As a young twenty year old, you tend to think that you have the world figured out, at all times. No matter how many times your parents have proven themselves to be right, they can’t possibly know everything. Especially when it comes to pursuing your career and becoming a trailblazer for your own life. Times change. People change. Surely the industry has changed. The world can’t possibly be the same as it was when your parents were younger, right? 

When I began my college career just three short years ago (cue the tears because I simply cannot be almost out of college yet), I would have described myself as an organized, detailed hustler. All my life, I knew what it meant to create a plan and how to stick to it. As a professional Type A personality, having a plan was all that I knew. In the words of Taylor Swift (from a mediocre, at best, Swiftie), “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Strategy sets the scene for the tale.” You’ve gotta give it to her, she knows what she’s doing with this line. My plan coming into college was simple and was going to set the scene for the tale of my life. Select a major I love. Join a sorority or extracurricular. Make new friends. Earn the dang degree. It wasn’t until the middle of my junior year that my plan went haywire. 

As I stumbled upon the infamous “Junior Year” of college, things were smooth sailing so far. I selected a major I loved in Integrated Strategic Communications. I joined a sorority with the wonderful women of Chi Omega. I had made tons of new friends and I was excelling in my coursework to reach that degree. An important piece of information to note is that part of my initial college plans centered around the idea of working in sports. I threw myself into the industry, hot and heavy, and had quite the luck for a beginner. I started at the University of Kentucky’s Athletic Marketing Department and then proceeded to work my way up to a position with an NFL team. Working in the NFL at just 19 years old was pretty cool. Everything was going exactly the way I had planned. While this was nice, it set an unrealistic tone for my future and internship searches. 

Working deeper and deeper into my major meant that I was learning new and more intricate parts of the advertising and marketing industries. As I learned more, a part of me wondered if this was something I wanted to pursue instead of sports. I was enjoying my coursework and the things I was learning way too much to not use post-grad. As you can imagine, the tightly organized schedule in my head was sounding the alarms for panic mode, as this wasn’t part of my plan. I was supposed to stick to sports! What was this new desire for something else? In hindsight, college is supposed to be the time where you experiment with things you like and dislike, so hopefully this was a step in the right direction. 

I chose to listen to that new desire and limit my involvement in the sporting industry. This allowed me to focus more on my school and also pursue opportunities in other fields, more focused on the coursework that I was learning and loving. As December of my junior year rolled around, it was time to begin the search for a summer internship. Having had such good luck in my first two job-related positions, I held my head high as I just knew I was going to be successful in whatever I did. I applied to at least four internships to start, all of which I felt very confident in. This is where reality, and my parents’ words, hit me right in the gut. I had applied to four positions and was turned away from all four positions. 

“Abby, did you send in a resume for this job?” 

Of course I did. Who doesn’t send in resumes? 

“Abby, did you make sure to shake their hand at the beginning and the end of the interview?” 

Again, of course I did. Do they think I’m dumb? 

“Abby, did you follow-up and express your sincere interest?” 

I didn't follow up. Who does that?! Did people actually do that?! I hadn’t expressed my sincere interest in the positions and communicated to my future employers. I had flopped. Type A inside of me was freaking out, wondering how this failure happened. I had been so successful before, what was going on now? 

This, my friends, is where I had to come to terms with my biggest fear as a young twenty year old: I don’t have the world figured out and sometimes, all the time, my parents are right. They were making a point to remind me of the importance of attention to detail in the workplace, something I thought I had mastered. Now, I’m not saying forgetting to follow up is the reason I didn’t get those positions, but it did serve me a greater lesson. 

As I learned by lots of talks and reflection, no matter your confidence level in something, whether it’s your first day or your tenth year with a company, that key aspect of life makes the workplace a better spot for all. By providing that attention to detail, even as simple as a follow-up after an interview, you’re setting yourself apart from other candidates and from the average. Use that attention to detail each and every day. Communicate with those around you and create an open space where talking is encouraged. It will surely help you along the way. 

So I circle back to you, as a young twenty year old, about to start my senior year and wrapping up my summer internship here at Awesome Inc. This year provided me with some of the biggest challenges, but also taught me the most important lessons. The job, position, or industry won’t always be easy. You may face rejection upon rejection and that’s okay. Learn from your mistakes and get better! That’s all you can really do. Take a chance on yourself and be proud of what you accomplish. It’s never too late to learn and never too early to try again. Cheering you on in everything you do!