What's your color?

By Yameng Zhang

Once we are graduating, it is essential to know yourself and more importantly, to know how to let others know you.

Color is a good way to start. We all have our own understandings for different colors. 7 colors, you can always find one that fits your goal.

Red is my color. Red is the color that will stands out, it is intensive, it means passion, excitement and it is the signal of “stop”.

Red is what makes me a bull, I know people wants me to stop, it brings me all kinds of obstacles. At the meantime, because when a bull sees red, is gets all excited, red gives the determination and stimuli to break through the barriers.

There are so many things about colors, and they depend widely on our mood, personality and our target audiences.

It is never too early to figure out who you are and what makes you special. Start to know yourself by picking one color and try to express your philosophy of your understanding to others.

5 things to do while waiting (No phone attached)

By Yameng Zhang

Waiting can be annoying, but if you think about it, waiting is a way of giving you the precious time to do whatever you have in mind.

In our generation, phones, laptops and those palmtops are always at hands, while they made our life easier, they can be quite a distraction. Let’s put them down for a second, try to utilize the waiting time as cavemen and see what may happen.

-      Think things through
While you lose your devices to check the emails, you got yourselves the chance to hear what’s on your mind. Don’t panic, you can get through this, by thinking. The good thing about thinking is that nobody would notice and you can be the only one who is aware of the little activity.

-       Bring back the handwriting
When was the last time you wrote? Try to write whatever you may type. If nothing comes to your mind, you always have options- record a short diary each time you wait, you know how interesting and entertaining to read a diary, even just a word.

-       Take a look around
Here comes the best part of waiting, it gives you the time to appreciate what’s around us. The hand-holding couple, the playing kids, the ads about weird stuffs, the faces of other waiting people… There are always something that worth looking at, you can catch up with a lot of them while waiting.

-       Talk to strangers
If you are waiting where other people are waiting as well, please take down your headphones and mingle a little bit. It is always a good thing to meet new people, especially when you need time to fly faster. Be nature. People can be really talkative when it comes to themselves, so you may hear some really interesting stories and learn something new afterwards.

-       Be empty for a while
You have to admit the fact that there are so much going on and it can be really hard to even clear your mind. Waiting gives you the chance to relax your brain. Get everything out of your head and concentrate on the emptiness. Yep, just like what you do in yoga. Let every waiting time becomes your time for practicing, practicing your control over your own mind.

Next time if you are brave enough, you should put down whatever you have and try to wait without them. There are a big portion of our time spend on waiting, waiting for planes, classes, orders…… Your phone may never leave you, but you can always leave them for a new state of mind.

New guidelines for your resume

By Yameng Zhang

There has been tons of sources on internet regarding the composition of resume. Experience, education, extracurricular activities and skills, blah blah blah. However, after reviewing several others’ resumes, I found it’s actually not that hard as I thought, it can be really easy to make the resume work for you.

I have to say, some of the resumes are really impressive. Full of experience, high GPA, perfectly polished writing, everything included. However, I am not sure if the one with the perfect resume is the one we are looking for. I guess the problem is I can’t find what I am looking for.

Tailor

Tailor the details to the position -because it not only shows your determination and motivation for the job, but also shows that you care enough to edit your resume.

Focus

Focus on the strengths and keep others concise- because companies not only need to know you are good at things, they also need to know how good you are at those things.

Expand

Expand on the experiences according to the job description- because companies would prefer to find the big portion of your resume is demonstrating what you have done in the area you are applying for, it is just easier to decide when you are showing your knowledge about the audiences.

Resume is basically about audience analysis. Always keep in mind about what the recruiters are looking for, so it can save both you and the recruiters some time. 

It is time, help yourself

By Yameng Zhang

Abby Kohut is the author of 101 Job Search Secrets with over 15 years of recruiter experience. On Thursday evening, she shared some of her invaluable secret advice to college job seekers.

    There is one thing that kept me thinking—to help ourselves to get a job, we’d better help others. This may sounds like a Bibletalk like “you have to love others to love yourself”. However, it started to make sense after I heard her explanation. In a world networking works everywhere, how can we really use our network to help us on job hunting? Be a good person who is willing to help first to make a good impression.

