Happy Thursday ladies and Gentlemen,
As I mentioned before I am studying digital marketing. I believe in learn by doing. I created a site using weebly. If you guys are interested in having a look the link is below
I will document my pathway to marketing, travel experiences and anything that springs to mind so head on over to find out more.
You can also find me on Facebook .
Let the experimenting commence,
Chloe
xxx
Hello everyone,
Its approaching that time of year where people are beginning to think about big holidays be it J1, Thailand experience, volunteering or a two week break away. Hard to believe when its not even Christmas yet. Speaking of Christmas I am so excited 🙂
I went on a J1 two years ago and it was so much fun. I learned a lot and got to experience a different culture and lifestyle. My J1 was a bit different as I decided to go to LA, (wasn’t a popular J1 destination when I went there)
Reasons I picked LA
I realised quickly why people don’t go there on a J1.
Finding a job was very difficult. LA is full of people waiting for a big break in the acting or music industry so many of them work on the side as servers, bar people and all the ideal jobs a J1 student would want. This made finding a job very difficult and time consuming. We eventually both found jobs that were very well paid. At the time the minimum wage in California was $8 per hour and I got a job that paid $17.99 so was extremely happy.
It is important to make sure your job is in line with the visa requirements. Your employer also has to fill in a form for the US government to state where your working so you can’t pretend to have a job either. I booked with USIT and they were generally quite helpful with queries. I would just recommend you check everything before you travel. For those wanting to do a J1 in 2016 I read that USIT now require you to have a job secured before your visa will be processed.
Things I would recommend to do while in the US
There is so much information I could give about a J1. I will do another post about the visa process as this is where I felt there was little information out there about the embassy visit and all that jazz as well as places I recommend to visit 🙂
Happy Tuesday,
Chloe
xxx
Happy Tuesday everyone,
If anyone is looking for something to do after work or after college this week I would without a doubt recommend going to see ‘The Martian’. I am generally not one to say you have to see this movie but this was definitely a good movie and worth seeing in the cinema.
If your a student and looking for some good deals I know movies at Dundrum do a special on a Monday evening Large popcorn, Large drink and your ticket for €9.99 and if you look at other cinema websites they will do similar deals. I know Odeon and VUE have deals but not sure off the top of my head which days. Check it out . . . everyone loves a good deal.
Anyway… Back to the Movie
To be honest I had no idea what to expect when I agreed to go see the Martian with my boyfriend. He was so excited about this movie and I didn’t care weather we saw it or not. (Let’s hope he isn’t reading this).
I hate to say it but I generally judge movies within the first few minutes. I am not a fan of sitting around for 30mins hoping it will get good. With the Martian it definitely was not the case I was enjoying with from the get go.
Basically the martian is about an astronaut (Actor played by Matt Damon) who is on a mission to Mars and a storm hits and he assumed dead and left there by his crew. Of course he isn’t dead and is left on mars and has to survive. The movie is about his struggle to survive and his quest to return to earth if he manages to survive.
I don’t want to say too much about it because I don’t want to give away too much if you decide to go see it. After watching this movie it defintely makes you want to make a change of careers and be an astronaut and consider applying to NASA.
If you decide to see it let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did,
Over and out,
Chloe
xxx
Happy November folks!!!
Can’t believe its November already, the last month has flown by. I was away last week in London. A city I absolutely love and each time I visit I love more and more. It’s always super busy, the architecture and city is just so beautiful. I was visiting friends of mine from America and we had a super fun weekend. We had time so decided to do some touristy stuff and just explore and enjoy the weekend. I decided to do a quick post about visiting London in case some people haven’t been or if your planning to go these would be my recommendations.
In my opinion London is definitely a city you must visit.
Booking information: Myself and my boyfriend did leave booking until the last minute and we were visiting on a bank holiday weekend so did pay slightly more for flights. We decided to fly city jet who fly directly in to London city airport as we didn’t want a long journey in to London which you have from Gatwick, luton and Stansted but that said you can get cheap flights if you book in advance.
Hotels: We were lucky that our friends invited us to stay with them. That said London is expensive for hotels so I would recommend using air bnb which is great or I have stayed in the Strand hotel on Stand street which is a great location.
Things to do
This is something I visit each time I visit London. It never grows old for me. St. James Park which is the tube station you get off at and then walk for 8-10 minutes through St.James Park to the Palace is so pretty and a beautiful walk until you get to the Palace. It is very busy with people wanting to see the Palace but it is something you must see. There is also a changing of the guards ceremony which I would definitely recommend seeing. I unfortunately didn’t get to see the ceremony this time but I did last year and was very cool seeing the changing of the guards.
Tip: If your going to the changing of the guards get there early
2. Big Ben
We also went to see Big ben and the houses of parliament. I just really enjoy looking at how pretty the buildings are around London.
3. Markets: While we were in London we visited two markets, Notting Hill Market and Brick Lane markets.
They were both so different from each other yet so cool. It was like a sunday farmer’s market but so much bigger. If you have time I would definitely recommend visiting Brick Lane or Notting Hill. It was so nice to walk around looking at all the stalls and drinking tea and trying the food. Even if I did feel like I was in an episode of Eastenders,
By walking around London and using the underground is definitely a great way to experience London. The underground is definitely a great way to get around conveniently and quickly even if your only there for a weekend. London has some really nice Bars and cafe to go to which you stumble upon by walking around.
