And then this...
At the end of our second semester, there will be literally nothing standing in between myself and the real-world -- the rest of my life. After 25 years, I will officially be prepared to take on the world, to make a name for myself and to carve my name into the annals of history. And if I could simply leave Mohawk one day and start my life as a PR practitioner the next, I would have much less to worry about. The step between, however, is daunting.
Throughout my 25 years of existence, I have worked jobs that I liked, I have worked with people I liked, and I would even go so far to say that I enjoyed a number of jobs that I held in the past. I can say without hesitation, however, that I have never truly interviewed for a position that I wholeheartedly wanted. The outcome of a job interview has never truly mattered to me on a scale as grand as what is coming my way, and it absolutely terrifies me.
Now, however, things are becoming quite real. I am fully immersed in and enjoying my studies at Mohawk College, and I am looking forward to becoming a PR practitioner in the future. In my long and distinguished schooling career, however, only twice before have I faced a prospect as daunting as what lies ahead. In 2005, for the first time I had to make a decision that would resonate throughout the rest of my life and decide where to attend University. In 2010, I again faced the prospect of a life-altering decision, and decided to uproot myself and explore the world. Both are decisions that I am thankful for making each and every day of my life. Now, however, things are different. I am not deciding where to spend the next four years, or which country to live in on a whim; I am now staring my future directly in the eyes. There are no more detours, no more stops along the way; our program of choice lasts only one school year. This is it.
So, what have I done to ensure that I ease my fears of the job hunt? Well, to start, I have undertaken the horribly embarrassing process of interviewing myself in my bathroom mirror -- unfortunately, the mirror has yet to get back to me. I make time to re-read my lecture notes each weekend to ensure that I fully understand the material; and I do my best to discuss assignments and new concepts with classmates in order to fully understand them.
What I am really looking forward to, however, is the second semester. According to my research, the second semester of the PR post-graduate course features a heavy emphasis on resume presentation, presentation skills and portfolio building. If I could chose three things that I need to improve on relating to my interview skills, it would be those exact three. In reality, we could all probably, eventually land a job without learning these skills. I did not, however, enroll in this program to probably, eventually land a job; I enrolled in this program because my research found that graduates had nothing but positive feedback. I wanted a career and I chose a school and a program that I felt best prepared me for that future. I enrolled in this program to ensure that I am, in fact, able to blow that job interview out of the water.
So, at the moment do I feel prepared for that big interview? No. But, we need to put that in perspective. The amount that I have learned since starting this program in September is baffling even to myself, and I am quite certain that, keeping up the same pace, there will be no interview too daunting by the time I leave this program.
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