Megan Riksen:
Hello and welcome to the Work Like a Laker podcast. I'm Megan Rickson and we are back with a brand new season. We are on season nine, everyone. Thank you the
Dani Lauer:
Confetti.
Megan Riksen:
Woo. And as you heard, my co-hosts are chiming in. Grace Joaquin and Dani Lauer are here.
Grace Joaquin:
Hello.
Dani Lauer:
Hi everyone.
Megan Riksen:
And, you know, we had to bring the three hosts in for the very first episode. And we just wanna say we, we think we have a pretty stellar season planned. Um, we get to work on this throughout the year and really are paying attention to what are some of the topics that will make sense for the coming year, the things we're hearing, the things we know that students and alums are thinking about and wondering about and maybe worrying about. Um, so we're excited really to be kicking off this season. And the topic we wanted to start with today, um, is something that I think is pretty universally necessary, which is being an organized person. Organization, right? This is something that without it might make some tasks and really all of life, you know, personal, professional, uh, just a little bit harder. Whereas if you can get organized, you can kind of help yourself out quite a bit.
Megan Riksen:
What do you guys think?
Dani Lauer:
Definitely. I would say yes to both personal and professional. Being organized and having some kind of system just kind of makes walking through life a little bit easier, I would say. Um, it certainly does for me. So
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Yeah. So would you say that you're an organized person, Danny?
Dani Lauer:
I would.
Megan Riksen:
I would too. I second that.
Grace Joaquin:
Grace? I would not. So, um, do as I say, not as I do on this podcast, but I think I have like an organized chaos.
Megan Riksen:
I think you do too. If
Grace Joaquin:
You came into my office and moved something, I would know someone had been in there. Ooh. 'Cause I'd be like, oh, this random bag that's lying on my counter was at a 87 degree angle.
Megan Riksen:
Don't break into Grace's house. She'll know.
Grace Joaquin:
I know. So I feel like I do like kind of know what's going on, but it's not a super systematic way that I organize things, but.
Megan Riksen:
Sure. But I've fed you some good information for this episode. No, I'm kidding.
Grace Joaquin:
Megan told me what to say. I better
Megan Riksen:
Get it right. Yeah. So today we have lots of tips and tricks. We're gonna kind of go through some of those tips and just ideas and thoughts. These are just our own ideas and thoughts. There are a million ways to get organized. So please use this as a jumping off point for your own organization and what works in your life. So Grace, can you just get us started by maybe laying the groundwork a little bit about why being organized matters? So this could be in a workplace, in your personal life. And then also, you know, we're a career podcast here. This is certainly something that is helpful in career planning.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah. And I will say, so as I mentioned, it's not my strong suit. I wouldn't say I'm like terrible at it, but I used to be a K-12 teacher and I was shocked that really organizational skills were probably the number one thing that you need as a teacher. Wow. And so that's honestly a point where I struggled a little bit more because you need to be so meticulously planned out because, you know, you need to anticipate basically what could happen in any given moment and have alternative options and things like that. So that's just one example, but I feel like so many workplaces, there are so many ways that being organized saves your life in that job. Um, it helps you to control chaos. Like I said, in some environments, work environments, you don't know what's gonna happen on a day to day basis. I mean, in any, but especially in like ones where you're working with children.
Grace Joaquin:
Oh my gosh,
Megan Riksen:
Teaching. Yeah.
Grace Joaquin:
For sure. Or, you know, anything that's like a reactive job, healthcare, you don't know what's happening. So the more organized you are with the things you can control, the better you can then react to situations that are coming at you. Um, it does, I think, reduce stress, decision fatigue. If you pre-think of things and have like a list or something, then in the moment you're not gonna be constantly, you know, doing the little duck paddle underwater where you're - Yeah. Trying to figure things out.
Dani Lauer:
Or being worried that you're gonna forget about something. Yeah. Like that's something for me too, if I haven't organized or planned ahead, then I'm not just stressed about what's happening in the moment, but I'm constantly worrying like, "What am I forgetting? Am I missing something?" You know, and that, just that organization ahead of time can really combat
Megan Riksen:
That. That makes me think of like literally packing for a trip. Yes. And how the times where I'm like really on top of it and I make a list in advance and I have like my list for what I need to make sure I remember to grab at 6:00 AM before heading out the door versus what I can pack the night before. I feel so much better and I don't have that like home alone mom on the plane feeling like what am I forgetting? Yeah. But if you don't do that and you're throwing things in at the last minute, it is. It, it's a, it makes your life, it really makes you think through things in a different way. It feels like a flurry. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Grace Joaquin:
I know right now, so the, we're recording this a little early and I'm currently pregnant with twins. My, and they're, it's my second and third. And with my first child, I was like, with my husband, we were very pre-planned. It was like I laid out like what his role would be, what my role would be, like every single day. Okay.
Megan Riksen:
You are organized if you're doing that. Well,
Grace Joaquin:
Now with the second I'm like, eh, we've done it. Yeah. So, but with that in mind, I'm like, I know it's probably not gonna be as smooth when they come - Sure. Because even though I've done it before, like just that I need to really just sit down still and like that pre-thinking, as you're saying with a trip is so helpful. I also think organizing helps you prioritize. So I know actually the three of us, um, Danny, Megan and I, our jobs are very proactive in the sense where we have a lot of time throughout the day to figure out what we need to do that day. It's not reacting to students coming in. It's more just like we have that, the blessing of time. But with that, we have to prioritize what makes sense to do. Mm-hmm. And so if I just come in at 8:0 AM and I haven't thought about it, I might waste a few hours of the day trying to figure out what do I need to do or maybe working on a task that's less important.
Grace Joaquin:
Whereas if the day before, at the end of the day, I think, okay, what does tomorrow look like? Mm-hmm. What are the tasks I need to get done? What's the most important? Let's do that first. That really just helps make the day go by smoothly and make sure I get the things done that need to be done. Uh, it also helps you to be more reliable. So I think we all know the people who, you know, if you're in a group project, you know, who are - uh-huh. The students that you can count on to get their part done, the ones you don't have to check in with as much. And same with the workplace. Like really working is a twenty four seven group project in a way. Mm-hmm. Like you're just all trying to kind of. It's not quite the same because you don't have a grade, but, you know, you're working with people.
Grace Joaquin:
And so it matters to be reliable and to do what you say you'll do. And being organized really helps with that. And I just wanna say that, you know, some people are innately more organized and I am, like I said, not one of them, but it is a learnable skill and I feel like I have gotten better and better every year. So it's something, that's why we have this podcast episode is to show people that there are tools and resources that will help you. Mm-hmm.
Dani Lauer:
Definitely. And so let's talk a little bit about that learned skill. I am a product of that. So I shared that I feel as though I'm pretty organized and I think my family and friends would probably be able to attest to that. I've seen the spreadsheets. There are a lot of spreadsheets in my life. But that was definitely not the case for me. I would even say like all throughout college, even post-grad, my first few years of my career, I was not an organized person at all. And, you know, just little by little, I think I've taught myself how to be more organized and I've seen, I think I've continued it on because I've seen the benefit in my own life. Like I - Were you
Megan Riksen:
Noticing more chaos in your life that made you decide to start - Yeah. Figuring out how to get organized? Yeah. Is that the impetus?
