During graduation season I wanted to offer a piece of advice students might not hearing often: you don’t have to take the first offer.

If I took my first offer I would have been a club promoter. A great job for many, but for a girl who prefers jeans and converse sneakers to a mini skirt and stilettos, not so much. After hearing several no’s and nothing at all’s I started to worry. A degree from a top university and three internships was apparently not enough. I was convinced I needed to leave college with a position in hand. After all that hard work, what would I have to show for it?

Fortunately, at just the right time, I met the Senior Vice President of JSH&A Public Relations and was offered at internship. Looking back on my mindset I’ve realized I had it all wrong. Go after the position because it’s the right one for you, not just because you need one.

Competition for jobs and internships is very tough. I’ve said it before: if you walk across the stage this May without a clue as to what is next, it’s okay.

Seek challenges.

Forget about other people’s perception of you.

Keep learning… and the pieces will fall into place.