Hello--The Real World Isn't Easy. (Advice a year later)

So, I began my blog ranting about my job search when I attended a career fair close to a year ago, but I wanted to express how my perception has slowly changed (and it may take a few posts but here is the first).

I am now a senior AND I have 6 internships (gasp!), but more importantly, I am wiser than my rant in my younger years. In my first post, I spoke about being involved because I was in over 4 Asian American organizations, and it seemed like no one cared. Employers wanted concrete job experience instead of leadership experience. I was so flustered when I wrote about it. I thought to myself...what's up with that?

Well, from personal experience, I will say that organizational involvement, whether employers look at it or not, is a major tool for any student. In all my internships, I personally felt as if I did well because I knew how to handle myself.

Why? Because all of my previous experiences in organizations gave me the knowledge to handle pressure . Second, I could get along with ANYONE. I think this is one of the biggest assets I gained. I worked with different people all day. Additionally, getting involved with any organization teaches initiative. I am always looking at what I can do for my organizations and I think this translates to a job. In every job I have ever held, I always looked at what I can do for my client. In my opinion, you can't really teach that in a job setting.

So is that it? Students should join clubs because they will receive personal fulfillment? NO! Believe it or not, with the personal fulfillment, organizational involvement will also help you land an internship.

Once you land that interview, people will start asking about your involvement.Be truthful and you will be remembered.

So is that all I learned in a year?

Honestly, I am still angry at some aspects of the lack of diversity in PR, however I see that internships are key whether you are White, Black, Asian, or Latino. I was only thinking from my perspective, but employers need to be smart about hiring, so they want people with experience.

Hello, I am an Asian American.

So, if you haven't noticed, I have been gone, and that is putting it lightly. I thought long and hard about why I was feeling like this. Why was I being a baby about blogging? I used to love venting about the social injustices related to diversity disparities within OUR industry and getting feedback, but in a short time frame, I began to slowly lose that fire. Why?

So, it took me close to half a year to figure out, but I think I have it. I am Asian American, and I am in PR. First, I am really trying to be introspective about this, so please note, that I am still a youngster learning about identity while trying to grow as a proffesional.

So, I recently called a man who was Asian and in California and (gasp!), he practiced PR. During the duration of our conversation, he mentioned the difficulty to recruit Asian students to think about PR let alone practice it. Then it hit me, if it's hard in California, imagine the nation. I don't mean to dote on the facts that we are a minority, but it sucks that we are the minority of the minority and no one seems to care.

I have seen staggering facts about how Asian Americans have one of the biggest buying powers in the country, yet the investment related to the fact is almost miniscule. Hispanic and Black PR professional organizations are outnumbering Asian ones at astronomical rates. i am not sad that Hispanic and Black organizations related to PR are growing, I'm just asking, where are all the Asians at?

So, why am I complaining? As sad as it is, I feel alone in this industry at times.

I just wanted to write this blog entry because I don't want people to think that I am merely forgetting about diversity issues in PR. It is far from that. I am just taking time to learn what I need to do to feel empowered to make difference, and not just regarding Asian American issues related to PR but diversity issues as a whole.

So with that, I am back. I hope you didn't forget about me too easily.

Tell me your thoughts.