The awkward interview

New York Times Square

                                                                                                                 Picture from Wikipedia

 

Time for interviews, even though our advisers are always supporting us and sending our resumes to every possible company, we do have to search for ourselves, and that is what I did. I started to search for options, many of them captured my attention, companies such as Red Bull, Tech Day, T3, Foursquare etc. offered very interesting internships; nevertheless, almost none of them replied but one. XYZ company (could not use names) dedicated to the rent of spaces in order for entrepreneurs and startups to be able to work in a creative space, offering them quality networking and events. It was Friday 5th, when I received an email from the the CEO of the company, asking me if I was able for an Skype interview the next day. I totally said yes and prepare myself. The next day I took the interview even though she was almost 30 minutes late. The interview went well, but she asked me to made some research about startups promoted by the different consulates in NYC, I though this was a type of challenge in order to prove my skills, so I did my best and set a second interview for the following Wednesday.
On Wednesday I was ready at 10 am to talk her, but she was not, I waited for her to call, I sent her an email, and I actually sent her messages through Skype, I was really confused, but then I thought maybe she was very busy and could not take the call, so I sent her an email in order to set a new date. The same day, I received an email during the evening, no explanation from her, only a request for me to answer when I would be able again to talk to her. I got a little bit upset since I did not know if it was a cultural difference or if she really was like that. Then, I replied, and asked her if she was available the next day at 11 am. She did not reply, tough, I was 11 am sharp with my Skype open and my research at hand, and guess what? she was not there! I could not believe, I waited 30 minutes and then I sent an email asking her if she was still interested on giving me the opportunity to work at District Co Work.

She replied the email until Sunday, asking me if I could go and visit the offices the next day, I was very surprised and happy, so without question I replied and set an appointment at 9:30 am.

The next day I woke up at 5:30 am, I took the bus to NYC at 7:05 and got there almost at 9 am, I took a coffee and waited for the time to come. When I arrived, she was not there, so I had to wait again, it did not took so long when she arrived and asked me to join her at her office, she asked me some questions about my current courses, and then she asked me about my research. I have to mention, she was very strict in her questions, I was not feeling very welcomed and I thought she was acting a little condescending. When she gave me feedback about my research, she was actually talking me as if I was already working for her, which I did not like since she have not even explained me everything well.

Then, she asked me at what time I was going to leave since I had class that day, I said I was able until 11 since the bus will leave at 11:20. She took advantage of this and asked me to stay there improving my research, again I did not know what to say and stayed there. She took a phone call and left the room, it was 11 am, I had to go and she was not there. I took a look around the place so I could say thanks and leave, but as soon as I found her she made a sign with her fingers telling me to wait. I could not wait for her, so I sent her an email with the spreadsheet attached, telling her I was very thankful for her time and apologizing for leaving. I also asked her if the internship was paid or not since it was really important for me to know that if I would be working under that kind of pressure.

She sent me two emails, the first one asking me to send her the word document, my first thought when reading that was (really?), then the second email said: “Thank you. Regarding to the internship payment, please refer to the post from Indeed, it is an unpaid internship, but I am sure you will learn a lot. Tell me if you are still interested.” Obviously I was not interested anymore, so I decided to wait until Thursday to have my other interviews and then decide. So here I am still waiting for my next interviews, wish me luck!
Like a final comment, one friend always tells me everything happens for a reason, you always learn something, and for sure something better is waiting for you. So let us not be negative and keep looking forward!

First interview – done!

Today I went to my first interview for our internship this spring. I woke up early in NYC, got dressed and walked over to Union Square. The sun was shining and once again I fell in love with this city. After spending a few weeks in New Paltz I started to enjoy the small town life more than the city life but no, now I’m hooked again.

My interview was at a company called Wikia. Wikia is founded by the same person who started Wikipedia: Jimmy Wales, who is also a friend of mine. I met with the New York sales director and the Vice President at 10 a.m and it was so much fun. I just love going to interviews.

Everything went very well and we will see if this is the company that I will work for during the spring.

Let’s do this!

I Want to Wake up in the City that Never Sleeps

New York, New York…

It seemed like a must to spend our first weekend in the city, and oh was it good. From the lights to the fashion, the streets and the smoke coming out of the sewers, the people and the architecture, the food and the drinks, you just never have enough time to see it all.

