on the door asking them to bring it at 6:30 AM. Nothing better than a coffee and croissant wake-up call!
  • Comedy Club – This was one of our favorite parts. The comedian on that ship was hilarious and did a great job interacting with the crowd. Every night had different material and it made for a great “date night.”
  • The Club – We stumbled upon the club the first night simply because they were giving the ladies a free glass of champagne J and ended up staying the whole night. The DJ’s were fun and interactive and everyone was enjoying themselves. The drinks prices were also comparable to a regular club, so it wasn’t a big deal.
  • Tanning – I know people say the cruises are crowded, but this was not my experience at all. I was able to tan whenever I wanted to and never had an issue finding a chair. It is also nice to have the bartenders walking around offering you drinks. You’re on vacation, so why get up!?
  • Charging everything to your room key – On the cruise you can either attach a credit card to your room key or put cash on it. This is safer in my opinion as you do not have to worry about misplacing a credit card or cash. It also helps you budget if you check it daily. They have kiosks around the ship where you can check and reload your balance. I went every night to pay what I had used just to keep myself on track.
  • The Games – On the ship there are games on the lido deck and on the top deck that people can play. My favorite was the mini golf! They also have game tournaments throughout the day that anyone can partake in. Oh and the casino was a blast!
  • The Gym and Spa – The gym is gorgeous on the ship. It is a full gym with a sauna and steam room. They offer fitness classes for a small cost, but we didn’t use those. The spa is gorgeous and the services are a lot more affordable on the ship!

Cons

  • The Fine Dining – Our experience with the fine dining was lackluster. For starters, the boat is very shaky where the dining room is located. Also, we found the food to always be over or under-seasoned. The staff was friendly though and the deserts were amazing! Your table also makes a difference. We were seated with couples who were really shy and seemed nervous to socialize. I’m sure that had the crowd been better, we would have enjoyed it more. The last two nights we ended up skipping dinner and eating on the lido deck (especially since we had access to a TV there and could watch the NBA playoffs!)
  • The cost of internet. We logged in to a computer for 5 minutes and paid about six dollars. If you need wifi, wait until you’re on land and you will find free wifi at many restaurants.
  • The TV in the room – The room had an old tube TV which didn’t have the best color. This really isn’t a big deal since you shouldn’t spend much time in there, but still…

As you can see, the experience was mostly positive! I would definitely take another Carnival cruise and hope to in the near future. No experience is perfect, but for the price point, we felt we got three times our money’s worth!

Are there any cruises you guys recommend?

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Personal Trainer Update

Posted in Health and Fitness by

Several months ago, before my blogging hiatus, I mentioned I was getting a personal trainer. I never did update you on my progress so here goes:

Pros:

  • Lost 15 lbs
  • Learned proper form
  • Learned new exercises
  • Workouts were more intense and fun

Cons

  • Price!
  • Motivation depends on trainer

It’s no secret that personal trainers are expensive. I set it up in a way that I would see my trainer only 1-2 times a week to save money. In that time I learned more workouts that I could do again on my own.

Would I recommend it?

Sure. If you can afford it, go for it. There is nothing like having a person motivating you to give a workout your all. Also, the fact that you are paying for a service makes it less likely for you to not commit. 

Is it necessary?

For the average person trying to lose 10-20 lbs? Not really. These days with social media, you can find workout videos practically anywhere. I personally follow a lot of fitness accounts on instagram that post videos of workouts and even healthy recipe ideas. You can also find workouts on different YouTube channels or just purchase the infamous Beach Body DVDs. I have also seen a plethora of online coaching plans available for reasonable costs!

I would however recommend it to anyone who feels they are seriously out-of-shape/has no prior athletic experience (particularly having to do with weight lifting). If you have never been coached on how to properly lift weights or do certain high intensity workouts, it is possible you will have poor form and risk injury. It’s always better to be safe then sorry! If you get injured, you will have to take time off, setting your goals back even further. 

If you are unsure, try going with friends. Friends who aren’t certified will certainly not compare to a professional, but you can at least have someone watching your form and helping to motivate you. Most people I know who are “gym-rats” jump on the opportunity to help a friend change their lifestyle for the better. Try reaching out!

Have any of you tried working with a personal trainer?

