2015, Yo!

New Year's Resolutions

People who explicitly state their New Year’s resolutions are 10 times more likely to reach their goals than those who don’t.

I pretty much used 2014 as my crash and burn year, but also hit the ground running. I Graduated from the University of Houston in May (magna cum laude), finished off 4 years of collegiate cheerleading, landed a killer job at Ernst & Young, and did whatever I wanted. But along the way, I had to compensate for major life changes and I drank like a frat boy, procrastinated for EVERYTHING, would go like 72 hours without sleep, diagnosed myself with senioritis and cut class, and ate like a linebacker.  So here goes, RIP to the word YOLO and to eating pizza as a starter and pasta as as an entree. I thought about giving up pizza and mindless shopping altogether, but I had a come to Jesus meeting with myself and this is what I came up with.

It is said that doing a resolution with friends keeps resolutions real. Banding together toward a common goal is more encouraging and the extra push is working, so far. A friend and I got a head-start on a resolution and started Pure Barre after Christmas which brings me to New Year's Resolution #1.

1. One dedicated month of Pure Barre: I paid for 1 unlimited month and love it so far.  Pure Barre is a total body workout that lifts your seat, tones your thighs, abs, and arms, and burns fat in record- breaking time. You have to sign up ahead of time for classes, so the commitment really helps. Supposedly you see results in ten workouts or less! It’s also a really good way to get out of things, if you think about it. I’m always envious of people with babies who can say no to happy hour because of well, parenthood. The commitment to PB classes will keep me from eating and drinking like a linebacker after work.

2. Stop taking crap. This is my life story and the holy grail of my new year's resolutions. I refuse to be the nice girl to people who don't deserve it. Grey's Anatomy taught me this lesson just in time for 2015. 

3. Read either 3 news articles a day or a few pages of literature. I’m supposed to know WAY more than I do with this finance job and background of mine. Want to talk about oil fracking or quantitative easing? Talk to me in a few weeks…

4. Cut Soda: I don't know who to believe when it comes to artificial sweetener myths and which sodas cause cancer, so I'll just make life easier by cutting it out altogether. How will whiskey still be my favorite beverage? You tell me. I’m no Don Draper, so I’ll need a game plan. (Whiskey + Not coke = X?)

5. Lastly, the hardest one of all. NO SHOPPING or spending on lavish things unless I workout 5 times a week. It just goes unsaid that I will get so much more accomplished throughout the day if I cut back on imaginary online shopping carts. There are the life-saving chunky sweaters for fall, but there's no such thing as a chunky bikini that covers everything. Summer in Texas starts tomorrow for all we know.

And that's it. My 2015 resolutions are achievable and things I'm supposed to do, anyway, so I better start now (or maybe I'll start tomorrow, on January 1st, 2015 lol.)

Recruiting Season/Interviewing

And I'm not talking about Sorority Recruiting.

I'm talking about the cold. hard. job recruiting season. Sometimes I think it coincides with hunting season for a reason.

You can run and you can hide, but you shouldn't.

Tomorrow I will be at University of Houston, once again to help out with my fellow Coogs with their interview skills in the Finance Association Interview Competition. This should be fun for me because I was once where you all are. I'm not the most credible source, but Bauer trained me quite well apparently. I landed a job with one of the big 4 accounting firms, aka the #2 most attractive employer in the world (second to GOOGLE) so I'm here to help you if you need it! I've bombed my fair share of case studies and interviews, but chin up. You can do it. Here are a few tips to make your interviews and job hunts a little less painful. 

1. ONE PAGE RESUMES. Repeat after me. ONE PAGE. One page for every 10 years of work experience I believe is the common professional rule. 

2. Skills/Activities: There's a huge difference. Karate is an activity, not a skill unless you're looking for something in the military field. Make sure and list organizations,leaderships, and sports under Activities and Microsoft Office as a skill (for example)

3. Proficiency: If you're going to say you are proficient in Microsoft Excel on your resume, back yourself up by knowing how to use Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP's, and how to run Macros. Oh, and Keyboard Shortcuts. They save you and are also impressive.

