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- Year Of Graduation: 2024
- College/University: University of South Florida
- Major: English, Creative Writing concentration
Table of Contents
What do you do for a living, or how are you supporting yourself right now? Can you share what a typical day in your life/at work looks like?
I’m currently an HR Administrative Assistant at a real estate investment firm. My position pays quite well, all things considered, in today’s economy. I’m also incredibly lucky to have a boyfriend of over 6 years who has found success in his industry and who allows me to take risks if it means following my career goals.
A typical day in my work life is pretty varied. I have come to realize that being an admin means being ready for anything at any time. This can be a positive for someone who thinks on their feet, but it also leads to very slow days. On a more week-to-week basis, it’s all about keeping the office maintained with supplies, stepping into different departments to help with data analytics projects, assisting with employee engagement activities, and managing the entire new hire process, when we have one.
I took my current position in order to gain human resources experience and try to grow into other departments. At the moment, my main goal with any job is to gain transferable skills for my future career in publishing.
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation? Are you happy with where your journey has led you so far?
Two months before my college graduation, I figured it was finally time to step into a more “big girl” corporate position, which is what led me to my first Administrative Assistant position at a brokerage firm. In 2024, I did not experience the job market being as unapproachable as it is today, with me landing a couple of interviews before I finally took this position. I was happy at the start to begin a normal 8-5 weekday position and came to love the routine of it all. The job allowed me to put my first corporate experience on my resume, for which I am grateful.
However, I believe taking this path has rendered me stuck in the admin position. I have found that most companies do not have career paths lined up for their admin programs and either expect these employees to be there long enough to internally transfer or expect them to leave after a certain amount of time. We’re in the worst job market my generation has ever seen, with entry-level jobs asking for intermediate to expert-level experience, awful pay, or geographical hindrance.
Why did you choose your undergrad major? Do you feel your time spent in college was valuable? Why or why not?
I graduated from high school in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic, which left very little room for me to settle on what I wanted to pursue in college. I wasn’t even sure if or when I’d be going to college due to this, so one day in high school, I sat in my room and wrote down a list of all the things I enjoyed doing, then looked at a list of degree options and settled on either Journalism or English. I knew English was my favorite subject in school, and reading has always been a very big passion in my life, so I decided to shift my focus in that direction.
I’m very grateful to my past self for working endlessly in school to graduate with my International Baccalaureate diploma, earning me a full ride to any college in Florida. To make a long and emotional story short, I went to the University of South Florida and earned not only my bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing but also my minor in Sociology. I did not have the typical college experience; most of my classes were virtual, I never lived on campus or made college friends who stuck with me into my adult years, but regardless, I’m endlessly grateful I did it all anyway. I got to take some of what I considered the coolest courses, such as Ghosts of Irish Lit and Literature and the Occult. I found I loved Women and Gender Studies and began pursuing my Sociology minor as well.
All of this to say, I believe I truly found out why I have loved reading for as long as I have and why I want to be a Literary Agent in the future who supports current and future authors, all of whom work tirelessly to form characters and stories that impact those of all ages.
Do you think AI is impacting your role and/or industry, or will it start impacting it in a meaningful way?
Sadly, we have already seen many instances in which AI has negatively affected the publishing industry. We have seen people try to use AI to write entire novels, uploading these documents onto Kindle Unlimited, and readers don’t find out till it’s too late. Cover artists’ jobs are in jeopardy with the rise of AI-produced book covers for a cheaper and quicker product. These are only two examples, but these issues, along with many others, threaten the livelihood of artists and authors, both established and upcoming. It is incredibly disheartening to see such a creative field full of wonderful people who put their heart and soul into their stories being pushed out of the industry by those whose sole focus is a profit margin through the use of AI-generated content.
In terms of my current position as an HR Admin, I think my position one day could be in danger, but I don’t think AI could ever fully replace me. Being an admin means having personal connections with those in your office so that you can anticipate the needs of those around you. You provide a supporting hand to them, making for a more comfortable, safe, and inviting environment for all employees. You are typically one of the first people they meet when joining a company, the person they believe has all the answers. You are also often the first person people see every day due to seating arrangements. You provide a warm welcome, you provide those simple conversations, such as asking how their weekend went or what they have planned for the day. I do not believe a computer could ever fully replace this type of interaction.
