Getting the right gear – For running you have to find shoes that fit right so you have the right support and you don’t get blisters. You also need to have shirts, shorts and/or pants that are weather and activity appropriate so that you’re comfortable, protected from the elements and supported in all the right ways. The same goes for what you’ll wear for an interview. You need dress shoes you can walk in (ladies, you don’t want to be falling over because your heals are too high). You’ll also need dress shirts and skirts/pants, or a trusty suit. I recommend a trusty suit because it’s always better to over dress than to under dress when you’re interviewing.

Stretching and Warming up – You have to stretch and warm up your body to help prevent injury. There is nothing worse than getting a twinge that turns into a pain…that then keeps you out of training for weeks all because you skip stretching (I’ve been there, sadly). You warm your body up differently based on the workout you’re going to do also. You may do more stretching and jogging to get ready for a speed workout than you would for a long an low run. This is like the research/preparation part of getting ready for an interview. You always want to have a few good questions to ask in the interview, know a handful of facts about the company you’re interviewing with and be able to tell the company what you can do for them. This step makes a world of difference when you walk into an interview.

Training – Before you can run any race, 100m or a marathon, you have to train. If you don’t train either you won’t reach your goals or you’ll get hurt. Neither one is very fun. As far as finding a job goes this part really isn’t fun. You have to apply to tons of jobs, edit your resume, get business cards, interview for jobs you don’t really want, patiently wait, and get told “no” or “we’ve selected a candidate blah blah better fit blah blah, good luck in the future.” No one likes being told no or going through the long process of searching and applying for what seems like a million jobs. If you think about it though, it’s going to be worth it. You will learn in every interview you go to, every cover letter you write will get better, you’ll get more comfortable with phone interviews, and hearing “no” will end up being a step closer to the yes you want.

Friends – In training your friends can be your accountability partners, training buddies, #1 fans, or amazing motivators. The same goes for your job search, except it’s your network. Expand your network, and make friends in the industry you want to work in. Make friends with people that can help you put out a stellar resume or give you great interviewing tips. Your network will help make your job search so much more productive than if you try to do it on your own.

Race Day – Everything you’ve been training for leads up to race day. Your first race or your last race…or some race in the middle…this is it. You run your race and feel amazing. You’ve finished your race, you’re in line for a free beer or a massage, and all of that training is worth it. If you’re like me, you’re ready to sign up for six new races at the point (at least I was after a half marathon). In the job search, after X number of interviews and X months of being patient you finally get a yes. Or, you get two, three maybe four yeses if you hit the jack pot! Congrats! YOU are the one that gets to say no. All of your efforts are worth is for the one yes you’ve been waiting for. Even if those yeses aren’t quite what you want, keep going. You know you can do it. You know you can get a yes, and you know you can be the one with the power to say no. But don’t settle for anything less than what you want.

Celebrate- After the big race go celebrate your accomplishment. Go get a massage, a fancy dinner, take a 4 hour nap or drink a beer. you’ve earned it. The same goes for getting a “yes, we want to hire you.” Even if it’s not exactly what you want…celebrate. You got a yes, and one thing I learned from being in sales is that when you get that first yes….good things keep coming. So, celebrate that yes and stay focused if you’re still looking.

So much has happened in my life since 2000, and I am very happy with where my life is right now. However, I plan on making the new decade even better! I’m 23 at the beginning of this decade, not 13, so that helps open up some doors for me! I’ve always been told that setting goals is the best way to make things happen in your life, and I must say that I haven’t always been the best goal setter. I have set my goals for 2010 though, so here they are (in no particular order)!

Marathon: I will run at least one FULL marathon and two half marathons. I may throw in another full depending on my thoughts after the first. Follow my training progress!

Move Out: I will get a job or go to grad school and get back out on my own, and out of the state of Indiana. I’m thinking somewhere on the East or West coast.

Do Service: I was one of the VP’s in my service fraternity in college, and I have hardly done any service since I graduated in May 2008. I will do at least 50 hours of community service this year.

Financially Plan: I learned how to keep my finances in order, and I will keep them in order and planned out to a T.