    Everyone has connections somewhere, maybe those are not directly help us right now, but some of those connections may just be the ones your friends or acquaintances are looking for. So before you try to figure out whom to ask for help, find out what you can offer them first. Believe Abby or not, helping the others is helping yourself.

Want to know more about Abby? please visit http://www.absolutelyabby.com/home.html

Play hard, work harder

By Yameng Zhang

It is the magic month of a year, everything automatically turns into a festive mode even though the vacation has not come and the exams are right there. I love October, I hate October.

What can we do to suppress the distraction?

Actually, it is not something that is distracting us, it is just a distraction coming from the mind. It does become harder to concentrate when everyone is dressed in custom on the street and ready to party. However, it is our mind needs to remind us that there are things to do and school is not over yet. There am something I am doing to keep me in the right mode.

Keep up the schedule

No one likes to work on deadlines, it is distressed and it rarely turns out well. So, I always keep my schedule handy and make sure that I can have things done as soon as possible. It is always better to finish earlier than right before the due date.

Know the priority

People have birthday and October has Halloween. We can’t go to every friend’s birthday party, just like it is unrealistic to make it to every festival. However, we should catch the important ones, and knowing the priority is how we make it.

Indulge, but indulge responsibly

That’s the good part of being an adult, we can indulge whenever we want. I won't say "but" because we all know the responsibility comes with our adulthood. We are responsible for every indulgence that we choose, which should worth the time and the things that run off.

 It is October, I have to stay in the school mode but I do need some fun, otherwise what's the point of working hard? So, I will go to a party and I will wake up early.

Be Somebody

By Yameng Zhang

People argue “it’s all about who we know”. This may sounds silly, but I couldn’t help recalling a conversation between Samantha and Carrie in Sex and the City. Samantha said “you are publishing a book, that’s fabulous, and that even makes me more fabulous”. That’s kinda my point.

Knowing somebody is not enough, becoming one that others will be excited to meet with should be a new goal, which may not need a Guinness World Record but some state of mind.

•     Respect everyone

I meant everyone, no exception. We all have strength and weakness, and I can’t help being intimidated by others’ superiority or annoyed by one’s incapability to some extent. However, no matter who I am referring to, there is always a part of the person that is superior, and that part deserves people’s respect. You may not see it, I may not see it, but there is always something in a human being that we should worship.

•     Look up to ourselves

Be proud of yourselves for being who you are, so even when the last day came that everyone teases you, you can be a fan of your own. This may sounds desperate, however, being proud of ourselves should weigh more than anyone else’s applause. I am saying this because I feel no matter how confident I am in front of people, there are always parts of me doubting if I am just bluffing and questioning where the confidence is coming from. I hope you are proud of yourselves already, with no doubt or any question.

•   Bring the figure out

Act as we have got everything, but not arrogantly. I believe we see people from their figures, which are the only things we can physically and directly see, so it makes the figures matter. Walk with the head up and talk with the eyes sparkling, especially when we are confronting people we are not familiar with. Maybe it is just me, but I do need to see to believe.

Today, I messed up and lost the whole thing that I have worked for weeks. I know it happens, and it may still happen, but by knowing I am in good hands, I feel relief and I am ready to move on because I believe we all are somebody, who can make others more fabulous. 

No, no, no, no, no......

By Yameng Zhang

I went to career fairs, those info sessions and professional networking events. I tweaked my resume frequently and customized every time. I did researches before I talk to them. But, no, no, no, no, no……

This is not the way it should be. I thought I prepared long enough, good enough, but it was a NO. I started to wonder if this is just the way it is. The doubt stopped me from job searching for a while until I realized it is not an obligation for a company to hire me just because I prepared. Searching a job is not as easy as apartment hunting, if I have to compare it to something; the first thing come to my mind would be dating.

We work out and dress up to look attractive, then we ask for other people’s number, we go on dates, and sometimes, there is no call back afterwards. See? It is the same as job searching. We put on attires, go for those career networking opportunities, we handout our resume, hopefully, go to interviews, and there are times we will receive emails that says “no”. 

I thought I would take my evening complaining about how hard to find a job, but that won’t change anything. So, instead, I accept the fact that I am not perfect.

