Amanda & Vicki in the City

Despite horrible weather in Manhattan all morning, delayed flights, multiple modes of transportation and hours of traveling...I'm finally back in New York City!

The feeling that I'm back home always seems to rush over me the second I enter this fabulous city.  I'm so excited to be able to come back for a week to visit friends, family and most importantly to find me a JOB that will allow me to officially call New York my home!

I decided that instead of writing a ridiculously long blog at the end of my trip, I would try to write each day about my activities.  So far today Vicki and I have traveled over to Hoboken in order to indulge our pastry cravings at Carlo's Bakery! For those who remember my blog this summer about me stopping by the Cake Boss bakery, you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that there was no line and we were in and out in 15! Perfect!

Now that I've settled into The Markel (Vicki's new home and my hopefully soon to be home!) we are getting ready to attend the PRSA NYC event tonight! I think it's going to be a lot of fun and I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

That's all for now! 

Keep sending those good job vibes up here! I have a feeling that this trip is going to be fabulous!

<3 

PS. Ashley Olsen totally lives across the street. Future BFF? I think so!

NYC Trip Announcement

September 22, 2010 Blog from Amanda Pinto on Vimeo.

Twitter: @AmandaLPinto
Email: amanda.pinto1210@gmail.com 

Where is My Window?

Disappointment and rejection are unfortunately things that we have to deal with throughout life.  Those disappointments and rejections are supposed to make you stronger- and they do whether you see it or not.  But how many disappointments and rejections can someone take before they break down?  

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that I learn valuable lessons after each and every interview but I can't help the feeling that I'm trapped with all closed doors surrounding me.  Every time I think I see an open door, it closes on me just as I think I'm going to walk through.  

How can I get the experience that everyone is expecting from me without giving me the opportunity to get that experience?  I've spent 4 years pouring myself into all things PR and yet I still don't seem to have enough.  I know that if I was given a chance then I would far exceed everything someone wanted.  Someone take a leap of faith on me.  

It has officially been over a month since I graduated and each day gets harder.  It gets harder to not break down.  It gets harder not to give up.  It gets harder to hear bad news.

Despite rejection and disappointment, I will NOT give up.  I will not lose confidence in myself.  I will continue being who I am and as hard as it is for me to believe sometimes, I will get my shot.  

I'm no longer looking for the next open door.  I'm looking for my window.

So for those of you who are also in my boat- Don't give up! We can do this. It's not going to be easy by any means but we will get there. I have faith in us!  

Update!

Hey everyone!!

So sorry for the lack of posts lately!  Lots of things have been happening on the job front and I haven't been talking about them because I don't want to get my hopes up.  But I promise that as soon as I know something I will blog about it!!!


I'm off to Auburn for the weekend!


WAR EAGLE!!!!!!

This Month's Gunna Be a Good Month!

It's hard to believe that September is upon us. I believe this month will bring forth great things for me!

1) Auburn football kicks off in the season opener this Saturday at 7pm in Jordan-Hare Stadium! I'm sure the 87,451 capacity stadium will be packed.  Students and Alums alike will being tailgating early Saturday morning as they prepare to cheer on the Tigers and our brand new QB! I can already feel the Auburn spirit in the air and as much as I wish I could be down to watch the game in person, I'm okay with sitting in the air conditioning and not buying $9 water. (This pic is from my first ever Auburn game back in 2006!)

2) I can feel the subtle hints of FALL!!! I'm pretty pumped about entering into my favorite time of year! Fall and Winter are my absolute favorite seasons.  At night we've been able to open the back porch and feel the cool breeze which unfortunately fades once the sun comes up.  I'm ready for long sleeves, scarfs and sweaters :-)


3) Of course I have to mention the job hunt.  It's been a difficult few weeks to say the least but nothing good ever comes to those who don't try.  And I've been putting 110% into this and I would be lying if I said it wasn't discouraging to not hear back from people.  Which brings me to something I have never been able to understand. (If you are reading this and have some insight other than that they are just busy please comment.) Why is it so hard to email someone back? I understand if we have never made contact before but what about the people who email you back one time and then never answer you again? Was it something I said or didn't say? I don't know.  If you filled the position that you were talking to me about, would you please just let me know so I'm not still hoping for you to call with an offer? (Also...this isn't complaining-I'm honestly just curious!)

