:Nintendo Widow

I’m back in school as of 5pm last Monday night. There are forty of us in the condensed Direct Marketing class that takes place over two and a half weeks before the regular quarter starts. Is it interesting? Yes. Is it tough, hell yes. Is it worth it to cram a four quarter class into nine sessions? Maybe…. So far, it’s been fun if not exhausting. We had eight hours of class today and we return for a mild six on Friday. I have 45 minute team presentation due on Monday morning so this weekend will be brutal but it’s okay. I made no plans since I knew that this assignment would probably kick my ass.

Despite the late nights and early mornings it is good to be back with my friends. The class is split between full-time 08 students and evening 08 and 09 students. In other words, it’s a different dynamic but it’s good. I also get to see some of my evening friends who went on the study tour to China.

In other news, I’m working on a part-time, contract basis for a local company. I’m doing independent research for a short-term research project. It is very exciting stuff and I plan to dedicate much more time to it after this weekend. I’m also debating about whether or not I should attend a national MBA job fair in October. There are some great companies there but I’m torn. I don’t fit in to the finance or marketing job description and I’ve been rebuffed at other job fairs. I’m not giving up but the conference is out of state and I’d have to stay there for three days. The point is that I need to prioritize and act quickly.

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Usually I’m calm and collected. I may be a pile of nerves beneath the surface, but I try to only let it show as a nervous laugh or a rueful smile.

Today, I couldn’t hold it in. I was discussing my resume with one of the school’s career advisors. As she was editing my resume, she asked if I had any school activities or clubs to list with my undergraduate degree. When I replied that no, I didn’t have any, she grinned at me and said “So, I guess you had fun in college, huh?”

I know she didn’t mean anything by it, but the implication hit me in the face. I blurted, “That’s because I graduated in three and a half years and worked twenty hours a week part-time!”

I didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but I was. My last two semesters of undergrad were not fun. They were stressful: stressful because of money, stressful because of grades, and stressful because I needed to find a well-paying full-time job. Trust me, I did NOT screw around in school.

But how do I convey that in my resume? There’s no section titled “works well under pressure” or “got good grades despite weird work schedule and frustrating love life.” All the employer sees are the official clubs and organizations to which I belonged. I could list my part-time jobs since they were as much of a learning experience as my time in the classroom.

It just bothers me that it looks like I didn’t care in undergrad about being in a sorority or leading a charitable event. I did care, but I cared about my grades too. I realize that being an MBA student involves networking and club participation. I love this part of the MBA. I love it because it’s what I missed out on in undergrad. However, I don’t want to look like I’m less of a person on paper simply because I had different interests in undergrad.

I know I’m going on about this, but seriously, what would you put on your resume if you could? Deals well with crazy bosses? Get’s everything done on time including other people’s projects? Yeah, I can think of a lot more.

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