1. Get a job

2. Pay off old debts

3. Get my own car

4. Get my own house

5. Get a dog

6. Travel

7. Join an online dating site

8. Go on a date from this site, just for shits and giggles.

9. Scuba Dive

10. Get published

11. Write a childrens’ book

12. Run a marathon

13. Compete in a triathlon

14. Learn to ski

15. Buy a horse and start riding again

16. Learn a second launguage fluently

17. Take ballet lessons

18. Learn to ballroom dance(you never know when it could come in handy)

19. Take a survival course(2012)

20. Ride in a hot air balloon and/or helicopter

21. Go to Disney!

22. Work up the courage to ride a rollercoaster(my dad scarred my for life on the one at the fair when I was 8 and I have yet to get back on one since)

23.  Go on a cruise

24. Build a tree fort

25.  Start attending mass again

26. Take an art class

27. Dye my hair blonde again(even if its just for a day)

28.  Find my soulmate

29. Witness a meteor shower

30. Throw a costume party

31. Explore a castle

32. Swim in an ocean

33. Take part in a competitive eating contest

34. Swim in a pool filled with something other than water…preferably jello or noodles

35. Get an aquarium

36. Get a tattoo(this one is still up for debate)

37. Own a king size bed : )

38. ride/drive motorized shopping cart at wegmans

To be continued…..

Before I applied for my internship with the Rochester Business Journal, he gave me a book to read. A book that he and his business partner wrote together. Yes, that is correct, my Dad is a published author! The book is called, Don’t Interview-Audition!

This book talks about the following:

You will learn how to:

• Target Companies
• Identify the Correct Decision Maker to Contact
• Uncover Jobs that are NOT advertised
• How to track your Job Search Activities
• Write Cover Letters that result in Interviews
• Write a Resume that will become your “TICKET TO AN INTERVIEW”
• Get past Gatekeepers
• Sell yourself during Interviews
• Ace Out Your Competition
• Follow up
• Ask questions that will lead to JOB OFFERS
• Negotiate the highest benefit package and salary

I read through this book thinking that it would be like all of the other pamplets and infomation that I have gathered throughout college. However, giving credit where credit is due, this book actually provides some really useful information that I would never have even thought of. I guess my Dad really knows what he is talking about! : )

Registration for classes is the marker in the semester that indicates that I am about to get hit with a shit storm of work. It happens every semester and each semester I am sure that I will have a nervous breakdown. Welcome to college.

I had a thought provoking talk with my advisor about my post college plans. While I definitly want to go to grad school, I do not think that it is realistic to do so next year. I think that taking a year off might be benefical to me because maybe I will have a better idea of what I wanna study, or what areas of journalism I want to focus on in grad school. 

I found this book online when doing a little post college plan exploration. The more I think about it, that part of me that wants to be travel and see more of the world than Rochester and Buffalo begins to surface. It’s just something to think about for now….

Delaying the Real World: A Twentysomething's Guide to Seeking Adventure

A professional and well done resume is vital in the process of getting a job. Most times, you will not have the opportunity to meet the person responsible for hiring you until after they review your resume. Therefore, it is important that your resume stands out and makes a good first impression.

Follow these steps to prepare a basic and professional resume:

1. Your name, address, and contact information goes at the top of your resume.

2. The first section is your objective. The title of each section should be offset in some way (ie. font, bold, margins). What is it that you are looking to do with your professional life? This statement should pertain to the job you are applying for. If you are applying for a job in sales and marketing the statement should be something like the following:

OBJECTIVE: To find a sales position with a company that uses an aggressive approach to marketing and offers an opportunity for advancement.

This statement should say that you are interested in working in a specific industry.

