Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Recruitment Rebellion
Ever since high school, I've been told to play the game, to get involved. The end goal of this, they said, was to have something to put on your college application and your resume. I never liked the idea of doing something or joining anything for the sole purpose of padding my resume. I didn't play the game, but I worked hard and did what I wanted, and I still got into UW-Madison. I'll still get the job I want. Eventually.
Here's what I propose. Call it "Free Freelancing." Give me work to do, for free, and see what I'm capable of. If I'm going to be writing copy, give me a product and a target market and let me work something out. Give me a problem and I'll solve it, or at least try. If you like my work, give me more work. If that work is what you're looking for, we can talk long-term. It's cost-effective, it's risk-free, and I imagine it's a better predictor of future success than an interview. No games, no embellishing, no masks. If formal interviews are first dates, this is having coffee with someone you kinda might be into.
If it sounds like I'm condemning people for playing the game, I'm not. I'm just looking for a job on terms that are more attractive for me.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Talkin Bout My Generation: Who We Are
That's us. It's who we've been branded as by whoever decides what generations are titled. The text generation. The twittering masses. Whatever we are, people want to define us, and sell to us. Those Miracle Whip ads (mayonnaise is HARDCORE) were made to get us to buy it. Everyone seems to have their opinion on us, so let's at least try to bust up some misconceptions.
Entitled. The word we all use for people who get something that they don't deserve. Apparently we're entitled because we believe in big salaries, big job titles, big lives. And you know what, they're right. We DO feel like we deserve all of that. But who can blame us? We're the ones who are paying an incredible amount of money for the same knowledge our parents got at a fraction of the price. We need a big salary because their generation made student loans a HUGE hurdle in our twenty-something lives. We'll be paying our school loans off at the same time as our mortgages. So maybe we do deserve that salary. Why else do we feel so entitled? We're the "good job for trying!" generation that got a trophy for being in last place, just because we participated. If you congratulate every kid for just being a part of something, we're going to want to be rewarded just for being there. Blame's on you, old fogies. And Big Lives? I blame celebrity culture, but maybe that's an argument for another time.
Nine to Five. Does anyone work those hours anymore? They don't make sense anymore, and maybe we're just the first people to pick up on this fact. In a globalized world, there is no nine-to-five. There is only working and not working. The last thing any of us wants to do is be stuck in rush hour, listening to some crappy morning or night DJ, to go into a meeting to accomplish something that could be done just as easily through Skype or AIM.
There's probably some truth to the idea that we're just not as smart as our generational predecessors, without using that darned "web thing." They probably know every state capital, who was Secretary of State in 1956, and how to quickly and painlessly do any long division we throw at them, but maybe that's irrelevant. We have technology, suckas. I bet we can find any of that information out just as quickly using google, wikipedia, or a calculator. So, unless we've crashed our plane onto a remote island and need to figure out who was the Chief of Staff under Hoover, I think we'll be alright.
So, that's part of who we are. I'm sure there's more. We're different, but we'll survive.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Exile on State Street: On Graduation and What's Next
People keep asking me if I'm ready to graduate, if I'm excited for whatever comes next, etc etc. I never have any idea how to answer them because there are so many emotions associated with it: fear, anticipation, exhiliration, fun, sadness...pretty much all of the above. Most of all, an overwhelming sense of confusion is the way I guess I could describe it, because after graduation life is just one big uncertainty at this point.
I've had my fair share of fun (and your share, too) in the last four years and I'd like to think I've learned a few things in class. But, more than academics, I think the learning has been going on outside of the classroom. Things you learn when you aren't attempting to learn seem more relevant to me: time management, budgeting, social skills, stress management. These aren't usually things I would associate with school, though most of them are applicable to the classroom as well.
The point is, while I'm not discounting what I've learned from school, I've learned a whole lot more about myself and my abilties on my down-time.
What's Next. I have no idea, and most of the people I've talked to have no idea either. I would venture to say 75% of the people I know who are looking for post-grad "real-person" work are stilll searching, still applying, still interviewing. With less than 45 days left, we're scrambling. We're scared, confused, and uncertain. Still, we've survived 4 years at UW and lived to tell about it, so we shouldn't be. We're intelligent, we're talented, and we're adaptable. That should be about enough for anyone to want us.
This all being said, here are a few things I've learned.
- Interviewing is like bad speed-dating. You go in, talk to a person you've never met about yourself for a half-hour, and then hope they ask you for a second date. There's a fair share of awkward pauses, forced laughter, and plenty of fake smiles. All of this is done hoping you'll somehow make a connection and will begin a long-term relationship.
- Applying for jobs is a crapshoot. Half of the jobs you want, you'll never hear from. There are scam jobs out there, preying on people like us. It's a minefield, people, and we're all on our own.
- There's got to be a better way to get a job. Interviews and resumes just encourage us to lie, embellish, and generally act fake. This is all fine and well for speed-dating, but just will lead to disappointment when they learn you aren't who you say you are. With all of the blogs, social media sites, etc available we should be able to be ourselves. People could learn more about me from my facebook, twitter, and writing than through "tell me about a time when..." questions.
I think I like the idea of writing again, so maybe next entry will be something about our generation, the so-called "millenials." There's a lot to be said.
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