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The Economy Got you down?

February 26, 2010 by Jim

Hey everyone,

I just want to leave a post on here about this economic time we live in. I am feeling a little depressed and out of it. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that my graduation ceremony is quickly approaching, and I have been done for about 7 months now and still no luck on that job hunt. Maybe it has something to do with the constant snowfall in Rochester, Ny and the gloomy skies. Especially when I wish I was living in a place like San Diego, lol. How are some people so lucky?

Well regardless of what has been getting me down, this economy hasn’t been helping at all. Who wants to graduate and realize that the job hunt will be harder than their 20+ years of education has been. I didn’t think it would be like that. It almost makes me wish I would have went to school for a more stable career like a doctor. Keyword is ALMOST. I love being in control of communication to much to wish for anything else. I would rather sit here and wait for the perfect job to open up, then be part of some other professional category.

So that is the real reason why I am sending this little bit of advice out into the world tonight. Don’t let it get your hopes down. All your friends might have jobs, but don’t settle. Money will be tight, like not having grocery money 10 days away from payday. (You don’t even want to imagine how creative you can get with food, when your that desperate to eat). I know I wish I still had that meal plan. As I said, it will be tough but hang in there. It will be worth it in the long run and you won’t be able to look back and think, Did I sell out? or Did I do the right thing?. Being happy with an empty wallet is better than depressed with a stack of cash. No matter how much that cash would appeal to you.

So just hang in there, and remember if you need anyone to complain to. I am always here listening.

Jim

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Top 3 Tips for the Post-Grad Job Hunt

February 15, 2010 by Jim

I am writing this post to help all of you out there understand the basics of searching for a job in todays economy. I am not going to tell you that it is easy or that all you have to do is go to this one website and post your resume and wait. That will not get you anywhere. Trust me.

I have been actively looking for a job since I graduated in August, and still no success. So you may be asking yourself, why should I listen to this guy? Shouldn’t I go to someone’s blog that has a job or listen to someone that has five job offers on the table? Well maybe you should, but here is the first piece of advice that I am going to give to you.

1. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON MANUALS

I have read tons of books and blogs about how to get a job. Obviously none of them work. No book is going to help you get a job. In fact you are wasting time reading about finding a job while someone else is getting hired.

You might get some good tips, but don’t count on it being the saving grace of your Job Hunt. The one book I do recommend for IDEAS (note: just ideas, don’t think it will really help you get a job, just help you figure out how you are going to stand out) is to check out the book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0. This book was written by some of the top Headhunters in America and give you solid advice on how to make yourself stand out.

2. BE ACTIVE

No I don’t mean go run around your neighborhood or go work out in your local gym. I mean get involved with all this Social Networking stuff that you have been hearing so much about. In fact, you are on a site like that right now. Use facebook to find a job not to stalk what your ex has been doing since you two split.

This is a serious step in getting noticed out there. Tweet and be heard don’t just talk about what you are getting for lunch. All your potential employers are out there looking for you on these sites, so make sure you are who you want them to see.

But also don’t be afraid to have the occasional drinking photo on you facebook page, we are human, it is good to interact with other people.

3. CONSTANTLY KEEP LOOKING

Don’t spend one day a week looking for your dream job. It is not going to come to you. Yes, you might have a friend that landed their dream job in their first week of their hunt, but that is a rare exception. Don’t count on it. Yes, you might still be taking classes or working a part time job, but you have to use your free time to look. Whether you are scrolling posting pages, researching companies, or reaching out to networking opportunities do something each day to bring you one step closer to that dream job.

Thats all I have to offer for today. As I promised I wouldn’t try to feed you false lines in trying to figure out how to get a job. I didn’t give you the secret to getting a job, because there isn’t one. Hard work is the best advice I can give you.

As always if it is worth doing, Do it In Public.

And Job hunting is worth it

Jim

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ZombieLand

February 2, 2010 by Jim

Close your eyes. (OK not really because that would stop you from reading but just imagine) Imagine a world where you were almost all alone. You could go days not seeing another living human being. The not living ones, you would probably try to avoid at all costs, especially when they were trying to eat the flesh off of your body. Well that is the would the Colombus (Jesse Eisenberg), a nerdy college student finds himself in and the only way to survive it is by sticking to his rules. Then he meets Talahassee (Woody Harrelson) and his life is changed.

This movie was absolutely hysterical. That is all I have to say.

