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After sitting down and discussing the timeline for the rest of my internship with Stephanie A. Lloyd and Radiant Veracity, we’ve decided to keep going through the middle of December. Until then, I’ve made it my goal to post one guest blog entry every week, maintain social media updates and aggregate Stephanie’s online content to help with publishing a book(s) in the future.
This post is all about being a recent college graduate living at home with your parents—a very relatable situation, seeing as a hefty majority of 2009 graduates are in the exact same position.
Read the full entry below, or see the original post here.
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TALES OF A POST-GRAD INTERN
Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat, Not Your Diploma
I read an article in CNN Money, which cited 80% of 2009 college graduates going straight back home to live with their parents. I’m one of these “boomerang kids;” we moved over our tassels then moved right back home to mom and pop. It’s not an ideal position, but I haven’t lost my pride… yet.
THE PERKS
- Saving money. Obviously, the free rent is a big plus, but I’ve recently realized just how much money I’m saving at home. It’s the little things; stamps, printer paper and ink, toothpaste, laundry detergent and toilet paper are all available to me at no cost. Those necessities are well stocked in an established home.
- Company. Even if you considered yourself pretty independent in college, you likely had roommates. It’s a completely different experience to live alone. I’ve known several people who tried and couldn’t take the solitude. Mom and dad may not be the perfect roommates, but I always have someone around to talk to and don’t have to be paranoid at night.
- Home cooking. I don’t eat at home every night, but having (southern) family meals available to me is another big money saver. Better than that, I get a nutritious meal (as opposed to all those Hot Pockets I was eating between classes), which helps me stay healthy. Illness is not conducive to productivity.
THE BUMMERS
- Feelings of shame. I’m not sure about the rest of you, but to me, there’s something a little depressing about a large, elegant diploma frame hanging in your childhood bedroom next to that “Most Likely to Succeed” plaque from high school and a pile of neglected Beanie Babies. I refuse to endure that kind of torture. My diploma has two options: my new apartment or my corner office.
- No privacy. In college, I became very accustomed to doing things my way and in my own time. Back at home, I’ve reverted back to disclosing my daily schedule and hoping for parental approval. You know what it’s like—checking in on your way home, letting your parents know if you’ll be out “too late.” Though they have lightened up a bit since high school, my parents know where I am almost all the time. It’s not the worst thing that could happen, but it’s not adulthood.
- Financial dependence. When someone has a financial stake in your actions, they have an opinion on everything. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle, but when mom tells me I can’t buy a Brita Pitcher with the money I earned, it does become a bit irritating. Parents seem to think you want to mooch off them your whole life. Incorrect! I would genuinely love to take over all my bills (and I’m making progress), but like most things in my life right now, it’s going to take time.
- The commute. Depending on where you find a place, this could be an issue regardless. For me, driving from my home in the suburbs into the city of Atlanta for work has done quite a number on my gas bill (not to mention my sanity in the midst of Atlanta rush hour).
THE SOLUTION
- Keep yourself busy. I have made it illogical to think of myself as a failure because I am constantly working both at my day job and on numerous freelance projects. Living with my parents doesn’t seem so shameful if I’m a contributing member of society.
- Set goals. Whether it’s finding an affordable apartment by November or saving up for an exercise machine, have something to work toward. Short-term, attainable goals are the best way to keep from feeling stagnant.
- Talk it out. After a few arguments, my parents and I sat down and had a little chat about my difficulty dealing with being back under their wing. We came up with a way to live compatibly in a way that meets their needs but still gives me space and relative independence.
- Remember, it’s only temporary. It’s hard to keep this in mind, especially when “temporary” remains an undefined span of time. Make moving out a priority. Don’t rush into it, but make sure it’s a long-term goal supported by your short-term decisions.
The transition has been difficult, but it helps to know a large majority of my peers are right here with me, searching for a place to hang that new diploma.
[To learn more about my post-grad exploits, visit my Web site.]
Read my latest “Tales of a Post-Grad Intern” post for RadiantVeracity.com below or see the original post here.
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TALES OF A POST-GRAD INTERN
Developing the Radiant Veracity Logo
I don’t claim to be a graphic designer.
So when Stephanie Lloyd approached me with the Radiant Veracity logo project, I was nervous but also thrilled. I’ve been playing around in Photoshop for going on eight years now, so though I don’t claim graphic design in my formal training or expertise, my skills are not exactly at a novice level. Still, I had never designed a professional logo–at least not outside of a class project in the eleventh grade. Words cannot express how grateful I am that Stephanie (a) offered me the chance to try and (b) helped me along while remaining patient and supportive.
