Not All Who Wander Are Lost

If I didn't put that title in quotes, does someone think I'm trying to take credit for that statement? I'm not. I also didn't write Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. You know, in case you thought maybe I did that too. Anyways. Now that we've cleared all of that up, I have to say it,  I am lost. I realized it today at work when one of my supervisors asked me what my personal, not work, goals were. I realized I didn't have any. I hadn't had any since I started working. The girl who always has a plan didn't have one. I'm kind of freaking out. 

I don't really talk about my anxiety anywhere. I've started talking about it more in my real life to people who I know are fellow anxious people because I know they won't think I'm trying to get attention. I'm scared to talk about my anxiety because I don't want people to think I just want attention. It's a real fear. 

Two weeks ago I had a panic attack at work and I couldn't calm myself down. I've been having them since high school, that's the first one I really remember. I was in the hallway at school during a class change then all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I didn't know what was happening or where I was or what to do. I didn't tell anyone about it for probably two more years. The one I had at work was worse than any I've ever had before. I had to have my aunt come pick me up from the office and take me home. 

Then today I started panicking over "what are your personal goals for the rest of September + October?" Which leads me to believe I need to come up with a plan, get back to the basics of what drives me over the weekend. That, combined with the outstanding timing of Chelsea's post yesterday reminded me that this is it, we just get the one life. I am going to start spending it better. (plus that Ryan Adams 1989 came out. you need to listen to that too.) Any suggestions on my next step will be very welcome...

And Now For Something Completely Different

I'm about to give you five completely unrelated updates about the world. Are you ready? READY? Okay. Here we go. 

carpe vinum || #lemmewineaboutit #winenot #winesday

A photo posted by Kasey Decker (@kdsmoove) on May 20, 2015 at 2:45pm PDT

one // I don't subscribe to the "quantity over quality" school of thought in anything, especially something that is my brand. so if I ever miss a day, it's because I genuinely couldn't put together a quality post and I don't want to waste anyone's time (mine included) that being said -- I'm not sorry. So. there.

two // Sunday is the Q&A call for our #AllStarSlimdown !! So if you're thinking about it, if you've ever though about the 24 Day Challenge or anything AdvoCare related -- you should totes mcgotes join us!

three // I have a super fun, fancy pants wedding to go to this weekend. SO I did Rent the Runway (if you click that + haven't used RTR, we both get $20!) + I ordered this show stopper that runs way. too. small. I almost cried. I put it on in the bigger size than I usually wear + it wouldn't fit. like. a half size bigger would have been perfect. but oddly enough it didn't come in anything larger than a 6L. SO I called, their customer service kicks. ass. they over-nighted me a new dress + it. is. perfect. I can't wait to share pictures! 

four // Jude is all better! Thanks for all the concerns. Apparently it was leaking coolant. We don't know where from, but they put a new cap on the "reservoir" + put in new coolant for me. The AC is colder now. so that's cool!  (heh heh heh...)

five // SHORT WEEKS ARE ALWAYS LONGER THAN NORMAL WEEKS. Have you noticed that? Anyways, here are five of my favorite posts from this week!! Kati with some instagrams that make me think maybe Minnesota isn't part of the North Pole ;; this sauce that Melissa has, I don't know what it goes on -- but it made my mouth water ;; Jen's TUNESDAY playlist ;; I love a good "currently" post -- PLUS Lindsay's has a giveaway with it! ;; and you know I'm constantly putting on car concerts -- so check out what Anita's car concert jams are! 

Ta-da! That was fun! I promise once I get my dumb apartment out of boxes, I'll be more present. Something about all of your stuff being everywhere makes life more difficult than it should be. I'm linking up with Meagan for blogger love!! What are you up to this weekend?! Anything exciting? 

The Dream Job

Okay. Quick confession, it's 9 pm on Wednesday + I'm trying to hammer this post before I go to bed. You know, so I can be all about everyone else tomorrow since I totally failed at that today. [er, today because I failed yesterday? I guess makes more sense since you're reading this on Thursday. ANYWAYS] I am at a complete loss for what to write about because I have a zillion ideas but nothing I can focus on. SO I'm using a prompt Chelsea suggested for journaling and I pinned (geeze. that was shameless..). Ready? Go.

I've always wanted to save the world. Honestly. Even as a kid. I had dream jobs about saving the world. Or all of the animals. I started college as a biomedical engineering major because I was going to cure genetically inherited strains of breast cancer (until the University of Georgia showed me that I was actually quite terrible at chemistry..) Then I discovered that I could change the world through baseball. So that became the dream.

I wanted so badly to get to that Community Affairs job with the Braves that I developed a kind of tunnel vision. Every little thing I did was to get there. Moved across the country to California to take a community job, then kept working my way back. I applied for that Atlanta Braves Trainee Program three times before I got an interview. Seems third time was the charm.