I’ve been too London a couple of times and I am still constantly finding new places to visit there. The places I suggested above are places I enjoy going to. If you have any suggestions for me I would love to hear.
Hope everyone had a lovely Halloween,
Chloe
xx
Hello everyone!!
Been a while since I have posted. This week has gone so fast and I still have so much work to get done before the bank holiday week end. Hope everyone has some lovely plans to relax and enjoy life.
I feel the weather has changed so much over the past week. Waking up the morning its pitch black and leaving work its pitch black. Constant darkness and coldness. It’s not all bad its the perfect time to make some warm winter meals, which is exactly what I did.
Not everyone is a fan of lentil soup but its so tasty. Lovely for dinner or work lunch. Not to mention lentils have so many health benefits.
I am definitely no Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Olivier but I definitely loved the taste of this soup and its super quick and easy to make.
I’ll attach the link of the recipe I used to make, like everything you can generally wing it. 🙂
http://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/
Hope this gives you guys some lunch/dinner ideas for the cold weather and dark evenings.
Happy reading,
Chloe
xxx
This week has been crazy busy so didn’t get to write a post. Between my part time job, college and being an intern I have had my hands full. Having so many necessary commitments really requires a good balancing act. That said, stress can become an issue and for me finding time to relax is definitely something I need to incorporate in to my life and find the right balance.
For those of you in college or even in work that have big deadlines looming or assignments, keeping stress levels low will definitely make you more productive, I find. Things I often do to help,
Night time for me is often where I find myself lying away and thinking about everything I have to do the next day, planning and often worrying about things when I could be fast asleep. I find if I drink a cup of camomile tea before I go to bed it can have a relaxing effect. Camomile tea is said to have many amazing benefits such as promoting skin and good for digestion. That said, I am not a doctor so this is only what works for me.
2. Plan
A favourite saying of mine is fail to prepare, prepare to fail. I find it speaks for itself. I feel completely less stressed if I plan in advance and know what needs to be done and where I need to be at certain times. I find having an organiser really helps me stay on track with my internship, work and college assignments. It really is my bible to life.
3. Enjoy what your doing
Life can be extremely busy and often we don’t stop to appreciate all the good things we have and are doing. In my case work and college and being an intern does require a lot of hard work and is time consuming. That said, I love it and enjoy being busy as I am constantly learning and challenging myself. In stressful situations I try to take a step back and say you know what it is a stressful time but I enjoy where I am in life.
Hope this helps some of you out, Happy reading,
Chloe 🙂
xxx
Hello guys,
Its almost Friday, which means WEEKEND TIME. I decided to write a blog post which tells you guys a bit more about myself.
When I initially started college in UCD I chose Sociology and Spanish. During first year I quickly realised I wasn’t enjoying studying Spanish literature. I never enjoyed having to read shakespeare in English so having to do it in Spanish was definitely not my cup of tea. I was in a dilemma. I looked at my options and other subjects available. I tried out information studies and social computing and I quickly realised how interesting it was so decided to make a change.
However, this meant having to take the core modules and I had already missed the registration. So I was faced with the option of continuing Spanish and not enjoying it or doing the core modules the following September and taking the rest of the year off. Life is too short to be unhappy so I decided I would take a year off.
So what did you do??? Many of you may ask. I didn’t want to spend my year off working in a 9-5 I wanted to do something fun and different. I love the snow so no better way to spend my time living and working in the snow.
The first step was finding a company I wanted to work with and was going to enjoy. I applied for a job with off the piste. Off the piste is an English company that brings a lot of UK and Irish universities over to the snow. So I applied and before I knew it I was flying to Manchester to meet all the other reps and make our way to France for Training.
Training weekend:
All the reps arrived in Manchester where we get on our coaches and make our way to France. This may surprise some of you.. but yes we did bus it all the way to France. With the help of the Dover to Calais Boat. The training weekend started from the moment we got on the coach where we learned about the length of the journey, what the coach drivers expect and of course coach games and songs kept us entertained.
We got on the boat at Dover and were given a tour and a safety talk from the boat’s crew. Its a two hour boat ride from Dover to France. So not long especially when there is a bar onboard.
Once we arrived in France we were back on the coach for another couple of hours. Everyone was getting tired at this stage. People where beginning to dose off but all of a sudden those that were sleeping and those of us just chilling out where wide awake as our coach driver slammed his breaks and our coach went flying to avoid a car that was driving down the wrong side of the French motorway. Unfortunately the car swerved and hit in to the coach. Thank god no one was seriously hurt but their was a few first aid injuries. The head rep had a list of everyones qualifications so called out myself and another guy Ben to help out with the injured car passenger and our coach driver who had a suspected neck injury. We both stepped out and helped stabilise the injured parties while we waited for the French emergency services to arrive as well as having to wait for a new coach to get us to Val Thorens.