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. For sure. I would say I, I can probably go back to like really starting grad school because I was in a master's program while I was working a full-time job, which is a lot, right? And so I think it was just kind of out of necessity. I was already feeling pretty stressed about keeping all of my papers and projects and exam schedules and classes organized while also starting in this new job that I had gotten at the time. And so it was more so just like, I can't afford to be more stressed out. I need to figure out how to get a system going to be more organized. And it's just kind of snowballed from there. So - You're
Megan Riksen:
An organization junkie now.
Dani Lauer:
A little bit. 'Cause it pays, it's just so worth it to me. Yeah, yeah. I just can tell. Um, I think I, I'm a little bit of a naturally anxious person. And so it really does calm my anxiety to have - That's awesome. An, an organized, you know, process. So, you know, if you're like I was back in the day and maybe looking to kind of build some organization into your life, I would say, you know, start really small. So the first thing I would recommend is just to kind of s - have a start and end day routine. So, you know, if you're thinking about this in the workplace, you know, checking your calendar at the start and end of each day. So what do I have going on throughout my day today? What do I have coming up tomorrow? Even like, what do I have coming up in the next week or two?
Dani Lauer:
Is there something I can do now that will make my next day or my next week feel a little bit easier? What can I do right now to, to make that happen? And so, you know, even just being mentally prepared for the next thing, um, really, really helps. And it just cal - I, I've noticed too, it like calms me down when I go into that next meeting because I'm not flustered, "Oh yeah, what am I supposed to be doing here? And, you know, do I need to talk about something in this meeting? Am I gonna get called on?" It just helps me be more present. It helps me be more, you know, focused and, you know, ready to go for whatever's next.
Megan Riksen:
And if we even extended that to career planning and getting organized in that, how amazing, if you are in the middle of trying to accomplish something in your career, whether it's I'm trying to figure out what I want my major to be, all the way to I am full on job searching. If you had to start an end of day routine around that, how amazing would that be? Today, I'm gonna accomplish this. And then at the end of the day, all right, here's what I got done. I wanna make sure I'm doing X, Y, Z tomorrow.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. So, so helpful. And just helps you to know, like to keep track of your goals too, right? Mm-hmm. If you have specific goals in mind, whether that be my goal is to finish writing this paper by the end of, you know, the week, then you can just keep yourself accountable to those goals. Um, and I'd also say too, just building in time at the end of the week to prepare for the next one. So, you know, that could be if the end of your week is on a Thursday because you don't have class on Friday, let that be your kind of prepare for the end of the week or prepare for next week. Um, you know, that can really be whenever it works for you. But again, just doing that calendar check, looking to see what's ahead and making sure you're mentally prepared for it.
Grace Joaquin:
I will say that's like the one thing that I do religiously I feel like is, or I try to - uh-huh. Is the end of the day. Mm-hmm. And like looking at my next day. And if I don't, it's like the one time I'll log in out of work hours to double check and be like, oh, I
Megan Riksen:
Forgot to go in the morning.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah. And I mean, especially if you, yeah, you have schedules that change week to week, which we do in this office. Mm-hmm. It's so important, but I feel like, and that week to week is also beneficial.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. And I also put little reminders in my calendar. So if you're someone who isn't necessarily always gonna remember to do that, put it in your calendar.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Have a recurring calendar item.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
The beginning and end of every day.
Dani Lauer:
Or like a running document. One of the tools I use a lot and my partner and I use it together is Google Keep. So if you have a. Students all have Gmail accounts through Grand Valley. Keep is a app that is through Google. And it's just like a little checklist sticky note type of service. So if you use notes on iPhone, it's pretty similar to that. But I just love the way it's organized and I just keep a running kind of list of my week. So if I need to remember to get groceries for, you know, this potluck I'm bringing something to at work, then I'm putting that in my Google Keep and I'm kind of letting that be an extra check because I'm not necessarily gonna put that in my work calendar. Right. But I also don't wanna forget to- Totally. Do it. Mm-hmm.
Dani Lauer:
And so having that always like on my phone or on my computer desktop, so helpful to stay organized and especially keeping tasks that are just popping up randomly throughout my week to kind of stay on my radar.
Megan Riksen:
Mm-hmm.
Grace Joaquin:
And I love things like that because I used to be like a note taker, like a handwritten note taker. Mm-hmm. And now I just use my notes app all the time, which is similar, but I think not as or- organized as Google Keep. But it's so nice because then you can search your notes, which like - Yeah. You can't do when you hand write them. So - Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
It's very helpful. You can check things off, but the list remains there. I like that about Google Keep.
Dani Lauer:
Love
Megan Riksen:
That. You can go back and be like, "Oh yeah, I did do that."
Dani Lauer:
And you can archive the notes and then unarchive them.
Megan Riksen:
Ooh. I haven't done
Dani Lauer:
That. Okay. You know, if there's something that you, like for example, I always keep a running packing list for trips up north. So I will just un-archive it when I'm going up north and then - Oh smart.That's so smart. All the items repopulate and then boom, I already have my packing list ready to go. I don't have to reinvent the wheel, if you will, to, you know, create the same thing over and over again. It's just there.
Megan Riksen:
Amazing. I need
Grace Joaquin:
To get on this because Victor and I are, my husband and I are house divided because he has Android and I have Apple. Yeah. So for us to have a shared -
Megan Riksen:
Yep.
Grace Joaquin:
App like that would be great. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I can't do it with notes, so. Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, for sure. All right. Let's move on to our next tip, which is, um, something we already started talking about a little bit, but write it down. Um, this is something I do religiously. I take notes on everything, um, because it, it really reduces my mental load. And I heard this quote recently, "Your brain is for thinking, not storage." I was like, "Gosh, that is nice." Yeah. That is a nice little reminder. I love that. Um, so yeah, writing things down can be kind of what we were talking about before with maybe it's just quick notes and Google Keep. Maybe you have a daily kind of running to-do list. Maybe you use a planner or some combination of those. Um, so yeah, we talked about Google Keep. What tools do each of you use for keeping track of daily tasks? Maybe let's take it from the work perspective.
Megan Riksen:
What do you use?
Grace Joaquin:
As far as like lists and keeping track of to-dos, I like post-it notes. This is where I feel like I'm like, I'm a type C, if you guys have seen like the reels and memes about that, where it's like I'm not organized, but I am at the same time. So I'll do a post-it note on my computer - uh-huh. Mm-hmm. That has, you know, like 10 tasks for that week. And then once I've crossed out the majority, I'll transfer what's left over to a new post-it and like kind of every week - Yeah. Just have a post-it note going. It's great.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. For work, I would say I do put a lot of things just on my calendar. Um, like Grace was saying, because my calendar isn't necessarily populating with student appointments, I can use it as a little bit of my own personal checklist. So I will just put it in as an appointment or something. And then I actually will go back after I've completed it and put done in front of it
Megan Riksen:
On
Dani Lauer:
The calendar. So then, you know, again, if I'm doing that, like looking back into my week or doing some checking on my calendar, it's like a reminder to myself that like, oh, you already did this. You don't have to think about it again.
Megan Riksen:
That's great.
Grace Joaquin:
And this is probably an obvious thing to most listeners, but I didn't know it until a couple years ago. But in Outlook, it's very easy to also search your calendar. So if you go to the calendar part and you search like a keyword, like, I don't even
Megan Riksen:
Know. Podcast.
Grace Joaquin:
Podcast. I can search and see all the, the agendas on my calendar that I've had that word and see if they're done. Like if you do a system like Danny where you can say done and it's really easy to kind of just see all the, all the work you've done with that.
Megan Riksen:
Mm-hmm. That's great. Yeah. And I use a Google Doc as kind of my running to-do list and we'll just cross things off. Um, as they go, I have different sections on there of things that like absolutely must happen today, things that I'm kind of waiting to hear back from someone on, things that I know are just kind of ongoing, I'm doing constantly, but I need to remind myself of. Um, so that's a little bit of how I use it. And I also use it, um, to keep track of some longer term goals as well, which I think is something that we, when we think of organization, I feel like we think a little more im- immediate needs. Mm-hmm. Right. Like you think to-do list. I gotta, I gotta to do this right now. Um, but if you can incorporate some of those longer term planning or goals that those things then stay on your radar and you're much more likely to look at
Grace Joaquin:
Them. That's such a good idea.
Megan Riksen:
Like I think, um, you know, obviously in a workplace, in a work environment, you're gonna have some sort of a, um, plan, you know, goal setting, whatever it is for your year. And ours live in a system called Workday. And do I go and look at those ever? No. But if I put them on that Google Doc I use way at the bottom, then, you know, sometimes when I scroll down, I am reminded of that. And it's just that little visual reminder. And I think that could really help in the career planning space as well.
Dani Lauer:
Definitely. I would say too, that helps it really break up those big long-term goals that sometimes have several steps to get to the finish line. That really helps us to be a little bit more intentional to plan the smaller pieces.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, for sure. I
Grace Joaquin:
Think I need to switch to a Google Doc. From my post-its.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, it's pretty nice. And then it's, you know, available at home if you are doing a remote day and you don't need to remember to take the post-its with
Grace Joaquin:
You. Or it doesn't get like unstuck in the law.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly.
Grace Joaquin:
Or I can actually read it instead of sometimes my handwriting I can't. Totally. All right. So tip three, uh, and this is honestly, some of these are gonna be things that we've already referenced, but stay on top of things and always follow through. And a way to do that is something Danny kind of mentioned, which is setting reminders and you could like use your calendar or your phone for this. Again, I just mentioned I have an Apple, so for me personally, I'll just say, "Hey, can you set a reminder for blank?" And I do that specifically more for like, not work stuff, but personal stuff. Like if I need to remember to make an appointment for my daughter or something. Um, but then also on my calendar, this is something that I have gotten better about. And I learned it from Megan. She does this really well, which is just to, Daniel was talking about this too, like set little reminders on your calendar of things you need to work on.
Grace Joaquin:
And that's also how I help, it helps me to prioritize. So like if I don't have three projects coming up that will need to be done, I look at kind of the due date for all of them, how long they'll take, and then I block out that time on my calendar throughout the next few weeks to make sure that I have time for all of those projects before they're due. And it helps me to prioritize and just to make sure I'm building out time. And so I really use my calendar now and I'll do like yearly reoccurring things for any, um, tasks that I need to do every year, which is a lot for me. So anyway, setting out different, um, agendas on my calendar like that has been very helpful. Also, email. Email is something that can get disorganized super quickly.
Megan Riksen:
And it's something we all deal with - Yes. All day, every day. I'm sure all the students listening, you're like, yes, I am over it. Yes. But we can't be. We have to manage it.
Grace Joaquin:
How many listeners have thousands and thousands of unread emails in their inbox? Probably a
Dani Lauer:
Lot. And a lot from Grand Valley. Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. And a lot from our office. But please read those. Read those. We send you good stuff.
Grace Joaquin:
Um, but, you know, like thinking about when you start a new job, this is your chance. You have a zero inbox right now. Ooh. Like think - Sounds glorious.
Grace Joaquin:
Really think about beforehand, maybe watch a couple tutorials on YouTube or something. Mm-hmm. How can I best set this up to, for my success? Do I wanna have folders? Some people, I use folders, Megan doesn't. Right. You know, do you wanna use folders? How are you going to mark things that you need to come back to? So you can fl - and Outlook you can flag. Actually, I think on Gmail too. Mm-hmm. You can flag emails to come back to it. I will often mark it as unread. Right. That usually gets my attention more than if I flag it. Mm-hmm. So just like have a system in place. And again, I think it's just nice to be proactive when you first start a new role or have a new email or whatever the case and think about how can I keep this manageable so I'm not feeling overwhelmed by my inbox.
Megan Riksen:
And make sure if you have an email account that you're checking it. I find this a lot with students in the job search and even in the hiring I've done for interns. Um, often that personal, when you're a student, you're checking that Grand Valley email all the time, but you might have put your personal email on your resume and then you are forgetting that, oh, that's where that person is going to reach out to me. So especially if you're on the hunt for an internship for a job, um, make sure you are checking that email that you've listed.
Grace Joaquin:
Yes. And again, it's easier to do that and to not miss something if you are staying on top of it being organized. And I think that the more, once you get into a career and once you're job hunting, it becomes imperative that you can see what is coming to you in, in those emails.
Dani Lauer:
Mm-hmm. So true. I'll, just one other piece that I was thinking of while you guys were talking too was this is often an interview question that employers ask. And so knowing how you stay organized or how you plan to stay organized in the workplace is a good just answer to have at the ready because a lot, a lot of employers will ask this question in the interview.
Megan Riksen:
Very common.
Grace Joaquin:
And unlike school, you, you often won't have an exact deadline. You know, in the classroom you're gonna have a syllabus that's gonna give you all the due dates for the who semester at the beginning of the semester. A lot of workplaces, you might not have any due dates. Right. It might just be like, "Hey, we're kinda hoping to have this by the end of the month or in a, within the year," whatever, right? Right. Like and so it's a little bit, you kinda have to set the deadlines yourself. Right. So think about those classes you've had where it's like, "Oh, we have five papers that are due, but there's no specific due dates. They just have to be in by the end of the semester." You're gonna really be upset with yourself if you wait till the last minute to do them. Yeah. So again, workplace kind of functions more like that where you have to really be on top of your schedule - uh-huh.
Grace Joaquin:
And set your own deadline sometimes. Yeah,
Megan Riksen:
For sure.
Grace Joaquin:
All right. Should we get into our next segment?
Megan Riksen:
Yes. Okay. Now we're gonna play a little game. Um, we've developed a few scenarios and we're gonna draw them out of a hat. And we'll read the scenario and then we'll kinda have a conversation about what should this person do, first of all, but then maybe what could they do better next time? How could they be a little more organized, um, the next time around? So would anyone like to start?
Dani Lauer:
I can start. Okay. Scenario is you've applied to 15 jobs and can't remember where you applied, what the role was, or if you've ever heard back.
Megan Riksen:
Dun, dun, dun.
Dani Lauer:
So this, this is tough, right? Mm-hmm. Because and it's very realistic. Mm-hmm. Sometimes you're on Handshake or another job search platform, you're just applying and sending your resume out there and that's
Megan Riksen:
It. And yeah, you might have applied on Indeed and LinkedIn. Mm-hmm. And Handshake. Mm-hmm. So are you really going to all those platforms to check on the status? I mean, you could.
Dani Lauer:
It'd be really hard to remember though after 15. Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
Dani Lauer:
So I mean, in the moment after you've done this, you know, probably try to rack your brain and remember, you know, see if there's any paper trail you can find. Mm-hmm. But I would say, you know, for next time, a really good way to, to be organized is just use a spreadsheet. Yep. I know that sounds whatever, but -
Megan Riksen:
Yep.
