25 Facts about CL Intern, Brittany!

Meet CL Intern Brittany!

  Name: Brittany Lavenski

Position: Fashion and Living Writer

University: West Virginia University

Major: Public Relations and Political Science

Organizational Involvement:  WVU Public Relations Student Society of America and WVU Gold and Blue Student Ambassador

Pets: An adorable 9 month old puppy named Toby!

Nickname: Britt

                                                                                                    Dream Job: Doing PR while working with animals.

 

Favorite color: Olive green

Favorite candy: ANYTHING chocolate.

Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing

Favorite cuisine: Italian

Favorite season: Fall

Coffee vs Tea: Coffee

PC vs Mac: PC

Coke vs Pepsi: Water!

Stripes vs Polka Dots: Stripes

 

3 words to describe me: Compassionate, spontaneous, personable.

3 words to describe my style: Casual Carrie Bradshaw.

 

You will find on my desk: My phone, always.

You will find on my DVR/Tivo: Sex and the City!

You will find on my Ipod: Adele and lots of acoustic music.

You will find in my refrigerator: Chocolate, always!

I have a slight obsession with: my dog!

I dislike: apathy.

 

My friends would say I am: a go-to for advice and a good laugh.

I am most happy when: I feel academically accomplished.

Most people are surprised to know I: am happily engaged.

A classy co-ed is: a girl who stumbles upon her life’s passion, and wholeheartedly pursues it with confidence, humility, and ambition.

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Brittany Lavenski is a Fashion & Living writer at College Lifestyles ™. She enjoys studying PR and Political Science and is President of her university’s Chapter of PRSSA. When she’s not working, you can find her walking her dog or eating sushi and chocolate with her friends!

CL’s Guide to First Day of Internship Looks!

Summer vacation is almost here coeds!  After a semester filled with hard work, summer is time to catch up with friends and take a much-needed break.  But summer isn’t all about taking time off.  Summer provides the perfect opportunity to complete an internship!  Being an intern can be stressful from managing a tough workload to interacting with coworkers.  But CL is here to help!  Making a good first impression is crucial for summer interns.  It has the potential to set the bar for how you are perceived for the rest of the summer.  And one way to make sure you come off as confident and capable is to dress to impress!  Just follow CL’s Guide to First Day of Internship Looks!

Dresses

It’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed.  Even if you aren’t sure about the dress code at your new office, you can’t go wrong by wearing a dress on your first day.  If you want to draw attention with a splash of color try a lighter tone like this yellow dress from J. Crew.  To stick to classic hues try this color-blocked style from Banana Republic.

Tops

If you don’t feel comfortable wearing a dress, a skirt and top combo is another great way to dress for your first day.  The most important thing is to make sure your top is an appropriate cut for an office setting and professional enough.  For a summer blouse try a style like this Lilly Pulitzer button up.  In case the air conditioning is on high, bring a classic cardigan like this one from J. Crew in your purse.

Skirts

If you wear a skirt on your first day, the most important tip is to be sure the length is appropriate.  Aim for a style that hits anywhere from the middle of your thigh down to your knee.  For a classic fit, try a pencil skirt like this style from Banana Republic.  For a more modern look, check out this scalloped style from J. Crew.

Shoes

The first day of work can be hard to gage.  As a new employee, you can’t be sure about the office set up or your responsibilities.  You might be sitting at a desk all day or you could be walking all over town running errands.  To be safe, start the day wearing a sensible heel like this classic style from Aldo.  Bring a pair of flats in your purse like these from Tory Burch in case you need to change.

 

Cassidy McAloon is pursuing a Bachelor in Arts Degree in Broadcast Journalism at Marquette University.  She is a fashion, sorority life, and apartment life writer at College Lifestyles.  

 

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3 Post-Interview Need-To-Dos

Cheers! You successfully pushed past adrenaline, anxiety, and bullets of sweat, finishing the interview off strong. You’re feeling great, smiling at employees, and walking out the front door as if you just clocked out for the day. However, getting home and kicking your feet up on the coffee table isn’t the last phase of this process. The interview may be over, but give your future boss even more incentive to hire you by taking action with these three effective tips.

