Final thoughts

My friend, a long-time Grateful Dead fan, frequently quotes the phrase "What a long, strange trip it's been," the title of the band's 1977 best-of album, when wrapping up something. It seems fitting then, that I invoke it as I write the final post of this blog.

Personally, some of the most difficult challenges of blogging was worrying about inserting too much of myself into the posts. Especially given that the topic was both personal and broad. The tough job market affects not only me, but from the last count of the unemployed, more than 15 million Americans. I wasn't always comfortable griping about my job search when I knew that there were Moms and Dads out there who have been out of work for six months or more and had families to take care of and bills to pay. I preferred linking to articles and then commenting about what was said in them, and I was wary of turning my blog into a Live Journal-esque collection of whining and complaining. In the end, I realized the personal touches are what sets blogs a part from one another. As one of the few people I know without a personal blog of his own, I'm not sure if I'll have the time to keep up with one. I realize that for a blog to be successful, it requires constant updating, at least 5 times per day on the short end. For me to start up a blog again, I want to be sure that I have the time to truly commit to it.

This probably sounds a little strange to admit, but I have not always been a huge fan of blogging, or bloggers in general. I say strange, because as a member of Generation Y, the Internet is supposedly the center of my universe. But unlike most of my peers, I haven't always been the most computer-savvy. I suppose my aversion to blogging was two-fold. Growing up, my computer expertise was limited and my family wasn't, and still isn't the biggest fans of the Internet. And as a budding journalist in school, learning about objectivity, I felt weirdly threatened. I felt that blogs blurred the line between opinion and straight news reporting, and that went against the basic ideals of journalistic integrity. And what about paying for reporting in the first place? In the world of bloggers, anybody can technically call themselves a "journalist." Where would my presumed future profession fit in this changing media landscape?

Now, with blogs like Talking Points Memo, who often conduct original reporting but unabashedly skews to the political left, I see that their place in journalism is more important than ever. While I have a feeling I will always be a loyal follower of mainstream media publications like the New York Times, I frequently check blogs like the Daily Kos, which covers political news out of Washington, to keep myself informed. Citizen reporting and commentary can catch what some of the big guys have missed, and I know that while journalism is going through a difficult transition, I'd like to think that with more and more people opening their eyes and ears to the world around them, the better this world will be. In a strange parallel, news consumption is actually at an all-time high, even as newspaper and magazine circulation is decreasing rapidly.

I'll be graduating in a few short weeks, and I hope to move to New York City in the coming months. I unfortunately don't have a job (yet), but I'm applying every day and keeping my head up. At this point, I full expect to move there solo, so I may be compelled to share how everything is going with family and friends. And, based on my experiences in this class, that could take shape in a new blog.

A bright spot?

You know the economy is doing poorly when a headline that reads "U.S. Economy Lost Only 11,000 Jobs in November" is cause for a slight celebration. According to the New York Times, the unemployment rate dipped to 10 percent in November, down from 10.2 percent a month earlier. While that number is still dismal, the unexpected uptick wasn't economists had been forecasting, who have been arguing that turnaround in the job market was likely until sometime in the spring of next year.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama convened a jobs summit on Capital Hill yesterday, where he met with business leaders, economists, and others to discuss job creation. Obama faces tough critics on both sides of the political aisle as he tries to balance an ambitious domestic agenda with the $1 trillion budget deficit. While he solicited ideas from the people who attended the forum, he made clear that the government's resources are limited.

"I want to be clear: While I believe the government has a critical role in creating the conditions for economic growth, ultimately true economic recovery is only going to come from the private sector,” he said.

Many business leaders have argued that the healthcare legislation and the recent decision to send more than 30,000 troops to Afghanistan has distracted the president from the what some say is the most pressing issue facing the country - the economy. Republicans are blaming Democrats for pushing New Deal-esque legislation at a time when they say the government spending needs to be reigned in. Obama has already called for some small-step job growth proposals, such as "a program of weatherization incentives for homeowners and small businesses modeled on the popular “cash for clunkers” program," according to the article.

David Carr lets some light in

In a thoughtful, poignant Media Equation column, NY Times writer David Carr tackles the media's downward trend. He discusses many topics that have been talked about to death: the decline in print advertising, the migration of readers to the Web, the slashing of staffs across publishing companies - from Conde Nast to the New York Times. Soon-to-be graduates of journalism seem to be the most likely targets of his advice, and while it acknowledges that the field is indeed changing, he still gives someone like me hope:

For every kid that I bump into who is wandering the media industry looking for an entrance that closed some time ago, I come across another who is a bundle of ideas, energy and technological mastery. The next wave is not just knocking on doors, but seeking to knock them down.