Ok well I am gonna say more because that is me, but hysterical doesn’t cut it. One of the first major scenes in the movie is Jesse Eisenberg running in circles from two zombies that are chasing him in an abandoned parking lot while he desperately needed to go to the bathroom. It doesn’t get any better than seeing him drop his keys and and say “S**t” and make another lap around the parking lot to only realize his car door was unlocked in the first place. It completely deserves to be the highest grossing zombie film in history, making over 60 million in the first 20 days.

Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigal Breslin all give amazing performances in this film. You can almost feel the isolation in this comedic world known as the United States of Zombieland. Even the way people turned into zombies is brillantly funny, not the lame diseases used in more serious films. Zombieland can be traced back to Patient 0, the first guy to eat an mad cow disease hamburger and a burger joint.

The world was also brillantly done. You can feel sad isolation to a LA population full of zombies. I won’t get to much more into it but you can really feel that this is a world recently overrun by zombies.

My only concern with this film is the ending. Warning Spoiler Alert ahead. Skip next paragraph if you don’t want to hear anything.

The final battle at “Pacific Playland” made me laugh because of Jesse Eisenberg. Yes I know that the showdown at an amusement park was advertised but I don’t want to ruin any part of the movie goer experience for people who really don’t want to know anything about a movie before seeing it. In a special feature, the writers said Zombieland was originally an hour long tv pilot ending with Witchita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin) driving off in Talahassee’s Caddy and that when it was turned into a feature, it was the directors idea to end the film at a amusement park. I wonder if that was because it would be easy to relate Eisenberg as the nerdy college student who worked at an amusement park in Adventureland and now is a nerdy college student killing zombies at an amusement park in Zombieland. I will seriously start to dislike his career if his next major film end with the word “land” and has anything to do with an amusement park. But enough on that tangent.

I recommend everyone see this movie. It is a comedy at its deepest level but it can also appeal to those who like the zombie films or anyone who just wants a good solid story. It releases today if you are curious to when it comes out.

Check in tomorrow for a review of the Lovely Bones and later this week for the Coen Brothers new film “A Serious Man”

As always if its worth doing, Do it in Public

Jim Ernst

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Amelia … there’s no mystery

February 1, 2010 by Jim

There is definitly no mystery about the quality of this movie. I am giving it a .5 out of 5 right off the bat.

Normally, I like to let you know factual opinions about the movie before I start to go off on my own biased tangent on whether or not I liked it. But I don’t want to keep your hopes up as you read this. This movie stars Hillary Swank, Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor. They all did an excellent job and I was surprised they all signed on for a movie this badly written.

The script was my biggest issue. Time just flew by in the film. One second we see Amelia as a child, then two minutes later she was trying to become a pilot. Within ten more minutes she had become famous. The whole movie was set up as flashbacks of Amelia’s life as she was flying her plane right before her vanishing moment. So I understand that they were trying to go with that sort of feel for the film. If I am about to die I would probably only think about the moments that meant the most to me too, but come on, this is a film. You do have creative control. I wanted more in every scene. Especially during her “passionate” affair with Ewan McGregor’s character. I really hope that her “passionate” affair wasn’t one kiss in an elevator. I mean at least do the cheesy kissing into the hotel room bed and fade to black move.

I was lost by the end of it. Now I am all for giving every movie a chance so go rent this film if you were really interested in it, I would love to hear if you felt differently about it. Really, I would love to! But my advice is if you aren’t a scholar on Amelia Earhardt and can’t fill in important connecting points about her life then don’t waste your time.

Check in tommorrow for ZombieLand.

DoitinPublic,

Jim Ernst

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Whip It or Not to Whip it …

January 28, 2010 by Jim

That is the question.

Well if you can’t tell I am going to be talking about Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”

Personally, I was a little nervous when this movie came out in theatres. I wanted to see it but I steered away because I didn’t know if it would be good or cheesy.

So first the summary:

Whip it is about a 17 year old Texas beauty pageant contestant who is bored with her pageant life that her mom forces on her. Her father is depressed and is a closeted football fan whose only dream was to have a son that was on the football team and was left with 2 daughters. Bliss (Ellen Page) was sick of living her life when the a new opportunity rolled into her life, literally. The women’s roller derby league rolled right into the store she was in and passed out flyers. She decides to try out for the team and obviously makes it. But her life is rocked by partying, boys, and choosing between her mom and her passion, the derby.

So now you basically know the jist of the film. I don’t want to spoil anything because I highly recommend you see this film. I give it 3 out of 4 wheels.

