MY.[WRITE]. OF. PASSAGE
22 years young. Recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. May twentieth, two thousand-eleven marked my rite of passage known as graduation. A milestone that has come with much hesitation.
This blog serves as my WRITE of passage, as I document my journey on this road called life--as a post grad.
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The Benefits of Freelancing
Freelancing.
Many people have heard of it, but few recent graduates utilize it. What recent grads fail to realize, that if you have some experience in your field, even if only through an internship and you have a degree, then you are already equipped to start charging people for your services.
Often times, company’s use free-lancers because they can not afford the costs of hiring someone full-time with benefits. And although freelancing does not come with health benefits, it offers plenty of other benefits that can help you reach your long term career goals.
- Networking-When you freelance, you meet people. It’s inevitable. Once you land your first freelancing job, if you do a good job 9 times out of 10, they will either a) continue to utilize your services or b) offer to extend your resume to their “circle”. If you are like me and keep in constant contact with the client’s you freelance with, you can build a strong enough relationship to where your contractor is constantly referring you for more opportunities, both freelance and full-time.
- Money-Freelancing can come with very decent pay, ranging from 500-1000 monthly, per gig. If you pick up 2-3 freelancing gigs a month, you can easily generate the income equivalent to an entry level job. In comparison to assuming an internship post-grad, freelancer make on average 1.5 time mores than what a lot of companies would pay you as an intern.
- More Experience/Resume building- In this economy, a degree doesn’t cut it anymore. People are looking for experience. And if you are like me ( I held three internships while in college) this is still not enough. I battled with the idea of pursuing another internship post graduation, and I don’t think it’s such a bad idea, however getting paid the same rate as an intern without a degree, just didn’t sit well with me. The
- Extra Cash- While freelancing may be a main source of income while you find a full time position, as I mentioned in #2, it doesn’t mean you should stop once you start working full-time. Once you land that full-time gig, if you are good with time management, you can continue to do your freelancing on the side. If you manage your time wisely, you can easily increase your overall income by 30% and who wouldn’t love that?
I for one plan on continuing to freelance once I do land a full-time job, because it has so many benefits, for my personal goals (and bank account!). My dream is to open up my on Boutique PR and Marketing Agency one day, the goal is before the age of 30, but someone suggested to me the other day that they believe I could do it by the age of 25. (That’s still up for debate). Regardless, I feel that the client relations I am building now freelancing will prove very fruitful later on once I venture on to do bigger things with my career. When I launch my agency, I’ll obviously need clients that are familiar with my work, as well as case studies in order to draw in more clients. By performing well as a freelancer now, I’ve already begin to set up the framework for future business clients and referrals for when I do decide to start my own business.
If you are interested in freelancing and don’t know where to start, try Elance.com or even your local Craigslist under “gigs”. You will be surprised what you will find. Goodluck & look out for my next blog post, which will highlight how to get started successfully in freelancing.
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Developing Mental Toughness During the Job Search
2) Understand what aspects of the job search you can and cannot control. This will minimize the angst that arises from lack of certainty and will allow you to exercise more control over your situation. For example, your timeline is not the same as the employer’s time. Do diligently follow up with email or phone calls on the status of your application, but remember, the employer is not sitting by the phone waiting to give you the job offer. They have a business to run. Actively continue your search and participate in other interviews.
I read this today and this is so true. I have had an experience where I had a first round interview and I didn’t find out until two weeks later that I made it to the second round. Then they took two more weeks just have the second round interview. And then after that interview, it took the company four weeks, (even after I followed up and found out I was still under consideration) for the company to tell me they were experiencing a hiring freeze. 8 weeks of interviewing and waiting; and that was for a job I really wanted. Granted I was going on other interviews, that was an opportunity that I really wanted. Needless to say, never put your eggs in one basket and be prepared to wait!
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FLY
I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly, To fly
Everybody wanna try to box me in
Suffocating every time it locks me in
Paint their own pictures then they crop me in
But I will remain where the top begins
Cause I am not a word, I am not a line
I am not a girl that can ever be defined
I am not fly, I am levitation
I represent an entire generation
I hear the criticism loud and clear
That is how I know that the time is near
So we become alive in a time of fear
And I ain’t got no mother——ing time to spare
Cry my eyes out for days upon days
Such a heavy burden placed upon me
But when you go hard your nay’s become yay’s
Yankee Stadium with Jay’s and Kanye’s
I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly
To fly
Get ready for it
Get ready for it
Get ready for it
I came to winNot a big Nicki Minaj fan, for various reasons, but I love the message in this song. It describes how I’m feeling right now perfectly.
