Dr. Seuss Lessons for New Graduates

No matter how old I get I still enjoy reading Dr. Seuss books. I can remember being a little kid and having one of my parents reading me The Lorax for the first time. Then 20-years later being upset that the movie ended with the Lorax coming back Thneedville which I thought completely changed the story. I, also, remember visiting Dr. Seuss land at Universal Island of Adventures and having so much fun. I still think about  being on The Cat and The Hat ride with them and realizing we both had a look of pure joy on our faces even though they were just about to start kindergarten and I was just about to start driving. Somehow the stories of Dr. Seuss have hundreds of lessons for people of all ages to learn and enjoy. In the following post I will share life lessons for recent graduates from a book Dr. Seuss seemed to have written specifically for them: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Your Start 
Right after graduation can be one of the most exciting and terrifying times in a persons a life. The world is your oyster and you're not quite sure which way to go. Here are some things you need to remember:

"And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
As you start out you can never forget that this your life and only you can make it exactly the way you want it. If you let other people make decisions for you, then you will make their dreams come true but your own will get lost along the way somewhere.

"And you may not find any (streets) you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town. It's opener there in the wide open air."
When you begin the new chapter in your life there will be plenty of opportunities all around you, but none that fit your personality. Don't let the discourage you and just settle for the best opportunity. Go track your dreams down and beat them into submission. That's what the most successful people do.

"And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening."
One of the scariest parts about life is that you never stop learning which means you'll never quite know what your doing. Even though this is the case, just remember, to make the best decision possible and one that you are willing to credit for. Right or wrong.

"You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead."
There will be times in your life when you are the most successful you know. Enjoy these times. You have earned your success. But you will not always be that person.

The Middle
Sometimes in your twenties you'll hit a bump in the road. The career you thought was soaring will start to stall or end. This will be a very difficult time in your life since you've never dealt with it before.

"I'm sorry to say but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you."
Even though you may be incredibly successful in your life, it won't always be that way. You have to realize when things are going you're way it's not all bad. If things always were great, then we wouldn't ever know how great they were.

"And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump. And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done."
This time still will not be easy. You may stuck at home looking for a job while not having a steady income or be at job you hate hoping something better comes along. But you have to forward because you have to keep fight or else.

"You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at breakneck pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place..."
If you don't keep fighting, then your just waiting for things to happen. Which I guarantee they will, but trust me they will be opportunities that the doers left behind. And if you look around in the waiting place you'll see the people you don't want to be.

"Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for the wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday nigh or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting."
I have been victim of this excuse more then a few times. Going through a time in life where I was waiting for something to happen. Things rarely ever just happen. If you let yourself become the type of person that waits for things, then nothing will ever happen.

"NO! That's not for you."
You have make things happen in the life. In nature and in life there is always entropy. Standing still just means that your life will start to decay and nothing good will happen. Always be a fighter cause you never know what will happen if you do.

The Turn Around
Things never stay all good or all bad for very long. And feels pretty good when things start going well again.

"Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of guy."
If you keep fighting for dreams, then you'll know them when they come along. People who get stuck in the waiting place will never have their dreams because they are always making excuses as to why they don't have them.

"There is fun to be done."
Make sure that you enjoy chasing your dreams. If you aren't then you're chasing the wrong things in life.

And Down Again
No matter how much you try to fight it, life is a sine/cosine function and things will go up and down. (Yes I just snuck in some math humor).

"Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot."
Often times we spend our lives alone. You have to be accepting of these time and make the most of them. Make sure you are your own best friend.

"And when you're alone, there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on." 
Life is a scare place and you can't avoid the things you fear the most. While running away can let you avoid them for a short period of time, they will only get bigger the longer you wait.

"But on you will go though the weather be foul."
Keep pushing forward. Otherwise you will stay in the same in the storm and never reach your goal.

Fighting Back Up
The more you go in search of your dreams the easier it seems to become. That's because the things that were once hard are now easy and you have gained confidence from your past. It's like pushing a heavy cart. It is initially difficult to get the cart moving but once it gets going it is nearly impossible to stop.

"On and on you will hike. And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are."
If your smart, then you will keep fighting toward you're dreams. When you are going after your true dreams, you will face all of your fear. You're able to do this because you won't the thing so bad that nothing can stand in your way.

"You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go."
When I was younger I thought this meant stay away from the weird kids in school. But as I get older I have realized that may not have been what Dr. Seuss meant. All he may be suggesting is watch who you let into your life. Just because someone is strange to the rest of the world doesn't mean they're not the perfect person to let into your life. And let's be honest who would you rather be friends: the CEO who stole money from thousands of employees or the nerd in the IT department.

"So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act."
After you chose your dreams and the people you want to be there, make sure that you balance the two. Achieving your dreams but what's the point if you push all the people that love you out of the way to get there.

