<Editor’s Note> I’m very excited to introduce you all to Stephanie Trinh aka @stef_funny!  She’s the newest member of my team here at Marketing Melodie. She’s an ambitious Business Marketing Student at SDSU, is filled with positive energy and is even a fellow marketing nerd! I’ll let Stephanie take it from here. HIT IT STEPHANIE! </Editor’s Note>

As a soon-to-be graduating senior, I just wanted to share what I’m doing to help prepare myself for life after college and hope that you will gain something from reading. My main focus currently is to graduate from San Diego State University and get hired on board with an innovative digital marketing company as a Social Media Strategiest. I want to finally step out of the college era and step into the “real world” era. As much as I love learning; studying and taking multiple choice exams can get old, real quick. If school was just all about taking on internships and working, I would graduate summa cum lade – no doubt. But unfortunately this isn’t how it works. Here is what I’m doing to prepare myself for the “real world”:

I didn’t wait for opportunities to come my way, I went searching for them. Two of the best decisions I’ve made was joining SDSU’s Advertising Club and Ad 2 San Diego. I was so nervous about joining a club and meeting new people by myself, but I am happy I stepped outside my comfort zone. From these two clubs, I’ve made new friends, networked with great people and that made finding an internship much easier. I’ve come to realize that stepping out of your comfort zone is the best way to make your dream come true. Go out there and get as involved as you can, step outside your comfort box and have fun!

I took on multiple internships that were not paid, and I did it with pride. Experience is priceless, remember that. You need to have the right attitude to play in this game. If you are truly passionate about what you plan on doing after college, you will be willing to for the experience in a heartbeat. Haven’t you ever had anyone tell you? “Do what you love, and the money will follow.”

I created  my own website and business cards to market myself. This demonstrates that I am digitally savvy and know how to use technology to market myself. If I can’t market myself, how would I expect to market clients for my future employers?

I started a blog to demonstrate my passion marketing. At first my blog was just going to be about my life, just for fun. But then as I began reading more articles about social media, I wanted to start taking notes of things I thought were interesting and helpful. Instead of taking notes on paper, I decided use my blog as a place to share those notes. Things I learn about social media that intrigue me, I include in my blog to share wealth with my peers.

I created a vision board. In order to stay focused on my dreams and goals, I bought a small cork-board where I put up things that would motivate me. I placed this cork-board on a wall that I would see every day as I got up to get ready and so far it’s been doing its job.

(From top left to bottom right: Business card with ‘Senior Social Media Strategiest’ as my title, ‘$100,000 bill’, SDSU Cap/gown, photo of Eiffel Tower, very happy photo of me, photo of the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.)

The business card represents the position I will, one day, hold. The $100,000 bill represents the income I inspire to make. The photo of the cap and gown is my motivation for working hard towards graduation. The photos of the Eiffel Tower and Magic Fountain are the two places I would love to visit again in the near future, and the happy photo of myself reminds me to smile and appreciate life.

I believe that everything you have in your life, you have attracted. If it’s your dream job you want, then you’ve got to attract it by working hard and staying focused. I trust I’ve inspired you to go out there and knock down opportunity doors. Just do it! I dare you. 😉 and I leave you with a quote that inspires me.

 “Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.” ~Kyle Chandler

You can connect with Stephanie on Twitter, Google+ and check out her blog, Marketing Nerd!