Now that's all over. I've always had a plan and now I'm out of a plan. It's a weird kind of limbo I'm in. I'm still applying for a zillion jobs a week, but I've shifted my focus away from sports. I still want to save the world though. That's still the dream job. Kasey Decker -- world saver. I'm just trying to figure out what my next move is.

What's your dream job? [ps, tomorrow we'll return you to your regularly scheduled snark + fun things. I promise.]

What Lights Your Fire?

I had too much fun with Write or Die Wednesday last week, even if the title made it seem a little bit like I was about to write an article about marijuana... whooops. This week's prompt is what lights your fire? This one is hard for me, because I've been battling a lot of personal life career things. 

For the longest time, my passion has been the way a kid's face lights up when they walk into a ballpark. If you're ever feeling down? Watch a kid when a ballplayer gives him a foul ball. I mean, even if that kid doesn't like baseball, it's like Christmas. I've always wanted to make sure that every kid who wants to play, every kid who wants to go to a ball game, has that chance.

My current free agency period has made me question everything about that fire. It has made me question how I can do that with it possibly not being my career, because how many times are you supposed to get back up after a door is slammed in your face? How many times are you supposed to hear "no" before you start to question whether or not you made the right plan?

Sorry, that got heavy really fast. I just feel that it is most important to give back. I'm a firm believer in karma, what goes around comes around. If you do good in the world, the world will do good for you, even if it's just the reward of seeing a kid who wouldn't have been able to play baseball get a foul ball from a professional athlete.

What lights your fire?

Twenty Thoughts While Updating My Resume

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, I'm still searching for that forever job. I've sent my resume countless places, tweaked it easily four thousand different times. I have a folder on my computer that has no less than twelve different versions I have updated in the past year. I hate resumes. During my last update, I jotted down my thoughts while trying to update my resume for yet another round of job applications. 

1. I hate that they're not supposed to have color. Black + white is so not my vibe. 
2. I don't think I can be described in bullet points, no matter how much I like to use them here.
3. I genuinely cannot pick a font that is easy to read, fits with all of the information I have to put on one page, and also somehow helps me stand out. 
4. I always feel like I could explain any of the bullet points in so much more detail if you would just talk to me. I would gladly make a video resume if that was a legitimate thing. 
5. All of my recent volunteer work was done through my previous jobs, not a volunteer organization but I can't really put that into words for you. 
6. I haven't held a leadership role in any community positions because my career path causes me to move around keeping me from making two or three year commitments, but there's not a way to put that on there. 
7. What if this hiring manager only reads resumes in Times New Roman. Why why are there so many fonts? I really love fonts guys. 
8. I know my internship was four, almost five years ago, but don't they need to know I worked my way up? I started out unpaid? 
9. Do I give my major GPA or my cumulative GPA? because they're very different. If I give my major GPA because it's higher, will they think I'm hiding something? If I give my cumulative GPA will they think I'm an idiot since it's just barely over 3.0? Accounting was really hard at UGA. So were all of those classes I took when I was an engineering major. 
10. Are you sure I can't make my name like a logo? Can't I make it red? That would be so pretty. 
11. What if the hiring manager spells his name Casey + thinks I spelled mine wrong? 
12. Should I try to go by Kathleen? Is Kathleen more professional since it's my legal first name and Kasey is just what people call me because you cannot shorten it to Katie? 
13. Oh wait I can't go by Kathleen because of what happens when you google search Kathleen Decker you get all of the stuff about that one Nets intern..
14. What if the hiring manager went to UF and throws my resume away because I was told to put my education first instead of last? 
15. Should I reword the description of this event to focus more on my skills under pressure rather than the size and moving parts of the event? 
16. Does it sound braggy if I say it had the largest turnout in the history of the event? Or does that just show I did a good job?
17. OH NO. Did I spell "detail oriented" right? Did I even put that on there?
18. Do all of these bullet points line up?
19. Crap what happens if they google search and end up on my blog and they don't like that I said I didn't like to wear shoes in my "about me" section?
20. Oh, what happens if they go to my blog and see this list I should probably stop making this list. 

As I was making this list the other day, I was also working on my cover letter. Can we just talk about how cover letters are the worst? Just read my resume, if I meet the qualifications, call me. What do you stress about when making your resume updates? Any suggestions? Also, linking up for Listed Tuesday, because obviously.

In The Game: A Response to the Loneliness of a Minor-League Intern

I had a great write up that was mostly pictures of the Weezer concert planned for today, but then a friend of mine sent me the link to this article. While well written, this kid seems to want to guarantee he never works for a team, ever. I understand you want to be a scout and work on the baseball ops side, but do you know how many other people want to do that but are totally willing to do the grunt work too? Let's break this down. I have to be honest, it took me several attempts to read through the whole article. You can read his article first, if you'd like. 

Definitely one of my best outfits, maybe I should be a fashion blogger...

