Dating and Job Hunting = Evil Twins?

I must admit, while I was in college I never thought searching for jobs would be so stressful. It's a game with highs and lows; It's almost like dating but a tad bit more stressful! You think I'm kidding? Let me break it down for you...

First, some things to keep in mind [in this story]... Your resume is equivalent to physical attractiveness; how much more talented you are than your resume says you are is equivalent to your personality.

Got it? Now, picture this...

You see a person of the opposite-sex that you think is attractive, you do your research and find that you could see yourself in something "long-term" with them, so you approach and introduce yourself; you declare your availability. Sound similar to the job hunt yet? Hold on it gets better! They hear of your interest and availability, and they... WAIT! And while you wait, you don't know if you should look elsewhere [just in case] or just wait because you really want THIS ONE, so as a sign of fidelity you wait... and wait... and wait! Then you get called in for an interview. Oops! I mean then you get to go out on a date. Dates are always fun right? You get to dress up, smell nice, and learn a little more about the one you're interested in! What could be better? [Fast forward] The date goes well and you realize that you're definitely interested! But then you learn that there are quite a few other people this person has dated this week and it might be a while before they make up their mind. Ouch! So you... WAIT [again].

Finally, you get a response and it is either REALLY happy news or really bad news. BUT... if you're like me then it will be... "I didn't even really want to date that person anyway" news. lol. Come on admit it, you've said that before!

Anyway, the two can be very similar, almost identical but if you ask me, I find job hunting to be a little more brutal than dating. So now that you've learned this, will it help step your game up a bit?

I do know one thing... If job hunting treats me as nice as dating has, I can look forward to a pretty decent job fairly soon. My "attractiveness" might only be fair but my "personality" is AMAZING! ;)


George Navarro

Plan of attack...

I will not say the names of the people and companies that I am applying for because I simply feel that it is not up to my discretion to help formulate your opinion of these people or companies due to what I write.

1) A friend of my old boss and mentor Karen is well connected with the PR agency I applied for, for the internship position. I was just introduced to her by Karen via email and will begin soaking up as much information as possible in an effort to help land an internship with the right firm.

2) As you may already know, my last two classes, to finish my degree, didn't finish on time and of course didn't make it to USC in time for me to begin this fall for the Masters in Strategic Public Relations program. So I have to wait another year. Bright side? Yes there is one, one of the coordinators of the program was amazing enough to help me throughout the whole process and really got to see who I was seven months ago and what I have grown into now. She saw me jump hurdle after hurdle and still I have yet to give up. She may not be able to vouch for my talent and ability (Karen can and does vouch for that) but she can vouch for my work ethic and the passion I have for PR.

3) Craigslist.com has a few job listings for internship positions in PR agencies.
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So with those three in mind I intend to:


1) Write back to the friend of Karen and see what she can suggest.

2) Make a run down to USC this week and speak to (lets call her the USC lady) the USC lady about being a reference for me, which I am sure she gladly will.

3) Make a few phone calls and try and set up an interview or two, with reputable PR agencies.

Let you know how it goes. I'll keep you guys updated!


George Navarro

It starts today

Today I begin searching for the company that will help me give birth to my career. My introduction to the world of Public Relations was by none other than Karen Bergh, Director of Strategic Marketing at California Baptist University (my alma mater). After having worked for Karen Bergh in the Marketing and Communication Division at CBU, I was able to see and experience firsthand, what PR was. Everything from coordinating events, meeting with professional graphic design artists to devise marketing campaigns for several projects, right down to running an interview with four of my bloggers and a writer from the Press Enterprise. Aside from that there was a ton of marketing research, writing, and so many other things that I won't bore you with (I'm trying to learn to write 'short and sweet').

My eleven month stint inside of that division was what solidified my decision to pursue Public Relations as a career. I can honestly say that I am in love with every aspect of PR, even right down to the stress factor. My senior year I took 21 units (both semesters) and worked 30 hrs a week plus volunteered for different service projects, not to mention I had (and still have) a girlfriend which we all know can be time consuming as well. lol. I actually work very well during periods of high stress but I don't need high stress levels to perform well. Why am I telling you this? Simply because I am READY!!! I am ready to take it to the next level and now I am just waiting for the opportunity. I almost wish there were PR competitions, or like a PR open draft, straight out of college. lol.