I have flaws and I assume everybody does. There are times that the flaw becomes the deal breaker. I don’t like being a leader so I have never been one before, English is not my first language, I am not good at writing or public speaking, I have no experience in working at big companies, I have no award of any kind, I can barely tell how much contribution I have made to my past employers. Yes, there surely are some companies can’t deal with people like me. After listing my flaws, I realized they are not just flaws, they are my things, the things that I can hardly get over with. Just like I can’t accept being with a guy who doesn’t like dogs, companies can have reasons to say “no” to me. 

“No” doesn’t mean what I have done is in vain, it can mean the companies and I just don’t fit for the moment. Just like the fact that sometimes people don’t ask out the perfect one for a second date, having a “no” on a job offer is not a denial. So, I forgave the companies, in fact, I forgave myself for being rejected. But, no, I will not forget them because I need the “no”s to get myself the “yes”.

The October break, huh?

By Yameng Zhang

I said I couldn’t wait for it, I planned for it, I worked hard because I have a break coming as my reward, and I even dreamed about it. There are less people on the street, the city started to rain. Now, I know the break is officially here. I could not be more disappointed because I bought a groupon but didn’t make the reservation in advance, and it is too late to have the perfect resort for my break. I have to say, I cannot be more unexcited especially when I see my roommate is pouring juice and reheating the leftover pizzas. This is when you say “coulda woulda shoulda”, right? That was the plan-- I study hard for the exams, ace them all and go to the little sweet resort in La Porte. Well, I am not complaining, I am just saying, this is what happens when we get too excited and forget about the logistics.

The sad fact that my small vacation is gone reminds me “I am graduating, I am so excited!” talks. Yes, I bet that is exciting, however, what does graduating mean, exactly?

• You have no more reason to ask your family for money.

No, you have no more reasonable excuses to ask for money. That means you either need to have a very wealthy and generous friend or you need to find a way to make money. I am talking about the money that can cover the grocery shopping, the utility bills, the rent and the luxurious expenses such as vacations. I don’t know how much those mean, but I am sure that what I can make as a server won’t be able to fulfill my expectation. You know I am not talking about the part-time job, I am neither just talking about a job, I am talking about the job, the one that will pay back the years in school, because that is what you really need after graduation.

• Everyone will be looking forward to knowing what you will be doing.

Yes, they would want to know what you’ve got from college. Maybe high GPA, great party experiences, lots of friends, but what else you’ve got after the four precious years. The final exam of college is the quality of the rest of your life, and how you start it is the key. Because not only you do want to know if the 4-year effort does worth it, but also your family would like to know if they made the right decision to send you to college because let’s face the fact that it does cost a lot of time and money, moreover, there is a “competition” between you and your peers no matter you want to be in it or not. So, what you are doing right after graduation matters, the first job you get does make a difference, the city you move to does say something about you, the quality of your life has a lot to do with the first step after graduation.

• We will officially be adults.

Well, it will be more common for not having anyone to turn to for bad mood, backup or solutions. We will be on our own, more than ever. How you spend the night will be all up to you, when to wake up, what to eat and where to go during weekends will be your call, because you may not have a roommate, or even a friend nearby. Independence can be scary in the first several months without classes, and it is definitely not as easy and exciting as it is for summer breaks. Because we all know we can’t wait, the earlier we get our life on track, the more chances we have to accomplish the goals.

Not cool, it is not cool to have no backup plan. It is a break, and I should let myself stay home, doing nothing. Even though I will not be on road trip or anything, I have the gift of time, which means everything. If you are in the same situation as me, let’s take our time, get the list and cross things up one by one.  

You are not just your major.

By Yameng Zhang

“Hi, I am Yameng, a communication major senior.”

Do I only have the skills my major suggests? I don’t want to say yes.

One of my classmates told me that he got an interview a sales position in an electricity company. I asked "why did you go for a sales position? You are a PR major."

“Because I can be a salesman as well."

Your major won't decide your specialty, neither YOUR job market; don't take this the wrong way, because what I am saying is a positive thing.

-          Don't be limited by your major.

Nobody says people who study engineering can only be engineers.

You are the one who knows what you can do.

How specialized you are depends on the way you market for your professional brand.