Dani Lauer:
Use a spreadsheet. Um, Google Sheets is great for this. You know, put some columns in there, like ti - job title, place I applied, or just the link to the job description, um, or the posting, um, you know, status, right? Applied or interview scheduled. Yep. Or, you know, whatever that might be.
Megan Riksen:
Do you have a contact there? Yes. Should you be finding a contact there? Right. You know, I can prompt that sort of thing too. Yeah.
Dani Lauer:
Have you followed up with the contact? Mm-hmm. Have you written a thank you note? Um, you know, all of those things. If you just kind of keep all of that information in one place, it's gonna be way easier. And again, going back to that mental load, your brain isn't trying to remember all of the things that you just did. You can just brain dump it into one spot and you're good to go.
Grace Joaquin:
And I will say, as you were saying, it like seems I think maybe like almost basic to suggest. However, I remember when I was first starting in this role as an intern, and I was here as an intern, and I was about to graduate and apply for jobs. And one of our advisors, Lisa Knapp, who is still here today, she told me to do that and like, it was like blew my mind. I was like, oh my gosh, yes. Like this is so helpful. Mm-hmm. And I guess I just had never thought to do that before. Mm-hmm. So literally just a spreadsheet. It just, it really helps so much. Absolutely.
Dani Lauer:
Well, and for interview prep too, if you have a p - a link to the job posting, that's gonna help you prepare for the interview if you get one, because you wanna go back to that job posting and, you know, prepare some answers based on what they're looking for. And, you know, it's just,
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, it's so helpful. Yes.
Grace Joaquin:
All right. I'll go next.
Megan Riksen:
Do it.
Grace Joaquin:
Okay. So mine says, "You're a junior and people keep asking what you want to do, and you genuinely have no idea." So this, honestly, it was me. So this is probably a perfect one for me to get.
Megan Riksen:
Same. It was also me.
Grace Joaquin:
And here's what not to do. Um, just kind of put it off wait till you graduate.
Megan Riksen:
Exactly.
Grace Joaquin:
And then work in banking like Megan did for a year. Yes. Or, um, waitress for a year and then go back to school and spend more money. Right. Like I did. Um, so don't do that. Um, I would say what could you have done differently at that point? Like, so if you could turn back time, start as a freshman, you know, maybe come into the career, career center, do some career exploration. We have Pathway U as a resource where you can go and you can see what your strengths are and your values and it will give you some ideas. Um, you know, really be, uh, mindful about what gen eds you take to see if they can help put you in the right direction. So really starting that thought process. We know there's so many things that freshmen and sophomore, especially freshmen, have on their minds.
Grace Joaquin:
Like they wanna know where do they get their food? Mm-hmm. Like are they having a good roommate experience? Like things that are super important, but career should also be somewhere in there. And so that's what you could have done differently now. If you're a junior and you can't turn back time, um, there's still time, you know? Absolutely. So still using those same resources. Come to the career center. Uh, take US 102. That's a class that we give that helps with career exploration. Mm-hmm. Um, there's a lot of assessments online you can take, like I said, Pathway U, there's other ones.
Megan Riksen:
We have so many resources on our website - Yes. To help with this.
Grace Joaquin:
So just, you know, I think what happens, I know this happens to me, the more daunting or scary something seems, the more I just wanna push it away. Right. And so again, that's what I did. And I was a senior, graduated. Mm-hmm. Didn't know what I wanted to do. Mm-hmm. And if I had just faced it instead - uh-huh. And put more work into it earlier on, it would've saved me money.
Megan Riksen:
Gone organized. If
Grace Joaquin:
I would've gotten organized.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Awesome. Okay. Should we do one more? Yes.
Grace Joaquin:
Yes. All right.
Megan Riksen:
All right. This one is you find an internship you love, but the deadline was yesterday. Oh, no. Oh. She's the
Grace Joaquin:
Worst.
Megan Riksen:
That is kinda the worst. Mm-hmm. But so common because, my gosh, there are endless places to look for internships and jobs. You might have your go-to as handshake, but then, you know, randomly kind of check LinkedIn and maybe, oh boy, there it is and it's gone. Um, or you had saved it. That' probably even more common scenario.You had saved it and you're like, "I'm gonna apply." And then you didn't realize the deadline was gone. Okay. So if that is you, I would say immediately. I mean, of course you have the option to say, you know, you win some, you lose some. I'll, I'll find another one the next time, of course. Um, but if you were really dead set on this and truly just missed the deadline, I don't know about you guys, but I don't think there's anything wrong with reaching out to the hirer, to the organization, to the recruiter.
Megan Riksen:
Um, and just asking if that truly was a hard deadline or not. I would say if you're doing that, um, put all of the quote unquote blame on yourself. You know, I missed this, I apologize for being late to this, however, I am still extremely interested in this role, you know, and then kind of use that as an opportunity as almost like an intro, like a little mini cover letter for why, um, they should consider still accepting your application.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah. And I feel like you are dead on where like the tone of how you say it is going to matter so much. Yes.
Megan Riksen:
'Cause if you just go in there guns blazing, like, no, open it up for me, not
Dani Lauer:
Gonna work. Right. And I would say, yeah, I mean, I've, we've all supervised interns. If someone sent that to me, I would definitely say yes. I know. That's not everybody, right? So it will be dependent on the organization, on the recruiter. Sometimes there's rules in HR that, you know, can't be bent. Right. Um, but, you know, our office is an office that would bend that rule, I would say. Yep. So that doesn't, yeah, that means that's probably true other places too. Yeah.
Grace Joaquin:
And I feel like worst case scenario, if they did have to say no, like worst case, you made potentially a connection so that if they, the next time they post something, you're gonna be maybe top of their list if you apply.
Megan Riksen:
Yes. And don't say, "Well, if anything else opens up, let me know." You can be the proactive one to say, um, "I see that you will be on campus at the career fair next month. I'll be sure to stop by and hopefully there'll be other opportunities at your organization," right? Yeah. So it's kind of about spin sometimes. Like yeah, what is that tone? Yes, definitely. Spot on there. Um, and then for next time, that's really where the spreadsheet, and we're just gonna keep coming back to that spreadsheet, would've been really helpful because you could've put the deadline, um, and you would've known, "Oh, yes. I'm gonna, when I'm checking my calendar at the start and end of my day, maybe I needed to put on there that I've gotta fill this application out tonight." Um, and then you would kind of have that system in place.
Megan Riksen:
So trying to bring it all together here.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah, this episode was sponsored by Google Sheets, so -
Megan Riksen:
Just kidding. And Google Keep. Um, we promised you could, well, you mentioned Apple a few times. Yeah. You can use other, other apps.
Dani Lauer:
There's so many good tools out there You can use whatever you want. Trello is another one - Oh yeah. That, um, I have, I haven't really used it a lot, but I've seen it popping up lately. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. There's, there's so many different systems -
Megan Riksen:
20 free ones. Yeah, and free options.
Dani Lauer:
All free. Yeah. So yeah, just do a quick internet search and see, you know, what works for you. Try a few out and see what sticks and, you know, everybody's gonna have a different system.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, absolutely. All right. I think that wraps up our episode for today. Um, our very first episode of the new season. So thank you so much to everyone for listening and we hope you tune in to a future episode soon.