What does purpose mean to you? Do you think you’re living a purpose-driven life?
This is one question I skipped originally and had to go back to several times before I even knew what to write. As a matter of fact, I’ll be honest, I have no clue what my purpose is. I believe on the surface, my purpose is to bring joy to those around me and support those I love in any way I can.
In a professional sense, I believe my current purpose is to be a supporter of all authors, independent or mainstream. Authors who truly have a heartfelt love for their craft deserve to have a team of supporters behind them doing whatever they can to let their work shine in the media.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it, and how are you moving forward?
Not to sound like a broken record, but being able to break into my ideal career path is my biggest struggle. A problem I have personally is being patient when it comes to career development. I enjoy learning, and I enjoy doing it at my own pace, which is typically on the faster side. Companies I have worked for or engaged with don’t typically expect people to move up in position until at least a year into the job. However, what’s to say that I don’t come into an entry-level position with a lot of prior experience, and all I need to do is learn how your company operates?
I find these attributes of the corporate world to be very inhibiting when it comes to career progression. I believe this is also another reason why job hopping has become a more popular route for those looking for progress. If you are someone trying to get into a niche like I am, then you’ll understand my current struggle of finding direct or relevant experience to present to companies.
What do you want to spend more time working on, either personally or professionally? What’s stopping you?
I personally would like to start slowing down more to enjoy the little things in my everyday life that bring me joy. I feel as though everything is always rushed: rushed to pay bills on time, rushed to make sure the house is cleaned, rushed to make sure my work is done day in and day out. But you tend to forget to set aside time for yourself to enjoy things like painting or playing a new video game.
I’d like to take more walks in my neighborhood parks and try more small restaurants in town. I’d like to stop going on my phone as much and not feel like if I don’t check it every 20 minutes, the world will fall apart. These changes will take time, discipline, and patience with myself, all of which I hope to achieve in the future.
How do you define being a successful person?
I’ve always been a “long-term outcome” sort of person; I find I struggle with setting more attainable short-term goals. They typically lead me to be overly anxious about how they will affect me in the long run. I think, however, it is beneficial to provide both answers for this question because they both have drastically different effects on my day-to-day lifestyle.
In terms of the here and now, I believe I would define my success as taking risky moves in order to get my foot in the door for my future career. What I mean by “risky” is potentially taking opportunities such as internships that are not necessarily financially secure for me. I was raised by a very hard-working family who believed being safe, secure, and happy was the number one goal. They believe that to truly achieve this, you need a job that, sure, maybe you don’t necessarily enjoy, but will provide for you and your family. It’s hard for me to mentally rewire my brain to stray from these values, but I know it is the right move for me.
Remember how I mentioned financial security? Overall, I would say that is my current long-term goal. I want to be able to move to another state and purchase a home I can actually afford. One where I can grow my family and potentially have for a long time. Another factor in reaching success for me is finding a job I’m truly passionate about that does not bring me endless stress and anxiety.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
In 3 years, I hope to have moved out of my apartment with my boyfriend and 3 cats. I’d love to work together to achieve our next step of renting a townhouse while we figure out our careers, then think about buying a house out of state. It’s a very long-term dream in this economy, but I’m crossing my fingers. I hope to work for a company I genuinely support and that aligns with my values. I hope to have landed an entry-level to intermediate role, working towards my future career. I want to achieve true mental clarity, where I understand what’s and why’s that impact my daily life.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
Be gentle with yourself. For a very long time, I pushed myself to meet the expectations of those around me, and their expectations only grew my own tenfold. I worked myself into burnout for years growing up, and I never even realized it until I was in college. Just remember, this is everyone’s first time on this earth, and we are all trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Give yourself grace when you make a mistake, know that one problem will not have your world crumbling to the ground. You have worked hard to get this far and just know you’ll achieve amazing things.
Connect With Jordan
- LinkedIn: @JordanMarple
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