3. The next section should be your education. You want to list where you went to school, what you studied, the dates you attended school, any achievements/scholarships, and your GPA. Here is an example:

EDUCATION:

2000-2004                   ST. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE

B.S. COMMUNICATIONS/JOURNALISM

Minor: English Writing

Received Honors Scholarship and President’s Scholarship

GPA: 3.8

4. The next section is work experience. In this section you want to list your employment history with the most recent jobs listed first. List the dates you were employed with the company, the name of the company, location of company, and your job title. Also, a brief summary of your responsibilities, achievements and duties should be included. This is a place for you to tell the person reading your resume how the work you have done in the past will be helpful in the position you are applying for. Also include any internships you may have completed in this section. Here is an example:

EXPERIENCE:

6/06  to Present                      BRIAND FIORELLA SEARCH, INC, Williamsville, NY

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Responsible for the sale of widgets to a variety of businesses in a territory that extends from Albany, NY north to the Canadian Border and south to Kingston, NY.  Territory volume is currently $1.2 mm per year.

5/04  -  6/06                 XYZ COMPANY, Buffalo, NY

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Responsible for the sale of copiers to large and small business in a territory consisting of Albany, Schenectady & Troy.

Finally, review you resume for any errors. The last thing that you want on a document that is supposed to be your first impression is a typo!

Additional options:

There are a few things that you may choose to include in your resume. While they are not necessary, they may be included if you feel that they will tell your potential future employer more relevant information about yourself.

• Computer skills: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator,  Swish, ect.
• References: While you can include your professional references at the end of your resume, I think that it is best to simply put this statement:

References will be furnished upon further request.

Facebook

Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region. The website’s name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students get to know each other better.  Facebook is the most used social networking site. More and more employers have begun keeping tabs on their employees or potential employees through this site so I urge users to be careful what they post. Keep it clean!

LinkedIn

This is a general site but is used mainly for business purposes. It allows professionals to make connects with other professionals.

MySpace

Similar to Facebook, however users can customize their profiles more.

Twitter

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers.

Blogs

Blogs are a type of website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Some blogs function as personal journals while others provide new or opinions on a certain topic or subject matter. Some popular free blog sites are wordpress.com, livejournal.com, blogger.com and blogspot.com

Advertising

Account Management

• Sales
• Development
• Marketing
• Administration
• Planning

Creative Services

• Art
• Copywriting
• Print Production
• Broadcast Production
• Publishing
• Technical Writing
• Web Design
• Product Design
• Graphic Design
• Casting

Public Relations

• Special Events
• Media Relations
• Risk and Crisis
• Communication
• Health Communication
• Fundraising
• Marketing Communication
• Labor Relations
• Consulting

English

Writing/Editing

• Creative Writing
  • Books
  • Poetry
  • Plays
  • Screenplays
  • Scripts
  • Greeting Cards
  • Lyrics/Jingle Writing
• Journalism
  • Writing/Reporting
  • Editing
• Technical Writing
  • Science and Medical Writing
• Freelance Writing

Education

• Teaching
• Administration
• Student Affairs
• Academic Advising
• Information/Library Science
• Non-classroom Teaching
• Tutoring
• English as a Second Language (ESL)

Publishing

• Editing
• Advertising
• Sales
• Circulation
• Production
• Publicity
• Marketing
• Promotion
• Administration

Magazine/Newpaper Publishing

• Writing
• Editing
• Advertising/Sales
• Promotion
• Circulation
• Design, Art, and Production
• Investigative Journalism
• Photojournalism

These are just a few of the many things that I could do with my degree.  I think that the only way I will be able to know what the right career for me is will be to explore different things. More and more lately, people have been asking me if I have plans yet for after college. The answer is no. I have ideas of what I would like to do, but no plan. But I truly think that that is okay, even though it makes me extremely nervous. I don’t need to know what I want to do right this second. Some people have known what they wanted to do since the day they set foot on campus. I just do not happen to be one of those people. But I do believe that once I find what it is that I am meant to do, I will know. I want the kind of job that I look forward to each morning when I go to work. The kind of job that I am enthusiastic about and that makes me want to learn more. I am not quite sure what that job is, but I know that I will find it…..someday. : )