Hello and welcome to the Work Like a Laker podcast. I'm Megan Rickson and we are back with a brand new season. We are on season nine, everyone. Thank you the
Dani Lauer:
Confetti.
Megan Riksen:
Woo. And as you heard, my co-hosts are chiming in. Grace Joaquin and Dani Lauer are here.
Grace Joaquin:
Hello.
Dani Lauer:
Hi everyone.
Megan Riksen:
And, you know, we had to bring the three hosts in for the very first episode. And we just wanna say we, we think we have a pretty stellar season planned. Um, we get to work on this throughout the year and really are paying attention to what are some of the topics that will make sense for the coming year, the things we're hearing, the things we know that students and alums are thinking about and wondering about and maybe worrying about. Um, so we're excited really to be kicking off this season. And the topic we wanted to start with today, um, is something that I think is pretty universally necessary, which is being an organized person. Organization, right? This is something that without it might make some tasks and really all of life, you know, personal, professional, uh, just a little bit harder. Whereas if you can get organized, you can kind of help yourself out quite a bit.
Megan Riksen:
What do you guys think?
Dani Lauer:
Definitely. I would say yes to both personal and professional. Being organized and having some kind of system just kind of makes walking through life a little bit easier, I would say. Um, it certainly does for me. So
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Yeah. So would you say that you're an organized person, Danny?
Dani Lauer:
I would.
Megan Riksen:
I would too. I second that.
Grace Joaquin:
Grace? I would not. So, um, do as I say, not as I do on this podcast, but I think I have like an organized chaos.
Megan Riksen:
I think you do too. If
Grace Joaquin:
You came into my office and moved something, I would know someone had been in there. Ooh. 'Cause I'd be like, oh, this random bag that's lying on my counter was at a 87 degree angle.
Megan Riksen:
Don't break into Grace's house. She'll know.
Grace Joaquin:
I know. So I feel like I do like kind of know what's going on, but it's not a super systematic way that I organize things, but.
Megan Riksen:
Sure. But I've fed you some good information for this episode. No, I'm kidding.
Grace Joaquin:
Megan told me what to say. I better
Megan Riksen:
Get it right. Yeah. So today we have lots of tips and tricks. We're gonna kind of go through some of those tips and just ideas and thoughts. These are just our own ideas and thoughts. There are a million ways to get organized. So please use this as a jumping off point for your own organization and what works in your life. So Grace, can you just get us started by maybe laying the groundwork a little bit about why being organized matters? So this could be in a workplace, in your personal life. And then also, you know, we're a career podcast here. This is certainly something that is helpful in career planning.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah. And I will say, so as I mentioned, it's not my strong suit. I wouldn't say I'm like terrible at it, but I used to be a K-12 teacher and I was shocked that really organizational skills were probably the number one thing that you need as a teacher. Wow. And so that's honestly a point where I struggled a little bit more because you need to be so meticulously planned out because, you know, you need to anticipate basically what could happen in any given moment and have alternative options and things like that. So that's just one example, but I feel like so many workplaces, there are so many ways that being organized saves your life in that job. Um, it helps you to control chaos. Like I said, in some environments, work environments, you don't know what's gonna happen on a day to day basis. I mean, in any, but especially in like ones where you're working with children.
Grace Joaquin:
Oh my gosh,
Megan Riksen:
Teaching. Yeah.
Grace Joaquin:
For sure. Or, you know, anything that's like a reactive job, healthcare, you don't know what's happening. So the more organized you are with the things you can control, the better you can then react to situations that are coming at you. Um, it does, I think, reduce stress, decision fatigue. If you pre-think of things and have like a list or something, then in the moment you're not gonna be constantly, you know, doing the little duck paddle underwater where you're - Yeah. Trying to figure things out.
Dani Lauer:
Or being worried that you're gonna forget about something. Yeah. Like that's something for me too, if I haven't organized or planned ahead, then I'm not just stressed about what's happening in the moment, but I'm constantly worrying like, "What am I forgetting? Am I missing something?" You know, and that, just that organization ahead of time can really combat
Megan Riksen:
That. That makes me think of like literally packing for a trip. Yes. And how the times where I'm like really on top of it and I make a list in advance and I have like my list for what I need to make sure I remember to grab at 6:00 AM before heading out the door versus what I can pack the night before. I feel so much better and I don't have that like home alone mom on the plane feeling like what am I forgetting? Yeah. But if you don't do that and you're throwing things in at the last minute, it is. It, it's a, it makes your life, it really makes you think through things in a different way. It feels like a flurry. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Grace Joaquin:
I know right now, so the, we're recording this a little early and I'm currently pregnant with twins. My, and they're, it's my second and third. And with my first child, I was like, with my husband, we were very pre-planned. It was like I laid out like what his role would be, what my role would be, like every single day. Okay.
Megan Riksen:
You are organized if you're doing that. Well,
Grace Joaquin:
Now with the second I'm like, eh, we've done it. Yeah. So, but with that in mind, I'm like, I know it's probably not gonna be as smooth when they come - Sure. Because even though I've done it before, like just that I need to really just sit down still and like that pre-thinking, as you're saying with a trip is so helpful. I also think organizing helps you prioritize. So I know actually the three of us, um, Danny, Megan and I, our jobs are very proactive in the sense where we have a lot of time throughout the day to figure out what we need to do that day. It's not reacting to students coming in. It's more just like we have that, the blessing of time. But with that, we have to prioritize what makes sense to do. Mm-hmm. And so if I just come in at 8:0 AM and I haven't thought about it, I might waste a few hours of the day trying to figure out what do I need to do or maybe working on a task that's less important.
Grace Joaquin:
Whereas if the day before, at the end of the day, I think, okay, what does tomorrow look like? Mm-hmm. What are the tasks I need to get done? What's the most important? Let's do that first. That really just helps make the day go by smoothly and make sure I get the things done that need to be done. Uh, it also helps you to be more reliable. So I think we all know the people who, you know, if you're in a group project, you know, who are - uh-huh. The students that you can count on to get their part done, the ones you don't have to check in with as much. And same with the workplace. Like really working is a twenty four seven group project in a way. Mm-hmm. Like you're just all trying to kind of. It's not quite the same because you don't have a grade, but, you know, you're working with people.
Grace Joaquin:
And so it matters to be reliable and to do what you say you'll do. And being organized really helps with that. And I just wanna say that, you know, some people are innately more organized and I am, like I said, not one of them, but it is a learnable skill and I feel like I have gotten better and better every year. So it's something, that's why we have this podcast episode is to show people that there are tools and resources that will help you. Mm-hmm.
Dani Lauer:
Definitely. And so let's talk a little bit about that learned skill. I am a product of that. So I shared that I feel as though I'm pretty organized and I think my family and friends would probably be able to attest to that. I've seen the spreadsheets. There are a lot of spreadsheets in my life. But that was definitely not the case for me. I would even say like all throughout college, even post-grad, my first few years of my career, I was not an organized person at all. And, you know, just little by little, I think I've taught myself how to be more organized and I've seen, I think I've continued it on because I've seen the benefit in my own life. Like I - Were you
Megan Riksen:
Noticing more chaos in your life that made you decide to start - Yeah. Figuring out how to get organized? Yeah. Is that the impetus?