Eventually the new coach arrived and we continued our journey to the Alps. The accident definitely showed us as reps the issues that may occur along our journey to the Alps. What seemed like many hours later we arrived in Val Thorens. The accident was definitely an interesting way to be thrown in to the deep end and really experiencing life and responsibility as a rep.
The resort was closed to the public but reps, restaurant staff and hotel staff where in resort preparing for the start of season. It was late when we arrived so we had a quick session about the training weekend and what it would entail.
Life as a rep
Being a ski rep is definitely not an easy job. You are constantly working. If an issue arises you have to think on your feet and deal with it. This may be a student not accounted for or a medical emergency you need to deal with. Some days you might get to ski for 4 hours with people on holidays with you or other reps and other days you mightn’t see the snow at all.
All that said, I would definitely reccomend working a season away as a Rep if you love the snow or have a passion for skiing or snow boarding. It definitely was an amazing experience and I would 100% without a doubt recommend it. It’s not something you do for the salary its for the experience.
Things to note
As a rep you are the face of the company. You may be completed exhausted or hungover from showing the students a good time but you still have to be up before the first ski lift and be happy and ready to do your job. With that there are essential supplies reps rely on are coffee and quick ready made meals. You are constantly on the go so be prepared for this if you are applying to be a student tour rep.
That’s just my experience as a rep with off the piste. Many people ask me would I do it again. I have no plans to do it again as of now. I definitely would be open to doing it again but not as a student rep. I would get a job in a bar or restaurant or even a chalet host to do something different. It was a great experience and I would recommend anyone who needs a change or a career break to try it for some fun and a change of scenery.
Changing from Spanish definitely was the right decision for me. It is ok to make a decision to change from one thing to another. To this day it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. No regrets. It allowed me to enjoy the snow for a while and return to college having had a great experience.
Any questions about being a rep or anything else feel free to ask,
Hope you enjoyed the read,
Chloe
xxx
Hello guys,
Happy Tuesday. Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful Irish sunshine we seem to be having at the moment.
This morning I had an interview for a marketing position so no better post than interview tips and tricks. I always find interviews nerve wrecking but I find by preparing it definitely helps the process.
Here are some tips and tricks I generally do before I attend an interview. These may vary depending on the type of job you are interviewing for.
Research
For me this is a key step. I tend to this both before I apply for a job and before the interview stage. I research the company by looking at their website and other social media platforms. This always gives me a good sense if I would like to work for this company and would I be a suitable candidate for them. If I found out its not an ideal job for me, I simply won’t apply.
Similarly before the interview I will do a lot of research. For example in this mornings interview for the marketing position I did research about the background of the company, their current online presence and thought of any ideas of how I would improve their current marketing as this could be a question asked. (AND IT WAS). So I was prepared by having my research done.
2. Look the part
First expressions do last. When you arrive at an interview the way you look and act is all part of you marketing and selling yourself to the interviewee. Appearances shouldn’t matter but unfortunately they do. Dress to impress as they say. What you are wearing is the first thing the interviewer will see before you introduce yourself. Think in the interviewers shoes it may help.
3. Plan ahead
This is definitely very important. If you are travelling to an interview plan ahead. Take in to consideration traffic and other issues that may arise. The last thing you want is to have to call and say you are running late. This not only isn’t a great start to the interview but can also give the wrong impression.
4. Stay calm
This one can be quite tricky. Having some amount of nerves is good but I always try not to let them get in the way of how I preform in an interview. I always take a few deep breaths before going for an interview. I also find it helps to remember that I have been called for an interview because they liked my CV, LinkedIn page and cover letter. Sometimes the interviewer can be nervous as well so stay calm and just do your best.
Those would be my main tips and things I do before an interview. Maybe they will help some of you out if you have interviewing coming up or maybe your just interested in how others prepare.
Happy Tuesday,
Chloe
xxx
Hello everyone,
Hope everyone is having a good weekend and enjoying the moments of sunshine we have had. Can’t believe it’s almost October. September has flown by between starting back to college and settling in.
I thought a post about finding a part-time job might help some of those struggling or those of you that don’t know where to begin? A lot of jobs require a certain amount of experience so for those with none it can be a very frustrating process.
When I was in college I had a job in a shop, worked as a waitress and then worked as a lifeguard. If you have an interest in sports I would definitely consider coaching of some sort or even working within the club. I always loved swimming so decided to do my lifeguard exam and have always managed to get jobs with decent hours that would work around my college timetable.
For those interested in becoming a lifeguard
The course I did was with Irish Water safety and they offer it over the course of two weekends. More information and course details can be found at the link >>> http://poolguard.ie
For those interested in jobs in retail or restaurants I used to use jobs.ie or dundrum.ie/jobs depending on where you are looking for a job. Another tip I found helpful was to go in and physically hand in a CV and talk to the manager. You never know if someone is leaving soon or they just haven’t advertised and you could be lucky and secure a job.
Throughout college by joining clubs and societies or running for class reps are all great things to put on you CV and you are developing new skills by doing this. Don’t forget to put all of this on your CV as it all adds to your experience.
Best of luck,
Chloe
xxx
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