Lucky Lauren!!! Please remind her about how blessed she has to have understanding and supportive parents. That she knows she can make choices. I don’t think Lauren knows that I was bound to family duty after college. I wanted to spread my wings in Manila BUT at that time I felt I had no choice. Mom had just died the year before. After college, I was needed in Cebu at the family bakeshop… There are no regrets, though.

I think you can share with Lauren that even if she defers her passions and focuses on her economic empowerment, she will eventually go back to the work she truly loves. I remember when Mommy yanked my ears because I told her that I wanted to major in Speech and Drama — and she told me that I was going to manage the bakeshop and major in Hotel and Restaurant Administration. I hope all of you learned from that lesson. My life experiences brought me back to my original passion: public relations, marketing, sales, and event organization.

We may have decided on a destination — but we can take detours along the way and thoroughly enjoy ourselves. We just need to be be observant about our driving skills.

I am assuming the Lauren is a skilled networker. If she needs a review of the basics, please send her to my website and look up the title, “Shana’s Crash Course in Networking 101.” Here’s the link:

http://radiantview.com/index.php?p=11

In one of my e-mail newsletters that I subscribe to, I found an article that might apply to Lauren (and all of us). Since Filipinos are considered a minority in the United States, there will be some sentences that won’t apply to her situation.

In any case, job-hunting is not a case of desperation. It is a two-way street. When the employer is the prospective buyer and the job applicant is the seller, once the buyer feels there is a match, the roles are reversed. In the end, the ultimate buyer is the job applicant.

Here’s the link to “Find the Right Job in Three Steps,” written by Ellen Alcorn.

http://diversity.monster.com/articles/environment/?WT.mc_n=MNL000306

EXCERPTS:

Before accepting a job, it is important to be at least reasonably certain you will be treated fairly and with respect. Although there are no guarantees, here are three steps you can take to get a reasonably good sense of a company’s environment.

1. Ask Good Questions During the Interview

You’re much better off asking more general questions, such as:

Why do you like working here?
How important a role does teamwork play in your company?
What opportunities for advancement exist in your company?
What makes people want to stay here?
How open are managers to differing viewpoints?

2. Take the Tour

This will often answer at least as many questions as the interview does. Keep a mental checklist of the following:

Do the employees look happy?
Are the offices clean and well-lit, or are they dim and sloppy? Often, the visual culture is a good indication of the healthiness of a workplace.
Does there appear to be some diversity among the employees? Bear in mind that a diverse pool of employees is by no means a failsafe guarantee of a good working environment. Mitchell suggests observing people to see if they appear to really want to be there. “Don’t look for people who look just like you,” she says.

If possible, show up a few minutes early and talk to the receptionist. “They’re gold mines of information,” says Mitchell. Pay careful attention to small details, such as whether or not you’re offered something to drink while you wait, or whether people smile and say hello as they walk by.

3. Do Your Homework

Often, you can glean the information you need without asking pointed questions during the interview… look online, as company Web sites increasingly offer detailed descriptions of benefits packages.

Look carefully over the company’s literature. For instance, employee photographs can give a good indication not only of a company’s diversity, but also of its promotion practices. A company with several African American employees but no managers might properly send off warning bells.

If possible, employ the “six degrees of separation” strategy. That is, see if you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who works for the company in question. Getting the inside scoop on company politics can often be enormously helpful, both during the interview and in your own decision-making process.

*

Hope this helps! After all, I change my industry focus once a year— that I’ve reached a point wherein I have a solid base of prospects in my e-mail address database. I imagine myself as a virtual store selling several of my products and services to the same clientele — like a broker.

I’m never bored with whatever I do. In fact, I believe I’m doing a lot of exciting things. I do a lot of “harmonizing” work (used to be known as “trouble shooting”) in the Asian American community. My favorite challenge is: how to get our local Asian American politicians get elected to office. I ask myself, “What message will appeal to every voter? What will make them sit up and take notice of my friend as the candidate of choice?” Sigh. I think I see another career coming up by 2010. Political consultant.

Please direct Lauren to http://www.myspace.com/radiantview so she can check out my interests. Creative writing has evolved to many careers including writing media kits, profiles about people, places, and events — and my favorite is my work as a documentalist who helps people (with English as a Second Language) write their narrative before they start seeing a lawyer… I feel for them. It is such a pleasure being able to interview them. It is a blessing to serve as a “pain reliever” when they can tell their story — so there is hope for them to seek justice in the workplace.

My perception of Lauren is that she wants the HOT, glamorous jobs! Well, they’re out there for the taking!!! For example: If she wants pop or alternative music, then she has to master the technical and artistic processes.

Lauren might want to consider embracing her life experiences to-date — and live her life like an experiment. Sometimes, you miss. Sometimes, you hit it on the mark. Keep trying, anyway.

The most important thing to remember is that she doesn’t lose sight of a basic truth: She is not her job. She is not her economic status. She is not her boyfriend or her parents. Although Lauren is special, her life as a precious human being is interconnected to all of us. I would like to see her unique and authentic brand of humanity and divinity reach out to all of us — so that we may all be inspired to achieve our highest potential.

May my niece, Lauren Dado, aspire to be the best that she can be wherever her adventures take her — and to remember that she is a messenger of our collective hopes and dreams. May she always be grateful!

Now, I’m getting mushy! Lauren’s new milestone is about to start — and I might not be there physically to reflectively enjoy her celebration. I’ll be there in spirit!

What’s Marielle up to nowadays?

love,

Lorna

My sister started out with a small(group of 10 pre schoolers)in our garage 15 years ago, now her preschool business has grown to big time .–she now has her own school from nursery to High School) in cavite with close to a thousand students.

Another case in point is the lady boss of Jimenez Advertising(my sisters classmate),she started out with Ace Compton and after a few yrs started her own advertising business with her husband…now Jimenez controls Purefoods, Jollibee Ad accounts.

Good luck to your daughter! She is intelligent and she should not even think about it…surely after graduation job offers will come her way.