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. For sure. I would say I, I can probably go back to like really starting grad school because I was in a master's program while I was working a full-time job, which is a lot, right? And so I think it was just kind of out of necessity. I was already feeling pretty stressed about keeping all of my papers and projects and exam schedules and classes organized while also starting in this new job that I had gotten at the time. And so it was more so just like, I can't afford to be more stressed out. I need to figure out how to get a system going to be more organized. And it's just kind of snowballed from there. So - You're
Megan Riksen:
An organization junkie now.
Dani Lauer:
A little bit. 'Cause it pays, it's just so worth it to me. Yeah, yeah. I just can tell. Um, I think I, I'm a little bit of a naturally anxious person. And so it really does calm my anxiety to have - That's awesome. An, an organized, you know, process. So, you know, if you're like I was back in the day and maybe looking to kind of build some organization into your life, I would say, you know, start really small. So the first thing I would recommend is just to kind of s - have a start and end day routine. So, you know, if you're thinking about this in the workplace, you know, checking your calendar at the start and end of each day. So what do I have going on throughout my day today? What do I have coming up tomorrow? Even like, what do I have coming up in the next week or two?
Dani Lauer:
Is there something I can do now that will make my next day or my next week feel a little bit easier? What can I do right now to, to make that happen? And so, you know, even just being mentally prepared for the next thing, um, really, really helps. And it just cal - I, I've noticed too, it like calms me down when I go into that next meeting because I'm not flustered, "Oh yeah, what am I supposed to be doing here? And, you know, do I need to talk about something in this meeting? Am I gonna get called on?" It just helps me be more present. It helps me be more, you know, focused and, you know, ready to go for whatever's next.
Megan Riksen:
And if we even extended that to career planning and getting organized in that, how amazing, if you are in the middle of trying to accomplish something in your career, whether it's I'm trying to figure out what I want my major to be, all the way to I am full on job searching. If you had to start an end of day routine around that, how amazing would that be? Today, I'm gonna accomplish this. And then at the end of the day, all right, here's what I got done. I wanna make sure I'm doing X, Y, Z tomorrow.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. So, so helpful. And just helps you to know, like to keep track of your goals too, right? Mm-hmm. If you have specific goals in mind, whether that be my goal is to finish writing this paper by the end of, you know, the week, then you can just keep yourself accountable to those goals. Um, and I'd also say too, just building in time at the end of the week to prepare for the next one. So, you know, that could be if the end of your week is on a Thursday because you don't have class on Friday, let that be your kind of prepare for the end of the week or prepare for next week. Um, you know, that can really be whenever it works for you. But again, just doing that calendar check, looking to see what's ahead and making sure you're mentally prepared for it.
Grace Joaquin:
I will say that's like the one thing that I do religiously I feel like is, or I try to - uh-huh. Is the end of the day. Mm-hmm. And like looking at my next day. And if I don't, it's like the one time I'll log in out of work hours to double check and be like, oh, I
Megan Riksen:
Forgot to go in the morning.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah. And I mean, especially if you, yeah, you have schedules that change week to week, which we do in this office. Mm-hmm. It's so important, but I feel like, and that week to week is also beneficial.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. And I also put little reminders in my calendar. So if you're someone who isn't necessarily always gonna remember to do that, put it in your calendar.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Have a recurring calendar item.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
The beginning and end of every day.
Dani Lauer:
Or like a running document. One of the tools I use a lot and my partner and I use it together is Google Keep. So if you have a. Students all have Gmail accounts through Grand Valley. Keep is a app that is through Google. And it's just like a little checklist sticky note type of service. So if you use notes on iPhone, it's pretty similar to that. But I just love the way it's organized and I just keep a running kind of list of my week. So if I need to remember to get groceries for, you know, this potluck I'm bringing something to at work, then I'm putting that in my Google Keep and I'm kind of letting that be an extra check because I'm not necessarily gonna put that in my work calendar. Right. But I also don't wanna forget to- Totally. Do it. Mm-hmm.
Dani Lauer:
And so having that always like on my phone or on my computer desktop, so helpful to stay organized and especially keeping tasks that are just popping up randomly throughout my week to kind of stay on my radar.
Megan Riksen:
Mm-hmm.
Grace Joaquin:
And I love things like that because I used to be like a note taker, like a handwritten note taker. Mm-hmm. And now I just use my notes app all the time, which is similar, but I think not as or- organized as Google Keep. But it's so nice because then you can search your notes, which like - Yeah. You can't do when you hand write them. So - Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
It's very helpful. You can check things off, but the list remains there. I like that about Google Keep.
Dani Lauer:
Love
Megan Riksen:
That. You can go back and be like, "Oh yeah, I did do that."
Dani Lauer:
And you can archive the notes and then unarchive them.
Megan Riksen:
Ooh. I haven't done
Dani Lauer:
That. Okay. You know, if there's something that you, like for example, I always keep a running packing list for trips up north. So I will just un-archive it when I'm going up north and then - Oh smart.That's so smart. All the items repopulate and then boom, I already have my packing list ready to go. I don't have to reinvent the wheel, if you will, to, you know, create the same thing over and over again. It's just there.
Megan Riksen:
Amazing. I need
Grace Joaquin:
To get on this because Victor and I are, my husband and I are house divided because he has Android and I have Apple. Yeah. So for us to have a shared -
Megan Riksen:
Yep.
Grace Joaquin:
App like that would be great. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I can't do it with notes, so. Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, for sure. All right. Let's move on to our next tip, which is, um, something we already started talking about a little bit, but write it down. Um, this is something I do religiously. I take notes on everything, um, because it, it really reduces my mental load. And I heard this quote recently, "Your brain is for thinking, not storage." I was like, "Gosh, that is nice." Yeah. That is a nice little reminder. I love that. Um, so yeah, writing things down can be kind of what we were talking about before with maybe it's just quick notes and Google Keep. Maybe you have a daily kind of running to-do list. Maybe you use a planner or some combination of those. Um, so yeah, we talked about Google Keep. What tools do each of you use for keeping track of daily tasks? Maybe let's take it from the work perspective.
Megan Riksen:
What do you use?
Grace Joaquin:
As far as like lists and keeping track of to-dos, I like post-it notes. This is where I feel like I'm like, I'm a type C, if you guys have seen like the reels and memes about that, where it's like I'm not organized, but I am at the same time. So I'll do a post-it note on my computer - uh-huh. Mm-hmm. That has, you know, like 10 tasks for that week. And then once I've crossed out the majority, I'll transfer what's left over to a new post-it and like kind of every week - Yeah. Just have a post-it note going. It's great.
Dani Lauer:
Yeah. For work, I would say I do put a lot of things just on my calendar. Um, like Grace was saying, because my calendar isn't necessarily populating with student appointments, I can use it as a little bit of my own personal checklist. So I will just put it in as an appointment or something. And then I actually will go back after I've completed it and put done in front of it
Megan Riksen:
On
Dani Lauer:
The calendar. So then, you know, again, if I'm doing that, like looking back into my week or doing some checking on my calendar, it's like a reminder to myself that like, oh, you already did this. You don't have to think about it again.
Megan Riksen:
That's great.
Grace Joaquin:
And this is probably an obvious thing to most listeners, but I didn't know it until a couple years ago. But in Outlook, it's very easy to also search your calendar. So if you go to the calendar part and you search like a keyword, like, I don't even
Megan Riksen:
Know. Podcast.
Grace Joaquin:
Podcast. I can search and see all the, the agendas on my calendar that I've had that word and see if they're done. Like if you do a system like Danny where you can say done and it's really easy to kind of just see all the, all the work you've done with that.