4. QR Codes and Links on your resume: I don't think I'll be scanning the QR code on your resume with my smart phone. Sorry. And if you're giving me a hard copy of your resume, I can't click on a hyperlink with my finger?

5. Tailor your resume for the job you are going for. Tailor the objective of your resume, too and don't leave it out. List skills that are relative to the position you want. 

6. Don't lie in your interview. They can probably tell. Be yourself. That's what most recruiters/interviewers like to see. Someone they would want to work with. 

7. Brush up on knowledge of the company. You don't have to be arrogant about it. But at least know a little bit about the type of company, locations, what they're  known for, news on the company, etc.

8. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. I mean, Olivia Pope knows what's up.Oh, and wear comfortable, low heels if you plan on walking around a career fair all day.

9. Remember the names of the people interviewing you. When you thank them for their time at the end of the interview, saying their first name is very profesh.

10. A follow-up email is a must. Even though its cliche and what everyone does post-interview. 

11. Experience: be able to elaborate about tough projects in school you've worked on in detail

12. Ask them questions about themselves. Most recruiters love to talk about themselves because 9 times out of 10 they're successful people. And not to mention they're getting breaks from their desk to mingle with college students. Its Amazing.

PS. I once was pulled aside at a career fair my sophomore year by a lady recruiter who reminded me to take the strings off my suit. Here I am walking into career fair with a little bit of confidence thinking I did good by buying a brand new suit and bam, someone ruins my world. Okay dramatic, but recruiters are good cops, not bad cops! Keep that in mind.

Why Do We Keep Investing?

Relationships and friendships are like the stock market. You put so much into it and either gain or lose. Sometimes you break even and earn your initial investment back, if you're lucky.

If its one letdown after another, why do we keep investing? The truth is, we should focus more on ourselves. I always get told by either my mom or my boyfriend or someone else to stop worrying about what others think. I do everything from tiptoeing in my apartment to avoid waking the neighbors to almost not going for a job in college because I didn't want to interview against a friend. Its pretty bad. Caring for others is my mantra and most of the time, my downfall. I've learned to quit feeling sorry for others and chase your dreams. The rate of return on reaching for the ripest fruit on the furthest, skinniest branch of the tree is endless. Go big or go home. 

Life Lately

Sorry for being so shady and not posting much, lately. 

I started my new job with EY doing Structured Finance on July 16th and traveled to Chicago-Atlanta-NYC for training in all three of those places. It was amazing. EY lives up to its standards as the #2 most attractive employer. 

Fast forward-I've been in the Houston office since, and working basically right on Discovery Green is pretty dreamy. I moved in to my new fabulous studio apartment at Skyhouse Houston in August and have been killing it ever since. Putting in that OT and not complainin'!

The corporate experience is what everyone imagines it is. "From College to Corporette" is almost too fitting for the blog name! And honestly, rushing college wasn't the worst idea. I love being a full-time employee. And I still socialize almost as much as I did in college! I will say that the drinking doesn't exactly slow down after graduation, though haha.

xoxo

EY is on the right

Discovery Green Houston and EY in the back

Buy the Shoes

With the Fed pledging to keep US Interest Rates low, now may be a good time to take advantage. What this means for us? Rock-bottom interest rates produce smaller returns on saving, therefore, buy the shoes! Also, an increase in companies' earnings due to more consumer spending is keeping the stock market strong, essentially creating a recovering economy. So why wouldn't you want to snag the shoes you've been dreaming of or the dress you don't absolutely need? It is better for the economy, right? Save the economy, save the world? L O L. I'd say lower US interest rates aare a great excuse for overspending. Okay, my finance talk is a little melodramatic and not the best advice, but these new shoes of mine are.

I have been addicted to Tobi for some time now. Nothing is more frightening than online shopping to me, but I have found Tobi runs true to size. And that is not an overstatement. I like everything to fit exactly perfect, even last season's over-sized sweaters. These shoes are to die for and comfy enough to change a flat tire in (from experience this past weekend). They're just enough Fall and just enough 90's. You can dress them up with a romper or dress or grunge them down with cutoff jean shorts. Tobi does a 50% off site-wide sale once a month, so build your cart now and patiently wait until then!