Explore your specialties based on your experiences, not your major.

-          Don't eliminate all the non-major options.

Narrow down your job searching scope by your experiences, not you major.

Look at the job descriptions instead of the title of the positions.

There are always more options than you think.

-          Don't let your major say things about you.

Market yourself on the direction you are looking for.

Emphasize what you are proud of, not the specialties your major labeled.

What you learned in school is not the only things you learned.

You can do more than you think you could.

-          Don't be shy to take on new things

Enthusiasm matters and that can be something that you are actually good at.

Go with your instincts, not let your past experience lead.

Every class you took in school was new at the beginning; you nailed it, which means something.

If you are looking for a job, you know you want a transformation to your life, why not try something new?

I have to say no, I can deal with math, I studied culture differences with my eyes, I know how to make a movie, I have an unique sense for antique, I can use Adobe Illustrator to make name tags, I can write blogs, I learned how to make career suggestions from my boss......

You have to admit you are more than your major, start exploring your other "majors". And don't forget to give the recruiters a preview of your potentials, marketing may not be your major, but marketing yourself should be something you nailed before job searching. 

Graduate School?

By Yameng Zhang

Graduate school is an option that every college student would better make before the senior year. Like I said, it is an option, not a backup plan. Although this is that kind of option that has too many strings attached. Money, time, publications, competitions, grades, moreover, the worth of that master degree, those seem like the things that is nagging us in college, however, they will become more serious in graduate school, believe it or not, they might push you to new stress level before you know it.

There are things we’d better clarify for ourselves about graduate school.

1.       A master degree sounds better.

It is understandable that higher education is a mean to a better self. However, what we need to clarify here is that the degree may make you look better, but that should not be the reason you go for it.

2.       It is not a job pass.

We may have been told that it is easier to get a job with a master degree and employees with master degrees would be paid more than those who don’t have one. Well, that is not the case for all the companies. What we should keep in mind is that we may be giving up the 2 or more years of work experience over a master degree, and that work experience may worth more than the years in graduate schools.

3.       You are still in school.

This is crucial, especially for girls. There is a possibility that when you are still working late for your exams, your former classmates are making money, getting married and having kids. If that does not scare you, what about the fact that you will be mostly expending while they are earning like adults to build for their futures. Keep that in mind so that when people ask what you are doing, you can answer that you are in school proudly.

4.       You are happy or they are happy?

Don’t be too altruistic at this. Think legitimately and rational. If you are choosing graduate school to please someone, you will regret because it can be much harder than you thought. Having your loved ones at the first place is sweet and may make you a better person, however, keep in mind the commitment you will be giving, it is a state of life for the coming 2 or more years we are talking about.

5.       Do you do like studying as a student?

If your answer is yes and you are doing great in college, then I think you don’t need to read through this to get another view of graduate schools. If you need to think about the question, then you may need to think thoroughly by considering your expectation of a graduate school.

Don’t be the one who goes to a graduate school for the fear of the job market, because we have to come out of school someday. “Graduate school or not” is a question that is never too early to think about, because I know I would not like to go for a backup plan. 

International students, don't you just hate career fairs?

By Yameng Zhang

This is the season of career fairs. All those great companies come and students stand in line waiting to talk to those representatives. Everyone dresses up and hold their leather folders, ready to pitch about the greatness of themselves. I walked across campus, I saw those ambitious young adults striving for their future, which anomaly made me sweat.

As an international student myself, there are obstacles that stand in my way of job seeking. Language, identity, visa, the fear of not getting a job as well as the fear of getting one, they all came up and are prepared to take me down. Imagine you are the HR director of a big company, with all those newly graduate students striving for career opportunities in your company. You don’t need to deal with their visa status, consider about their language fluency, not even mention the culture differences for domestic students; compare to the international students, they need H1B visa to be employed in the US, they have linguistic barrier and acculturation issues, which group of students would you prefer to hire?

The answer is almost obvious. Therefore, for those international students, why even bother to dress up and bear the nerves and talk to those HR representatives about the subtle possibility of choosing them instead of the American students? I know I have my reasons.