I'll be very honest here, I genuinely appreciated all of my internship experiences, and I was technically paying to work [you know, had to take the "internship credit" course and pay tuition for the "hour"]. An internship is defined as "a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment, and it can be paid or unpaid." [According to google.] When Leo first starts explaining the application process he claims "Who wouldn't want a 19-year-old who would work hard for low pay and be eager to learn the tricks of the trade?" [Now, remember this specific phrase, because he contradicts in a few paragraphs later]. He laments that there "is no single qualification that one must possess to get a chance in this industry" hellloooo it's an internship, first, second, MiLB is the industry for the "jack of all trades"

Leo then convinces an AGM that he was best qualified for the "general intern” position and that he wanted it more than the other people applying for the role. He then immediately belittles the role by saying "It appeared that pretty much anyone my age is qualified to become a minor-league general intern..." yes, because it's an internship role that helps you learn all aspects of MiLB, the best kind of internship to prepare you for a job. I'm assuming his interpretation of the role was that he would just get to hang out, watch baseball, take it easy, and "learn the ropes" of scouting.

The internship begins in May [where Leo learns that working in baseball, you have to work some holidays, I laughed a little when he was surprised he would have to work Mother's Day.] He then goes on to describe his first day by using both "bored" and "boring" followed by "tedious." I can't tell if he's actually owning up to his naiveté or if he's being a jerk when he says "How naive of me to think interns get to watch the game." Seriously? No one just gets to kick back and watch the entire game, except maybe the owner. 

The next week he declares that he didn't like doing data entry, even jokes with "So you want to be a minor league intern, huh?" Seriously, dude? Then he declares that he "figured the job might not be the best route." Then he has the audacity to insinuate that the other front office staff employees had settled with their current roles. He uses the word "complacent" to describe their state, a word with a pretty heavily negative connotation.

I'm going to stop here for a moment, because this young man is pretty much the counter to the argument I made earlier this week that our generation isn't as bad as everyone makes us out to be. Some jobs in baseball are tough to get, others are nearly impossible. Leo has set his sights on a position that doesn't just fall into your lap, you have to make all of the right connections, be in all of the right places, and still have a heavy dose of luck on your side. Leo here complains that he felt "marginalized" in his role and then writes about the front office employees as if he's better than them. The self-described "19-year-old who would work hard for low pay and be eager to learn" I told you that phrase was going to be important.
 
Now, I am going to quickly wrap this up because the whole thing just makes my blood boil. Leo deigns the internship worthy of one more week. He then has to dress up as the mascot in the third week [better question, how did he make it to the third week as the general intern without having to dress up as the mascot?] and declares that he "was out." In closing, Leo claims to have learned "a lot" with the team and claims to be grateful [which pretty much contradicts his entire tone throughout the article to this point], quotes Billy Beane, and decides to make it you need computer smarts not mascot skills.

If I've said it once, I've said it ten million times, baseball is a very small industry. Everyone knows everyone and everyone talks to everyone. I assume that Leo didn't think about the future career related repercussions of this article or of his quick little three week internship "experiment" in MiLB. I am biased in this situation, because I wanted to work in an MLB front office, but my trip through the minors taught me more than I could have expected, turned into the best way for me to find my dream, and was an experience I was willing to take a low paying job requiring an hour commute one way to stay involved. You can read Leo's full article via Baseball Prospectus here.

I know a lot of my MiLB counterparts read along, do you feel like you've settled and lost the drive to chase your dream by making a name for yourself in the minors? Do you think I'm being too hard on Leo here?

To Follow Up, or Not To Follow Up, That Is the Question

If I have read one article on how you should "follow up" after you submit your resume and cover letter for a position, I have read a million. What I'm also reading a million times is "calls will not be accepted, we will contact you if we're interested in your application" at the end of a job posting. This makes me want to pull my hair out, because now am I supposed to follow written instructions at the end of a job description? Is this a test to see if I will follow up regardless of a little discouragement? Is it a challenge, a follow up if you dare? Maybe it's the volume of applications people in the sport and entertainment industry get and other job descriptions don't say "calls will not be accepted."

I really want to follow up with the organization I'm applying to. I'm very self conscious about my resume, I feel like I have a lot of skills and talents to offer, and one sheet of bullet points about my life just doesn't do that justice. I know I wrote a satirical cover letter a few months back, but I feel like that side of my personality just cannot come through in a simple, direct cover letter and resume. It's the natural born salesperson in me fighting to get out, if I can just get this person on the phone, I can show them why they should hire me. In fact, if I were applying to a sales position and the description told me not to call, the first thing I would do is call.

The biggest issue everyone faces in sales, yes even that guy you know who could sell sand in the desert, is people not wanting to hear your pitch. It's the cold calls that hang up on you. It's the person who says "call me back at the end of the quarter" every quarter. That challenge separates successful sales people from the mediocre.  The good successful sales person knows persistence is key, they're confident that their product is exactly what the person on the other end of the line needs. [I may have been listening more to my father make his coaching calls for Southwestern Consulting than I realized.]

I've also noticed that a majority of these articles are written in a condescending tone to "millineals," a term that seems to be used to describe anyone born after sometime in the mid-1980's (usually with a negative connotation as well.) People of "our generation" are constantly described as lazy, entitled, outspoken, and narcissistic (Nicole really nails that description here), yet what your condescending job hunt articles are telling us to do is be just that way. Assume that "calls will not be accepted" means "we want to see if you're going to call to follow up even though we told you not to" assume that you want to see a cover letter or e-mail cocky enough to say "I know I'm so well suited for this position that I'm going to send you this little pitch on what your company should be doing with xyz"

So the real question is, do you think "calls will not be accepted" is a challenge to see if you're willing to call and follow up or a test to see if you're going to follow the rules? Any hiring managers have a suggestion for me?

Isn't Everything In Life About Sales?

There has been an article that keeps showing up on my LinkedIn feed titled Why Sports Management Majors Are Doomed to Fail and I have let it get a little under my skin. I was hoping that it would be promoting some little thing I've been missing within the sports industry, specifically Minor League Baseball because it was penned by one of the VP's for the New Britain Rock Cats. However, as a two time Winter Meetings attendee, I already knew that sales were important. So for our second installation of Baseball Behind the Scenes, I have a different argument on why this is such a tough industry to stick with. 

The article mentions Baseball Winter Meetings our author interviewed 117 candidates for three open positions. That is, in my opinion, the biggest problem facing Sports Management majors as well as those of us who have graduated and moved our lives across the country three times for jobs. You interviewed 117 candidates for three open positions. I'm willing to bet at least one of those three positions was an internship with no real room for growth. As many of you may already know, I was also at the Winter Meetings and wrote blogs about the experience for one of my heroes, Ben Hill. The lack of turnover in sports for full time positions is something like trying to get a job at a university where every teacher has tenure.

I started working in sports at the ripe age of 16 as a minimum wage ticket taker. I took every opportunity to work extra hours, dress up as the mascot for appearances, and stuck with that job until I was a sophomore in college. My college internship was with a summer wooden bat league team, so it wasn't very sales focused because we didn't sell tickets at all. I took my first full time MiLB job at the 2010 Winter Meetings/PBEO Job Fair and moved about as far away from home as possible without leaving the country. I knew that to stick with that organization I would have to pick up a sales aspect to my job and I never took issue with it.

When I realized I couldn't juggle the cost of living in California, combined with my car and student loan payments, I needed to move on. I took a job that was almost exclusively sales with the promise that I would be able to move into a more community centered role as the seasons went by. The cards didn't fall that way so I moved back to Atlanta and took my Trainee position. I worked in MLB and I wanted to go back to pulling tarp, making a few sales calls, dressing up as the mascot, and working 100 hour weeks for peanuts. 

Now, I'm in a position where I have too much experience to be entry level and not enough experience to be a manager. I'm in a position where I am all for sales in addition to the community and marketing programs. I was only selected for one interview the entire time I was in Orlando and I still haven't heard one way or the other from that team. I've interviewed for several positions since, and have been turned down for a variety of reasons that are out of my control. I'm constantly tweaking my resume hoping to make it stand out against the thousands that a team will receive from TeamWork Online and PBEO.

Maybe the Sport Management program at UGA trumps a lot of other programs, or maybe my unique road into Minor League Baseball prepared me for a sales aspect, but I was never surprised by the fact that I would have to be at least partially a sales person. So here I am, back as a minimum wage game day employee holding out hope that something will open up and I'll be a perfect match for the team. Sales is a huge part of Minor League Baseball, but it's not the only issue facing those of us trying to find a job that sticks. 

So, hey, what time do the fireworks start? Is the game next Friday going to be rained out? What do you think is the biggest hurdle for those trying to survive in the sports industry? 

A Quarter Life Crisis?

This Free Agency period is kind of killing me. I've been asking for [and not so much asking for but still receiving] a lot of advice on my current career struggles. I'm at what appears to be a turning point in my life and I honestly don't know which way to go. I can safely say I've never felt this lost or disoriented in my entire life. I've always known what my 5 year plan was. It was always "work in the community affairs department for the Atlanta Braves."

A lot of the advice I have received lately has been to get out of sports all together, which terrifies me. Not because I think working in baseball is the only thing I'm good at [but sometimes that is what I think] but because I've worked so hard to get to where I was this time last year. I climbed the ranks, I put in the intern time, I worked hundred hour weeks for months at a time. I haven't taken a vacation since 2008. I haven't had holiday weekends off since I was a freshman in high school. I took a minimum wage, second job, where I'm actually losing money simply to stay involved in baseball. I've spent a small fortune on job fairs, job board subscriptions, and relocating for new opportunities.

I'm hearing a lot of  "why don't you look for a marketing or communications position and then buy season tickets for baseball" or "you can always work gameday as a second job to stay in sports, but why don't you try a different position?" I have come to the conclusion that I would have to work in one of those modern marketing firms with beer in the fridge that takes ridiculous staff trips to food truck parks and baseball games because I am 100% not cut out for the 9-5 sitting in a lonely cube career. I'm sorry, I just can't do it. I've always had "going to work at the ballpark" to keep me afloat when it comes to the whole cubicle life.

I'm also terrified to lose the camaraderie. When you work 100 hours a week with a group of people you can't help but have them as your closest friends. I may be able to make friends with just about anyone, but I don't think I'd be able to make the kind of friends I've made working in baseball. They see you at your best and your worst. They understand why you need 28 cups of coffee on game 9 of the homestand. They have the same sleep schedules, they also pay special attention to how a different team does their promotions or sponsorship fulfillment. They'll tell you "our dizzy bat race is so much more entertaining than this relay thing."

I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up on my career in sports. I don't know if I can look at all of the work I've done and say "well, we had a good run, on to the next one." I don't know if I'm prepared to start all over from scratch. What if my experience doesn't translate and I have to start over as an unpaid intern again? Then how am I going to pay of my student loans for a degree in Sport Management?  How long before I start to almost regret my time in California and Texas thinking "had I stayed one more year I would also have a degree in Business Management..." I'm not sure if I'm at a place where I can see a change as growing instead of quitting.

found here

Some More Thoughts on Rejection

via

I completely understand wanting the job applicant in question to be ready to accept the job if you offer it -- but there's a difference between leading the applicant to believe they have the position with phrases like "you're our first choice right now" and "it's just a matter of protocol to interview remaining candidates, so keep your schedule open." This last position I interviewed for and didn't get never used those phrases, but other positions I have interviewed for have. I don't even allow myself to get excited about a possible position because of recent experiences. Fool me once and so on.

While we're on the subject of job process phrases that I don't like to hear, let's talk about the rejection process. I can usually feel it in my gut before it happens. I just knew this time because it had taken so much longer to hear back from them than usual. That little voice in the back of my head said "they've offered it to their first choice and are waiting to tell you until after they've accepted" which is fine. If I'm your second choice but your first choice turns it down and I never know that's how I got the position -- I'm totally okay with it. Let's talk the worst phrase used to "let someone down easy" : you were a really close second.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm a highly competitive person. When you tell me I was a close second I feel like I made a mistake somewhere, maybe if I had said more on some topic or less on some topic I would have won. That's how I view everything -- in terms of being able to win. So now I'm replaying every interview trying to figure out where I stepped out of bounds or made a fielding error. What caused me to come in second? Was it something small or some large glaring error that I made? Was I too confident? Not confident enough? Did I laugh at something you didn't mean to be funny?

That being said, it's back to the drawing board. Maybe that new MLS team in Atlanta will need a community relations person and they'll realize I'm really good at that! Do you have any "rejection phrases" that really get your goose? [I don't actually know what get your goose means, but I think it applies..] 

Follow Your Arrow

I can safely say that I've been told no more times than I've been told yes. It takes a lot of hard work to stay positive about everything when everyone is telling you essentially that you're not good enough. That someone out there is better than you. Not even career wise -- in life. It's so important to realize that you are more than your job -- your life doesn't have to revolve around how you earn a living. If I couldn't be working in some form of baseball -- I could always be volunteering. Youth sport organizations never have enough volunteers. I just have to find a way to be positive about my current situation. I can't sit + think -- all this work I've done + what do I have to show for it? a part-time job? I have to think I've worked so hard that I'm too qualified for the available jobs + so very lucky to be able to stay in baseball. 

So for everyone struggling -- I've found that counting my blessings makes the day so much better. As soon as you start focusing on the good instead of the bad -- you realize there's so much more good. Happy thirsty Thursday everyone!!

How Free Agency is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.

I have mentioned before that I've had a job since I was 15 years old + that I've had a job in baseball since I was 16 years old. In high school + college, I worked through the summers with the Rome Braves. I graduated college early + moved across the country to work in baseball. Baseball has taken me so many amazing places + I'm in absolutely no way done with it. Hopefully this summer I'll be working in a gameday staff capacity + a team will realize I'm exactly what their staff is missing for the 2015 season. 

why yes -- I am in the mascot costume.

I have also never been the one to sit around + feel sorry for myself. It's probably tied into the fact that I feel like I have so much to be thankful for regardless of my current situation. That's always been my drive to give back to the community + baseball has always been my vehicle for that. Recently, though, I've been melancholy + constantly having to remind myself that I'm blessed + everything happens for a reason. I've recently started managing my dad's office -- which it turns out pays pretty well. I say pretty well because I've been living off of baseball salaries for so long that I didn't know what it was like to make a "real person" salary. The times I've spent reminding myself that I have so much to be thankful for is actually reason #1 that Free Agency has been the best thing to happen to me. 

via

Since my office is in my backyard, I'm saving a ton on the cost of driving to work, eating out all the time, + happy hours. I'm working to have more happy hours -- but with all of the money I'm saving I have time for adventures. So far I have half of March booked -- a trip to Raleigh to see my lovely sisters, a trip to Orlando for Braves Spring Training games, hiking the mountains near me. I also have long term trips planned -- thanks to EF College Break I have planned my first ever trip to Europe. Yes, it's New Years Eve + 305 days away -- but I am leaving the country. I have never left the country! I'm going to Chicago in June for Cubs games at Wrigley -- knocking another MLB park off of my bucket list. 