A Best Friend Isn't a Person, It's a Tier.

She's Somewhere Between a Juice Cleanse or Ice Cream for Dinner and Despite What Jersey Shore Says, Nicole Acevedo Is In Fact, The Sweetest *Mean Girl* You’ll Ever Meet. Here Is The Short Fairytale Of How Nicooler Became My Lady Soulmate. For Viewers’ Discretion, I Condensed The True Story.

Spoiler Alert! I met my best friend at a frat party. If it can happen for me, it can happen for you. Nicooler was dating Kappa Sigma’s President when we met. She was the first sorority girl I met that didn’t treat me as a complete outcast-considering I was not “Greek.” That shows character and any smart person recognizes that right away.

If you haven't guessed by now, Nicooler is not her name. Nicooler is a real-life, yet fictional character who pulls all-nighters with me during Finals Week at the University of Houston Library to map out blue prints of our Boyfriends' Fraternity Formal Coolers together. She was the gal who picked me up off the doorstep and taught me how to design and paint a cooler from scratch. This will be more relevant when you see my next blog post on how crafty she is!

Anyway, they say you can take the girl out of a sorority but you can't take the sorority out of a girl. She's living proof of that. In between her new Financial Advising internship, meal replacement shakes, full-time summer school to graduate early (who does that?),and turning 21, she finds time to put together the birthday gift of the century and have it sent to my hotel in Atlanta. I’ll show you the gift in my next blog post. First, I want to tell you some things you need to know about Nicole.

Key Takeaways:

1.      Can you say “T.R.E.N.D.S.E.T.T.E.R?” Her style is inspiring and she is wearing, reading, sharing, or saying things before they become popular. She makes “fetch” happen. Collectively, we make a pretty good team. In later posts, we will show you some of the costumes we’ve collaborated on over the years.

2.      Nicole is insanely goal-oriented. Some of us sit around and wish and wonder how awesome it would be to get something we dream of without having to work for it, but Nicole just goes out and gets it. She’s different than most.

3.      She wears work-out clothes a lot, and sometimes doesn’t work out. But who doesn’t? Jessie James-Decker does it and sometimes I think her and Nicole look so much alike, so it’s acceptable.

4.      She’s a hoarder-the good kind. I swear to you you-She owns 20 different pairs of ice cream paint job Jordan’s/Nikes. 90s kids get it. We wore them in middle school, she’s just the only one who has saved them through the years. I owe us being best dressed at this year’s Neon Nights Fraternity Paint Party to having her old school neon J’s on our feet.

5.      She is half Puerto Rican and I am half Mexican which is the equivalent of one full Latina. So if we get carried away on posts about Margaritas, Tamales, Horchata Rum, or Plantains, we are not complete posers.  

Stay tuned to get some ideas on what to do for a friend’s birthday present or how to craft one!

Pilot:"Birthday Suit"

Howdy Y’all, I’m Blythe. I’ve recently undergone a Seismic shift in my world. I call it: “From College to Corporette.” I am a style-enthused student-gone-corporette and want to share my vision on life, fashion, and the pursuit of happiness (and success as a woman). There are so many things that keep me up at night and I can’t wait any longer to share them.

 

Yesterday, July 23, 2014, I turned 22. I just started my first week of EY and it has been the best week of my life. The investment they put in to hiring new employees is over-the-top and something I have not taken lightly. EY’s New Hire Process is all about creating your personal brand and growing as a professional. Apparently being Texan is what most people remember me as when I leave the room? I'll take it. 

Sorry if I occasionally speak in business/finance terms, but its becoming second nature! Afterall, this blog is regarding my transition from college to the world of corporate finance!

Here’s what I wore on Day 3 of my EY Core Consulting Training. I thought “My Birthday Suit” was only appropriate for the caption and for the sake of corporate dress code.