I'm not a smart person.

I’ve seen a lot of different opinions about what our generation of college graduates brings to the table, and most of them aren’t positive. In general, older, more experienced members of our society feel that we’re really good at skating the surface of…well, everything we encounter. We don’t really know very much of anything, but we’re pretty good at masking that with questions like “Well, what do you think?” and reading the shit out of Wiki articles so we can work our way through a conversation.

The first time I read an article that announced my stupidity to the world I was in shock. But what’s new? Every class of college graduates faces the doubts and hesitations of future employers. Everybody, no matter how experienced, is slightly insecure about whether or not they’re good enough to do what they want to do. Whether they know enough to accomplish what they need to. How they measure up to their competition. That question of ability really helps to keep us motivated. I’m probably one of the least competitive people you’ll ever encounter, yet even I want to know I’m at least measuring up. If not, what value am I to my employer?

I’m sure a lot of our hypothetical superficial knowledge has to do with the fact that we have access to so much. At work, I’m currently learning about the business world, about e-commerce, about Yahoo!, about web programming, copy writing, internet marketing and … QuickBooks. (That’s a lot at once, and I’m not even considering my own personal endeavors.) Sure they’re all related in one way or another, but in order to reach my goals of creating engaging copy and a successful internet marketing campaign for our business, I need to be incredibly knowledgeable of all of it.

How do I do this, now that I'm not at school? I create my own school. I ask my co-workers and my bosses "Well, what do you think?" "How do I do this?" "Where do I find that?" For things my co-workers don't know, I start with friends and family, old teachers I'm still talking to...and then I head to the web. Usually, searching for information on the web is overwhelming. We've all started searching for tips on something or another and ended up reading about how to keep a cut apple from turning brown. There's a lot of info out there, and it's all just a few clicks away. If we're motivated enough though, we stay focused and on task and filter to find what we need from sources that we trust.

The thing is, we're all completely capable of becoming experts. Really, maybe our potential is a little intimidating? Maybe we haven't spent the last 10 years in an apprenticeship, and maybe we've been taking jobs we're not quite fit for (it's the economy...I know SEO wasn't exactly what I wanted to do, but I have a job...and I happen to really like the challenges) but there's a reason we're getting hired, beyond the fact that we'll do it for less. We know how to process all the information that we're consuming.. the information that's changing and evolving quicker and faster than it ever has before.

So, I'm more intelligent than I am smart. I don't know a ton about a ton (not yet anyway), but I can admit when I don't know what's going on, I'm always ready to learn and I'm pretty f*ing resourceful.

What are you?

P.S. Here's the real article on how to keep a cut apple from turning brown :p

The Social Life of a Work-aholic

Let me elaborate. (When don't I?)

My family moved to Florida just as I started college in Upstate New York. Whenever I was home for breaks, I was working. I made one good friend during my four-year Bath and Body Works stint, but she's in an entirely different stage of her life, so when it comes to hanging out- we run out of things to talk about after an hour or so.

Now I've permanently relocated to SoFlo and landed myself in an office with five men, all of which are at least 8ish years older than me and all have families. Needless to say, any hope I had to find a bar-buddy in the work place has died a quick and dirty death.

I've bonded with some of my younger sister's friends, but have yet to find somebody that's in my "life stage." I can only handle so much talk about who's dating who or what classes the local colleges are offering and my pockets definitely can't handle how much money they spend on movies and food. Wow. Has my concept of spending changed that much, that quickly? They're only 2 or 3 years younger than me. Stupid "real world" life lessons. Psht.

So, I have to admit that my complete obsession with work-related research is just as much due to the fact that I need to kill time as it is a result of having a legit interest.

Have a spectacular weekend. (woot.)

Looking to the Internet for Answers

I don't know how many people pay attention to comments, so I'm throwing this in another post instead of doing a comment add-on to this past post.

This article is chock-full of links to websites where you can learn just about anything on the internet. If you're passionate about something, but haven't had the opportunity to pursue it through education, or don't have time to read 1000s of pages of books...or if you're just curious, the internet is a beautiful thing. The only problem is, everybody's on the internet telling you what to do, so who do you trust?