Buy a New Computer: I have a Tangent…if you’ve heard of them and didn’t go to University of Dayton I will be damn impressed. The company doesn’t exist anymore, and after five hard drives and two power cords, Tanj is being retired. It’s time to start off fresh.

Twitter: I will give Twitter a good solid effort because I believe in what it is…I’m just waiting for my efforts to show. If you have pointers, by all means help me! ( http://twitter.com/sarahkettler)

Job/Internship/Grad School: One of the above will happen. Maybe even a combo if needed. I’m setting my sites high on the job, of course.

I look forward to updating you on my progress towards these goals! Happy 2010!!!

Megan came down Friday, and we spent the day Saturday exploring downtown and setting our game plan for the week. Once we found our way to the convention center there was no way to contain our excitement. Even though the interview posting boards had 100 name spots and were intimidating we were beaming with excitement.

Sunday at the Business of Baseball Workshop we had the opportunity to hear some amazing speakers. If you follow either of us on Twitter (MOgulnick and sarahkettler are our handles) then you may have seen her live tweets and/or my first attempt at live tweeting.

Many of the speakers came up and explained the interviewing process, from how to prepare to what happens after it’s over; or they talked about sales and how it’s not as scary as it sounds. Rob Crain, however, came up and explained the Winter Meetings in his talk, “Expect the Unexpected.” Below are the notes I took from Rob’s slides, and then my personal experiences have been added in as well.

>MONDAY

-Get to love the job posting room: I can’t say that I ever loved the job posting room because it was a zoo as soon as anything new went up. I’m not a fan of being a fish swimming up-stream. I did love getting excited over the rare MLB posting and finding media relations postings though.

-Be open-minded. I was open-minded and wrote down a few sales and community relations jobs to give myself more opportunities. I tend to have tunnel vision for media relations because I fell in love with it during my internship in 2008.

-Apply for a lot of jobs. I dropped off 20 or so resumes on Monday. It was a very productive day in the job posting room and at the resume drop off boxes.

-Be willing to sell. I interviewed with the Kansas City Royals for a media relations internship, and sold my skills and who I am. I know he meant sales, but in public relations we sell our skill sets to get to where we want to be. So that’s exactly what I did.

-Don’t stress today! Hard decisions will come later. There was no stress for sure! Megan and I made friends with Alicia (she sat with us during the workshop Sunday) and Chris. Yay new friends!

-Go out! Check! I ran into the Rockies MLB.com writer who helped me find Mark, the Reds MLB.com writer, and we all had a few drinks at Champions just taking in the craziness of the day.

> TUESDAY

-Get to love the interview posting room. I know I didn’t come to love this room. I tried, I really did! Of the 27 jobs I applied for, seven or eight posted interviews over the course of the job fair. It was very exciting when one of us got an interview, otherwise we celebrated getting to sit and talk more. We were eternal optimists for sure!

-Get to know everyone. Check! Megan and I snagged Seamus, the emcee of the workshop Sunday, and got to know him. Our little group also got to know Rob Crain, and were very entertained by him.

-Go out AGAIN! Megan didn’t feel well, so I went out without my sidekick…I got to catch up with my old co-workers from the Dayton Dragons and the Reds. I took advantage of the chance to network through my old co-workers, even though I was very sleep deprived the next day.

>WEDNESDAY

-Second interviews, second guesses. Well, I had an interview!!! I can’t say that the second interviews and second guesses was a problem for me. But hey, that’s okay. I also set up an interview for Thursday. Yay progress!

-Go with your gut. On Wednesday my gut said “thank goodness the hurry-up-and-wait game is almost over.” I didn’t have any jobs or internships to decide between, so I wasn’t stressed out at all.

-Go to the Gala. I can’t believe I ever thought it wasn’t going to be worth it. Alicia, Chris, Megan and I dressed up and had the most incredible time at the gala. We were at Lucas Oil Stadium (Go Colts!), and got to tour the whole facility, enjoy some free drinks and network. We were all very productive in our networking at the gala. We found Rob Crain and talked with him, and then met several new connections through him.

