gdp's Comments

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Creative job hunting works because almost nobody does it

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:41:38 +0000

Well, I hope that as the Incubator picks up steam more people will try more creative methods of applying for jobs. Even here at TalentEgg, when working with interns and volunteers, you just know when someone is going to be special based on their application. When I get one of those, I'm immediately excited to work with that person and I start to imagine all the possibilities. And while it does involve putting a bit of yourself on the line, I think it's worth it. We want to know about you. We're not trying to judge you, but we want to know if you fit with our company.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Why I said 'No' to grad school – for now

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:38:32 +0000

For some reason, even before I started university, I always thought I would go to grad school. I've always loved learning. I feel comfortable in a classroom, especially in smaller groups. However, there are good reasons why I never pursued it and you've outlined most of them here. There's no way I could carry any more student debt than I already do without having a nervous breakdown. And I realized the work I want to do will not become more lucrative if I go to grad school. It's all about, as Lauren said, that real life experience. And, as I've gotten older, I've come to enjoy doing rather than learning about things. We're all still learning, we're just not paying tens of thousands of dollars to do it and often it's much more rewarding.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Job hunting on online social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:53:29 +0000

While there are definitely some networking superstars on these websites, I think it's probably intimidating for a lot of students and recent grads to develop and maintain these networks to have the right people in place. However, I would definitely add it's important to be part of a network related to your field even when you're not looking for a job so you have those relationships automatically built in and you're not just throwing yourself into a room of strangers.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Last minute summer job hunting for students

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:25:49 +0000

It really is the end of an era and it was going to come whether the recession hit us badly or not. It may have taken longer, but manufacturing of this kind doesn't have a future in Canada or the U.S -- it was just a matter of time. It's a shame we let our economy become so dependent on unskilled labour, but it all good for university grads: the manufacturing sector will eventually be replaced by highly specialized and innovative products and technology.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : How competitive Scrabble (or other niche skills) can get you a job

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:21:05 +0000

Chris is right -- just like we shouldn't let our jobs define us, we also shouldn't let the job hunt define us. It's OK to take time away from your job search each day to do things you love and things you do well, and those things will probably help you gain experience, expand your network and -- most importantly -- have fun and stay sane!

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Don't let your job define you — define your career

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:01:46 +0000

"no job should define my happiness" I agree with you 100%, but it's something a lot of people struggle with. Hopefully it's a Gen Y trend to not self-identify as one's job and to realize we're more than just our job or career. Also, if for whatever reason we're stuck in a less-than-ideal position for a while, this attitude helps us to find soul-restoring activities outside of work to balance out the day-in-day-out banality of that job.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Why I transferred programs and schools to find my true calling

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:58:48 +0000

I can definitely relate to how you were feeling, only I started out in journalism school and buckled down to finish my degree. It was OK and I thought I might like to try something else, but I didn't know exactly what it was I should be doing. So I just stuck with it. I'm glad I did because there's no way I would have been able to afford more than four years of university, and I ended up having a lot of really great experiences and opportunities despite how unsure I was about it.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Sunny Side Up: Student and new grad career news

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:56:20 +0000

Yeah, I didn't mention that aspect of the survey because I think it's obvious to most of us. Either you just don't want to do your work and you'll find any way to get out of it, or you need to consider that you have an addiction. A Faddiction.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Sunny Side Up: Student and new grad career news

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:01:23 +0000

Not to mention the fact that 3.0 or 3.5 is nothing to scoff at! I bet many students would LOVE their grades to be that high.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Recruiting 2.0: Social communities for resume building

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:55:56 +0000

These sites take advantage of one of the most powerful aspects of the Internet, as Lauren mentioned: crowd sourcing. They also show you there are no right or wrong answers (well, I would argue there are some REALLY wrong answers, but those are stories for our Resumé Workshop) and the best way to improve your resumé is to get feedback from as many people as possible and then draw your own conclusions.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Turn this summer’s tough job market into a useful learning experience

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:44:42 +0000

I have to say it: I think it's a generational thing. Our parents are extremely good at doing what they have to do to get by, but I haven't noticed that generation using the skills they learned and used in their "getting by" jobs in their "professional" lives, if they have them. I honestly think our brains work a little bit differently and we're more apt to see parallels between things even when they're not quite so obvious. And I also think we're less likely to be handed a dream job straight out of school than our parents' generation.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Four job search basics: LinkedIn, targeting employers and support systems

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:27:12 +0000

I think LinkedIn would become much more valuable if more people used it and used it properly. I'm on Facebook and Twitter other day because people are extremely active on those sites. LinkedIn? Not so much. I only login when I have to change something or when someone asks me for a recommendation. However, it can take weeks or even months for me to do that and I think it's the same for many other people too.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Showing a little personality in the interview can help you get the job

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:14:03 +0000

Just don't do what these people do: http://www.howtonailaninterview.com

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Would you like fries with that?

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:22:06 +0000

I'm so impressed that you're able to keep such a positive attitude. Most students and recent grads I know who are working jobs like this don't take it seriously and disrespect their managers and co-workers by having a holier-than-thou attitude about working where they are. We've all been there and we've all probably thought we could do better, both in terms of the pay and the work environment. But, as you said, you gotta do what you gotta do to get by and it doesn't mean we should take it less seriously than we would our dream job. It says a lot about us if we show up on time for every shift, work our hardest and try our best.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : Taking the next step: The benefits of going to college after university

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:35:33 +0000

Thanks for commenting, Michelle. You're right, but that's part of what we're trying to achieve here at the TalentEgg Career Incubator. The content is not meant to be totally objective -- we encourage our writers to share their own experiences and opinions, and Shannon has done that very well in this article. We expect that most visitors to TalentEgg will be college or university students or recent grads, which means they should have learned to think critically about facts and opinions. The content we provide is not meant to be taken at face value, but to be taken into consideration among other things when making career choices.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : The emotional impact of entry-level layoffs

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:37:18 +0000

You seem like a superstar, Katie! Hopefully you won't get laid off (fingers crossed), but if something like that does happen I'm sure you'd be able to find something within no time. P.S. Welcome to the Incubator community! Hopefully we'll see you around here often.

TalentEgg Student Career Incubator : If you put in the effort, someone will notice

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:18:34 +0000

I kind of wish we had taken more pictures (or more glamourous pictures), but it definitely illustrates who we were and what we did that summer. It's too bad we didn't get one of the three of us!