Amsterdam AKA where I'll be spending NYE.

So these are the positives I'm finally seeing with my Free Agency. It took me a little while -- but I landed on my feet + I know this isn't the end of my baseball career -- just a vacation. Also -- today is day 2 of my 100 Happy Days Challenge! I didn't take a picture of anything yesterday because I started so late -- but follow me on Instagram to keep up with my progress!

The Cover Letter I Want To Write

I'm applying for somewhere around 10 jobs a day at this point -- very few of those allow me to reach out to the actual hiring manager. I hear back from maybe 1 out of every 30 I apply for. Sometimes I wonder if they're even reading my resume + cover letter because I know I could blow that job out of the water. So here is the cover letter I want to write:

Dear Hiring Manager,
     I'm know that your time is valuable and you may not even waste time reading my cover letter. I feel like my resume speaks for itself and that sometimes a cover letter is superfluous. It's supposed to be used as a tool to highlight my accomplishments and demonstrate my qualifications for the job you're hiring for. What my resume doesn't tell you is the important stuff. I have what coworkers have called an infectious personality, I've never met a stranger, and I make a mean margarita. I know all of the words to every Ludacris song, I like to ride with the windows down in my car even if it's not quite warm enough outside, I'm passionate, and I have a way of getting other people pumped about whatever project it is we have to tackle. I know it will be worth your time to speak with me and I would be an outstanding addition to your organization.
Thank you!

Also -- here is a picture of our puppy watching the dog show. Obviously snow days mean pictures of the dogs doing silly things.

Dottie -- on the other hand -- could not possibly care less.

Linking up with Whitney + Liz because how cute is that button?

Weekly Wishes :: Two + Motivational Monday

As the state of Georgia is preparing for the second snowstorm in as many weeks -- I am doing everything I can to pretend it's just going to be almost in the 60's all week like it was this weekend. I'm really just ready for spring. Baseball games, sundresses, + longer days -- bring it on.

First -- how did I do last week? I crushed those goals. This might be the most accomplished I've felt during free agency. First of all, it didn't take me that long to clean my room -- cleaning out my closet definitely helped. Second -- I have no idea why I've been putting off my passport. It took more time to get my picture made than it did for anything else. I was inside the courthouse for maybe ten minutes. I even left the house every single day. Once to get coffee + a new book, the rest to be a real productive person. 

So -- week two:

one :: get to the new kickboxing gym I found. The first class is free -- so I can decide if that's my gym to join in February. They have flexible membership options but no website. The lack of website really gives me pause -- but they have so many positive reviews on their Facebook page. What's the harm in taking a free class anyways?

two :: drink three of my big Tervis tumblers full of water every day. Hand-in-hand with my February goal for no cokes all month -- more water is always important. I need to get in the habit before it gets to be summer because I always forget to hydrate in the summer. 

three :: read through + figure out the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan. I really want to commit to this -- but even as I write this goal I start to back out of it. Everyone raves about this + I need to check it out. 

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I have a little bit of a rant for your Monday Motivation. Why do you feel bad on Valentine's Day being a single person? Why should you? Valentine's Day seems like it's a lot of pressure for those in a relationship -- but it shouldn't be if you're not. Why not take Valentine's + celebrate yourself? Love yourself. How can you love someone else if you don't love yourself? You are awesome. Just ask Kid President. Take Valentine's Day + be your own reason to dance! Get a manicure, make yourself some coffee, buy that pair of shoes you wanted -- whatever you do -- just take the day to celebrate yourself. 

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10 Things That Matter This Thursday

Free agency has given me [entirely too much] free time to do + realize just all sorts of things. One of those things is that I have somehow picked up the phrase "x matters" from one of my friends. I'm not talking about like "feeding the homeless matters" in the use of the phrase. More along the lines of "birthdays matter" or "cheeseburgers matter" -- so really just ridiculous things. That's a lie, cheeseburgers aren't ridiculous + they absolutely matter.

one:: NAPS. Y'all. Naps are important. Naps matter. I don't know why we waste naps on kindergarteners who don't appreciate them, they should be saved for those of us who realize how amazing they are. Sign me up for a job where naps are part of the day -- preferably right after lunch. 

two:: coffee. That probably goes hand-in-hand with the need for naps. Except sometimes coffee matters at 4 pm in the afternoon when you have a brand new book + bakery treat. Oh man. I love coffee. A large hazelnut with sugar in the raw please. 