It is not an easy decision to make when I determined to leave my family for 4 years, it is also not an easy thing to ace in classes taught in another language, and it is definitely not easy to stand beside English speakers to brag about my competency to compete with them. However, I made it so far and I won’t let all the efforts end up in vain. That’s why I have to have the nuts to go to career fairs.

I have to prove to everyone that I have what it takes to work as competitive as American students. I have to show that I worth more than the cost of hiring an international student, so that I can be chose over the other American students. Confidence comes from the efforts we have put to ace in classes, comes from the fact I came over all barriers, comes from the affluent, professional experiences and the evidences prove that I am graduating with nothing inferior than the others.

This is what it takes to be an international student in the job market. Be confident for all the qualities you have, be brave to confront with the domestic competitors, be strong to attend the next career fair even after you are rejected for your identity, be the one that never gives up on yourself because only you know what it takes to be an international student.

Women in workplaces

By Yameng Zhang

Serious, huh? This topic scared me when I realized I will be a woman in a workplace in few years. When I worked for one of the dinning courts on campus, I was grateful that I was not assigned with heavy, filthy and tiring labors. When I heard from the girls from the other dinning courts that they were throwing trash, washing dishes and pots, I realize that there is a difference. I can’t stop asking myself- Do I want to be treated differently from men in workplaces?

The answer is yes, and no.

Yes, I am a lady so I would expect men will hold door, chairs and carry coats when I need it, of course, that’s when dinning out. However, most women do prefer be respected in workplace, not only the basic office etiquettes, but with consideration of the fact that “I am a lady”. That means that I am capable of accomplishing as many and well as men are, while I would prefer not doing lifting and running, those kinds of heavy labor if not necessary. Ladies tend to be more sensitive or emotional, which is true for most women, well, accept that.

And oh no, please ignore the fact that I am not a man. I am intelligent, responsible and efficient woman, who can accomplish tasks. Sensitivity can’t necessarily lead to less capability, so it is injustice and unacceptable to underestimate women’s capacity. Maternity leave will be considered but should not be a barrier for women in workplaces. It is common that women are regarded as the minority and be given less power. However, it is acceptable to pass less power to a woman only if there are facts prove the incapability of taking control, otherwise, imprudently labeling a woman as impotent is biased and illegal to some extent. As for women, the only and also the most important thing we could do is to prove ourselves that we are as competent as men, so that there is nothing inferior that can be picked.

There is a constant debate on “which one is easier to be, a man or a woman?” I have to say that nothing is easy when it comes to work if one wants to succeed. So, there should be no excuse for women to succeed in workplace.  

Just a number

By Yameng Zhang

Today is Friday, August 31, 2012. I had 2 slices of bread at lunch, 150 calories. I learned 37 new words. I paid 430 dollar rent. I got 3 out of 5 on today's quiz. I spent 7 bucks for dinner.  Numbers are not only numbers, those are the numbers define my day.

I am a number person, because numbers matter to me. Yet, I hate that. Since kindergarten, I started to strive for those 100s, because my mom told me that the kid who scored 100 was the best. At college, GPA is what I am striving for. The higher, the better. Because before I got an interview from a company, my GPA can be the one that tells something about me.

For most cases, the achievement of how many awards you had, how many people attended the events you managed, how much money you raised, how many people you had led, how much you scored in the GRE test, how many years of experience you’ve had, those do matter since those are the numbers that will define you as a candidate. For a college admission, they may never see your face, but they will tell if you’re good enough by those numbers you had. That's the magic of numbers, and those are the magic numbers, and it is not cool to rely on those numbers.

Numbers are being overstressed that they become the ones that defines a person's value, instead of the person itself. We all know it is not easy to get all the good numbers in everything we do, the point is, don’t let them burden you, neither let them label you, no matter they are good or bad. 

It is Time

By Yameng Zhang

Summer has always been wonderful, the most enjoyable time of a year. The more relaxed I got during a summer, the more intense I feel when school begins. So every year when the end of August comes, I intended to mentally prepare myself for a transformation. Unfortunately, the first week of school proved that I am not ready yet there is no time. What I wish is that it is the case for all students. It is time, the time to face the fact that summer is gone and school is here.

