Decorating your apartment

Photo courtesy of ikea.com

This morning I attempted to do some much needed decorating in our apt, specifically in the bedroom. Since we moved in this past September, the bedroom has left much to be desired or lacked some "flare" as some said. I used to think I had an eye for interior design. Well, I do not. I also have no skills whatsoever in hanging things on the walls or putting up curtains.

When I tried to put up the curtain rods, I was pretty set on doing it myself and not asking my boyfriend for help. Especially since he was sitting at his desk with his head buried in work. I thought I could seamlessly and quietly put them up without a problem. Ha. I may lack the skills, but more importantly I lack the height. Within 30 seconds, I managed to almost fall off the chair and the hardware went flying. So my boyfriend had to intervene. Since he was busy and had to interrupt his work to put up curtain rods, he joked that he'd do it for $30. I hope he was joking, because I'm not handing over that money.....

Ok, so the curtain rods were up and I was able to easily slide on the curtains. Presto, our room was transformed. Now for a few pieces of artwork. I know how to put some nails in the wall and hang up frames, no problem. Pat saw what I was about to embark on and he skeptically began asking me how I'm going to go about the process. "Well, I'm going to nail the picture hanger into the wall and then proceed to hang the frame on it."
"Ok, but you need to find a stud first or the nail will fall out. The stud finder is over there."

Long story short it was an hour later and I was using every other method I'd read about to find the stud, other than using the malfunctioning stud finder. I was about to give up when I called a trusted friend on the situation. They informed me, that you don't necessarily need to hang a frame right on a stud, only if it's very very heavy.
Thank goodness and with that the pictures were up. Only time will tell if they stay. And by the way, if anyone is interested in some interesting facts about wall studs, give me a call. I spent an hour researching them. grrr..

Next up, my dream is to go to IKEA and buy all the pieces in the HEMNES series...in white. SO pretty....

Working with recruiters on the job search

Have you ever worked with a recruiter or "head hunter" as they're sometimes called, while on the job search? Have you found them helpful?

I've been on the job search 2-3 times since college and my overall consensus is that they can be good for temporary work, but when it comes down to needing that full time placement, they're not exactly the best.

During my latest job search, I consulted several recruiters in my desired field of work with the thought that it couldn't hurt. It didn't hurt, but it did waste my time. Of the 3-4 recruiters that I contacted, 2 of them actually got back to me and they seemed to bark opposite opinions at me.

One told me I don't exactly have the skills that a marketing professional would look for in a candidate, the other said I did have the right skills yet suggested that I fabricate my title. "Now wait a minute, I don't think you can do that" I exclaimed as she stood very seriously in front of me. "Oh, sure you can. People do it all the time. You have to spin your resume." Somehow, her suggestion didn't strike me as spinning, but more like lying. So, after that appointment, I gave up. I decided that in a semi-healthy to healthy economy, recruiters may be able to help you with temporary work. Yet if you're looking for someone reliable to find you the permanent job of your dreams, you're better off on your own. Anyone agree or disagree?

What’s a “Tweet-Up”?

This is the response I’m likely to receive upon telling anyone who doesn’t actively use Twitter that I’m here to attend a tweet-up. (a meet-up of those who converse on Twitter) Luckily, I actively use Twitter so if there’s ever a situation when someone drops the lingo on me, I’m good to go and don’t run the risk of looking foolish.
This past Thursday evening, I attended a tweet-up that wasn’t my first, but it was the first where I had a hand in organizing the event. Back in December, I attended the Mass Conference for Women where 6,000 area women came to hear career speakers and network with each other. Being that there were so many women there, I didn’t feel that I networked in the ways I had hoped and didn’t make nearly the number of connections I was hoping for. Yet right after the event, some women started to converse on Twitter and I wrote a blog post on the event. This blog post was re-tweeted out to other users and before I knew it, I had several friends from the event that I hadn’t actually met there. I wanted to continue riding this momentum, so I suggested that we hold a post-conference tweet-up to give us a chance to meet in person and rehash the conference. A handful of women were interested and I found myself helping to plan the event and brainstorm future events for Mass Women.
Not only was I able to work with great women to make this event happen, but I also worked closely with the brains behind “Boston Tweet-Up” (@bostontweetup) a man by the name of Joselin Man who keeps an online calendar that lists Boston area tweet-ups and promotes them. When we asked him to post our event on his calendar, he gave us invaluable information on the best ways to create and promote our event. I cannot thank @JoselineMane enough!
I’m very excited to plan the next and continue to meet wonderful, smart women in the Boston area!