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”The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (via floreses)
(Source: misswallflower)
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YEAR 2011 in REVIEW…
So today is January 1, 2012…
2011 has come and gone, and I’m spending today (actually the past few days) reflecting on what was and how I can make 2012 better than last year.
I know some people don’t believe in resolutions and think the new year is the same as any other day, and in essence it is. However, I must admit, that there is something about the new year that makes me feel REFRESHED. It is like a built-in reminder to self to make these next 365 days better than the last 365.
When I reflect back on 2011, I think of my year in two parts. The HIGH and the LOW. I spent the first six months riding a ridiculous high, not realizing the real world was going to come crashing down sooner than later.
In the first six months of 2011, I landed an internship at a top 10 global PR agency, I traveled to New York and got to visit and network with Vice Presidents and Senior Account Executives at six large pr firms, as well as alumni of the University, making connections which I was sure would pay off sooner, than later (they haven’t yet, in case you were wondering). I then spent the remainder of the semester interning and making lasting memories with people I had formed friendships with over the past four years while at school, leading up until my grand walk across stage, in which I received my Bachelors of Science in Corporate Communications from the University of Texas at Austin. Finally, as a graduation gift to myself, I traveled to Miami with three great friends and spent the next 72 hours partying, sight-seeing, and walking Ocean’s Drive sipping “Call-a-Cabs” form Wet Willies. I knew from all my hard work over the past semester and the three and a half years prior, an awesome job was on the horizon, and I would continue my year in triumph.
However, unbeknownst to me at the time, when I walked off that plane, my high was on it’s way to an epic plunge. The day I got back from Miami, I got a really bad eye infection from my contacts, that required me to see three different eye specialists. After diagnosis, it took about a week for my eyesight to return back to pretty much normal, aside from the sensitivity to light and the repeated eye doctor visits I had to go on for the next four weeks, to insure there was no permanent damage. After I got over my eye infection, I reconvened to applying for jobs, but again, unknown to me, I would be spending the next six months doing just that. That is on top of living at home with my parents. And while I love my parents to death, living on my own for four years made being back under their roof very hard to adjust to. For the next six months of 2011, I spent it seeking employment; picking up odd jobs, temp jobs, and freelance opportunities here and there waiting for my big break. However, while the last 6 months of my 2011 wasn’t as “successful” on paper, I think the time really helped me grow up a lot as an individual.Since I didn’t go right into a career like I had previously planned on, I begin seeking out other opportunities, which allowed me to meet a lot of great people and do great things—including writing for a popular sports/entertainment blog, networking with a lot of people in the public relations and marketing industry, learning photoshop/indesign, attending networking happy hours and socials, playing around with web design, creating this blog, learning what I want in life as well as what I don’t (and this is list is constantly being added to), improving my interviewing/networking skills, and so much more that I think I would have never actually done, had I not been forced into a situation where I had to leave my comfort zone and work even harder than what I was used to.The funny thing is, despite all the “success” from the first half of my year, the three MOST important lessons I learned from 2011 and that I will take into 2012 all come from the latter half of my year…
- What is delayed is not denied…God is preparing you with patience.
- Don’t wait on an opportunity, create one.
- Commit yourself to constant self-improvement.
I’ve learned other valuable lessons along the way, but these were the ones that stuck with me the most. With that being said, I’m excited for the new year and what these next 12 months have in store for me. I don’t expect for everyday to be a high, but I do know that I am shooting for a 80/20 this year instead of a 50/50! Stay tuned for the ride…
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As you plan for 2012, keep this in mind. Simplifying is letting go of all the junk, both internal and external, so that we can move on towards what truly matters to us. Leave all the junk of 2011 in 2011. Let 2012 be a clean slate for you. Don’t let your past steal your future. Move on. -Danny
(Source: simplyisis)
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sometimes this adds pressure, and sometimes this brings relief…
…but the more we think about which one it is, aren’t we really just wasting time?
YOLO
(Source: keepseeking)
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Infographic Of The Day: The Blessing And Curse Of Being A Millennial
Millennials are well-educated, tech savvy, and independent. They’re also cursed by a bad economy. But all this might have a silver lining…
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”Life is a journey, not so much to a destination, but a transformation. Looking back doesn’t it sometimes feel like our richest times come right in the midst of our hardest? But God made us to live in community, to laugh and cry. To hurt and to celebrate with each other, no matter what were going through. And transformation is tough, and we don’t always end up where we think we will. But we have to remember, that even when we struggle to believe in Him, He always believes in us. He fills our lives with purpose and passion, if we just let Him. And the best part of the journey, is that the God of the universe, sometimes allows us to play a part in changing the world. Isn’t that a trip?
To Save a Life (via yhwhlives)
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