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- Year Of Graduation: 2018
- College/University: Seton Hall University
- Major: Public Relations (major) / Graphic Design and Advertising (minor)
What do you do for a living? Can you share what a typical day at work looks like? Do you enjoy what you do?
I work in digital media and communications. Right now, I’m a trainee in Italy at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – think of it as the FDA for Europe. A typical day for me involves lots of coffee breaks (the Italians love their coffee), media monitoring, content producing and editing, and a lot of copywriting. I enjoy what I do! This current role has been different for me because of the office culture here in Europe and because I have never worked in a government agency setting. The red tape I sometimes deal with is pretty new for me, but all of it is a great learning experience, and if I can find a job to stay in Europe after this 1-year traineeship, then I will definitely take it!
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation? Are you happy with where your journey has led you thus far?
I was really lucky right out of college. I had previously applied for and been accepted to an internship during my junior year that ended up falling through on the company’s side of things, but I reconnected with the HR manager at a career fair at my school and was invited for an interview a few weeks before I graduated. Within a week or so of graduating, I had a job offer and started almost immediately.
I would say I’m mostly happy with where my path has led me. When I interviewed for my first job, I interviewed with both the public relations team and the social media team, and was told that both teams wanted me and the choice was mine. I chose the social media team because I really connected with the people I interviewed with, and I saw it as a more creative field, but now, six or seven years down the road I feel like that decision pigeon-holed me into working in social media in a way that I can’t escape it now. I have a lot of amazing experience in the digital world, from sports and entertainment to food & beverage, tech, beauty, etc., but I’m having a hard time translating it into other possible career paths.
Why did you choose your undergrad major? Do you feel your time spent in college was valuable? Why or why not?
I chose my study specializations for two reasons: I enjoyed writing and being creative, and also because my dad worked in the industry, and I think that seeing him at work and being such a good writer and problem-solver was something I wanted to achieve too. I had a lot of really amazing professors and industry professionals that I worked with, but one thing I didn’t really prepare myself for was how quickly the industry and career path I chose could change. I graduated about seven years ago now, and I sometimes feel like I don’t know what media really is anymore. Especially in social media, I constantly feel too “old” to be doing this work at the age of 28 because there’s some fresh Gen Z-er who gets social media in a way I just don’t anymore. So I think that was a rude awakening for me and has made me want to look into careers more on the sidelines of social media, more like digital marketing or branding.
If I asked you three years ago, what goals would you hope you’ve achieved, in life or career?
I would’ve told you that by now, I wanted to be working in the music and entertainment industry, and I probably wanted to be living alone in a fancy NYC apartment. And clearly, neither of those things has happened, haha.
How important is it to have a purpose-driven life? Why or why not? Do you think you’re on a path to do that? If not, what needs to change?
Having a purpose-driven life is something I only really started thinking about wanting within the last year or so, after I was let go from my job in 2023. I think right now I could be on that path. Since working in Europe, I’ve learned that my relationship to work and the working style I had in the United States probably wasn’t the most healthy. As I’m unlearning those habits, I’m realizing I also need to find a company or a cause that I am passionate about and to work somewhere that helps that cause.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it? How are you moving forward?
My biggest struggle is figuring out what comes next for me. I ended up here in Italy because I saw my current traineeship opening in a TikTok from an international career coach. I had been let go in a restructuring about six months before I saw that video, and had been job hunting to no avail in NYC. I was feeling just so exhausted, and I thought, “What’s the worst that could happen? I either don’t get it, or I get to go live in Italy for a year and put off figuring out my career path for another year.” And here I am in Italy!
Now that I’m here, my struggle is how to stay here. I don’t want to get political, but the way things are going at home makes me less and less excited to come back at the end of my contract. Having to go back to the “rise and grind” culture we have in corporate America is something I’m dreading. What I’m trying to do with the few months I have left here is network, which I know sounds cliche. However, I don’t have the same number of connections I do back in the US. I speak intermediate Italian (and that’s being a little generous), and I would need a visa to stay. So, I’m trying to work any connection I can to help me find a job that is worth staying for.
What interests/hobbies bring you the most happiness?
Music and books are my biggest happiness hobbies. I feel the most at home when I’m listening to my favorite artist or am lost in a really well-written novel. I love that both music and literature have the ability to make you really feel something.
I also love exploring new hobbies. This year, I just learned how to crochet and knit. That has been a really fun journey for me, and I’m pretty good at it! It’s a mind-quieting hobby that really appeals to me too, I can just focus on knits and pearls, and in the end, I’ve made a really nice scarf or something. I like the tangible accomplishment of it.
What do you want to spend more time working on? What is stopping you?
I want to spend more time on my own personal branding, possibly setting myself up to do some more regular freelance work, so that in the future, if I want to take a more drastic step away from corporate work, I could still be advising brands/companies that I want to work with. I see so many people talking about how freeing it can be to be your own boss, and I think somewhere down the line, I would like that for myself. I think right now what’s stopping me is the lack of regular income, my traineeship in Italy is paid, but not much, so I think I would want to get back to a more regular job first, and put in a few hours a week to create my own branding and website before looking for clients.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
In the next three years, I would hope that I’m working somewhere that respects my time and my life outside of work, that I’m working somewhere that I enjoy being, and with people I enjoy collaborating with. And I’m really hoping that job is in Europe. I think I would want to have achieved a sustainable work-life balance.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
You can say no, and you should always stand up for yourself. I’ve always been a bit of a people pleaser, but I think in my first job, and I’m sure a lot of new grads might feel this way, there’s almost an expectation you’ll say yes when someone throws more work at you, or a project that’ll make you work over the weekend or on a holiday because you’re young and you have no reason not to. I think the Gen Z workforce is getting better at setting those boundaries for themselves, but for me, I wish I’d had the guts to stand up for myself and say no.
Connect With Lindsay:
- LinkedIn: @LindsayMcgowan
- Instagram: @l.mcgowan614
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