With streets full of mysteries and surprises, New York enchants you from the minute you get in. I can’t wait to be there 24/7 and get lost in all it has to offer.

Definitely the best way to start the year.

 

 

Getting to know the city!

On our first weekend in New Paltz we decided to go to the city!  when we arrived everything was different, people walking in all directions, lights, music, lots of shops, museums! we didn´t knew where to start!

We definitely know now why they say New York has its charm, with a great diversity of cultures, people and interests.

For now we will enjoy the tranquility of living in New Paltz, seizing the opportunity to take classes that will help us in our career and especially in our next internship. But above all the friendliness of the people here!

New Yorker's Life

Hi Everyone!!

 

Our second week here in New York is ended!

I’m starting to get used to the working life (even if is not easy at all!!) and everything is completely different from New Paltz here: the subway, the crowd, the office, the projects, the responsibility that you have to take,…

We have to grow up in a short time!

Personally, I love the life in the City: my supervisor is amazing (I just need to improve more my English, in order to understand everything), she is so patience with me and lets me learn a lot about our HR thanks to all the project that she gives me.

I have to be honest: I was extremely scared two weeks ago, because this is my first job experience and I wasn’t really confident with my spoken English. But all my fear disappeared the first day, when I saw how Julie and all the other people in my department approached me: they are extremely kind and they do as much as they can in order to teach me everything about their sector!

Thanks to their behavior, every morning I wake up and I’m happy to go to work!

I’m doing my best and I hope to improve my knowledge and work ability during the next weeks!

 

And what about your experience? In these weeks we haven’t met a lot as in New Paltz: are you satisfied of your work?

Across the Atlantic Ocean – First Impressions

After studying for more than a month and finally  finishing the Bachelor of Economics back in Germany, I traveled to New York City to spend two weeks of vacation before the IIB program started.

Staying at a student’s apartment I found on Airbnb, I was in the right place to experience New York from a local’s perspective. It was located on East 106th Street, only a few subway stations from the main attractions of Manhattan.

New York can be overwhelming, especially when it is your first time in the city, but after a few days and a lot of walking around I finally settled.

After a few days of sightseeing in New York, I visited a friend in Washington DC. for a weekend. Compared to New York, Washington is much more quite and very pretty. We walked a lot and saw some of the main sights, like the White House, the National Mall, the National Zoo (with its Panda Bears) and much more.

The place my friend lives at, Alexandria, VA, is a small town a few minutes outside of Washington DC. It is very pretty with all its historic houses built by British settlers. All in all the trip felt a little like vacation from the loud and vibrant city of New York.

After my Washington trip I stayed a few more days in  New York to visit the bank I’ll be working at starting in October. Also I went ice skating in one of the best ice rinks I have seen so far (Chelsea Piers).

One day I went to Coney Island for a day on the beach and to ride the wooden roller-coaster that was build almost a hundred years ago.  Scary!

Ann-Christin on the Staten Island Ferry - Manhattan Skyline in the background

Ann-Christin on the Staten Island Ferry – Manhattan Skyline in the background

Panda Bear in the National Zoo Washington DC.

Panda Bear in the National Zoo Washington DC.

New York!

Hello blog!

Today is exactly three weeks ago since my first time in New York. I thought I’d celebrate by posting a few pictures

NEW YORK CITY

The second weekend of our stay here we took a bus trip New York City. We stayed at a great little hostel and explored the city and the nightlife.

First day in New York City

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Yesterday we arrived in New York City!
The place where we live is a lot smaller than the place where we used to live (Super 8), but I don’t think we will spend too much time in our room. New York it is too exciting to stay at home! There are so many things to do! And we are going to work full time from Monday to Friday.

We live in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The area is nice and here are many pubs, restaurants, and shops around here.

Yesterday we went to buy few things to personalize our rooms such as carpets, lamps, mirrors, etc. In each floor there are 9 double rooms and 3 bathrooms. In each room there are sheets, blankets, and towels, but some of us bought new ones to feel more “at home”. In the basement we have a kitchen and an area with washing machines and dryers.

Tomorrow it is our first day at work. My internship is at Gyro. It is a Marketing Agency in Chelsea. I look forward!