I have a topic that I don’t want to bring up; however, it is ringing bells and making noises all the time in my head. I bet there is at least one in everyone’s head. I keep asking my friends and classmates what’s your plan after graduation, while I am afraid I may be asked the same question. It becomes a terrifying question for me when the time comes. Work or study? It is time to decide.

There is no good to open the doors to both paths, because you barely can. I believe if there is no determination, then good results can rarely come out. What happens on me is that when I was job searching, I stopped times when there are potential opportunities, what happened is that I hesitated, I questioned myself that if that is what I really want. What is happening on me is that I am preparing for graduate school, but I never looked into schools about their major requirement or application process. This is the problem. I have no clear plan, what I have is a list of things that I don’t want to do, what is left is still a whole world that full of options. Nonetheless, it is time, the time to determine who you want to be and find the way to be it.

Time has come, so please seize the day. Clear the mind, find the clue, stick to the plan and never hesitate.

School has come, so please switch the mode. Clean the room, find a place, spread out the books and start reading. 

Here it is, so unprofessional

By Yameng Zhang

Three weeks from today, we will have the last meeting. Here it is, so happy but so sad.

I remember the first meeting was January 6^th at 10am in this fancy, windowy room at the top floor of Beering Hall. It was a super sunny day, sunlight sneaked in the windows and blinded our eyes. Looking outside the windows, I could see everything. The campus had never been so quiet and gentle. That was the room, I like that room.

Nora was not there yet, so Lisa asked “where is our girl”? Sidonna brought 7 folders. Julie said she drove ten hours from Minnesota. Rebekah was quiet, the typical type of girl in my head who knows graphic. Lauren and Maureen had the same coat, Lauren’s was white and Maureen’s was red, they both said they liked the coat. Michael was the guy and he had not much to talk about coats. Lisa showed an owl’s picture to everyone to scare us, but it did not. She said she had giant dogs, which was more scary.

We awkwardly introduced ourselves. Then we start drawing. Sidonna took out all kinds of color pencils, scissors, tapes and everything, which made me think she was the one with everything. We were so into that like kindergarten kids, and Lisa was walking around peeking like the teacher. Everyone said they were not good at drawing, but who knows.

Then there was Lego. Michael, Julie, Lauren and I were a team, while the other team has Sidonna, Maureen, Nora and Rebekah. I didn’t get the game at first, and I got even more lost later. We had almost nothing come out while the other team didn’t get that much either. However, they did a little bit better than us, so I doubt Sidonna had done that before. Lisa made the point, “communication is the key”. I knew she was going to teach something out of Lego. 

Pizza came and I lost my cool. Pizza Hut is popular in China, because we don’t have Papa Johns. Pizza made me relaxed and my pants shrink. Lisa emphasized that we’d better keep everything professional, she was serious I remembered, because that was why I gave up getting the 6^th slice of the cheese pizza. That was the meeting, I like the meeting.  

Later that day, I told my mom that I had free pizzas, played Lego and drew pictures, and she told me “that’s not what that’s all about”. There were thousands of times, I said “that’s so grownup”. I meant it. I am the super senior who is not graduating, but I am the baby who gets excited about almost everything. I am excited about our Friday meetings, they make me get up so early and have the chance to have breakfast with a team of people. We are the team, I like the team, thank you the team. 

Baby Step

By: Yameng Zhang

It has been at least 12 years since we are students. I feel good being a student because I have got used to that. Here is comes, graduation, sooner or later. There is time to wait, but the longer you wait, the scarier it becomes for you to step out. It is time to think about paying back the student loans, moving out of mama’s house and make a living on our own. The first step is the hardest one, but once you get on track, things will start rolling and you will say “hmm, that was easy”.

Measure Measure Measure

Nobody knows you better than yourself. What you have experienced is what made you, so brainstorm about what you’ve been through, what you’ve learnt and what you are proud of. Make a list and discover the skills the list demonstrates about you.

Ask yourself the question—“what do you want to be?” Hopefully you know the answer before you went to college.

Specify what positions you are interested in.

Whatever companies you’d like to work for, put them in your company list. Don’t hesitate to bring them on just because you think they are out of your league. Bring them on, thinking you may get them all.

Click Click Click

Google yourself. Keep one thing in mind—whatever you wouldn’t like your grandma to see, erase them. This doesn’t mean you have to be dull online to get a job, you can be fun and you can be interesting. As long as it says positively about you, it can stay.

