Getting ready for Reading Week

This is hopefully my last reading week ever, and I have a lot of work that needs to get done:

1. Finishing assignments and studying for my exam
I have quite of few assignments that are due the first week back after reading week so I plan on getting as much done as I can in my week away from classes.

2. Reworking my resume and building my portfolio
As I have mentioned, there is only a couple of months left before the end of the school year, and it is time to start looking for a career.

3. Organizing my office
I really need to focus on creating a more functional home office space. It is a matter of figuring out what is important to have next to my desk for reference materials.

4. Applying for jobs
My goal is to send out five to ten resumes and cover letters for positions in Winnipeg.

5. Relaxing
The most important thing is to have a few hours of rest and relaxation during this week so when classes start again on Monday, I am good to go for the last part of the year. (193)

Being overwhelmed

I have spent most of my life in some form of educational program, whether it be high school for thirteen years, university for five years, and college for another two years, but this time I am really feeling overwhelmed my courses, work, and life in general.

I have less than 3 months to go before I am finished my college diploma, and the prospect of starting to look for a career is what is overwhelming me. I have spent hours looking at the numerous opportunities that are out there for people with my type of education, and I just don’t know where to start, but…

With Reading Week just around the corner, I know I have to start putting in resumes and building portfolios for interviews so I plan on spending Sunday night with a good friend revising my resume to reflect the skills I have developed, selecting the best pieces of work to highlight my skills, and developing a plan to apply for positions that will my skills will be appreciated. (172)

Two freelancers, one computer

As freelancers, we are often responsible to have copies of the software we require to our jobs properly, and sometimes, it can be fairly expensive when you need a copy for a single project or portion of a project.

My father is now retired, but from time to time, he helps to write and maintain websites for non-for-profit organizations. For the most part, he prefers to hand code the sites using little more than Notepad, but he did purchase Microsoft Expression Web for a project at a cost of $200 Canadian, and he did put in an application for a non-for-profit license for Adobe Dreamweaver.

The problem became that the request for the non-for-profit application was taking longer than expected, and important deadlines were quickly closing in. However, there was a copy of Dreamweaver in the house… but on another computer, and one that he did not feel comfortable using. So we had to develop a schedule for using my computer in such a way that both of us could get the work done without interfering with the other one.

After he got the license, we did not need to fight over the computer, but we both learned how important it is for each of us to have our own copy of the software we need. (216)

Citation Nightmares

Citations are important to almost anybody who writes for school or work, and it can become challenging to keep track of the specifics for each one.
In university, this was made worse by the fact that every professor seemed to have their own preference. So by the time I finished, I used
• AAA (American Anthropological Association)
• AIP (American Institute of Physics)
• CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style)
• MLA (Modern Language Association)
• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
• Among 10 others created by individual professors and graduate students
It was almost impossible to keep it straight, but in the Fall of 2009, I found out about a book that would have made my life a little easier. Cite Right by Charles Lipson is great resource to have when using a style you are not familiar with. It gets the basic information to start using most of the citation styles. (154)

Where to start looking for writing related resources?

The internet provides a wide range of resources on almost any topic imaginable, but where is a good place to start looking for writing related resources, especially technical communication resources? My solution is the eServer Technical Communication Library.

In just one search on any topic from document aesthetics to website design, I can gain access to numerous resources such as articles, blogs, forums, etc. which is usually enough to point me in the direction of other related reference materials.

The thing to remember about any site or any database of this sort is that is not the end source for research and reference needs, but it is a good place to start. (112)

The portfolio debate

It is quickly coming to the end of my course, and my mind is spinning trying to prepare a portfolio that is unique, functional, and contains my best work... The daunting task is threatening to take over my mind and, if I am not careful, my sleep.

Issue 1: What to include?

Up to this point, the majority of my work has been prepared for academic purposes which mean the work is mostly generic and displays only a small portion of my skills. It becomes even more frustrating when I think of the best document I ever created is protected by legal privilege; therefore, cannot be used in my portfolio.

Issue 2: What format?

This is only a partial issue. I know I will need both an electronic and a paper version of my portfolio since you never know what will be made available during an interview.

For the electronic version, I am considering two options for general purpose and one for more specific uses. Dropbox’s Public folder and/or a website would be ideal for general usage since both allow the viewer to select and view the various pieces at their leisure, but an executable CD/DVD when going in for an interview because storing the CD/DVD is easier than a USB stick.