If I'm researching by myself (a.k.a. without referrals from flesh-and-bone people) I start with major websites that I trust who publish authors that they trust as well as other popular blogs that have links to more information. With so many pages out there, most of a site's reputation depends on its validity. So much so, that a site's page rank takes into consideration how many other legit sites link back to it. If you haven't noticed from my previous links, I'm a fan of MSN's career advice articles and the one above was appropriately listed on the side of an article that might help you figure out how to optimize your job search.

What sites/ apps are you guys using to learn something new?

How much are you worth to your boss?

The "after 30 days, we will discuss my salary"-talk that I demanded be in my contract happened today.

Before I get into the flow if it, I thought I'd let you guys know that I've been trying to prepare for today's conversation for about two weeks. Money's a sore subject. I know what I need. I know what I want. The salary I was on wasn't enough for either and I had no clue how much to ask for or expect. And I hate discussing money. Even more, I hate being a burden. So asking a business owner for more of his money makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

Am I a valuable asset to my place of employment?

So now, post graduation, post employment- I networked. I emailed the SU Career Center for some really great feedback and talked to my very well connected Uncle (I'm not kissing ass- it's the truth) to figure out how much to expect. How to bargain. What to say. What to prepare for. Everybody was on target and I was way off when going to sites like salary.com (pure garbage).

They started off by saying that I was more than they could have ever expected. Holler. They asked me how I liked the job and were ecstatic with my honest answer that I like that I get to multitask, I'm good at it and I don't get bored of one thing (plus side to working for a boutique). And I love everything I'm getting to learn. Oh, and the environment in the office isn't too shabby either.

So these are the things that stood out to my bosses (both positive and negative):

• They don't have to tell me what to do. They show me how to do something once, and I'm off.
• Based off of what they show/ tell me, I brainstorm great ideas for marketing and content and website architecture and so much more.
• I don't vocalize those ideas to them enough. They need to be managed. I need to speak up more often.
• I'm learning fast. I'm studying things related to what I do and things related to what they do- both on and off the job. They were really impressed by the fact that I care enough to take the work home with me, even though they had no expectation of that. (It's definitely beneficial to understand exactly what you're doing, and when that involves trying to promote what somebody else is doing- you have to know what they do too. And it's all incredibly interesting to me.)
• I'm bubbly around the office. I fit in well in their atmosphere."You complete our team."
• They know I'm worth more than what they're paying me, and they're looking forward to being able to compensate me more down the line. (That might be B.S. for all I know, but it was a good line to throw in.)

They went on for a while, but that was most of it. I ended up with a 15% raise. I guess after a certain point, I have to learn that I'm not being a burden by asking for/expecting more money. I'm a valuable asset that's deserving. Nothing about that is burdensome.

So it looks like this small business values somebody who's intelligent enough to take charge, isn't afraid of responsibility, looks forward to a challenge, is willing to go the extra mile, will speak up, and can take a good joke.

I still can't get over how this was supposed to be a part-time secretarial position.

What do you think makes you a valuable asset to your boss/future bosses?

Not Such a Side Note

I know my blog entrees are unconventionally lengthy. I just wanted to say thanks for taking time out of your busy work/job search schedule to stick around. :)

I came across some company in similar efforts at work today. Of course we know we're not the only ones, but it's always nice to put a face to a name.

How is everybody's job hunt/ new job/ internship going?

Books is for Learnin'

I'm discovering I've lived a very sheltered internet existence up until very recently.

I guess I'm fairly old fashioned in that I always felt all my learnin' should be done with books. Sure, I knew the internet would change everything. Sure I wrote about how the internet is changing everything. But did I ever actually expect the vast universe that somehow seems to be flowing freely inside my laptop to be a source of information I could depend on? OK, so it's not really inside my computer, but it might as well be.

There's just so much and it's all so accessible, I don't even know what to say other than "wow." Thank G-d for having friends and strangers who tag and rate so I can dwindle some of the information down. My current list of blogs to follow is extensive, time consuming, and incredible. I could make a living sifting through blog entrees. I should try to figure out a new way to do that.

I found a new apartment, but don't get to move in until the 1st, so I've been stalking different design blogs for ideas and inspiration. I've also been trying to get immediate help and a little bit of guidance on my efforts towards small business internet marketing, seo issues, and copywriting. (Just a couple.) Then there's news blogs. And technology blogs. Art blogs, photography blogs, and poetry blogs. My bookmark list is out of control. (I never really got into del.icio.us and I heard it's pretty out of it as of late, so how are you guys keeping all your stuff organized? I can't handle my jumbled list anymore.)

