Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A Working Girl in Beantown

'A Working Girl in...' is a post written by a contributing writer that appears on Working Girl twice a month. This week's post was written by a Working Girl living in Boston, Massachusetts and her job at an internet marketing company. 




Last year, I graduated from an A #1 university in Connecticut and I made my triumphant return back to my hometown of Boston. I was ready to grab my own title in this city of champions - a marketing title that is. And with that title, I was looking for an office - preferably a corner office (with a view too) and it wouldn't hurt if it was over-looking the Charles. 

There was just one small teeny tiny problemo. There were no jobs amigos. Nada, zip, zilch. Nope, even after months of applying and endless interviews I had returned home to find myself unemployed and living with my parents and three siblings in our loud and crowded home. At this point, what is a determined Working Girl to do?

In this my case, it meant reverting to my summer job on Cape Cod, waiting tables, and living with my grandmother in another loud and crowded house.  And although my dreams of a corner office, a corporate card, and a VP title right out of college had been dashed, a great summer did await me. I had lots of good friends, great family, plenty of beaches and tons of booze, and even a hot summer romance. I spent my summer making tons of cash (but spending most of it), laying out on the beach, and hanging with friends and my summer beau-hunk. Like all good things though, summer came to an end - as did my seasonal employment (as well as my beau in case you were wondering).

It was time to say my goodbyes and head over that bridge to the "real world." I bit the bullet and after a few interviews I finally landed a job at an internet marketing company outside of the Hub. No corner office, no cushy title, no corporate card, but it's a start. First of all, it's a marketing position, which is what I have been searching for all these months. I have learned a great deal and have worked on some interesting projects. 

I can't lie though, this is not the start I had hoped for myself and I can't help but feel that I am slightly overqualified (ie: it's 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday as I'm writing this and I'm finished the projects that my boss had thought would take me the rest of this week so I plan to spend most of the rest of this day writing this article and looking online at clothes I can't afford). But as the news and gas prices keep indicating, these are hard times. So I can't help but think at least it's a start, right? Right?

In this question lies my inner struggle as a fairly new Working Girl. Am I being greedy or presumptuous wanting more? Or have I settled for too little? Which makes me wonder...would I settle for just an OK pair of jeans or a mediocre boyfriend? Absolutely not! So why am I settling for a job I am fairly confident I am better than?

With this revelation I have begun the big search. Somewhere in this city lies my dream job - one where I'm busy more than two hours a day and I have projects assigned to me that actually interest me. But as my search continues, I know one variable that will remain constant. I will always live in the city that I love. Even if your job totally blows, in Boston you can at least count on being able to get a half day once a year to attend a championship parade. I kid. But truly, Boston is a great place to live and work (not to mention all the attractive Working Boys in Beantown). If you've never been to Boston, let me tell you, it's a great place to come and stay forever.

Yeah, I said forevah. We're not just a city of "wicked pissah sports teams" (although we have plenty of those). Boston has a great nightlife, good food, and great drinks. We have no problem getting hammered and doing karaoke on a Wednesday. We're superstitious and we look out for each other, and if you're not with us, you're against us. We won't tolerate fakers or liars (with the exception of a few of our own athletes and politicians of course). Not only that, but we're responsible for Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, NKOTB, and Good Will HuntingWe will however not take credit for Ben Affleck, but you can certainly thank us for real New England Clam Chowder, basketball, Vineyard Vines, Cheers, Aerosmith, Steve Carrell (and most of the cast of The Office) and much much more.

The moral of my story - yeah, so my job pretty much totally sucks right now, but I have faith that something better will come along. And I can deal with it for now, because I live in a city that knows how to have a good time - even if it has to wait to start until after 5:00.

12 comments:

Tricia said...

I had similar dreams when I graduated in 1992 - was going to get a great marketing job and be important and respected from day one because of my fabulous degree! LOL I had a rude awakening, spent the first few years after college as a customer service rep and a waitress. But eventually I landed the Marketing Coordinator job and then the Marketing Communications job, and then the Assistant Brand Manger and then the Brand Manager.