-Go out AGAIN! After the gala we went to the Marriott to network more. I met a few of my old co-workers again, and met two different agents. I had my eyes opened for different opportunities outside of media/public relations. Who knows, maybe an agency has potential after all! After the Marriott we went to Howl at the Moon, a piano bar. There we celebrated Megan and Chris’ birthdays, and spent time with our new friends. I also had the opportunity to meet the Nationals and Orioles Media Relations Directors. Whoever said that “nothing good ever happens after 2am” is wrong. I met them both after 2am, and networking with them was definitely a good opportunity.

>THURSDAY

-Be selfish. I wish my friends didn’t have to leave…that’s all I have to be selfish about.

-Don’t be afraid to take a risk. I almost went into an interview wearing slippers because I didn’t want to wear my heals out in the cold. Apparently they would’ve loved it! Too bad I let my feet get cold, darn it!

-Take a look back at the last few days. $200 for the PBEO Winter Meetings, $55 for the gala, making great friends and standing next to Tony LaRussa? Priceless.

Over all, I wish that the Winter Meetings hadn’t ended. Would I spend the money to attend the job fair again? No, I probably wouldn’t. That’s because I want to work in the major leagues and the job fair is 98% minor league opportunities. I’m glad that the speakers Sunday reminded me of some of the keys to interviewing, and that I had the opportunity to get to know such great people. I walked away with a few job leads, some amazing new friends, and knowing that I can’t wait to work in baseball again.

For more on what we learned, check out Megan’s notes from the Business of Baseball workshop! Just click on her name in the first paragraph.

At the National Equality March everyone there was challenged to start the movement. It doesn’t matter if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, ally or however you like to be identified as. Everyone of us has to work together to make this happen. We were challenged to come out, write letters to our congressional districts, talk about our fight and make things happen. I love that TV shows and movies are starting to help make the general public realize that we homosexuals aren’t all that bad, and they show some of the battles that some go through.

A very close friend of mine and I were talking about being out at work last week. Personally, I don’t hide anything. Everyone I work with knows I’m a lesbian. Even the 70-year-old woman who can’t stand the idea of gay people. My friend, however, said that she was just going to keep it quiet at her job because she didn’t want people to be uncomfortable. Keep in mind, she’s proud in every other situation…so this upset me. Why should we have to keep things  quiet to save them from being uncomfortable? We are supposed to stand up and be proud in every situation. We shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable for the happiness of the closed-minded. Straight people, let me ask. Do you like watching straight people PDA? Didn’t think so.

Another great friend of mine, an ally, has gone to amazing lengths to help with the battle. He’s written letters, had arguments in my defense, and even wants to help me start a revolution. He’s pretty much amazing. To all the allies out there, thank you for everything you do. Your love and support will help us all go far.

I challenge you to help in this battle as an ally or a member of the GLBT community.

I’ve already gotten my suits dry cleaned, and gotten a million (slight exaggeration I suppose) copies of my resume made. Next step, business cards that everyone will remember. From what I know I’ll be having a bunch of mini interviews, so I’m doing what I can to make an instant and lasting impression. I’ve got my confidence cranked all the way up, and I can’t wait to show everyone that I’m made of. I miss working in baseball, and I can’t wait to get back.

If you’re at the Winter Meetings I look forward to connecting with you!

my partner and I on our way into DC for the National Equality March

Oh, America. The land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE. Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t completely disappointed in the majority of Maine for voting against marriage equality. I am completely disappointed. After the National Equality March last month I have a huge charge for making things happen. I must admit, I’ve been thinking more than acting or talking. As an out and proud lesbian, it’s about time I actually said/did something to make things happen, right?

I am ashamed to say that I did used to hide my sexuality in the work place. I only hid it in the field I love most, Major League Baseball. Well, as the winter meetings approach and I will be interviewing like crazy to find a job…too bad if they know I’m gay. I’ve always said, if I’m asked I’ll tell. Which is still true. But I will proudly talk about my partner, and not my calling her my best friends (she’s that too, but being my partner is more important). I say too bad if you don’t want me to work for you because I’m gay, your loss. Someone will want me to work for them, and it will be worth their time.