Megan Riksen:
Mm-hmm. That's great. Yeah. And I use a Google Doc as kind of my running to-do list and we'll just cross things off. Um, as they go, I have different sections on there of things that like absolutely must happen today, things that I'm kind of waiting to hear back from someone on, things that I know are just kind of ongoing, I'm doing constantly, but I need to remind myself of. Um, so that's a little bit of how I use it. And I also use it, um, to keep track of some longer term goals as well, which I think is something that we, when we think of organization, I feel like we think a little more im- immediate needs. Mm-hmm. Right. Like you think to-do list. I gotta, I gotta to do this right now. Um, but if you can incorporate some of those longer term planning or goals that those things then stay on your radar and you're much more likely to look at
Grace Joaquin:
Them. That's such a good idea.
Megan Riksen:
Like I think, um, you know, obviously in a workplace, in a work environment, you're gonna have some sort of a, um, plan, you know, goal setting, whatever it is for your year. And ours live in a system called Workday. And do I go and look at those ever? No. But if I put them on that Google Doc I use way at the bottom, then, you know, sometimes when I scroll down, I am reminded of that. And it's just that little visual reminder. And I think that could really help in the career planning space as well.
Dani Lauer:
Definitely. I would say too, that helps it really break up those big long-term goals that sometimes have several steps to get to the finish line. That really helps us to be a little bit more intentional to plan the smaller pieces.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, for sure. I
Grace Joaquin:
Think I need to switch to a Google Doc. From my post-its.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, it's pretty nice. And then it's, you know, available at home if you are doing a remote day and you don't need to remember to take the post-its with
Grace Joaquin:
You. Or it doesn't get like unstuck in the law.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly.
Grace Joaquin:
Or I can actually read it instead of sometimes my handwriting I can't. Totally. All right. So tip three, uh, and this is honestly, some of these are gonna be things that we've already referenced, but stay on top of things and always follow through. And a way to do that is something Danny kind of mentioned, which is setting reminders and you could like use your calendar or your phone for this. Again, I just mentioned I have an Apple, so for me personally, I'll just say, "Hey, can you set a reminder for blank?" And I do that specifically more for like, not work stuff, but personal stuff. Like if I need to remember to make an appointment for my daughter or something. Um, but then also on my calendar, this is something that I have gotten better about. And I learned it from Megan. She does this really well, which is just to, Daniel was talking about this too, like set little reminders on your calendar of things you need to work on.
Grace Joaquin:
And that's also how I help, it helps me to prioritize. So like if I don't have three projects coming up that will need to be done, I look at kind of the due date for all of them, how long they'll take, and then I block out that time on my calendar throughout the next few weeks to make sure that I have time for all of those projects before they're due. And it helps me to prioritize and just to make sure I'm building out time. And so I really use my calendar now and I'll do like yearly reoccurring things for any, um, tasks that I need to do every year, which is a lot for me. So anyway, setting out different, um, agendas on my calendar like that has been very helpful. Also, email. Email is something that can get disorganized super quickly.
Megan Riksen:
And it's something we all deal with - Yes. All day, every day. I'm sure all the students listening, you're like, yes, I am over it. Yes. But we can't be. We have to manage it.
Grace Joaquin:
How many listeners have thousands and thousands of unread emails in their inbox? Probably a
Dani Lauer:
Lot. And a lot from Grand Valley. Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. And a lot from our office. But please read those. Read those. We send you good stuff.
Grace Joaquin:
Um, but, you know, like thinking about when you start a new job, this is your chance. You have a zero inbox right now. Ooh. Like think - Sounds glorious.
Grace Joaquin:
Really think about beforehand, maybe watch a couple tutorials on YouTube or something. Mm-hmm. How can I best set this up to, for my success? Do I wanna have folders? Some people, I use folders, Megan doesn't. Right. You know, do you wanna use folders? How are you going to mark things that you need to come back to? So you can fl - and Outlook you can flag. Actually, I think on Gmail too. Mm-hmm. You can flag emails to come back to it. I will often mark it as unread. Right. That usually gets my attention more than if I flag it. Mm-hmm. So just like have a system in place. And again, I think it's just nice to be proactive when you first start a new role or have a new email or whatever the case and think about how can I keep this manageable so I'm not feeling overwhelmed by my inbox.
Megan Riksen:
And make sure if you have an email account that you're checking it. I find this a lot with students in the job search and even in the hiring I've done for interns. Um, often that personal, when you're a student, you're checking that Grand Valley email all the time, but you might have put your personal email on your resume and then you are forgetting that, oh, that's where that person is going to reach out to me. So especially if you're on the hunt for an internship for a job, um, make sure you are checking that email that you've listed.
Grace Joaquin:
Yes. And again, it's easier to do that and to not miss something if you are staying on top of it being organized. And I think that the more, once you get into a career and once you're job hunting, it becomes imperative that you can see what is coming to you in, in those emails.
Dani Lauer:
Mm-hmm. So true. I'll, just one other piece that I was thinking of while you guys were talking too was this is often an interview question that employers ask. And so knowing how you stay organized or how you plan to stay organized in the workplace is a good just answer to have at the ready because a lot, a lot of employers will ask this question in the interview.
Megan Riksen:
Very common.
Grace Joaquin:
And unlike school, you, you often won't have an exact deadline. You know, in the classroom you're gonna have a syllabus that's gonna give you all the due dates for the who semester at the beginning of the semester. A lot of workplaces, you might not have any due dates. Right. It might just be like, "Hey, we're kinda hoping to have this by the end of the month or in a, within the year," whatever, right? Right. Like and so it's a little bit, you kinda have to set the deadlines yourself. Right. So think about those classes you've had where it's like, "Oh, we have five papers that are due, but there's no specific due dates. They just have to be in by the end of the semester." You're gonna really be upset with yourself if you wait till the last minute to do them. Yeah. So again, workplace kind of functions more like that where you have to really be on top of your schedule - uh-huh.
Grace Joaquin:
And set your own deadline sometimes. Yeah,
Megan Riksen:
For sure.
Grace Joaquin:
All right. Should we get into our next segment?
Megan Riksen:
Yes. Okay. Now we're gonna play a little game. Um, we've developed a few scenarios and we're gonna draw them out of a hat. And we'll read the scenario and then we'll kinda have a conversation about what should this person do, first of all, but then maybe what could they do better next time? How could they be a little more organized, um, the next time around? So would anyone like to start?
Dani Lauer:
I can start. Okay. Scenario is you've applied to 15 jobs and can't remember where you applied, what the role was, or if you've ever heard back.
Megan Riksen:
Dun, dun, dun.
Dani Lauer:
So this, this is tough, right? Mm-hmm. Because and it's very realistic. Mm-hmm. Sometimes you're on Handshake or another job search platform, you're just applying and sending your resume out there and that's
Megan Riksen:
It. And yeah, you might have applied on Indeed and LinkedIn. Mm-hmm. And Handshake. Mm-hmm. So are you really going to all those platforms to check on the status? I mean, you could.
Dani Lauer:
It'd be really hard to remember though after 15. Yeah.
Megan Riksen:
Dani Lauer:
So I mean, in the moment after you've done this, you know, probably try to rack your brain and remember, you know, see if there's any paper trail you can find. Mm-hmm. But I would say, you know, for next time, a really good way to, to be organized is just use a spreadsheet. Yep. I know that sounds whatever, but -
Megan Riksen:
Yep.