three:: compression leggings/yoga pants. I'm not quite coordinated enough for yoga (I pretend to be when I use my Chromecast to stream yoga videos -- but obviously where no one can see me) Those pants are so damn comfortable + they make me feel skinny + they make other people think that I work out more than I really do. 

four:: lap desks. My grandmother got me one of those "as seen on tv!" lap desks + I didn't know what I was missing out on. I don't know about yours, but my laptop gets super hot on my legs. Now I don't have to worry about and kind of burns plus it sits higher + it's really just awesome. It has this LED light that I don't know what to do with though, it's like if I wanted to read a book in secret...

five:: lists. Duh.

six:: Netflix instant streaming. Like I mentioned, I have that cool Chromecast thing + somehow in the past three weeks I've watched all 8 seasons of How I Met Your Mother. I don't know how it happened. The only beef I have with Netflix is that literally every movie I want to watch is not on instant stream. bummer. 

seven:: these pictures with quotes on top of them. I even made a couple myself. Not this one at the top + not the one below. That's not important. I'm thinking of making a bunch of them on canvas + opening an etsy store. I'm sure there's some kind of copyright or something that I'd have to deal with, but they're important too.

eight:: spotify's never ending catalog of Disney music. I already know all of the words to every song from  Frozen + I'm not even a little ashamed. I just need someone to go with me to the sing-a-long showing. Anyone? Anyone? 

nine:: mimosas. Or as I like to make them "champagne with a tiny splash of orange juice sometimes not even any orange juice" mimosas are a great addition to any breakfast meal + I recommend them for other meals as well. Champagne never goes out of style.

see? they matter.

ten:: a good sense of humor. Lots of jokes man. all the jokes. they matter the most. 

So, there you go. Ten things that matter today. I forgot to put beer club on the list. Beer club matters because it's Taco Mac Thursdays + that means beer club with my aunt, grandmother, + free pint glasses! That being said. I'm going to go ahead + take advantage of how much naps matter.

Weekly Wishes :: One

I have stopped counting my days of Free Agency because it just makes me sad. Instead I'm trying everything I can to stay positive about everything else. So I'm joining what seems to be the most uplifting community link up there could be -- The Nectar Collective's Weekly Wishes. 

Since it's the first Monday of the month, I'm going to do weekly wishes + monthly goals. Let's start with the wishes!

wish one:: get out of the house -- I spend so much time sitting in the living room job hunting. I probably go a couple of days without leaving the house in a row. It can't be healthy + it makes me feel like a crazy person. So even if it's just driving to Starbucks up the road to apply for jobs from there --  I'm going to leave the house every day this week + weekend. 

wish two:: clean my room -- I have absolutely no excuse for my room to be so messy because I've rarely been leaving the house. I cleaned out my closet last week -- but that process made my room messy. It's a super small room so it doesn't take anything for it to be messy. 

wish three:: get to the courthouse + drop off my passport paperwork. I keep putting this off + I was given enough money to pay for it for my birthday -- all I need to do is get my picture made at walgreens + hang out at the courthouse. I even have all of the paperwork put together, copied, + in my car. 

goal one:: don't drink any soft drinks. I have a serious caffeine addiction -- but I'm not worried about it. I really just want to see if I can do no cokes for an entire month. Obviously starting today since I had about four yesterday... 

goal two:: find + join a gym. This will also help with the whole "get out of the house" wish. As I've said before, I have no excuse to be lazy + I'm trying out the whole Tone It Up lifestyle. So I'm combining those goals. Paying for that membership should also motivate me a little bit to get to the gym. 

goal three:: attempt + document a few more pinterest projects. Since I pinned my "DIY Cork Shadowbox" entry -- I've had a lot of traffic to that post. Apparently it's actually helping people with their own shadow box projects. So I should obviously do more fun crafts. 

Free Agency Survival -- Or How to Survive Unemployment

Today is day 52 of Free Agency (I haven't quite decided if I should capitalize that or not...) and I'm still hopeful that a team will pick me up soon. That being said -- I have had a job since I was 15 years old. I have always worked + having all of this free time is new to me. To be honest? I'm incredibly bored. I apply for anywhere between 5 - 10 jobs every week but that's not nearly enough to keep me occupied. So here are some things that I have found help me get through the lull in activity.

Rediscover Your Pinterest Obsessions:
Remember when Pinterest first surfaced + you sat for hours scrolling through pins + planning dream weddings, setting outrageous fitness goals, pinning recipes you would never try but want people to think you're going to.


For example -- I have one titled Offseason Projects with tons of arts + crafts ideas that I've never had the time to do. I have the time now, but I can't guarantee I'll be successful with any of the projects. They're nice to imagine + you can spend hours on Pinterest...

