<p>Yep, sunk cost is exactly how I am thinking of it, lol.</p>
<p>I’ve got a laptop, but it’s practically on its deathbed by now… I can hear it sputtering and coughing from here. It’s why I got the desktop. Regardless, I’m definitely taking the laptop with me because it’s still functional, at least. I might have to just ask my relative if I can leave my other stuff here and have him ship it when he’s moving, but I don’t want to burden him with that. I think I can sacrifice a lot of the volume-hogging stuff like my bed comforter/pillows and only take clothes and see how much it costs to ship my desktop computer and sub. That’s really about all I’ve got, so luckily that’s the only real issue I think. </p>
<p>I suspect that finding a job in Philly once I get there should be not too hard, especially with an in-person interview opportunity present. Either way, I could just hit up every store that I can until I find someone willing to take a holiday worker. Might be easier said than done, though. The problem then becomes housing. I’ve looked up various hostels, but many seem to be closed until January. The ones that cost $40 a night are a problem, because I would only last a couple of days, haha. I’m going to try calling housing services tomorrow at Penn to see if I can’t get some temporary housing on a loan or something. I can survive on one meal a day (right now I’m basically clocking 300 cals) until I can find fulltime work – it’s uncomfortable but doable. I have a much better feeling about finding work I can access in Philly compared to the current scenario.</p>
<p>Believe me, I understand how exhausting it can be to get through college without any support. And I’m sure it’s hard to get yourself “up” for the current challenge, particularly without any support from someone who cares about you personally–OCR and the alumni network can’t fill that gap. I can see from your use of “” that you found my suggestion of “appropriate help” offensive. I was not being ugly or sarcastic; if you are so debilitated by exhuastion or depression that you just can’t seem to take the next step, then you have to get that kind of help, and I can refer you to someone who will work with you at no charge. </p>
<p>If your “down” is more situational, then you’re right. The fastest road to recovery is to change the situation. My offer is serious. I don’t expect you to publicly address any of the points in my previous post. I would like you to pick up the phone & talk to me so that I can satisfy myself that you are serious and would make good use of the help I am offering (and that perhaps others have offered as well). No strings attached other than that. I can have you in Philadelphia by noon on Saturday.</p>
<p>PM me, if you’re serious and determined to get your job search back on track and want this help.</p>
<p>If your buddy is willing to front you money for shipping, does he have a floor or couch for you to sleep on for a few weeks? Or is he the guy in the dorm? I’d really try to find someplace free like that for a few weeks at least until you can get some kind of income, even if small, lined up. Or the Y…</p>
<p>Thank you lonestarmom for taking the time to speak with me – I’m honestly feeling a lot better about the situation and feel like I can straighten things out and start hammering down a more definite plan. I’ve already spoken with my friend and he is okay with having me ship the computer there (it was awkward to ask him but he said yes). My plan right now is to sell what I can and figure out where I could stay in Philly – all I’d need to bring are my suitcases and backpack with clothes/my laptop. Tomorrow I’m going to call the school/some past employers and see if there anything I can guarantee for myself upon landing in Philadelphia, then take the interview and go from there.</p>
<p>When our professor friend left on a sabbatical he had trouble finding people to house sit for him. He eventually found a former student to do it. </p>
<p>I wonder if you can find a similar arrangement. </p>
<p>Don’t be shy about accepting help. Very few people can do it alone in this world. Most people your age have family to help them and you are a bit lacking in that department. Perhaps you should consider CC parents as your family and take the help offered. You can look at it as fate/providence/god balancing out things a little for you .</p>
<p>Do UPS and the Postal Service hire lots of temp workers for the holiday season? If you could work evenings doing that, you could job search during the day.</p>
<p>Max – you keep mentioning that the dorms will be closed for the holidays and most of your friends are on-campus, but you still have a few weeks before that. If someone will let you crash on the floor of their dorm room for now, I’d go for it. Also, you keep saying you’re running out of money – how much do you have left right now and is it enough to cover the 175-200 for a flight/bus? If yes, you should try to get to Philly asap esp. if you may be able to get an interview for the first week of Dec.</p>
