Here I am, back at square one: the job hunt. It's funny too because I thought I had my life all figured out. My network in Shanghai has been continuously expanding these past few months, in public relations, marketing, ... Now, I pick up and leave all of it behind? It seems that this is the way my cookie crumbles and its time to bake a new one. Question is...double fudge chocolate chip or toffee macadamia nut?
Ever since I made the rash decision to move back home, I have become obsessed with searching for jobs online. The only problem is, I have no network and I have no idea what I want to do. I'm not completely lost, but I need some serious guidance. In Shanghai, I always imagined I would go into public relations. I love a fast-paced work environment (which is why it didn't work out with Moet Hennessy) and I love having several different projects to work on at once. Not only that, I enjoy some human interaction, not like some cubicle hermit I had been (and had to be). Unfortunately, most of the PR firms are in SF and as much as everyone loves SF, I try to avoid it.
Since I am trying to save some money (for once) and live at home, commuting to SF with all the traffic would drive me insane. Not only that, I'm hearing that gas prices are skyrocketing and I'm not ready to ride my gas- efficient motorcycle on the freeway just yet (or ever). Because of my whiny, "can't wake up in the morning to commute" self, I'm looking for positions in Silicon Valley. Furthermore, because I am not a tech-genius like my parents, I won't be applying for engineering positions anytime soon. This leads me to my other passion: HR.
I see the shock on your face. Several family members and friends have asked me, "why HR"? Well honestly, because I know I'll be great at it. Coordinating interviews - I love talking to and meeting new people, easy. Coordinate event planning for internal events - been there, done that, easy. Train new hires - more talking, and taking control, awesome! Paperwork, filing, calendars, organization - I'm textbook OCD with this stuff, perfect.
So, I've narrowed it down to PR and HR, both people positions. But...now what?
I am a firm believer in creating a network, because referrals go much farther than e-applications. I'd love some suggestions on how to restart from square one.
On a side note, 9 days until my birthday, 12 days until USHER concert, and 13 days until I'm back in California! I'd love some suggestions of what to do my last 2 weeks in Shanghai!
February 28, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Interesting what a similar boat we're in; and though we don't interact often I found this post to be particularly striking.
If you are interested in expanding your network, my first suggestion would be join Meetup.com, and to attend some networking events.
Attend the events with the mindset of being fascinated with anyone and everyone that has the initiative to get up and out of their houses into the real world, and understand that you can probably help them enormously with your knowledge, social resources, etc.
In the meantime, something you can do to get started right now is go to Quora.com and ask these same questions there.
You can see some of the odd questions I've posted at: http://www.quora.com/Alton-Sun/questions
The community consists primarily of (visibly at least) Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and people involved with startups, and curious intellectuals in general.
Have an awesome remainder of your time!