In all honesty, I am very confident in my skills, overall talent, and work ethic. I just need the chance to be able to shine and show the world what George Navarro can do. I recently applied to Ruder Finn for an internship position and have not received a call back yet. This was for an INTERNSHIP POSITION!!! Argh!!! Are you kidding me? Exactly one week fresh out of college, I refused a $40k a year marketing position because they didn't want me to pursue my Masters in Strategic PR at USC. They said I would have no time to focus on work and studies, in the words of their HR, I would "fail in one or the other, if not both." Yet, here I am begging to work for one of these companies... FOR FREE. It is stressful, I can't lie but ultimately EVERYONE has to pay their dues. So here I am ready and willing to pay my dues.

(And if you're wondering why I'm barely looking for a job at the end of the summer, it is because I was working with a car dealer in the South Bay for the first two and a half months of the summer and just recently retired from the car industry. Why? Well , simply because 60 hr work weeks don't exactly allow for job interviews. So in order to fully begin this job search and attend job interviews at the availability of the potential employer, I had to say goodbye to the lovely people at South Bay Pre-Owned. )

So, I will be logging in as often as I can to update you on how it's going. Once I'm there, then this blog will turn into a "Oh How I Love My Job" blog. I hope. :)

Thanks for reading,



George Navarro

Less than 2 months and counting...

In less than 2 months I will have accomplished something I have dreamed of my whole life. Saturday May 2nd, 2009 I will walk to the center of a stage and shake the hand of a highly regarded man in a black and blue robe. Once I have shaken his hand, received an empty gold-colored tube, and stopped and posed for the camera, I will continue to walk to the end of the stage, only now as a different man, an official College Graduate. (Yeah I know the caps were unnecessary but they are there to stress a point.)

Scared am I? You bet yourself I am! For the last four years I have lived on this tiny stretch of land we at CBU like to call "campus". My daily life for the past four years has included waking up at around 10 am, going to classes, and spending the rest of the day hanging out with friends, my girlfriend, and of course occasionally doing homework. Anytime I've been hungry I have had a full-on buffet waiting for me from 7 am to 7 pm, and best of all it's all paid for. I've had an apartment with bills paid for, cable tv paid for, and air-conditioning paid for! What I am trying to say is that I've been pretty spoiled these past few years and it will take some flexibility on my part to get used to being out on my own. The good thing is that I realized this over the summer and since then have been slowly taking steps to get my self used to what is to come.

This summer I began a job/internship with the Director of Strategic Marketing at CBU, Karen Bergh. She was a professor of mine in a Public Relations class, which till this day is still one of my favorite classes I have ever taken at CBU, next to Bowling, and New Testament Survey. ;) She adopted me into the office as a student worker and worked with me to devise a project that would forever change CBU. Ok, so maybe I'm being a bit biased here, it probably hasn't forever changed CBU but it definitely has added a little hmpff! I began working 8 hour days over the summer, coming in at 9 am and leaving at around 5 pm. I figured it was good for me in more than one way. One, I would get used to going to bed early and waking up early, and second, it would be great work experience. Once the school year started I went down in hours per week to about 20-25, but then added on 18 units of school, bringing me from a 40 hr work week, to a 40-43 hr work week. Now I am taking 21 units and working the same amount of hours. Stressful? That would be an understatement! But If I can't handle this stress now, then I will never be able to handle the stress of real life. So I push harder and harder in an effort to learn as much as I can and to leave the best impression I can on my boss and her peers as graduation nears the corner.

With Midterms kicking my butt all over the place the last two weeks, and this upcoming week, the sleepless nights will continue. I am no stranger to the term all-nighter and I can swear to you that at least 30% of my nights this semester have been spent awake. Two weeks ago 9 page paper on US History and test on New Testament, last week mid-term on Interpersonal Communication and 10 page paper on Socio-Physiology and mid-term for Marine Biology, this coming week I have a statistics test and a take home final to do as well as a midterm for my New Testament class.

The times joking around all day are over, and in less than 2 months these times of whatever you call this phase will be over. So back to me being scared? Why am I scared? Simply because I can only imagine what's next. Real World here I come.



George Navarro

Going Places...

To infinity and beyond!