Traveling on a 20something’s Budget

Posted in Travel by

There are a lot of perks to being caffeinated 20something. We are energetic, outspoken and downright awesome.. or at least I am. 😉 Unfortunately though, we tend to suffer from extreme brokeness (is that even a word?)… especially during those overpriced college years.

Although our budgets are limited, our imagination is not. Our imaginations, coupled with access to celebrity instagram pages, have made us big dreamers. Is there a way to travel like a celeb without their stacks of money?

YES.

Here is a short list of vacations I have taken that didn’t break the bank:

1. Cruising through the Bahamas!

This one is first simply because it was my least expensive vacation. Between my boyfriend and I, we spent about $800 on the cruise itself – so $400 each (after upgrading from the scary interior vault to an ocean view). The great thing about cruises is that the food is pretty much all complimentary, as well as water, lemonade and (you guessed it) COFFEE! There are certain exceptions, of course, such as the steakhouse and fancy coffee shop – but none of that is necessary to enjoy yourself. You can binge eat on the Lido Deck all day and then enjoy formal dining at night. We did one excursion, which was $109 each. This is absolutely OPTIONAL but was completely worth it. Also, if you want to enjoy some drinks, do it on port. On the beaches we visited we saw great deals – like three beers for $10. Our cruise was four nights on the Carnival Sensation. If you live in a state where another cruise is closer, take that one!

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2. New York CIty

I know, I know.. most expensive city bla bla bla. NYC is a cultural mecca – but that doesn’t limit you to museums and Broadway shows. First of all, NEVER stay in Manhattan unless you can afford to shell out 2-300 a night for a decent hotel. I always stay in Queens at random budget hotels on Queens blvd. I am partial to Queens because I know a lot of individuals who live there and I find that it is really easy to navigate. The key is to find a hotel in walking distance of a subway station. You will pay less than $100/night and be a few mins from the city. You would also be surprised to find how much you love a city when you explore it’s hidden gems. I suggest living off cheap (and delicious) pizza and spending your days walking aimlessly. You will enjoy free live music on the subways (but you should tip if the performers are good) and most likely meet interesting characters along the way. I suggest going with friends to cut the cost and experiencing it together. You won’t regret it!

these streets will make you feel brand new, big li

3. VEGAS BABY!

I did the corny thing and saved the best for last. Las Vegas is AMAZING and you don’t have to be Floyd Mayweather to experience its magic. The simple reason as to why this is affordable is that the hotels are EXTREMELY underpriced. For my 21st birthday, we stayed on a 43rd floor junior suite at the Vdara Hotel on the strip for about 100/night. It was gorgeous.. we had an amazing room and views of the Bellagio Fountains. If you still want to save, stay at the more affordable Hooters or Circus Circus. You still get the experience for a lower price. I would just get a group of friends and pack them in a nice room… the more the merrier in Sin City! Now, the reason everything is so inexpensive is because hotels make their money from the casinos. Go to the casinos and play cheap slots. You will have girls coming to offer you free drinks. The trick is to tip them a few dollars each time. That way they keep coming back… and essentially you are getting drinks for $2-3 each time. There is also an abundance of free shows and the tourists alone are entertainment.

Our view &the bellagio fountains I m never leaving

This short list should serve to get you excited about traveling in your twenties. I can go more into detail in future posts, but start considering these options. Have fun! 🙂

Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

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Summer is over, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have BBQ. Then again, I live in Florida so I can basically do anything summer-y any season…but I digress..

Here’s a yummy, man-approved recipe for slow cooked BBQ ribs.

Ingredients:

3 lbs ribs

1/4 c brown sugar

3/4 c bbq sauce

1 tsp cayenne

2 yellow onions

Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

 

1. Combine cayenne, brown sugar and barbecue sauce in a large bowl. Dip ribs into the mixture individually and save remainder.

2. Season ribs to taste and brown in the oven. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan, chop onions heat in pan with salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Caramelize for 20-30 min.

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3. Place ribs into the slow cooker with caramelized onions and remaining BBQ sauce mixture. Combine and cook on HIGH for 3 hours. Change to LOW for remaining 2 hours.

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4. Remove ribs and stuff your face!

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5. Or be classy like me and make a hoagie!

 

Let me know what you think!