Google the companies. Don’t be the one who cannot pronounce the companies’ names right. Be the one who knows everything comes to your dream companies.

Add those companies as your “friend” to all your social networking accounts. Make yourself an active visitor on their pages. It takes time, but you can keep on top of their latest status and you will be noticed.

Tailor Tailor Tailor

Be the matchmaker for you and your dream job. Once you measured yourself and learned enough about the companies, read each job description carefully and make your profile right for the job, tailor your resumes and cover letters to the positions in those companies. The point is to make yourself irresistible to your dream job. 

Keep trying, so you are not the one who gives up, because we all know the rule is“it always pays off”.

Post Spring Break

By Yameng Zhang

Spring break is a gift. We go on a trip to get rid of our stresses or crunch at home to take a breath after the tide-scheduled school works. The excitement of spring break has been over for a week, everyone is trying to get back to track on business, because what comes after the break is another round of high pace time chasing hard work.

We are out of the break, but seriously, are we? I don't know what you are at, but I am weirdly feeling low for nothing. Every morning, I know I have to get up but I can hardly get my eyes open. I guess this is what a shrink would call the “post-holiday syndrome”. Feeling blue and finding difficulty to function normally are the most common symptoms. If you are having any of the two symptoms, don’t overact, just follow some tips and you'll be fine.

Make a list
There must be things you need to do and may be they are cluttering your mind. There can be things that start falling apart and errands you need to handle. No matter how bad the situation seems like for you, get yourself together to make a list. List what you need to do in order. Stick to the list, whenever you are done with one thing, cross off it from your list. Believe it or not, when you see the things on your list are being crossed off one by one, you will be half way to your usual rhythm.

Be around people
When you are blue, be away from your blue friends for a while, otherwise both of you may turn bluer. Hang out with colorful people. If you don’t want to talk, just be quite and listen to the laughter, watch their laughing face and squeeze out a reason to laugh. Being alone can only make you bluer if you are already blue, so anyway, go out, find a crowd of laughter and stick around.

Eat like a kid
When I was a kid, chocolate, candies and chicken nuggets were my favorite but my parents never let me have enough. Give yourself a treat. Forget about diet, workout plan and healthy lifestyle. Have something that you are long for as a kid, have some childhood favorite food. Buy yourself an ice cream. I know this trick works almost on everybody.

It is common to take a break and can't get out of it, no worries. If you are blue, try if you can be the bluest one. If you lose your clue of work, don't give up but pick them up and deal with it. If none of these tips work on you, I bet you had a good break.

The little card you need.

By Yameng Zhang

"Can I have your name and contact, please?"
"Sure, let me write down for you."
I can spend 20 seconds writing down my information at the sign-in table, but I should not let a recruiter spend 20 seconds watching how bad a person's handwriting can possibly be.

A career fair is a professional occasion for business, which gives you the perfect reason to bring out the thing called "business cards".

A business card says things about you.
If you got a business card having a person's name in Times New Roman, black and white, on a perfectly cut rectangle small thicken paper, what do you think? Professional, huh?
There is nothing wrong with being safe, but it is wrong to be boring. Imagine the people who got your business card will only go home with your card, so to those people, besides the memory you left after the interaction, what they got is just your business card, no matter how interesting you are, the boring card is a proof that says you are actually not.
If you are an interesting person, let your card show that as well.

Keep it simple.
It is still just a card, don't brag too much.
What you have done in the past, those should be on the resume, not on your business card.
Your name, present identity, address, phone number and email. Those are needed.
May be put one of your picture, maybe a motto related to your career of course, or maybe some appropriate decorative design, but that should be all.
Don't crowd your card with all words, leave some room, for notes, or just for a breath in case there is too much information.

Make it yours.
If you give out your card in a career fair, unless your card is on fire, it will be drowning in a pile of cards. I bet you have done learning how to let yourself standout in career fairs, but is your card ready to defeat the other business cards?
If you are an incredibly unforgettable type of person, make sure your card is the same type of business card.
Paper is not the only thing can be used for business card, how about metal, candy wrap, or glass? Too wild? If you prefer papers, pick one that has some texture, which is practical and durable, so people know that you are detail-oriented.
Rectangle is not the only shape for business cards. Try put your information in a circle, star, or at least you can try make a square business card. When the people who got your card are organizing all the cards they received from the career fair, your card would definitely standout because it won't fit. Your card may be left on the people's desk for a while, which will give you more chance to be reminded.