As I first began designing, Stephanie gave me complete freedom over which direction the logo would take. Daunting, right? So I downloaded 25 new fonts and started piecing together the most abstract text renderings of the words “Radiant Veracity,” trying to present as many different approaches as possible. I suppose I justified this as an attempt to make the logo unique, but Stephanie quickly reigned me in to a more simplistic idea. (Thanks goodness!) She sent out a few links to logos she appreciated, many of which were still somewhat complex in perception but simple in form.
Drawing on my all my conceptual effort and teaching myself a few new Photoshop techniques, I created a few more designs utilizing cutout shapes and the initials “RV.” However, after sifting through the newest proofs on the phone, we still didn’t seem to be quite there, but Stephanie continued to praise my progress.
Stephanie liked the idea of visually playing off the word “radiant” by incorporating stars, fireworks or some other reference to vivid light. She directed me to a few clip-art images online as reference points. I happened to be leaving for a family vacation around this time, but there simply isn’t time to take a complete vacation from work! To expedite the process, I ran to Target and bought a power inverter with which to plug my Macbook Pro straight into my car’s cigarette lighter. I was only slightly frightened by the loud whirring noise coming from the device and managed to churn out five more designs before reaching our destination.
The response from Stephanie read: “BETH! It’s one of these. I’m so excited! Awesome job.” We were both eagerly anticipating the arrival of the final logo. But as these things go, we ended up tweaking the design a bit more over lunch at Fuego Mundo before arriving at the logo you now see around Radiant Veracity’s different sites.
Though the process was long and, at times, strenuous, it was also extremely rewarding. It takes guts to hand a major project like this to an intern you’ve only known a few months, and let me tell you: it takes guts to accept. But we both took that risk and have both benefited. Stephanie has a logo. I have one more great experience to add to my professional endeavors and a slew of new skills to add to my repertoire.
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The Evolution of the Radiant Veracity Logo
Stephanie Perrett, Stephanie A. Lloyd and I worked together to build Dream Job Radio’s debut press release.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DREAM JOB RADIO
The Only On-Air Job Coaching Experience
ATLANTA, August 10, 2009 – What are you doing to set yourself apart from other candidates in this highly competitive job market? Local entrepreneur and experienced recruiter Stephanie A. Lloyd of Radiant Veracity presents Dream Job Radio – the first radio program featuring live, on-air job search coaching for job seekers.
Launching Wednesday, August 19 at 1 p.m., Dream Job Radio will feature several active job seekers from metro Atlanta and other parts of the U.S. Each show, which will highlight two to three candidates per week, will be broadcast live via the Internet on Atlanta Business RadioX.
Each participant in Lloyd’s one-hour broadcast session will pay for a job search coaching session, which includes targeted job search advice, resume critiques, interview tips, personal branding guidance and the development of a succinct personal Bring It! Pitch. Guests will also have the chance to ask Lloyd, who has more than 15 years of corporate recruiting and executive search experience, specific questions on how to improve their job search.
Additionally, Dream Job Radio participants will receive:
- On-air exposure during the segment.
- Web exposure on DreamJobRadio.com and RadiantVeracity.com, as well as numerous social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the possibility to be featured in one of Lloyd’s Careers + Workplace articles.
- A digital copy of the show’s full audio segment to be used for self-promotion in numerous channels such as blogs, online portfolios, personal Web sites and LinkedIn profiles.
- A digital download of their individual Bring It! Pitch to be used in self-promotion and the job search.
- The possibility to be chosen to receive company-specific guidance from a surprise guest – a hiring manager and/or executive from a company in which the candidate has expressed interest.
“When I first imagined Dream Job Radio, I envisioned a live job coaching environment that focused solely on the job seeker – taking my typical coaching sessions to an all-new level,” said Lloyd. “Dream Job Radio provides an interactive experience where participants can hone their job search techniques while reaching an audience of top business professionals.”
However, Lloyd’s guidance is not limited to the show’s participants. Her real-world advice will also be beneficial to a worldwide audience of job seekers, and Dream Job Radio is an ideal platform for hiring managers and recruiters to seek enthusiastic candidates.
Dream Job Radio will air each Wednesday from 1 – 2 p.m. on Atlanta Business RadioX beginning August 19. Free podcasts of each episode will be available for download on Apple’s iTunes store. For more information, or to find out how to become a guest on the show, visit www.dreamjobradio.com.
