Over the past four years I’ve worked as a lifeguard and a swim coach. With coaching I’ve had a blast. Coaching is perfect for me. It combines all the aspects of swimming I loved in high school, such as the friends, the atmosphere, the competition and subtracts what I didn’t: actually swimming.
When it comes to lifeguarding , I don’t know how anyone makes it past their first week. There’s only so much time that can be spent in solitude up on that stand. There’s only a certain level of brown your skin can get before you have to go in for radiation. There’s only so many times you can hear Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ before you become happy he broke up with her. It’s a job that becomes monotonous quickly; my hat is off to anyone who perseveres.
I have a feeling my jobs do not offer a great level of reassurance to future employers. If I was going for a career as a professional beach bum, I might have a shot. Even then, I might need to learn how to clean pools to complete the stereotype. Realizing I could only work afford to work for free a little while longer, I took to ePACK last year.
ePACK is essentially a job and internship database tool for N.C . State students and alumni. I’m honestly impressed with the service. There are listings for every type of job you can want and applying is simple. If you meet the qualifications, all you need to do is attach a resume. However, expect the response for the work you put into it. In a system where it takes you two seconds to apply for something, don’t expect the world in return.
It has been so long and I’ve applied for so many internships on ePACK , that I’ve forgotten what internships I’ve applied for, which makes being called in for an interview a bit odd. Its like getting a Christmas gift from a second cousin: you appreciate it, but you have no idea why they’re giving it to you.
Last week I received one of these unexpected calls. I was called in to interview for a public relations internship. I was so ecstatic when I was asked to come in. I told my friends, I spent an hour organizing a portfolio, I showered, I did a lot. However, I made the mistake of many high school girls each prom season – I never looked at my date. I just said yes to the idea.
The interview started and immediately the standardized small talk questions began. What are you involved in at school? What do you want to do after graduation? What do you do for fun – how do you even answer that question to a perspective employer? When asked about my experience with PR, I told her about all of the poorly played attempts people have used to try to force content into Technician and how annoyed I was becoming with it. She then asked me why I was applying if I didn’t like PR. I tried to back talk and recover, but she was right.
It’s not that I have anything against PR, but it’s just not for me. Even worse, I had never posed the question of whether I really wanted what I was applying for. I was too busy being caught up in the pageantry of an internship that I forgot to look at the job. Had I looked, there’s no way I would’ve taken the interview.
Now, as I solider on with a resume befitting a beach bum, I will head again to ePACK with a lesson learned. Don’t just say yes because you like the idea. Always examine the angles of the question before answering.