Then I left marketing and now work for a techie company that services direct marketers as a database account manager. I was ready for a change but may want to go back to marketing some day.

Good luck finding that dream job!

Anonymous said...

It is def hard times right now. I know that it might not be your dream job but it's a job. Those are hard to find with the economy being in the pits. You never know though..it might get better. :)

Anonymous said...

As a College Girl in Boston, the job market (or lack there of) freaks me out. I'm hoping I can find something here (because who doesn't love bars that close at 2 and public transportation that shuts down at 12:30am?!?) but I'm going to go where the job is! As long as it's in a city, of course. Hopefully things will be better when it's time for me to graduate!

Athena said...

All I have to say is Vineyard Vines is my favorite brand ever. I have been to Boston only once, and it was really a day stop while on my way to maine.
Good luck finding that job, I feel the same way sometimes with my nonprofit...I could admin more, because now I sit at my desk and watch TV while waiting for someone to call me back or to write another check.

brandy said...

This makes me want to move to Boston today. (I actually think I might be going this summer for my first visit and I'm super excited)!

Anonymous said...

Most of my friends feel that way about their jobs. Before becoming a grad student in Chicago, I was working in Boston. The job market was pretty bad there, IIRC. No one wanted to hire me, because I was too qualified or they wanted a MS person.

I temped. A lot. Keeping hope alive is all you can do.

Anonymous said...

Dear Working Girl Beantown, I feel your pain. I also had big dreams for myself when I moved to NYC, but as reality set in, those feelings of eagerness and entitlement have morphed into a sense of resignation. After pushing oneself so hard in college, it's hard to swallow the sluggish pace of "success" in the real world. I have only been out of college a year, but I envisioned doing so much more with my life as a 23-year-old! (As I write this, I am killing time at my desk waiting for the 5 o'clock whistle)

Cheers to the road ahead and refusing to be browbeaten, wherever that road takes us. I hope you come back and keep us posted!

Mei said...

Hey Girls! Interesting to working with me?? I'm working with Arbonne International, it is health and wellness compnay. We just opened market to internationally. It is going to be HUGE in our life style because we can have network to internationally and we get to pay all the sales from all over the country..It is so amazing! I'm looking forward to chat with you!!

I went to Boston in 2003 with my boyfirend to watch RedSox Game!! I really liked that Boston but it might be hard to find a job...so, why not take a look at it? Please email me!! This is my Dream Job!!!

Kelley at My Island Wedding said...

Best of luck to you! I remember "Paying My Dues" trying to find that interesting job... You never know when it might fall in your lap though.

Maybe tell your boss that you would like to take on more responsibilities? It just might get you up that ladder quicker? Show them your "go get 'em" attitude? (Take Charge and good luck!)

I lived in Beantown for a year right after high school. It was great! Then I moved back to NY City to finish up college. Too bad my hubby won't ever move off Long Island! (hee hee)

mrs.stark said...

I completely understand where you are coming from. I live in a capitol city and still couldn't find a decent job. I think to myself, "I'm a college graduate, why can't I get hired?" I was told all my life that I had to go to college to be able to get a great job, but I did and I'm still only getting work that I could have gotten without a degree. The job market is horrible and I end up settling for jobs that are not challenging and extremely boring. Hang in there and I will too. Hopefully something better will come our way. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

I would like to say that job market is the same everywhere.I live in godforsaken part of the world that is India and believe you me after getting my dream job in college and an awesome pay check I am yet to start work.All my dreams and with that my career have come to a standstill due to a slowdown in the US economy.The tragedy with me of course has been that I had nearly seen my dreams being fulfilled when this turnaround happened.Now I am back to my hometown(living with my parents) and am still looking for a good job.Hopefully things will be better soon,for the working girls and for me.

Anonymous said...

I am actually so happy to see that i am not the only Girl with big ambitions to get stuck in the first step climbing the stairs...I just moved to Boston a year ago, and started looking for a marketing job 3 months ago...At times I feel so bad my dad had to spend all that many for my education, I had to stay up late studying....only to be offered sales jobs! But what can I say, I guess it is bad for everyone these days...I wish us good luck though!