November 19th, 2009
By: Kelly Shea
Recent College Grad/The SNP Part-Timer
Earlier this week, Renn and I were discussing video communication tools, such as i-chat, vidyo.com and skype. These technologies have made video-conferencing easy and expected in workplaces. For businesses, video conferencing is often more effective than a phone call or e-mail, simply because body language and facial expressions are essential for clear communication. For most people the oft-used “emoticon” - doesn’t really cut it.
About a year ago, I was trained for a new job all via video-conferencing. The woman training me was somewhere in Idaho. For lack of a better place I was in my cramped San Francisco bedroom, which I meticulously cleaned for the video-chat occasion. It is unnerving to know that your face is being projected across the country, especially when the person on the other end is paying you. Video also makes the projected more self-aware. I had interviewed in San Francisco, but the woman in Idaho had never seen me. When I logged on she actually remarked, “I didn’t realize you were so young.” Having no idea how to reply to this comment I just nodded. Then we stared at each other’s digital faces for what felt like an entire minute of silence. (more…)
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November 3rd, 2009
By: Kelly Shea
Recent College Grad/The SNP Part-Timer
Graduating college in the spring of 2009 could be compared to waking up in a twenty foot hole with a spoon and a pen and being told to “get creative” to get yourself out. Graduation weekend was filled with the usual fanfare, and by fanfare I do mean alcohol, and a lingering sense of dread. Graduating into a depressed economy is full of conflicting emotions, both those of accomplishment and failure.
My wisest and more financially stable friends dove right into graduate school, others suddenly claimed that their oft criticized restaurant jobs “really weren’t that bad.” A small percentage promised to pay their gullible parents back for the plane tickets and took off for Europe with a backpack and a credit card. (more…)
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November 3rd, 2009
By: Kelly Shea
Recent College Grad/The SNP Part-Timer
They are often criticized as being self-centered, needy, and arrogant. They want to do everything their own way, which is inherently better than yours. They also seem to have a tough time staying employed. No, I’m not talking about your ex-girlfriend or boyfriend here, but referring to the so-called “millennial generation.”
In case you have missed the avalanche of media criticism for the millennial generation, here is the basic summary: parents and teachers have coddled the millennial generation, and now they are floundering through the recession armed only with an i-phone and a liberal arts degree. (more…)
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