As for Maine and the majority of America…who are you to tell me who I can or cannot marry? This is the “land of the free” is it not? Why am I not FREE to love and marry my partner? Trust me, we are not affecting your marriage. Fifty percent or more of you heterosexual married couples will divorce anyway. Harsh? Maybe, but so it telling me I can’t have equal rights. If  my partner gets sick/has to have surgery I can’t even find out if she’s okay because “I’m not family.” The religious argument doesn’t really work for me either. Coming from a devout Catholic family you’d think that none of them would be talking to me, right? Wrong. They love me and my partner, and understand that we were born this way. You can’t pray away the gay. As for the definition of marriage that apparently we gay couples are violating. Thank you to Caryn, my other half, for point this next part out for me. According to Merriam-Websters dictionary, and too much of society, marriage is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law.” This is the definition I have been told that I am trying to redefine, and how bad that is. Consider that not too long ago interracial marriage was illegal. Tell anyone in an interracial marriage or relationship that they don’t deserve the same rights as an all white, black, pink, green or purple heterosexual couple. That won’t go over well. But, what Caryn pointed out was that in US history marriage was a man’s possession of a woman, and only whites could marry. Our country has redefined marriage before, and we will again.

For those who are unsure how they feel. Think about your friends who are gay. Maybe me, maybe someone else. Would you want to take that away from them? Consider what you might think if you have a gay child, or you have a gay sibling. How will your opinions change? Will you stop talking to them because they are gay? That happens too often, and believe it or not…they find love and support despite family rejection.

The GLBT people of America are incredibly brave. Someone of us right on the front lines for the military, and we all risk losing our jobs and families because we’re “different.” We have to fight for our acceptance.

Our generation will make things happen. Starting today.

After 12 hours on career builder I’d received 6 emails telling me I’m qualified for entry level sales because of my sales experience. Well, that’s not what I had in mind. Another 24 hours later, I had three voicemails requesting interviews for entry level sales positions. In the mix of all the sales positions I got an email about an expanding marketing firm in Indy that was looking to fill marketing, promotions, customer service, and management training positions. Promotions was the only position I knew would have to do with sales, so I figured I’d give them a shot. I scheduled the interview for 10:30 on my birthday.

I put on my freshly dry cleaned suit, packed my portfolio and had my umbrella ready. The time finally came, my nerves were going crazy, and I was taken in for the interview. “So, you know this is for a marketing and sales position, right?” To make a short story even shorter, the interview was done in six minutes, and I slowly made my way home through a flood and thunderstorm.

What that interview did was open my eyes. I realized just how important it is to network across the board, and utilize those connections. I also realized that besides sports I have no clue what I want to do, so I’m going to focus on me. By focusing on me the rest of my life will fall into place. I’ve recommended Maria Shriver’s Just Who Will You Be to several people, and I will recommend it to everyone. This little gem of a book has changed how I look at life, and I hope that I can use what I learned from it to help other people be happier with their lives as well. 

So now I am embarking on my journey to figure out me, and relationship building with the many great PR/sports people of the world.

You can look at that in two ways. From the baseball fans point of view, you’re waiting for the perfect pitch to hit your home run and launch your new career. From the business aspect, you’re waiting for the perfect job to the pitched to you with all the right things: benefits, salary, environment, opportunity and the list goes on. 

As for the baseball point of view you’re going to get other pitches before you get that perfect pitch. Some of them are just your warm up swings (phone interviews, interviews and/or rejection letters) to see how the pitcher (the real world) is playing. You’ll take a few balls where you decide it’s not what you want. You’ll take some strikes, they decide you’re not quite right or it wasn’t everything the website made it out to be. Don’t look at those strikes as “striking out.” If every professional baseball player that has hit a rut gave up after striking out 6 or 7 times America’s greatest past time would not exist at this moment. Many great business men and women got rejected in interviews. Use those “strikes” and practice. You’re working on your skills so that next time you know what questions to ask, how to answer certain questions, or even just how to have a conversation. You’ll get lucky and hit singles, doubles and triples sometimes as well. Not quite your dream job, but something that works at the time. Bills have to be paid, cars need gas, and people need food….therefore we need money. I have my list of companies I highly recommend you avoid, but you’ll have to ask me about them. Sometimes a paid internship is the way to go. You’ll learn a lot and be making money as well. With patience and a good eye you’ll get that perfect pitch, swing, and you’ll hit a homerun and be off to start your new career.

