Let's set the groundwork of where I stand in the professional world. For starters, I went to college at Chico State. Don't let this fool you. While you may instantly sigh at the thought of another professional beer bong, beer pong, dive bar state college kid, I'm a pretty damn bright and driven lady today. Admittedly, I didn't put too much thought into where I wanted to go to college or even what I wanted to do. When I said Chico State, my parents were probably ecstatic at the cheaper tuition in comparison to the UC yuppies. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had a fancy UC listed on my resume. It doesn't hinder me too much, but it would certainly have added a little flare to my background. In a recent job interview, I was asked by the former CFO of Tesla what college I attended. The great guy he was, he smiled, chuckled and we moved on. It was a mutual laugh, maybe I should have responded with a little more enthusiasm. "Chicoooooo!"
I originally wanted to be a journalist. That was my major when I started college. After the first year I switched it and became a business major. It was okay, I didn't love it but it was general. I thought I could take it anywhere. After a couple years, I started thinking about a minor. It was only a handful more classes to minor in project management, so I did. I graduated in four and a half years with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and a Minor in Project Management, but honestly I didn't know what I wanted to do.
I was fortunately enough that my parents paid for my entire tuition. I left Chico with a degree and no debt. I am forever grateful for that as I see my friends and even boyfriend still paying off their student loans. So there I was. I had a degree and moved back in with my parent's until I could find a job.
I applied to everything! Sales, account management, marketing, legal, and accounting. You name it, I applied! I did cold call interviews for sales roles and I was terrible. I've always had a young voice, so maybe attempting to sell life insurance was a bad idea. I'll never forget when the hiring manager asked me, "you sound very young on the phone, how will you convince someone that you know enough about the value of life insurance to convince them to but it?" I laid some fluffy BS answer on her when really, I didn't know two shits about life insurance other than the one page script they sent me. I was going to job interviews almost everyday.
Finally, I got a call about an accounting role available at a Real Estate management company. Mind you, the only classes I ever had to retake in college were accounting courses. I once said, "I hope I never have to see a debit and credit ever again!" I came in for that interview slightly discouraged from my previous experiences. I had bought all new clothes and was decked out in black slacks, a button down and blazer. Probably looking entirely out of my comfort zone. I sat down with the CFO and we began chatting. Soon into the interview, she asked about my experience working at a local country club that was listed on my resume. It turns out, she and her family were members and upon seeing my resume she asked her two young daughters if they knew me. They had told her they did and how kind I always was to them. I got the job. I believe my title was 'accounting assistant'. I had graduated in December and found a job two weeks later. I felt on top of the world.
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