So there it is, if someone like David Carr can still see the light at the end of the tunnel, there's no reason why a 20-something college grad can't see it as well.

OK, so I meant to post this when I first read it, but alas, the all I can think about these days is jobs, and the fact that I still don't have one. Anyway, here's another story in the New York Times about how people are dealing with the lousy job market. Apparently, according to the article, people in the older generation that are out of work don't give up as easily as us young folks.

A look at recent employment data indicates that boomers have persevered in these hard times, and are less likely to grow discouraged and quit the job hunt than younger workers are.

This is completely true because, speaking as someone in my early 20s who has been looking for jobs the past two months, I'm pretty close to picturing myself living with my parents for the rest of my life.

However, it's stories like these that remind me how hard the recession has hit other people, and that well, yes the prospect of moving back home to live with my parents terrifies me, a lot more people are experiencing more dire situations. Like this family mentioned in the story, a father laid off after 30 years and now has to support a wife and three children with no health insurance. At least I'm covered until April 30 (I think, anyway), and I have my parents to help me out until I can find something.

Under pressure

I grew up in a blue-collar city in central Connecticut whose biggest claim to fame is "Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers," a burger joint that was recently featured on "Man vs. Food." From my senior class, I was one of a handful of students who went to college out of state; by sophomore year, most of those said students transferred to a Connecticut state school. The rest of my class that didn't even bother to attend college either got pregnant or got into drugs or in some cases, are currently trying to launch rap careers. The only school-related activity that generated much interest was football; most of the other student sports teams and clubs were met with empty bleachers and low participation. My guidance counselor encouraged me to go to UConn (his alma mater) because it was affordable, with little direction as to what else was available to me. An unusually large majority (I've heard 70 percent) of the teaching staff grew up in Meriden. My favorite teacher, the one who used to always joke about how bad things were, later quit her job and moved to London. A year later, she returned to my high school.

The reason I'm writing this is because I had always prided myself on my ambition. Don't misunderstand me, I know that Meriden, Conn. isn't the ghetto; a lot of other college students had much more difficult experiences growing up. (I couldn't imagine attending a high school that even had metal detectors.) However, it was far from the kind of nurturing environment that pushed you toward anything. Everyone is just so comfortable with the status quo, nothing ever gets accomplished. This was not the type of high school where even the "smart kids" did much. The valedictorian didn't get into the Ivy League; she went to UConn. It's hard coming back during the holidays because you can't really catch up with people who haven't done much growing up. There's nothing to "catch up" about. This is why I love college so much. There are so many people who are DOING something. People who are adding to the conversation. People with ambition. People who want a better life for themselves.

This is something that I grapple with as I try and find a job because my biggest fear is that I will end up just like every one of my former classmates.

I don't want that to happen.

Cover letters

For someone who's always prided myself on humility, penning cover letters can be a very difficult process. I never realized how hard it was to talk about yourself. Some people find that task relatively easy, but I believe that there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. And I've consistently made a point to never cross that threshold.

Obviously, that is not what writing a cover letter is about. A cover letter, from what I gathered, is supposed to highlight your accomplishments throughout college and to provide evidence to a potential employer that you've been using your time wisely. I've been trying to sound enthuastic about my skills without sounding too cheesey, but that's another hard part of the process. Additionally, because I've been applying to a wide range of jobs, from marketing/PR to online editorial positions, each one asks different qualifications, and I've had to write individual letters in order to draw attention to specific skills. (Maybe part of me thought that I could just write one generic letter and send it off by changing the employer's name. Not the case.)

Fortunately I feel like I've finally found my "cover letter voice" and don't have to tweak too much when it covers to writing them.

Inventive business strategy? Or just stupid?

The Week magazine announced they are guaranteeing advertisers that consumers will not only see their ad, but also remember it.

“We were trying to think, what’s the most accountable thing you could do?” said Steven Kotok, president of The Week. “This is a way they can say when they buy The Week, they know it’s money well spent, because we’re guaranteeing it will be among the most effective ads they purchase,” Mr. Kotok said.

In contrast, television companies don't even guarantee advertisers that a viewer will even be in the room when an ad airs, according to the article.

I'm skeptical that such a guarantee will catch on with other media companies, since it's actual logistics still seem unclear.