Ellen Page played a great characted in the film. It was typical Ellen Page but this time with a set of skates instead of a baby. I was a little nervous about Kristen Wigg’s main character, considering she is great at those quick one liners that most of her roles are made up of. But she did excellent as the sympathetic rocker mom who can throw down with the rest of the Derby girls. I was even amused by the comedic role Barrymore played in her own film, plus she didn’t put herself in every shot which is what most first time directorial debuts are made up of.

The story was great and kept my attention till the end. In fact, I even bought it on its release day because of how good it was. I stick by my guns on this one. Roll over to your nearest rental store or add it to your queue because it is definitly worth checking out.

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So Long and Thanks for all the Fish …

January 28, 2010 by Jim

So I have been doing a lot of soul searching this past month.

Really I have been searching a lot for what makes me stand out among all the other job seekers in America right now. I have been searching for my full time career heavily since Jan 1st. I know, I know … So cliche. New Year, new state of mind. But seriously I have to do something.

I admit I was a lazy job seeker when I graduated in August of last year. I thought, hey I’m graduating at a time when no one else is, and I graduated with a 4 year degree in only 3. I felt like I was on top of the world … Employers would be knocking on my door. Well they weren’t. I don’t blame them. I wasn’t proving that I really wanted it and I didn’t demand their attention. It also didn’t help that I was a little too comfortable as well. At the time I recently moved into a spacious 2 bedroom apartment from the tiny city studio I was living in and my X-box 360 finally was returned to me (bad red-ring of death). Yes, my xbox got more attention then my resume.

Then in October I spent a lot of time running around with the idea that I would go to Grad School. That prolonged my job search even more because I thought I didn’t have to since I would be going back to school. Then I saw what the bill would be and that idea quickly went south.  So I focused again on my job search.

Well now I have been hitting the ground hard. I have sent out about 112 resumes this month alone, and I have had amazing results. 2 Interviews. It’s better than nothing, right? 

Then I started thinking, there are all these potential employers out there and I keep sending them my resume. Most likely someone quickly goes through all the resumes in a matter of 20 minutes and great candidates like me are getting looked over. So what to do. I have the answer.

Start using your Social Media and Guerrilla tactics to get a job. Don’t just quietly knock on the door of an employer, make everything you do mean something. Let them know that their company will not only benefit with your job offer, but they won’t be able to survive without it.

I am going to be posting a series of ideas for Social Media Job Hunting in the next few days. Keep an eye out for them and also feel free to send me any ideas you may have.

As always if anything is worth doing,

Do It In Public

Jim Ernst

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New Year … New Outlook … New Me?

January 4, 2010 by Jim

Ok I mean it this time. I really am going to make an effort to keep posting, and to post about stuff you want to read about.

I know this is cliche but I really am trying to make major changes in my life in 2010. I am a 21 year old college grad, who still works a part time job. I really want to get my life moving. I want to look back on 2010 and say “My god, I did well”. It’s four days in to the new year and I have been eating healthy, excercising, and agressively working on my portfolio and resume, in turn pushing the job hunt into over drive.

However, I have done this stuff before. Every new year, I like many of you make promises that stay strong for maybe 2 or 3 weeks. But this time I feel pretty serious. I hope that all of you stick to your guns as well and keep up with those New Years resolutions and are able to look back on 2010 and say that you are in a better place than you are right now.

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The Final ( I hope) Destination

January 4, 2010 by Jim

The Final Destination and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs are this weeks hot new releases.

Let’s start with the short and (not) sweet.

The Final Destination:

This movie in my opinion was the worst of the series so far. It is called “The Final Destination” and my god I hope it is. The deaths were not good, cheesy wouldn’t describe them. Also, everything is already given away before it happens. There was one twist and it wasn’t even good. It was seen a mile away by a blind monkey, to put it bluntly. The acting was way below “D” Movie material, I would have expected a little more enthusiasm from people who just cheated death by a freaky premonition, not sitting around drinking coffee at the way to coincidentally named “Death by Caffine” Coffee house.

In my opinion, if you want a good horror film this week stay away from this one. Wait another week for Zombie’s Halloween 2 or go back and check out the Orphan if you haven’t already done so.

Check back later for the Review of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

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I’ve been gone for a while …..

December 1, 2009 by Jim

Life has been pretty hectic. I know I havent updated my wonderful world of thoughts since July but I have been pretty busy and just fed up with everything.