<p>Penn dorms don’t really close before 12/22 or 23 usually bc exams go so late. If you arrive after Thanksgiving, that gives you about 3 weeks to get yourself a retail/office/post office etc. job to get going and you should be able to save all/most of that money so that you can afford some kind of deposit when you have to move out in late Dec. Also, I’m not sure if your Penncard still works or if you’ll have to have your friends sign you in all the time – it will be motivation to be out of the room pounding the pavement all day if you will be on your friends’ schedules to get back in the building. Between that type of job and maybe an online job tutoring or something, you should end up in good shape in a few weeks.</p>
<p>I don’t really have any other advice right now that differs from what I’ve said before and what others have said. But remember – you survived Wharton, you’re tougher than you realize.</p>
<p>Very true – but it would require me to leave like ASAP.</p>
<p>However, another opportunity presented itself – a nearby local interview – TOMORROW! That I can get to! I am like jumping with joy right now, haha.</p>
<p>If this fails though, I’m going to Philly asap so I can hit up that other interview and will probably stay with a friend like you suggested, while working up money to afford a deposit, then take it from there. I figure even if I land one job (say $8/hr for 20 hours at worst, $640 pre-tax per month), I could probably afford a really cheap place to stay for a short time while I pursue fulltime work. Either way, I’ve already contacted my old employers plus a bunch of new potential ones from the SEO to see if they would be able to provide work if I went back east. I feel like making a plan around all this is much easier now. The amount of support in this thread is mind-boggling to me – thank you all again so much. </p>
<p>I’ll keep you posted and let you know what happens tomorrow.</p>
<p>Did you spend much/any time in the department office at Wharton? If you know the women who work in the office, they could be a great resource for any campus opportunities. Any campus employees who knew you and liked you? Contact them and ask for any connections they can offer.</p>
<p>One professor’s already written back to me saying he may have work but wants to meet in person to assess my interests/qualifications. So there’s Philly interview #2 right there.</p>
<p>I’ve worked for Wharton Management and Wharton Real Estate in the past, if that’s what you mean by the department offices. I have good relationships with them/got the work done well/etc. I’ve sent emails to my past employers asking if they had anything.</p>
<p>Many times the administrative assistant in the office know more than the people with the important titles. Be sure to chat up the various people in those offices, if you worked with them before, go back and just say hello. Tell them you are looking both for something permanent and anything temporary. If they liked you the may know if temp opportunties.</p>
<p>So the interview went okay I think… not good, not bad. I am very bad at interviewing and get quite nervous. I was able to answer most of the questions they threw at me, and I solved their logic problems without issue. Hopefully they get back to me!</p>
<p>So write a thank you / follow up note … NOW. Get it into the mail TODAY. And then call them on Tuesday. It’s OK to ask when they expect to make a decision.</p>
<p>During an interview, remember to stay humble. You can tell them of your skills, but do not brag, never mention the A’s you got in your “difficult” classes or your SATs. You can express enthusiasm but don’t go overboard to impress. I say that because there are posts here that show that you may have an “attitude” that will work against you.</p>
<p>Congrats on the interview! Agree about the thank you…really…do it now!</p>
<p>You may be too hard on yourself about interviewing. When we talked, you handled yourself well, and that was at least as awkward as any interview is likely to be.</p>
<p>What are you thinking now about the Tuesday (?) interview in Philly?</p>
<p>I’d agree that you should never talk about your grades, your SATs, other college acceptances, or justify your GPA by saying you took the harder Wharton courses. However, if this is a professional job relating to your degree, you should express confidence in your education/experience. That’s not to say that you should brag or say that you know how to do things that you don’t, but if something comes up that’s new to you – people tend to be impressed if you can liken it to a project you’ve done before and express confidence that you have the problem solving skills to figure out the project they’re describing.</p>