The Thank-you Letter

A thank-you note, either handwritten or sent by e-mail, clarifies you can finish what you’ve started. It’s a formal address to the interviewer, so be punctual by sending the note within 72 hours after the interview. If it’s handwritten, make sure it’s in the office by the third day.

Thank the interviewer (duh) for choosing you as a candidate, and then discuss your enthusiasm about the prospective job—just don’t over-do it… it’ll sound forceful. If you made use of your leather notepad, you won’t have to remember details from the interview (names, opportunities, etc) to mention in the thank-you because they’ll be right there! Also use this letter to ask a question or two and express an idea, further showing your interest and dedication. A quick Google search will provide you with a few sample letters if you aren’t sure where to start.

Wait Patiently

Don’t be bothersome by calling and e-mailing incessantly. Has anyone been hired yet? Can I interview for another position? How many candidates are being considered? Slow down and resist the pesky questions! If the interviewer gave you a two-week time frame in which you will hear back from them, give ‘em time. If no time was allotted, follow-up calmly about a week after the interviewer will have received your thank-you note.

Classy Rejection

Let’s face it, you won’t obtain every job you interview for, and that’s ok! Breathe and accept that some opportunities aren’t meant to be. A suggestion from cnn.com states to send another thank-you note post-rejection to stand out in a positive manner. Who knows, maybe the second letter will make them reconsider or keep you in mind for the future.

Tiana Blue is a Senior Writer for College Lifestyles™. This fourth semester sophomore at Penn State is a print journalism major with a penchant for food, stilettos, and the city that never sleeps.

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Job Challenge Day 11: What is/are Question(s) You Were Asked in a Job Interview?

By now, many of us have been on job interviews via in person, phone, and/or SKYPE.  What are questions you were asked in your job interview?  Let’s build our list to help each other out!

Day 11:  What is/are question(s) you were asked in a job interview?

Job Challenge Day 10: What is Your Dream Job?

We all have those days in class where we ‘dream’ of our, well, dream job.  Tell us, what do you want to be when you ‘grow up!’  Remember TONIGHT is our Job Search Chat where we will discuss ways on finding your dream job!  Join us on twitter at 9pm EST/8pm CST using the hashtag #clchat!

Day 10:  What is your dream job?

Job Challenge Day 9: What Was Your Favorite Internship and Why?

With so many individuals looking for internships, give us a little taste of your favorite internship!  This will help others in searching for the good (and bad) on internship opportunities!

Day 9:  What was your favorite internship and why?

 

 

Remember to RSVP for our Job Search Twitter Party on 4/18 9pm EST/8pm CST using the hashtag #CLchat.  On 4/19, you will be able to upload your resume to our site to aid us in your job search!

Six Tips For a Balanced Lifestyle

Balancing work, school, internships and just life in general can become a struggle especially when it’s all winding down to finals week.  With only three or four weeks left in the school semester, it is what some people call “crunch time.” Right now is the time to end on a good note with all things you are involved in.

As a student who took on a campus job, a reporting position, an internship and four classes all at the same time, I can speak from experience that it is chaotic. Long days turned into long nights and there was nothing I could do about it but keep working. Not only did it take a toll on my sleeping habits, I officially became burned out.

But throughout the past two semesters of juggling all of those responsibilities, I learned a few tricks of the trade to keep going when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide from everything.

1.) Make your agenda your best friend

Buying a planner sounds like a standard plan of action for organizing your life, but you have to actually use it. Keep your organizer organized by ranking most important events or tasks by importance with different highlighter colors.

2.) Block out hours for working

Balancing more than one responsibility can get confusing. Writing for two different publications and writing for classes made deadlines for me extremely important. The best way I balanced this was to put everything in order of what had to be done and basically “schedule” times I would sit down and do it.

3.) Buy a smart phone

It may be out of your budget, but it is the best investment for a busy college student. Being able to merge my school and work emails into the same group and accessing the internet at any moment has definitely increased my productivity. It may not necessarily help you “balance” life but it does make it easier.