And On You Will Go
I think I'll let Dr. Seuss End Things.

"And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So... 
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"

Trying and Failing to Find Your Phone Interview Style

As was mentioned in my opening post, I recently lost my job. I am fortunate to be in a field that is still in demand during the rough economy and have several companies interested in me for open positions. This requires me to be capable of interviewing well. As is now common practice, I have had to do several short phone interviews before being invited to visit the company's facility. Phone interviews are difficult. You are unable to see the interviewers facial expressions, it is often times difficult to find a quiet place to talk and give you a limited amount of time to state your case as the best applicant. Going through the process for a third time, I am starting to find my phone interview style.

Last week, I had to phone interviews back-to-back. Normally, I would not recommended scheduling interview like this, but one interviewer cold-called me. While this did increase my stress level, I was able to keep my cool during both interviews for several different reasons. First, I planned for the schedule interview. I researched the company and determined their goals and values. This allowed to align my goals and values with theirs during the interview. While this can sound cheesy and rehearsed having a story to align with both really impresses the interviewer. It shows them that you are not wasting their valuable time by trying to wing the interview. Not only did I research the company, I also had a few highlights from my career I wanted to discuss. By talking about accomplishments, I was able to show the interviewer that I had brought value to my past companies. When a company is hiring you for a position, they are making an investment and want to see that there is potential for a return on their investment. Doing both of these tasks, calmed me down since I already knew what I wanted to discuss during interview.

The other way I kept my cool during the interview was to do an activity I enjoy: running. In the past I tried things like taking a long lunch or watching a funny show. These activities seemed to give me too much time to think and I often botched the interview. Running clears my mind and makes it possible for me to focus on the interview. Also, because I am above average in my running ability, it gives me a lot of confidence before the interview. While not something, I could do before an in-person interview, because of the unpleasant body odor, doing any physical activity tend to lower the heart rate and help people relax.

While I hope nobody is ever in this position, you may also need to discuss why you are currently unemployed. My advice here is the same as before. It's all preparation. Be ready to answer the question openly and honestly. Very few people make it through their whole career without a job lose. During both interviews when this question came up, I told them what I happened and that I was ready to start working again as soon as possible. They respected my honesty and understood that these things can happen during a persons career.

My final piece of advice for a phone interview is to stay calm. Anytime you've made it from the resume review phase to the interview phase, the company is telling you that your skills match the position. This phase just lets a company decide if you'll fit their culture. Also, at this point, they need to start selling you on the company and the position. While it may be tempting when you are unemployed or just starting your career to take the first position, one of the worst things in the world is to go to a place you hate five days a week.

Who am I

As the description for this blog says, I am trying to become a better writer so that I can be unique in my chosen field of engineering. As was suggested by David Kerpen on LinkedIn, a good way to improve your writing skill is to start blogging. So if anyone is a grammar tyrant, then please feel free to point out my mistakes. Also, if you read a sentence that is poorly constructed, then tell me how I need to fix it. This is for me to get better and I want to know what I'm doing wrong. I lost my job last Friday which is what gives me the time to start this blog and hopefully I will be able to continue posting after I get a new job.

Common topics will include discussing my job search on a very basic level, my love for running marathons and my other passions. I may, also, write about random topics such as why I am leaving Facebook for Google+ and LinkedIn, my thoughts on good leadership and Columbus, Ohio hosting the Olympics. Expect that last one to happen in the next few days as both my fiancee and I really want it to happen.

To give you a little background about myself. I am a 26-year normal guy living in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio with my lovely fiancee and our two pets (one dog and one cat). I graduated from the Ohio State University in 2010 with a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering. For two years after college, I worked at sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing company as a Validation Engineer. Last year, I switched jobs and started working for a consulting company that works primarily with multi-chain retail companies. Unfortunately, they did not receive as many projects as they were expecting so I was let go. It happens and is the primary reason I got an engineering degree. I am currently looking for work in Columbus and Chicago.

A hobby that I am obsessed with doing is running marathons. My senior year of high school, I joined the cross-country team to have a additional activity on my college resume. I quickly found out that I was pretty decent and fell in love with the sport. After starting at OSU, I decided that I wanted to complete a marathon. I thought it would be a one and done situation. Instead, it turned into a real passion. My current total is 14 marathons, one 50k, and nearly ten half-marathons. My best time is just under 3 hours, 5 minutes. I have also had the opportunity to run two Boston marathons. I am currently training to break three hours at the Louisville Derby Festival Marathon. Expect several articles to written about this topic.

My other hobbies include shooting pool, reading (which I need to do more of) and following the Buckeyes.

I apologize for the long windedness of this post and I will have more interesting topics in the future.