Penelope Trunk Mailbag

Why are you so defensive about homeschooling?

Mailbag — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:34:35 +0000

I have a question. Why do so many feel they must vigilantly defend their decision to homeschool?

So much of the dialogue I read regarding homeschooling seems to be centered around defending/justifying the decision. I admit to having done this, however, at some point, I realized that it was no longer important for me to do this. We homeschool our child and have enjoyed the benefits and frustrations that come with it. I am not sending this to you as some sort of troll. I have found your blog entries to be honest and thoughtful and wanted to pose this question to you.

Is the sex worker industry a good idea to get fast money?

Mailbag — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:29:52 +0000

I have an idea for a yoga studio in LA, but I don’t have much cash. I was thinking of escorting on the side to pay my bills while doing this. I was wondering should I do this? I’ve always been open minded. Have you ever participated in the sex industry, or tempted to?

Graduate school for industrial organization

Mailbag — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:42:17 +0000

I’m about to graduate in May with a degree in Psychology. Although I will be graduating Summa Cum Laude and had previous internships, I have not been able to find a professional job. My network options have been exhausted as well. Of course, I always try to network as much as I can, but I only seem to land high-end retail jobs (glorified retail position) based on my previous work experience. I live in a place that’s probably the country’s capital for hospitality and shopping. Not much else going on. I knew that I would need to go to graduate school if I wanted to thrive in psychology; however, I’m still not completely 100% sure if what I want is to spend the next 5 years trying to obtain a PhD in Industrial / Organizational (I/O) Psychology. I’m not interested in the traditional clinical path, I am interested in I/0 Psychology. Many people don’t know about it but it’s getting recognition. It is basically Psychology Applied to business. and I love it. However, I think that through professional experience I can learn much of what I would learn in school. My dilemma is going to grad school (and spending all the time, effort, and money) to validate that I can learn practical and tangible skills in this era of graduating with “useless” degrees or simply try to find a professional job in HR or organizational development.

Does social media favor extroverts?

Mailbag — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:42:43 +0000

When I was using Google asking how to start a blog your name came up. I took your message to just begin and ran with it. That was a few months ago and I still do not feel as though I have a direction or voice yet but I truly enjoy it as a creative outlet.

I have read many of your posts and the other day came across one where you were talking about Twitter. I have an aversion to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all the Pinterest, all of the social media for the masses. I have taken the Myers Briggs test 4 times professionally and always an INFP. Since you are a Myers Briggs fan do you think Introverts are on Twitter or is it the 75 percent Extroverted population that find it so lovable?

Is now a good time for me to go back to school?

Mailbag — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:41:49 +0000

I have a choice now between:

a) Going back to school for 3 years to get a degree in speech-language pathology – and the school I was accepted at is across the country. What I would gain is a career that would be intellectually engaging, be in a field that’s growing (career stability) and be a in a field where I can take a couple months off a year to travel or do other hobbies (because I could work in a school district). I really would rather work less with more time to travel, camp, hike, sew, and do other pursuits.

b) Stay at my current job which is ok. I’m a corporate trainer, but not all that successful in a corporate culture, haven’t been promoted in 5 years, but I meet the job requirements, and since I’ve been with this company so long I get about 5 weeks of paid time off a year. What I could do by doing this is – pay my house off in 4 years, continue living 3 houses away from my sister, maybe start a little Etsy business in my basement, and my boyfriend lives here, so we could easily continue our relationship. But as far as working until retirement — I don’t know if I could do what I do forever.

Right now I make 65K/year…and would make about the same working year-round coming out of school. If I I can make $17/K a year while going to school, I could pay for college and out with no debt – but my savings account depleted.

I’m stuck because if I have to work for the next 20-25 years – I would much rather be a speech-language pathologist.
But what I really want more than a career I love – would be to be married and have a kid – and I’m 36 so my clock is running out.

Any thoughts on what to consider?

Followup after an informational interview

Mailbag — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:39:23 +0000

I’ve been doing informational phone appointments with people who are employed in the industry I hope to be in (financial services). I’ve been very lucky to have “chemistry” with all of my contacts. However, I am not sure how to follow up with them as my graduation date (and need for employment!) approaches.

How does one follow-up with contacts after an informational phone appointment? Does one ask for a job? Ask for more contacts? Ask if the contact knows of any jobs? Ask for an in-person meeting?

Do you always have to think about money?

Mailbag — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:35:31 +0000

A recent post on your blog talks about having challenging goals for which you can focus your energy on. You also mention you need to be able to make money doing it. Does that mean the only worthwhile goals that you focus on and try to reach everyday are ones that you can eventually make money from?

Can you stay at a good job too long?

Mailbag — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 03:45:37 +0000

My husband graduated 5 years ago and got a job at his current company and loves it. I’m an avid reader, so I know you’d approve of the reasons why: He’s always learning. He’s thrilled to have opportunities to travel, and even live, abroad. We’ve both made good friends with a few of his colleagues. It’s close to our families, and he has a ten minute commute. There’s bullshit like anywhere, but we feel like it’s worth it. And he just got a promotion and a big raise.

The trouble is, he’s happy to stay there indefinitely as long as they pay is good but I worry that in the modern job market, he’ll seem odd for staying at the same company – his first job out of school! – for much longer. Can that be a bad thing? If so, can you mitigate it by diversifying a resume with other things like being active in industry organizations or volunteering?

Could it possibly make sense to give up so many good things for the benefit of having more diverse experience?

How to get a job in a different city

Mailbag — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:05:27 +0000

Do you have advice for trying to relocate across country and find a job? Does one need to lie and say you are actually in the new town? It seems like they can find that out in a background check. They seem to be more interested in local candidates, even when I stress I would pay for my own move.

I just cannot afford to quit and go live in the town in order to interview because of overhead.

Tricks for doing an all-day interview

Mailbag — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:22:40 +0000

I have an interview that is three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon with six different people. I have done interviews much shorter than this one and I was dog tired at the end. I’m not even sure why a company would have me come in for such a long time because it seems like overkill. What is the best way for me to prepare for this interview?