So now  you all can safely assume that lack of communication is a major pet peeve of mine.  But I know that not all people are like me so I'm doing my very best to stay patient.  


Again, I would like to thank everyone who continues to give me encouragement during this time.  


It will all pay off in September!! This is MY month and I couldn't be more determined!!


War Eagle!!!!!!!

Happy 1st Anniversary #PRStudChat!

Using Twitter to network has been my site of choice these last few months.  I love so many things about it but one thing I really love are the chats.  #PRStudChat started one year ago and has helped numerous students, professionals and professors in the PR world connect in a way that is simply fabulous! 

I've thoroughly enjoyed chatting with people from across the country and even people overseas! 

Tonight there were more than 200 participates that added up more than 2,000 tweets in only one hour!! How amazing is that?  Special guest Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) joined in the chat tonight as well.  

There were six questions asked tonight and now I will ask you the same ones.  What are your opinions/answers on these questions?

-Q1 How do professionals who represent a brand participate on Wikipedia?

-Q2 As a source, where does Wikipedia fall on the trust barometer?

-Q3 What other platforms are great for student learning/community collaboration?

-Q4 What do you do if you see negative and/or incorrect information on Wikipedia?

-Q5 Do you think social media blurs the lines for students in the Digital Age? See NYT article: bit.ly/asLtCN

-Q6 What advice do you have for today’s students on how to make the most of social media?    

Great questions that led to creative and insightful conversations.  A major shout out to Valerie Simon for being so involved in #PRStudChat along with #HAPPO! You're amazing Valerie!

Join in the chat and you won't be disappointed!!!   

New Chapter...New Blog Title!

So if you haven't taken notice to the new name, allow me to introduce it! This is the third chapter of this blog and man has it evolved! I decided to title this one "Graduate Confidential" ( I felt "Give me a job PLEASE" was a little too in your face...haha) and I'm excited to share this time that I'm in limbo with you all.

I'm praying that this blog chapter doesn't last long and that it turns into something more along the lines of "Employed".  But until that day happens, I'm excited to write under this title.  


I've been officially an alum for 8 days now and I when I was back at Auburn last week for my goodbye visit I definitely got a reality check.  I wanted to go back to say goodbye to all my friends but more specifically my sorority sisters.  For those who don't know, I'm a proud sister of Kappa Alpha Theta and the years I got to spend in it where the best two years of my college career.  

Last week was rush week (or now the politically correct name-Recruitment) and it was extremely hard to see all my friends fb statuses about all being in the chapter room and all that jazz.  Walking into the chapter room after Prefs were over was like a huge slap in the face.  All my sisters were sitting there in beautiful black dresses and I was an outsider.  I no longer felt like I belonged there.  I felt old. Haha.

I'm so incredibly glad that I got the chance to stay for Bid Day and meet as many baby Theta's as I possibly could.  Until 10am on Saturday I could name every single person in my chapter and now there are 75 beautiful new little kites that I will never have the opportunity to get to know. 

Words don't even describe how proud I am of my Gamma Omega girls and all the hard work they have put in to getting a new pledge class.  Congratulations girls! 

It was sad leaving Auburn on Saturday afternoon but I'm very proud of myself for the small amount of tears shed.  I know I'll go back to visit soon but right now I need to stay away so that I can actually transition out of being a college student.  


I'm still emailing/researching firms every day and it's getting harder and harder to open my gmail to an empty inbox.  This will not get me down though! I will find a job and I will move to NYC!