I had a fantastic conversation with my dear friend Megan last night. One of my most talented friends, was unfortunately laid off from her start-up company job recently. But she hasn't missed a beat, and has hit the ground running the minute this happened. She's been out for about 2 weeks so far, and already had 3 interviews when most people can't even get their resumes read. What's setting her apart from the competition? She's smart. She knows the basics - build a great resume that sells yourself (even as a personal brand one might say) - do something out of the ordinary in addition to your resume - and go directly to the companies you want. Don't waste time on dead ends. This girl will not be unemployed long.
BUT - what we got to talking about was just how things have changed in the 5 years since we graduated college, and that we're incredibly lucky to be internet savvy, extroverts. We mentioned how there are things out there now that didn't even exist when we were taking classes at Syracuse. Social Media. Social Media Marketing. Affiliate Marketing. Location Independent Businesses.
The trick to keeping up with the Jones-es or competing with other Gen-Yers is to stay educated. Many are going back to school now, and if you can afford to do so at a name-brand school - go for it. For people like me who are just swimming in student loan debt, I can't, and I rely on my network to keep abreast of issues.
This doesn't mean I couldn't take a class at a learning annex, or a community college. However, when I looked into it, to pay $40 - $100 on a 2 - 8 hour course in a topic where someone introduces me to social media, or gives me ideas on a topic, is it entirely worth it?
When every dollar counts, and you've got twitter giving you more information than you could ever hope to find, you have to sit and think. One of the comments Megan made last night made me laugh, but it was so true - we talked about how we've both spent a day or two this week just learning, and in a lot of ways it feels like we've learned more useful things in that short time than we did during our entire 4 years at Syracuse.
Can it replace a 4 year degree? Absolutely not. Is it better than a random weekly class for fun? Eh, arguments can be made for both.
My idea? Sign up for all the free webinars you can find. Block off an hour a day or something for it. Continue learning. Follow great people on Twitter and learn from them. Participate in discussions on LinkedIn and Brazen Careerist.
BUT - what we got to talking about was just how things have changed in the 5 years since we graduated college, and that we're incredibly lucky to be internet savvy, extroverts. We mentioned how there are things out there now that didn't even exist when we were taking classes at Syracuse. Social Media. Social Media Marketing. Affiliate Marketing. Location Independent Businesses.
The trick to keeping up with the Jones-es or competing with other Gen-Yers is to stay educated. Many are going back to school now, and if you can afford to do so at a name-brand school - go for it. For people like me who are just swimming in student loan debt, I can't, and I rely on my network to keep abreast of issues.
This doesn't mean I couldn't take a class at a learning annex, or a community college. However, when I looked into it, to pay $40 - $100 on a 2 - 8 hour course in a topic where someone introduces me to social media, or gives me ideas on a topic, is it entirely worth it?
When every dollar counts, and you've got twitter giving you more information than you could ever hope to find, you have to sit and think. One of the comments Megan made last night made me laugh, but it was so true - we talked about how we've both spent a day or two this week just learning, and in a lot of ways it feels like we've learned more useful things in that short time than we did during our entire 4 years at Syracuse.
Can it replace a 4 year degree? Absolutely not. Is it better than a random weekly class for fun? Eh, arguments can be made for both.
My idea? Sign up for all the free webinars you can find. Block off an hour a day or something for it. Continue learning. Follow great people on Twitter and learn from them. Participate in discussions on LinkedIn and Brazen Careerist.