Consider the following pros and cons when debating whether or not grad school is right for you:

GRE- a test that is often required when applying to graduate school

A big factor to consider is the cost of graduate school. Here are a few suggestions on how to fund grad school:

1. Scholarships and grants. Look into scholarships and grants that the government, corporations or private organizations set aside for various types of qualifications
   
2. Grad assistant positions. Many universities receive a certain amount from the government for each grad student they accept. As such, they will often waive the tuition fee and sometimes offer living expenses via a part-time grad assistant position.
3. Research grants/ positions. In a similar vein, your thesis advisor might have research grant funds coming and might offer that to you in return for your participation as a research assistant.
   
4. Employer education programs. Some large corporations set aside funds to pay partial or full tuitions in the pursuit of advanced education by qualified employees.
5. Employer salary advance. Companies that cannot afford to foot the bill might offer an interest-free advance on salary, with certain conditions in place.

1. Make a budget. How much money do you need to make in order to support yourself? Expenses should include rent, utilities, gas, car payments, cable and internet bills, groceries, spending money, credit card payments, loan payments and whatever other respondsibilities you might have. If you know this amount is what you need, then you will know how much you need to work in order to meet this amount.

2. My mom once told me that for every dollar I spend I need to save $2. I think this is a good idea because it is never wise to spend money simply because you have it. Put it away for a rainy day or in case an emergency arises.

3. Credit Cards are DANGEROUS. While they seem like a great idea, they can get you into a lot of trouble. I can not begin to tell you how many friends I have that are thousands of dollars into debt. If you do have a credit card, try to only use it in case of emergencies or if you know you can pay it off in a timely manner.

4. Live like a college student. My dad always tells me that I have lobster tastes on a bologna budget. Completely true! Don’t live beyond your means. There will be a time for that when you are financial well off and have a full time job.

5. Get yourself a FREE checking and savings account. Research the local banks and find the one that is best for you. Look at which ones will charge you fees for using other ATMS or things like that. Also, keep track of your bank balance! I can not stress this enough. Banks will really get you with overdraft fees if you spend more money than you have!

This is a link to a site with helpful tips for college students on managing money. It has a lot of different ideas and ways to save money where you would never even think to do so. Check it out!

http://www.collegescholarships.org/student-living/save-money.htm

And what I really wish is that the campus security could find something better to do with their time then writing tickets to more than half the cars on campus every day. They should lower tuition with all the money they must be making off of those.  Come on. Parking permits are more expensive than last year. And the worst part is, so is the parking situation. It is a dog eat dog world trying to find a spot to park. I am not kidding when I say it is like a war zone. And even when you get to campus 30 minutes before your class starts in order to actually find a spot, you still end up being late to class because by the time you stalk someone to their car so that you can take their spot when they leave, it is located in the furthest possible parking spot on campus from where ever your class happens to be located. I would just like to say for the record….I feel like a huge creep following slowly behind someone as they walk to their car. Sometimes I roll down my window down and just let them know that I just need a spot, which makes them look like they are more creeped out then before.

So anyways, about these tickets. I heard a rumor that at another local college, they allow students to pay for their first or second parking tickets with can goods. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that idea. I would be more than happy to donate some beans or creamed corn in exchange for not having to pay a ridiculous amount in ticket fees. Come on fisher! Do the right thing!

-A.D.D. will prohibit me from doing anything that involves sitting still from long periods of time. Any 9-5 desk jobs are pretty much out of the question……unless there is a amazing chair that spins involved.

-my internship right now involves me reporting on topics that either are really interesting or really not. But either way their are deadlines involved.  Even though I have been known to procrastinate like it is nobody’s business, I seem to work best under pressure. Deadlines might work well for me.

Welp. that is all I can think of at the moment. I’ll add more to the list when I discover more.