No matter what you decide to do about your business cards, at least don't let the little cards drag you down, if possible, do some work, let it tell some good things about you when you're not around.

There is not just you.

By Yameng Zhang

When you are on your own, you are the one who make the decision, whatever the outcome is, you are the one who should take the responsibility for. That’s the easy scenario. When you are part of a group, you are safer because there are other people who can be blame for making mistakes, at the meantime, whatever the group has accomplished, you will be rewarded no matter how much you did distribute. However, the downside is, even you are not the one who made the mistake, you may be blamed for being part of its causes; even you are the one who did all the hard works, you have to share the glory with all the others because there is not just you.

At a wedding, you take vows, saying that you will not leave her/him no matter what happens. Teamwork works the same as a marriage but it is not romantic at all.

It’s a non-sweet commitment

The first day you became a team member, you are trapped. It means you’ve got to be at places, run errands and take responsiblities.

You promise your time.

Whenever you are late, you didn’t just waste your time, everyone’s time was wasted because you failed to keep your commitment of tardy.

You promise your energy.

You cannot say “no” just because you are tired because no one would be willing to work for your part so that you can take a nap.

You promise your capability.

If no one forced you to say “yes” and you said it, that means you’ve got what it takes to get things done. So, make sure you know what you can and what you can’t. Besides, never say “yes” just because it may make you look good.

You promise your ears.

There is no boss in a team, everyone should be a listener. The explanation is, believe it or not, there is never a best way to solve a problem. But the good thing is, the more opinions you hear, the more solutions you may have. So when things happen, you can pick one and do it your way. So, listen, always do.

You promise a good heart.

A good team is composed of bolts and nuts. Every bolt should be there for a nut because only when they are there for each other, nothing will fall apart. Help whoever it is in your team, so that when you need a hand, you can feel grateful.

You promise you won’t leave. 

There are times things just won’t work out as you thought it should. When that time comes, don’t be a quitter, don’t be a complainer, don’t be a crier, be a cheerleader. What to cheer for? Cheer for everyone kept their promises and made a good team.

SEE or SAW?

By Yameng Zhang

I like happy endings, but the ones with unexpected endings have more memorable aftertaste, because nothing just works out like it does in fairy tales. Life has ups and downs, and that’s why it is more fun.

What I want vs. what I've got.

When it comes to job searching, it is all about interests and skills. When I was in high school, shopping was the thing that was always attractive. I wanted to be a designer so that I can go shopping for living. I learnt drawing and it was never good, I leant to use computer to draw but it only made me realize how lousy I could be at computers. Shopping was what I wanted, but I got nothing to go with it.

This is the deal between interests and skills— unless you learn it well, there is always more things you are interested in than things you are good at. In another word, interests are up while the skills are down, if you are lucky and hardworking enough, someday they can be balanced. At that point, you would be doing something for living which you are interested in.

What I want to do vs. what I should do

Desire is not something we can take control of, but is definitely something we can ignore. As a 22-year-old girl, I want to sleep whenever I want and hang out with friends. As a college student, tuitions are not paid for leisure, so staying up late and having dehydrated noodles should not be something I should be complaining about. This is the most fun part —either I do what I want to do and feel bad about myself afterwards, or I stick to what I should do and be proud of myself afterwards. There are more ups and downs in this part, since subjects and objects are always there and they are harder to handle. Time management is life management, if I can do what I should do, I can do what I want to do in the future, and it may be much more cheerful than I ever expected.

What I want vs. what I get

This is when I get the exam results, the news whether I get the position or not, and the outcome of what I’ve done. This is when the seesaw of "what I did" and "what I get" is finally balanced for sure. The fact is, if during the seesaw process, you learnt what you are interested in, you did what you should do, what you get will be the thing you wanted. No more hassel, no more twisting and no more wander, life is never a seesaw, it is a formula, by which you can tell what you will get.