As for the business point of view, make sure to do your research. I reviewed various sources for my last job, had three interviews, and got the job. After a few weeks, I learned that a few things told to me in my interview were in fact only for managers (they said I would have benefits and that I would have time off). After a few months I found out that the opportunity was a lie. Make sure you ask questions in the interviewing process, and do your homework before you go into the interviews. You don’t want to end up miserable in a job after finding out everything was a lie. People want you to work for them, so they will give your their best pitch and try to sell you on the position. The interview isn’t only about you showing why you are the best candidate for the job. Keep that in mind.

Take your time and be patient. Your perfect pitch will come. Remember to learn along the way, so when you swing at that perfect pitch you get a homerun.

I recently re-read Just Who Will you Be? by Maria Shriver, and all of it hit home. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it to everyone. The third part of Maria’s pledge at the end of the book was “3. I pledge to give myself ten minutes of silence and stillness every day to get in touch with my heart and hear my own voice.” This is something very important that I lost track of when I moved to St. Louis and go started with my last job. Working 10-12 hours a day there was some how harder to time manage than 15 hours during my internship with the Reds. I guess it had to do with hating the job, and filling my “free time” with sleep trying to convince myself I had made the right decision. Anyway…re-reading that little book might have made the biggest change in me. Now I’m going to focus on me, and who I am and who I will be. Everything I do will be for me. 

My time to get in touch with my heart and listen to my voice is mostly when I’m running or doing yoga. I vow to myself to take that time for myself everyday, even if I’m not training in some way.

I started connecting with my heart and my voice today with a run, go figure. This run had particular significance to me…I got bad news about my “other family.” Grandma passed away. I used my run to release all of my buried feelings and to bring my mind to peace. 

With my families never ending support and love, the guidence of my heart, and a peaceful mind I believe that this fresh start will be the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.

Interning in Media Relations for the Cincinnati Reds was by far the best internship, ever. I met the coolest people in the press/media, loved the coaching staff, and got to watch almost all of the 2008 home games from the Press Box (great view and I didn’t get rained on). My ice cream with extra sprinkles was famous around the press box and media suites because somehow I saved games and brought the longest winning streak of the season. I even had the opportunity to help compile and edit the 2008 Post Season Guide and the 2009 Media Guide. You can see my name in size 4 font in the 2008 PSG, that’s my claim to fame I guess.

My first actual job after graduating was a bit more of a bust. I was really excited to get hired because I was told that I would get to sign and work with big clients for the “marketing and advertising firm.” Well, what I found out was that “marketing and advertising firm” was a so-called “direct marketing firm” but was actually just a sales office. The opportunity was amazing, and I was great at sales so I figured I’d suffer through sales for 6 months then be done. My first boss got fired, and his promoting manager moved Josh (my partner in crime) and I to Phoenix to do the same thing. Well, to make a long story short, no one should be doing residential canvassing when it’s 105 degrees even if it is dry heat, the “opportunity” was really crap, and Josh and I quit. 

Now I’m starting newest chapter of Life After College, chapter 3. I’m back home in Indy, and I’ve had my time to organize my life and come up with a plan of action. My Dad asked me “What did you learn from your experience? Would you have taken the job if you had it to do over again?” My answers were simple. I learned I don’t like that kind of sales and that I’m going to work in baseball. I would probably have still taken the job because I learned new skill sets and found out how much I love Phoenix. Now, like so many other 22 year olds, I’m job hunting. Right now I’m excited about it, and I’m hoping to maintain that excitement through my final interview of my dream job, whenever that is. I was asked to explain how being a sports fan has helped me through my job searching, and this is how I explained it:

As a sports fan playing in the wide world of Corporate America looking for my “dream job” I’ve realized one thing. Follow your heart. I am passionate about sports, and looking for a job in the field of sports takes patience. It’s like waiting for the perfect pitch to hit a homerun. Sometimes you’ll strike out, and that’s not getting the job you’re hoping for. Sometimes you’ll get a base hit, and that’s like taking a job because it’s offered to you. Honestly, I’ve tried that and that’s not the way to go, but I’ve got new skill sets and have learned what I don’t want to do with my life. One day that perfect pitch will come along and you’ll get the job you want, but you’ve got to learn with every pitch you get.

My play time is up, so I’m off to hunt down my dream job.