Just to update you all out there. I am going into my 5th month of being a College Graduate, and I have sent out somewhere around 100 resumes but have recieved 1 response and 0 interviews. Frustrating, Right? But I am not complaining because I know people who have years of experience are suffering at the hand of this downturned economy. I just thought my hard work and dedication and a 4 year degree in only 3 would lead to at least a well deserved “We really liked you but we decided to go with someone else.” But nothing has come about.

Other than that I did move up and gain a Junior Management position at a very popular video rental store, but sad to say it really isn’t what I hoped I would be doing right now. At least it pays the rent.

I’m still not giving up hope and am in the process of sending out another wave of resumes and making some door to door visits. Maybe I’ll just camp out in front of a company until they give me a job? I wonder if that would work.
Since I do have a lot more time on my hands I will be updating more often and I really hope you all decide to check back. I am also adding a new feature to Do it In Public, I am going to be offering movie reviews of films that will be releasing on DVD each following week so you will know what to go out and spend your extra time doing.
Well as always

If it is worth doing, Do it in Public,

Jim

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Developing you Online Reputation

July 2, 2009 by Jim

If you were to type “social networking sites” into Google, you would get about 65,400,000 results. For business owners seeking to make an impact in the digital world, the strategies are seemingly endless. What online communities are best for your brand? How can your brand engage your customers within those communities? Is a company blog going to establish your credibility?

To navigate the digital landscape, we have synthesized key elements to develop your online reputation:

Perception Development

Before developing your reputation strategy, create a compelling and unique brand identity. To start your thinking about how to develop your brand identity, consider these three questions:

  • What are people going to rely on you for? This is your value proposition. What value are you consistently offering? Are you delivering high-quality marketing insights or are you positioning your client ahead of the curve?  Defining value proposition is important in understanding how to position your brand.
  • What is your unique selling point? Figure out what makes coming to you a better experience than going to one of your many competitors or why your product is something entirely new.
  • Developing your voice. Is your company going to fall in ranks with the status quo, or are you the innovative alternative? Imagine your brand as a person. How would they talk, act, and dress. For a more detailed guide to online branding, read Jack Yan’s Online branding: A definitive guide.

Developing Online Strategies to Meet Your Objectives

After refining your brand personality, identify your objectives and prioritize your efforts. What do you seek to gain from building your reputation online? Market leadership? Building meanginful relationships? To start your thinking about potential online objectives, here are common industry goals and strategies to meet them:

Credibility

Establishing credibility in your field is essential in building meaningful relationships and elevating your online presence. Here are some strategies to establishing credibility in the digital marketplace:

  • Answer questions on LinkedIn or Yahoo Answers—These platforms will allow you to give free advice to people who are searching for it. As you answer more questions, naturally you will build relationships and authority in the field. Potentially, this could lead to new business.
  • Blogging—You can also develop a blog to post market insights and comment on industry news. Additionally, you can use your blog as a vehicle to market your business via business (Entrepreneur.com, LinkedIn, etc) and social networks. Take example from Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton). The opinion-orientated voice of celebrity gossip blog, www.perezhilton.com, Mario Lavandeira has made his career by successfully building his reputation into celebrity gossip columnist no. 1 through writing about the latest, most juicy celebrity news.
  • Wikipedia—As the first-stop online research platform, Wikipedia is an excellent tool for establishing credibility—as you can create targeted inbound links to your site. Actively and intelligently contributing to the online encyclopedia can drive readers seeking more information about your expertise.

Market Leadership

  • New, Innovative Tools—Creating a new tool for industry professionals can elevate your market leadership. Take example from PR Squared—a blog managed by the social media firm, Shift Communications. Their aim was to provide insightful social media advice and commentary without charging content fees. To establish their market leadership and forward-thinking philosophy in the marketplace, PR Squared released their revolutionary Social Media Press Release. The template sought to guide the PR efforts of industry professionals.

Connecting

  • Professional Networks—Business-to-business networking is critical in building relationships within your industry. The Visa Business network on Facebook can be a useful tool in finding, reaching out and building relationships with other professionals.
  • Social Networks—All the rave, social networks provide data and analytics on specific, granular, segmented audiences. Businesses are increasingly investing more effort into reaching the mass audiences using social media. Think Skittles. They have taken advice from the millions of people invested in social networking and designed their entire web presence around sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. By focusing on where their audience already spends most of their time, Skittles is able to effectively target and engage their consumers.

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