GPA and job search

[textualdeviance]

Just mostly for my own notes: I got back two of my grades; just waiting on the seminar one now.

If it goes as I expect, I'll probably end up with about a 3.38-3.4 overall, and a 3.68-3.7 in the department.

Not bad, I think. That stupid jazz class I took last term kind of screwed me on the overall GPA, which may affect me if I ever decide to do grad school. But that's a long way off if I do it at all, so I'm not going to stress.

My resume on Monster has gotten a couple of hits. There are also a couple of jobs there I like the look of, but I'm going to hold out for something better. I need to remember that just because I'm more or less qualified for a job doesn't mean I should really take it.

Back when I was doing the "job" thing before, I would just take whatever I could do that paid well. Now that I'm in "career" mode, I need to think it through a little more carefully. Just because I'm (sorta) qualified to take that Web Content Producer job at a travel company doesn't mean that's where I'd be happy in the long term. I really want a journalism job--not just doing writing or web work for some non-media company.

I feel fortunate that I can wait, but I do think that after a couple of months of this, I'll probably start feeling guilty for being a sponge--especially if I can't do the kid thing, either. If I don't have that dream job by then, I probably will take something I can do. Or I may just spend a few weeks taking a technical writing class and go do contract work in that. The pay's good and I can certainly do it, and it would be a good way to make a few bucks while I'm waiting for the Brenda Starr gigs to come along.

Comments

[waterfaery.livejournal.com]

I really think this would be a great place for you. Keep checking the jobs page and I'll keep looking around. Also, if you describe your dream job, I can see if someone might create that even if it isn't in the current plan.

I also suspect we may be looking for some contract work to support the elections, if you've any interest in that area (more likely putting together pages from the wire feeds & articles, getting art on them, editing, etc., less likely writing.)

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

Well, here's what I've discovered are my strengths:

*Copy editing, including stitching together a full story from diverse sources and completely restructuring entire grafs that need surgery
*Fact checking and research, particularly for government and scientific data
*Layout--both print and online
*Managing small teams, particularly in situations that require fast turnaround and/or emergencies

Not so good at:
*A lot of public contact. I can do interviews well, but I don't have quite the schmooze factor necessary to be the world's best reporter. Tracking down sources is not my forte.
*Doing the exact same thing for eight hours a day, every day

I think mostly I'm kind of a production geek. It's the process of putting together a story or a project that really works for me. I like being part of the planning process, finding the right people to do each part of it and then assembling the component parts into a final package.

I just revised my resume a couple of days ago. If you'd like, I can send it along so you can see what I have.