I’ve always been the type of person who feels like I have to know what my next step is. Whether that is approaching the end of a semester and securing an internship for the summer, planning out my classes to ensure I graduate on top, I HATE waiting until the last minute to figure something out. I am not a fan of the unknown and that is a good and a bad thing. Mix that with the little bit of spontaneity I have and my free-ish spirit and I think I have a pretty good mix. I knew when I graduated college I wanted to have a job secured and have an idea of my next steps in my life. Although I admire and am kind of jealous of post-grads who spend some time traveling or living at home to save money, I knew I was ready and I wanted to make that plunge into the big, bad, scary adult world. My goal for myself starting sophomore year of college was to land a job by spring break of my senior year. And I did it!
I will be moving to Denver, Colorado where I spent last summer interning. I fell in love with the city and throughout my internship last summer, I could see myself living there post-grad. Once senior year started, I kept Denver on my radar and applied like a wild-woman to marketing jobs in companies across the nation. It wasn’t until December, when I reached out to an alumni and friend of mine who works as a IT recruiter for a large company. He gushed about how he loved the job, his coworkers, and the company and encouraged me to apply. I applied for the Denver and Northern California positions and received a first round phone interview for the Denver location. If you haven’t read my How to Rock an Interview post, do it now and then you’ll understand that I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket when I land an interview. I prepared for the phone interview, while still keeping a look out for opportunities that matched my interests and qualifications. After the phone interview, the company invited me to their Portland office (where I go to school) to do a second round in-person interview with the Director of Operations. It was extremely conversational and at one point he was even trying to convince me to stay in Portland post-grad and work for that office. As much as I loved my time in Portland, I cannot stand the rain any longer! After the successful second-round interview I was booked on a flight to Denver the following month for the last interview/half-day shadow. Because the interview process was so drawn out, I wanted to make sure I had backups if I didn’t end up getting this job. After my half-day shadow, I knew that this was the place I wanted to work so I sent my thank you notes and emails and waited. A week later, the Denver Director of Operations called and offered me the job. I accepted and completed my goal of landing a job (2) weeks before spring break!
Literally an hour after I received my offer documents it hit me, I was going out into the real world a month after graduation. Although this is an exciting time, I still get anxious here and there thinking about the big step I am about to take, but you gotta fly the coop at some point! Immediately, I started researching apartments and neighborhoods. I created a budget and decided to save money the first year or two on my own I should get a roommate. Plus, holy toledo people, rent prices in Denver are INSANE! I knew for sure that I was over living with a house full of girls (perfect for college, but I can’t imagine what that would be like coming home to after a long day at work). I headed to good ol’ Craigslist to try my luck at the roommate game. After multiple creepy emails from 40 year old men looking for a roommate and a couple concerned looks from my grandparents when I told them about my quest, I received a message from a normal girl! We discussed our interests, budgets, what we are looking for in an apartment/roommate and decided we would be a great match. After shuffling through about 50 different properties we decided on a place and went for it! We were approved for a place literally right outside of downtown Denver! Ever since I was young, I have always wanted to live in the city at some point in my life, so why not now!
Even though sometimes I get bummed that I’m heading straight to the work-life about not heading on a exotic vacation or backpacking stint through Europe, I am so glad that I did all of this on my own and look forward to new adventures in the mile high city! #adulting
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xoxo
Olivia
Wow, congrats on landing the job girl, that's amazing! I wish you the absolute best in starting the next chapter in your life in Denver, I know you'll do amazing things! I hope you have a great day and thanks so much for sharing!
XO,
Jalisa
http://www.thestylecontour.com
Congrats on the next amazing chapter! Denver just looks amazing too. Definitely want to visit this coming year.
Congratulations on landing a post-grad job and good luck in the new city! I'm in the process of figuring out my post-grad life and this is totally inspiring!
Rachel | http://www.seashellsandsparkles.com
Congrats on landing the job! And such a great thing that you were able to shadow beforehand and make sure it was the right fit. It sounds like you are on the right track for sure. Good luck in Denver 🙂 #Adulting
Everything looks so sweet, I admire this kind of life and the best wishes for you. Hope that we can communicate with each other. By the way, any body try this Free Photo Recovery Software?I think it is good.
Oh my gosh AHH that's so exciting!! I'm so pumped for you! That's so nice to not have to be worrying about job apps or an apartment anymore either for your last few weeks in college (wish I could say the same haha!)! So exciting!!
mollyonthemoveblog.com