4.) Ask for help

When life gets chaotic, don’t be shy to let your friends step in. It’s okay to say you need help or can’t do something.  Especially when you need advice, friends or parents can give you an outside view on your chaotic life. Remember: “It’s okay to not be okay.”

5.) Don’t sweat the small stuff

Taking on more duties means there’s that much more to possibly mess up. Don’t worry about every little mistake or problem that doesn’t REALLY matter.  Mistakes will happen and usually they will help you improve in all areas of life.

6.) Schedule time for fun

Remember that life shouldn’t always be about working. Take time to enjoy your college days and go to fun events with friends. One of my favorite quotes to live by: “Taking time to live your life will only inspire your work.”

Some more of my inspirational “keep on moving” quotes:

“Worrying will never change the outcome.”

“Eventually everything falls into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment and know that everything happens for a reason.”

“Don’t make a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life.”

“Everything in life is temporary. So if things are going good, enjoy them while they last. If things are going bad, don’t worry. It can’t last forever either.”

College Lifestyles has created a board full of inspirational quotes on Pinterest for when you’re feeling stressed or sad. I even printed out some
of my favorite quotes and photos and have them on my bedroom wall for whenever I need to turn to something for reassurance.

 

Jessica Fecteau is a senior fashion, etiquette and apartment/dorm life writer and is a sophomore at Central Michigan University. Jessica loves fashion magazines, listening to indie/folk music and traveling to big cities.

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Technology + Fashion: We ‘Model’ with Verizon Wireless.

Everyone has heard the expression music + fashion is a marriage made in heaven.  At College Lifestyles, we also believe technology + fashion makes a wonderful marriage!    While writing, tweeting, posting, interviewing – our personal style AND technology needs to be on par.

As a proud Verizon ambassador, we have been testing 2 fabulous Verizon products, the Droid RAZR and Motorola Droid XY Board.  We have been tasked on combining how tech and fashion can go hand in hand.  From running to a studying session OR writing a great post, we have developed some of our favorite looks to accommodate our technology.

 Interview Chic

 

We can carry our pen, notebook, AND Motorola Droid XY Board in this fabulous tote and look chic (without the stuffy suit) while interviewing our favorite authors and stylist.

 Casual Work Day

 

Heading to the coffee shop, library to edit, or going to study group?  Surf the internet and pull up your notes on your Motorola Droid XY Board while looking casual chic.

Networking Gala

 

If attending a networking event at a conference or in your hometown, you can look stylish AND carry your technology while enjoying the event.  Store business cards and your Motorola Droid XY Board in these totes while chatting it up with the crowd.  Take pics, tweet, and video the fabulous night!

 Writer Chic

Be sure to carry your composition book AND Motorola Droid XY Board on a Saturday stroll.  Jot down great notes in your composition book AND take great pictures for your article.  End the day at the local coffee shop putting the pieces of your article together.

Looks created by our fabulous team of Lauren Townsend, Shanae Hatchett, and Jessica Fecteau!

Disclosure:  We’d like to thank Verizon Wireless for selecting College Lifestyles as a Verizon Ambassador.

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Job Challenge Day 8: What’s the Toughest Question You Were Asked on a Job Interview?

You have researched the company and practiced interview questions in the mirror.  You look polished and professional.  You arrive 10 minutes early.  You are called into the interview room.  You shake hands and take a seat.  And the first question is….well…..difficult and one you did not practice in the mirror.  What was that question?

Day 8:  What’s the toughest question you were asked on a job interview?

Job Challenge Day 7: What Should You Wear to a Job Interview?

Dress for the career you want.  What if your career does not require a suit?  Should you wear pants, a skirt, or only one piece of jewelry?  Bring a handbag or not?  Put your keys on the table or not?  Times have changed from the stuffy suit to a more relaxed look.  What do you suggest?

Day 7:  What should you wear to a job interview?

 

 

Remember to RSVP for our Job Search Twitter Party on 4/18 9pm EST/8pm CST using the hashtag #CLchat.  On 4/19, you will be able to upload your resume to our site to aid us in your job search!

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