ABOUT STEPHANIE A. LLOYD
Stephanie Lloyd is Founder and CEO, of Radiant Veracity, in Atlanta, Ga., at the intersection of Talent Strategies + Social Media. With more than 15 years of experience in corporate recruiting and executive search Lloyd works with hiring managers, HR executives, business owners and recruiting firms on recruitment and retention strategy including how to better utilize social media for talent acquisition and employee communication.
Lloyd is also National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner, a division of Clarity Media Group owned by one of the largest media investment companies in the world, and a regular contributor to Recruiting Bloggers, Help! I Was Laid Off, You Need A Job and TalentNetLive. For more information, visit www.radiantveracity.com.
ABOUT ATLANTA BUSINESS RADIOX
Atlanta Business RadioX is a community of Internet radio hosts in metro Atlanta. Comprised of more than 15 unique radio programs, hosts use this platform as a way to grow their business, pose themselves as an expert, network with though leaders, stand out in a crowded marketplace, meet clients and gate openers and facilitate important information with Atlanta’s top business leaders. For more information, visit http://businessradiox.com.
LINKS
Dream Job Radio, www.dreamjobradio.com
Atlanta Business RadioX, www.businessradiox.com
Radiant Veracity, www.radiantveracity.com
KEY WORDS:
Dream Job Radio, Job Hunting, Job Seekers, Atlanta Business RadioX, Job Seekers, Job Coaching, Stephanie A. Lloyd, Atlanta Job Coaching, Recruiting, Jobs, Job Search, Resume, HR, Human Resources
# # #
____________________________
Media Contacts
Stephanie Perrett · 770.365.4567 · stephanie.perrett@gmail.com
Beth Farrar · 770.403.1130 · bethkfarrar@gmail.com
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See the original post,and read all about the project at DreamJobRadio.com.
As our first (and ongoing) project as interns for Stephanie A. Lloyd Radiant Veracity, Stephanie Perrett and I will be chronicling our internship experience in a regular blog series on the RV site.
Our first post is up, which deals with our back story, having known each other for two years before landing the same internship via Twitter.
Read the full text below, or see the original post here.
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TALES OF A POST-GRAD INTERN
The Beginning: An Unlikely Friendship
Introducing two new members of the Radiant Veracity team: Stephanie Perrett and Beth Farrar (from left to right) are currently working with Stephanie Lloyd as two of three communications interns. One of their weekly intern assignments is to chronicle their experiences as a regular blog series on Radiant Veracity. As recent college graduates and active job seekers, topics will range from how they met (they’ve been friends for two years) to their weekly assignments, victories and struggles.
Without sounding too much like a Harlequin romance novel, our story is quite serendipitous. Both 20-year-old journalism students at the University of Georgia, it took a nine-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean, followed by a two-hour bus ride from hell through the English countryside (a story for another time) for us to meet.
As rising juniors at UGA, we both found ourselves in a period of transition. For different reasons, we were each motivated to spend the summer of 2007 studying at the University of Oxford, thousands of miles away from Athens, Ga.
Eager to meet new people, Beth was among the first to apply for the Oxford study abroad program. The year had gotten off to a rough start, and the idea of expanding her comfort zone seemed the perfect antidote. With no inhibitions, Beth immediately began packing her 72-pound suitcase for the six-week sojourn.
Much more hesitant about the prospect of spending the summer somewhere so foreign – both literally and figuratively – Stephanie was one of the last students to apply for the trip. A mere four months before summer classes at Oxford began, she took an e-mail stating there had been last-minute openings in the program as a sign to throw all anxieties to the wind and leap into the unknown.
Upon our arrival at Oxford, we found ourselves decompressing from the long journey in a huddled common room, making small talk with a group of strangers who couldn’t have been more different from each other. The eight people in the room that night forged an unlikely bond that would continue throughout their college years and beyond. If we hadn’t been willing to take a leap of faith in to this unfamiliar territory, it is unlikely that we would have become friends at all, we would not be working at Radiant Veracity together and this romance would have never been written.
Moral of the Story: Take advantage of every opportunity. Consider studying abroad (trust us – it’s the experience of a lifetime!). Expand your horizons. Venture outside your comfort zone. Embrace new people (even if they appear to be very different from you). Stay in touch with old friends because you never know – they could be become your co-worker one day.
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We have quite a few more entries already scheduled, so keep checking back on Radiant Veracity as the “Tales of a Post-Grad Intern” continue to emerge!
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