Dani Lauer:
Use a spreadsheet. Um, Google Sheets is great for this. You know, put some columns in there, like ti - job title, place I applied, or just the link to the job description, um, or the posting, um, you know, status, right? Applied or interview scheduled. Yep. Or, you know, whatever that might be.
Megan Riksen:
Do you have a contact there? Yes. Should you be finding a contact there? Right. You know, I can prompt that sort of thing too. Yeah.
Dani Lauer:
Have you followed up with the contact? Mm-hmm. Have you written a thank you note? Um, you know, all of those things. If you just kind of keep all of that information in one place, it's gonna be way easier. And again, going back to that mental load, your brain isn't trying to remember all of the things that you just did. You can just brain dump it into one spot and you're good to go.
Grace Joaquin:
And I will say, as you were saying, it like seems I think maybe like almost basic to suggest. However, I remember when I was first starting in this role as an intern, and I was here as an intern, and I was about to graduate and apply for jobs. And one of our advisors, Lisa Knapp, who is still here today, she told me to do that and like, it was like blew my mind. I was like, oh my gosh, yes. Like this is so helpful. Mm-hmm. And I guess I just had never thought to do that before. Mm-hmm. So literally just a spreadsheet. It just, it really helps so much. Absolutely.
Dani Lauer:
Well, and for interview prep too, if you have a p - a link to the job posting, that's gonna help you prepare for the interview if you get one, because you wanna go back to that job posting and, you know, prepare some answers based on what they're looking for. And, you know, it's just,
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, it's so helpful. Yes.
Grace Joaquin:
All right. I'll go next.
Megan Riksen:
Do it.
Grace Joaquin:
Okay. So mine says, "You're a junior and people keep asking what you want to do, and you genuinely have no idea." So this, honestly, it was me. So this is probably a perfect one for me to get.
Megan Riksen:
Same. It was also me.
Grace Joaquin:
And here's what not to do. Um, just kind of put it off wait till you graduate.
Megan Riksen:
Exactly.
Grace Joaquin:
And then work in banking like Megan did for a year. Yes. Or, um, waitress for a year and then go back to school and spend more money. Right. Like I did. Um, so don't do that. Um, I would say what could you have done differently at that point? Like, so if you could turn back time, start as a freshman, you know, maybe come into the career, career center, do some career exploration. We have Pathway U as a resource where you can go and you can see what your strengths are and your values and it will give you some ideas. Um, you know, really be, uh, mindful about what gen eds you take to see if they can help put you in the right direction. So really starting that thought process. We know there's so many things that freshmen and sophomore, especially freshmen, have on their minds.
Grace Joaquin:
Like they wanna know where do they get their food? Mm-hmm. Like are they having a good roommate experience? Like things that are super important, but career should also be somewhere in there. And so that's what you could have done differently now. If you're a junior and you can't turn back time, um, there's still time, you know? Absolutely. So still using those same resources. Come to the career center. Uh, take US 102. That's a class that we give that helps with career exploration. Mm-hmm. Um, there's a lot of assessments online you can take, like I said, Pathway U, there's other ones.
Megan Riksen:
We have so many resources on our website - Yes. To help with this.
Grace Joaquin:
So just, you know, I think what happens, I know this happens to me, the more daunting or scary something seems, the more I just wanna push it away. Right. And so again, that's what I did. And I was a senior, graduated. Mm-hmm. Didn't know what I wanted to do. Mm-hmm. And if I had just faced it instead - uh-huh. And put more work into it earlier on, it would've saved me money.
Megan Riksen:
Gone organized. If
Grace Joaquin:
I would've gotten organized.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Awesome. Okay. Should we do one more? Yes.
Grace Joaquin:
Yes. All right.
Megan Riksen:
All right. This one is you find an internship you love, but the deadline was yesterday. Oh, no. Oh. She's the
Grace Joaquin:
Worst.
Megan Riksen:
That is kinda the worst. Mm-hmm. But so common because, my gosh, there are endless places to look for internships and jobs. You might have your go-to as handshake, but then, you know, randomly kind of check LinkedIn and maybe, oh boy, there it is and it's gone. Um, or you had saved it. That' probably even more common scenario.You had saved it and you're like, "I'm gonna apply." And then you didn't realize the deadline was gone. Okay. So if that is you, I would say immediately. I mean, of course you have the option to say, you know, you win some, you lose some. I'll, I'll find another one the next time, of course. Um, but if you were really dead set on this and truly just missed the deadline, I don't know about you guys, but I don't think there's anything wrong with reaching out to the hirer, to the organization, to the recruiter.
Megan Riksen:
Um, and just asking if that truly was a hard deadline or not. I would say if you're doing that, um, put all of the quote unquote blame on yourself. You know, I missed this, I apologize for being late to this, however, I am still extremely interested in this role, you know, and then kind of use that as an opportunity as almost like an intro, like a little mini cover letter for why, um, they should consider still accepting your application.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah. And I feel like you are dead on where like the tone of how you say it is going to matter so much. Yes.
Megan Riksen:
'Cause if you just go in there guns blazing, like, no, open it up for me, not
Dani Lauer:
Gonna work. Right. And I would say, yeah, I mean, I've, we've all supervised interns. If someone sent that to me, I would definitely say yes. I know. That's not everybody, right? So it will be dependent on the organization, on the recruiter. Sometimes there's rules in HR that, you know, can't be bent. Right. Um, but, you know, our office is an office that would bend that rule, I would say. Yep. So that doesn't, yeah, that means that's probably true other places too. Yeah.
Grace Joaquin:
And I feel like worst case scenario, if they did have to say no, like worst case, you made potentially a connection so that if they, the next time they post something, you're gonna be maybe top of their list if you apply.
Megan Riksen:
Yes. And don't say, "Well, if anything else opens up, let me know." You can be the proactive one to say, um, "I see that you will be on campus at the career fair next month. I'll be sure to stop by and hopefully there'll be other opportunities at your organization," right? Yeah. So it's kind of about spin sometimes. Like yeah, what is that tone? Yes, definitely. Spot on there. Um, and then for next time, that's really where the spreadsheet, and we're just gonna keep coming back to that spreadsheet, would've been really helpful because you could've put the deadline, um, and you would've known, "Oh, yes. I'm gonna, when I'm checking my calendar at the start and end of my day, maybe I needed to put on there that I've gotta fill this application out tonight." Um, and then you would kind of have that system in place.
Megan Riksen:
So trying to bring it all together here.
Grace Joaquin:
Yeah, this episode was sponsored by Google Sheets, so -
Megan Riksen:
Just kidding. And Google Keep. Um, we promised you could, well, you mentioned Apple a few times. Yeah. You can use other, other apps.
Dani Lauer:
There's so many good tools out there You can use whatever you want. Trello is another one - Oh yeah. That, um, I have, I haven't really used it a lot, but I've seen it popping up lately. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. There's, there's so many different systems -
Megan Riksen:
20 free ones. Yeah, and free options.
Dani Lauer:
All free. Yeah. So yeah, just do a quick internet search and see, you know, what works for you. Try a few out and see what sticks and, you know, everybody's gonna have a different system.
Megan Riksen:
Yeah, absolutely. All right. I think that wraps up our episode for today. Um, our very first episode of the new season. So thank you so much to everyone for listening and we hope you tune in to a future episode soon.
