Disclaimer: The views expressed by our interviewees are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of GradSimple. We only edit these responses for clarity. All opinions remain those of the interviewee.
- Year Of Graduation: 2024
- College/University: University of Minnesota-Duluth
- Major: Marketing
What do you do for a living, or how are you supporting yourself right now?
I’m primarily working as a customer service representative at a gas station. I have been working there for the past three years so it was important for me to keep my stability and work with something I am familiar with before jumping to something different.
Can you share what a typical day in your life/at work looks like?
I primarily start my day by going to the gym, and then after lunch, depending on what day it is, I leave to work the evening shift at the gas station. This is mostly helping customers get their items and keeping the place running in order. On my days off, my afternoons consist of various job search related activities such as applications, connecting with people, certifications, and other stuff of that nature. After that, I usually go out on a walk and then decompress by making dinner and enjoying my hobbies like listening to music, writing about what I have done lately, watching sports, pro wrestling, or movies, or reading a book.
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation? Are you happy with where your journey has led you so far?
After graduation, I was still located in my college town which kind of left things up in the air as there aren’t a lot of marketing opportunities in Duluth. I was mostly going through the motions early on, but I was consistently applying and hearing nothing. The summer months were brutal. I was handling problems with my car while waiting for my current job to transfer me to a different store, and I was getting nowhere with the job search.
As the summer went on, I found more ways to take initiative and develop additional skills, as I was mostly left to my own devices. Now, I have a much more varied routine when it comes to finding a job, which has given me some success. It’s really hard some days, especially when I make a mistake and that closes an opportunity off. I am not happy with where I am at, but I have found some fulfillment within my rejection as I have made progress day by day, and have found a lot of value in my hard work.
Why did you choose your undergrad major? Do you feel your time spent in college was valuable? Why or why not?
I chose marketing because it felt like the most logical pathway to be creative in the modern job landscape. I want to be a part of a creative or advertising agency. I think my college experience gave me direction on this. I got to work hands-on with different projects that worked within advertising and social media. So, I do feel that school was valuable.
What does purpose mean to you? Do you think you’re living a purpose-driven life?
Purpose feels like finding comfort in your own existence within the constraints of life. I have done this through working hard on the things I want to work hard on and the things that improve my life, which frequently are the same thing. This can be anything from mustering up the strength to go to the gym to writing about an album I enjoyed.
I do find myself frustrated from my current career situation. Not being on my own path, and being at home has been difficult. But, the best thing to come of it is that I got more of a chance to improve my relationship with myself. I do a lot of mindfulness practices now. I journal, I walk, I try to spend more time offline, and those things have only helped my day-to-day life as it has gone on over the last few months. I do think I am living a purpose-driven life through those things, and putting more emphasis on this has given me purpose.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it, and how are you moving forward?
I think my biggest struggle is finding the discipline to work harder on a lot of my faults that I have lived with peacefully before. Admittedly, in college, I sometimes just went through the motions as I wanted to spend more time relaxing, between school and working in a fast-paced retail environment 24 hours per week. Now, I have to put in a lot of hard work building connections with people and communicating with employers. Shifting my mindset to that has been difficult at times. But now, I just try to minimize distractions and remind myself that if I don’t do anything about this I will stay stagnant, which is something that I fear.
What do you want to spend more time working on, either personally or professionally? What’s stopping you?
I want to spend more time being creative and having many different projects I’m working on. I want to make YouTube videos, akin to Jon Bois’s PRETTY GOOD series for example. Unfortunately I don’t have a computer equipped for it, nor do I have the space or time to develop skills to make them the way I want. So, that’s something I want to pursue once I do have more stability and a sense of routine.
How do you define being a successful person?
I don’t define it in any monetary or status-like way. It is hard not to look at it that way nowadays, and I am guilty of that myself. But, I think it hinges upon how you treat yourself and how you treat others. Being kind to yourself and recognizing your opportunities for growth, and not being mad at yourself for your faults is how you’re able to do the first part. Then just try your best to be kind to the people you’re around, even if it is as simple as holding the door for somebody. You are still making an effort to make someone’s life a little easier, and you can be proud of that brief time you took to help others.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
I don’t want much, I just want a chance to eventually work within an environment that feels uplifting and exciting to go to for a majority of my time. I am hoping by 2028 that is the case. Otherwise, I just want opportunities to be creative and expressive in my free time, to have a support system of people that I can lean on and who can rely on me, and to have experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life. I hope I have found a life of simplicity and excitement within the chaos.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
The biggest lesson I have learned is that closed mouths don’t get fed. In my college experience, I didn’t make enough of an effort to build a network around me, and I am paying for it right now. You have to be the one to make the life you want to build every day, and if not, you likely won’t be satisfied. So connect with others, find time for things you enjoy, and work on stuff that feels fulfilling to you.
Connect With Corey:
- LinkedIn: @CoreyBailey
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