Dream Job? Yes, Please!
By Michael Maldonado
As graduation creeps nearer and the job search becomes increasingly daunting, I have to ask myself one thing. “What do I really want to do with my life?” There are so many decisions to make and so little time to make them in. I have several immediate options that can assure me food on the table and a roof over my head. However, I’ve never been a fan of taking the easy way out. I want a career in public relations and I want to start it right away.
The easiest option would be to move back my home town, The Colony, at an all-inclusive resort known as Chez Maldonado where my mother is the landlady. I could have a job as a sales associate or possibly a manager position at one of the many north Texas branches of my current employer. As much as I’d love to be a townie and have my mother know my exact location at all times, I have my sights set slightly higher.
I want to be a global citizen. My dream is to work for an international public relations agency or organization that will take me around the world. I want to see how other people live and be forced to learn at least two more languages. When I have not been studying or working this semester I have been exploring how I can get a job in the United Kingdom. The process is actually a lot more difficult than I had imagined.
In order to get a work visa in the United Kingdom, an American has to have an employer sponsor them for the visa. However, most of the time a company does not sponsor people who are not European Union nationals unless they are already staying for an extended period of time. The next best thing for a graduating student to do is to get a temporary six-month working visa through a program called BUNAC. This looks to be the route I will be taking.
In my fantasy, I will make it to the UK by March or April of 2008 with my BUNAC visa and a couple thousand British pounds (which is a couple-couple American dollars). I will have a place to stay with one of the many friends I made during my year abroad in Sheffield. If I must I will get an immediate but temporary position at a GAP in the city I am living in. After a few weeks I will use my two advantages, geography and a well-tailored CV, to get a job with a PR agency that will sponsor me for a 2-year work visa. This company will be pretty notable and have several international offices.
I will then work my way up the PR ladder. After a few years, several PR publications will do feature stories on me and the way I revolutionized the world of branding and consumer PR.
Sounds pretty simple, yes? I will hopefully update everyone in about 10 years from my chateau in Paris or my villa in Barcelona.
2 comments:
WOW! You really know your stuff! I hope you get the job you want and where you want it! As much as I love my mother working close enough for her to know my every move is not very comforting! =)
I never knew that you had to have a work visa to go over there. I'd also be interested to know if you plan on living in Europe forever. I do admire your aspirations and I think you are going about it very realistically-- mentioning climbing the ladder. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you!
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