By Liz Mosher ’10, CES Peer Advisor

I don’t know how many of you use planners to stay organized, but I have personally found my planner to be my prized possession.

Between school, work, and extracurricular activities, procrastination and forgetfulness always seem to be lingering—waiting to destroy my life.

So this year, in order to avoid those catastrophic subtleties of being a student, I have decided to take on my assignments and activities in a more realistic manner…avoiding the overnight overload. That way, I can manage my time in a way that will leave plenty of time for searching and preparing for a full-time job. With that in mind, the real question is — where do I start in my job search?

Well, excitingly enough, I spent my past semester studying abroad in Granada, Spain. While I was abroad I got to explore foreign cities with different languages apart from my parents. Freedom! In addition to sipping wine in a beautiful plaza alive with gypsies, I lived with a single mother who viewed the world in an original way, completely influencing my perspective of the world. Clearly, as I enjoyed this independent life I really learned more about myself- my values, hopes, and interests. By the time I returned this summer I was in serious need of re-evaluating my plans for the future. So where do I start? The answer is — the very beginning. Square one.

To reiterate, I am starting at the beginning of the job search here. Whether you are a first-year student or a senior about to graduate, I think you’ll be able to find something beneficial in my blog entries that will help you, no matter what stage of the job search you might be. It’s never too early or too late. Like author Lindsay Pollak offered in her upbeat, youthful book “Getting from College to Career,” the best place to start a job search is to “start wherever you are.”

So…where are you?

About Me:

My name is Lizzy and I am the CES Peer Advisor. My role is to collaborate with the CES advisors to develop ways to reach out to fellow students and share the resources available in our office. I get to show my face and fight my sweet tooth at the weekly CES table scattered with candy that appears every Wednesday, help students with resumes and cover letters, and visit groups on campus to promote CES resources or career workshops (we are flexible and can cater towards the needs of any group…hint hint).

As great as that all sounds, captivating the attention of already-busy college students is not the easiest task; especially when searching for jobs can seem so daunting. AND I still have my own job search to consider…I’m on the verge! As I track my full-time job search I invite you to follow along in hopes that you might learn as I am learning.

© 2009 Career and Employment Services, University of Puget Sound
Photo: Kris Hay