Things on my TODO list between now and the full-time post-academic career-focused 1st "job"

WHY do I have "job" in quotes like that?

Because I've been narrowing things down, eliminating jobs I don't consider interesting - jobs I'd get bored doing or jobs that simply don't match my personality. What I am left with, if I've done the proper amount of job elimination over the years, is no longer a job (to me) - it's more of a paid hobby, something I do for fun already! It just so happens to call for a valuable mix of skills and perspective that could lead to a beautiful symbiotic relationship between me and some company out there looking for the kind of person who knows what the best ways to act in this New Media World are.

I say this at the risk of coming off as a cocky/arrogant but I prefer to think of it as me being an  optimistic person who's done their research and all the research supports the optimism exhibited. I'm pretty excited about my future. Next question!

WHAT's with the graphic at the beginning of your post? (and can you make a blog post without a graphic for a change?)

The graphic is a bunch of the most popular Lifestream icons, compiled by one of my favorite blogs out there - Read Write Web. (and no, I can't make a graphic-less post!)

It's from Sarah Perez's latest post on there - Hey Businesses! Social Media Users Want Your Attention - a very encouraging article for me, since I've already been keeping track of all the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to social media. Here's the intro:

For any company that thought social media was a passing fad not worthy of their time, the numbers coming out of a recent study published by Opinion Research Corporation for Cone should come as a wake-up call.

According to that study, 85% of Americans using social media think companies should have an active presence in the social media environment. What's even more interesting is that those users actually want the companies to interact with them while there.

What does that mean?

NO, it doesn't mean I'm Neo (but that'd be nice...) - it means my dedication to latest gadgets and web-services will pay off, if not in any other way, then as me becoming a Social Media Expert and best of all I already have some great ideas on how to be able to show my level of awareness both online and in an interview with a potential employer. Then I have my Communications background and my computer knowledge - bonus points!!

This post was supposed to be about what I need to do between now and the time I get my Master's and not about me in dream-world even if, looking at the time perhaps I am stuck in a dream bubble of some sort. Things I need to ABSOLUTELY do before walking out of DePaul:

• Seek out an internship or a co-op that involves trade-show experience - I'd love to be on stage and while I've had my tiny chances every now and then I keep visiting a million websites learning all kinds of cool stuff and I really want to share some of the coolest things out there with an audience. One way to accomplish such a thing is to become a Marketing/Communication Specialist.
• WORK ON MY WRITING SKILLS (if you look at the stuff above you can probably easily see what I mean) ... Suuuure, I'm all excited about the future, I'm semi-casual since it's a blog post and not a formal paper, etc etc, but my gosh, I'm all over the place with my thoughts so some of the skills I need to make more solid are exactly in written English - my enthusiasm may be able to entertain a live crowd but I wonder how well it's expressed in this post - perhaps you readers can let me know (hint hint: please comment if you've gotten this far into reading this random post-midnight ramble)
• Work on my graphics skills - Yep, I can edit a great video for anyone but I can't brag nearly as much when it comes to making things from scratch in Photoshop. I only know how to manipulate stuff, I'd love to be able to create stunning visuals as the situation calls for such.
• Make sure that any web-design focused class I take is directly applied in the building of my portfolio website - I have full intent to never send another .DOC or .PDF resume. EVER. I'd like people to see something I've created and then download the .DOC or .PDF as they've already seen a product of mine - if they can't be bothered to check the website or don't understand its significance chances are I wouldn't wish to be working for such an employer anyway so I'm technically filtering them just as much as they're filtering me.

So in short, I've got quite a bit on my TODO list but I'm pretty thrilled about it all - Grad school's made Undergrad feel like high school felt when I became an Undergrad. Some hard work to come but SO worth it!

Now listening to: