The following blog post was authored by Esther Kang, of the Durfee Foundation and EPIP-LA. “I just believe that the interesting time in a career is pre-success, what shaped things, how did you get to this point?” – Steve Martin Before The Durfee Foundation and EPIP LA, I was a fresh college graduate who had just moved to San Francisco with two suitcases and the kindness of friends who let me stay with them. Finding a job? Pfft, easy. I did have THREE internships and TWO jobs while I was in college. Like a typical millennial, I googled, idealist-ed, monster-ed, and sometimes even bing-ed nonprofit jobs. Based on the job descriptions and insiders’ tips, I quickly realized that I had to build a stronger foundation since I was competing with those holding graduate degrees or years of experience for entry-level positions. This led me to two retail jobs, one on-call position, and two more internships at nonprofit organizations. At one point, these were simultaneous. On slim paychecks, I reveled in a few key farmer’s market purchases and adopted the minimalist lifestyle of 90’s cartoon characters’ with multiples of the same outfit. Aside from two interview outfits, I had five black turtlenecks, five dark wash jeans, one dark brown riding boots, and two white Converse sneakers. Before interviews, I’d always listen to two songs from the movie Rocky to ease my nerves: The Final Countdown and Eye of the Tiger. Every week, I scheduled a coffee or phone call with professionals […] Read more