So many different things. So much niche information. So much to learn.

After this weekend, while alternating a couple of SEO books I recently purchased and an assortment of blog posts, I realized that when it comes to current information, taking the time to find the right blogs (ones that are up to date, that you can trust, and have the information you're looking for) is well worth it. The present is such a temporary thing. All the information I'm looking for is constantly changing. Sure there are certain books that have information that might be relevant for the next...mmm... year or so, but the books I'm reading take time to be put together, to be published, to be put on shelves and for me to find and buy and then to find the information I'm looking for. With blogs, I just skip to that last part and it's usually free... and it would be as current as "2 Seconds Ago." The closest you get to that with a book is "hot off the press." But it's not even hot anymore.

I know. Duh.

The thing is, I feel like my secondary education had me trained to look at books for the best information. To spend 100s of dollars each semester for irrelevant knowledge because, well... it's embarrassing to say you went all four years without ever checking a book out of the library. Isn't it? I only had two professors in all four years of being a communications major, who encouraged me to look for course-relevant information (other than world news) on the web, but every single professor in every class made at least one textbook purchase a requirement. And here I am, out in the real world, practicing what I should have been trained for... and though I might know an awful lot about the history of advertising, I have absolutely no training on where it's going.

I promise I'm not discrediting books. I loveeee books. The classics and the novels and timeless faux philosophy. Poetry and pictures. Collections of short stories. I plan on having an entire room devoted to them once I design and build my dream home. With a ladder that slides. MMM...

What I'm really trying to say is, why are we all so hesitant to let go of print?

Did I, the aspiring novelist, just say that out loud?

But who's really original anymore? What's left that can remain timeless? Maybe the communications field has left me a little jaded when it comes to ink and paper.

I get distracted easily.

Which is probably why I get so bored with things when I'm forced to do them for an extended period of time. Probably why I work so well under pressure. Why I'm a procrastinator at heart. Why working 9da5 desk ish (for those of you not familiar with SoFlo slang, I'll elaborate: ish = shit) doesn't seem to be working for me.

Don't get me wrong. I am INCREDIBLY, incredibly thankful that I have a job. Incredibly thankful that I have a job that pays. Incredibly thankful that I have a job where I can be myself (as in they embrace my loud and obnoxious personality, as long as I'm not too loud- which I can be). More than anything else, I'm thankful that I'm learning so much. That this is a fantastic stepping stone and will look splendid on my resume.

Future employer: "Graduated 5.09? Director of Marketing for successful internet start up 7.09? Eeeempressive!"

Really.

It was great in the beginning because, well- beyond the fact that everything is great in the beginning, I got to write. But this week, doing the same writing has been torture. In fact, I've halted all personal writing because I just can't stand it right now. That is tremendously disappointing.

I've read, in a lot of different places, to beware turning a hobby into a career. The problem with applying that theory to me is that I become incredibly passionate about whatever I'm working on. At the same time, I get bored after about, hmm...a month. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Back in early spring, I got turned on to Hugh MacLeod's brilliant sex and cash theory. I thought that meant writing at night and doing mindless stuff during the day, like transcribing or walking dogs. What I didn't take into consideration, was the fact that I might have a real job with real projects, that I really care about that would really drain me and leave me feeling less and less like I've got the right creative juices to produce real Erin writing. So, considering the rate I'm at right now...I've got a mediocre amount of cash and am celibate?

Ish.

I need to learn to balance my free time between teaching myself internet marketing stuff for work (thanks so much college, for doing such a ga-reat job at giving me the knowledge I need to succeed) and forcing myself to work on my own projects.

Except.... I'm so uneasy about my internet marketing skills for work, that I'm incredibly anxious about making personal writing goals. What do you do to balance your responsibilities to your career and your responsibilities to yourself?

The Morning Blues

The sky is kind of white at 6:45. I guess it transfers that blue to the inside of our alarm clocks, making us all feel faded when the "eeeh eeeeh eeeeh" wakes us up every morning. The first thing that went off in my head today was "Just skip today Erin." Oh...wait...it's not college anymore.

I'm not sure what's worse. The mornings where it takes me two hours to get ready and I'm running late or the mornings where it takes me 15 minutes to get ready and I realize I could have slept for another hour and a half.

I'm not a coffee drinker, so the mornings require music that I can sing along to on the top of my lungs. What wakes you up in the morning?