Learn a New Hobby
Technically, this blog is my new hobby. I'm also stalking the internet for how-to tips on Photoshop + Web Design. I know the basics -- but I'm a little rusty. So the layout here will probably change on a weekly basis until I get something super fun. For example -- it took me like seven tries to make my "About Me" graphic one I liked..

See?

Work Out

I could completely + 100% spend my entire day laying in my bed eating cookie dough + getting fat. By that same logic -- I have no good excuse to not be physically active. I have all day to do whatever. I struggle a little bit with the whole home workout -- but I'm trying to wait out the "New Years Resolution" gym members. Instead I try these ridiculous workouts I find on -- you guessed it -- Pinterest.

obviously if it helps new mommies have better abs, it will help mine?

READ!

I have always been an avid reader -- but usually my reading is limited to poolside on rare off-days in the summer. Lately? Plenty of time to read! I read the entire Divergent series in three days. I highly recommend it even though it will break your heart. 

Originally when I started this post I was going to make lots of jokes -- like keep the liquor cabinet stocked because Jose Cuervo is always your friend, watch cartoons in your underwear, + other ridiculous things. Somehow it turned into something productive instead of funny. So there's that!

On Rejection

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We're looking at day 49 of free agency, for those of you who maybe lost count. I have always had a very specific career goal -- I was always going to work in the Community Affairs department for the Atlanta Braves. That was always my end game.

When I graduated college there weren't any open forever positions with the Atlanta Braves -- so I started applying for other jobs. My senior year of college, before I even went to the PBEO job fair at Winter Meetings, I must have applied for 75 jobs (including the Trainee program). I probably heard back from ten of those teams, and interviewed with three over the phone. None of those teams ended up offering me a job (that's roughly a 13% success rate hearing back from teams, and a 4% success rate getting interviews) but they did suggest heading down to Winter Meetings.

I went to Orlando that year without knowing a single person who would be there. I wasn't sure if anyone I had worked with previously would be down there, I was on my own. Luckily I made friends the first day. While at Winter Meetings, I dropped off a solid 50 more copies of my resume, that's 125 job applications. I even applied for the Trainee program again while down there. I interviewed with teams, accepted a position I would later turn down, and eventually took a position completely across the country in California.

At the end of my year in California, it was clear I still wanted that job with the Braves. I applied for the Trainee program again and it was radio silence until my first day at my new job in Texas. I worked in Texas for a year before applying for the Trainee program again. The last time I applied I put all of my eggs in that basket. If it hadn't worked out my parents would have killed me. I gave up a perfectly good job to hopefully get my foot in the door in Atlanta.

Fast forward through what was probably the best and worst 11 months of my life, I'm right back where I started. Applying for job after job after job and hearing absolutely nothing until I get a generic rejection e-mail from TeamWork Online (TWICE. They always send me the e-mail twice). I've found that is the second worst type of rejection to receive. The worst kind? When you don't hear anything and then find out through the grapevine (ie, the team welcomes their newest staff members).

Long story short: I've been told "no" more times in my life than I've been told "yes" but I'm still an incredibly positive person absolutely sure that I will be an asset to any team that gives me a chance. That is the only way to deal with rejection like this. You take the entire process and learn from it. What can I do better in my next interview? How can I improve my cover letter to make my resume stand out? Can I improve on my resume? The best way to be rejected is by a real human being. Yes, it hurts, but it's a chance to ask those questions. More often than not, a hiring manager is more than happy to explain how you can improve for the next opportunity.

Sometimes you do absolutely everything right, you're qualified, you would kick ass at the job, and you absolutely rocked your interview -- but you still don't get the job because you're not a fit for the organization. That kind of rejection always hurts my heart, I think "I'm a great person + I would have blown that job out of the water, how could you not like me as a person?" It's absolutely nothing personal. It's not your fault and in the long run it's probably something to be thankful for. Even if you're the best possible candidate for something and you aren't a good fit for the organization you would be miserable. If you can't get along with the people you work with every day, you will not be happy.

Keep your head up, your dream job is out there + you're going to find it when the time is right.

Free Agency

Today, January 3rd, marks day 42 of my "free agency." It's a more positive way for me to say "in-between jobs" because I work in baseball (get it?)

I'm going absolutely insane. I take back every time I ever thought to myself "man, it would be nice to not have to work + just sit around in my pajamas all day" because all I want to do is fight with my alarm Monday morning, pour a terrible cup of coffee in the break room, and talk through the cube walls to my coworkers about how I'm ready for Opening Day already.

I recently finished the Trainee Program with the Atlanta Braves. It was an outstanding experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. That being said, the program ended and I went down to Baseball Winter Meetings for the PBEO Job Fair (hey, I blogged about those for MiLB here!) but I was thus far unsuccessful.

So right now I'm working on not spending every day moping and stalking the job boards. Hopefully I'll be able to make something out of this writing adventure and contribute something better than those viral lists of things "twenty somethings" need to do before they turn thirty (but right after they win the damn lottery..)

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