Build your Portfolio over the Holidays!

Deck the halls, everyone! The holidays are almost here, and we’re entering the home stretch of this wintery, frigid end to the semester.

I am definitely looking forward to laying on my couch, watching TCM (commercial free), putting up decorations, and sleeping, but after the first week or so, I begin to get REALLY bored. Come to Morristown, and you’ll see what I mean.

My home newspaper, The Citizen Tribune, is a local publication that mostly talks about politics, new roads, ribbon cuttings, and loving cats.  Yes, it’s true.

So, last Christmas break, I decided to ask the editor of our paper if I could write a couple of articles about social media. As it turns out, he had been wanting some articles like that published, so I came at a good time!

The articles were well received, and the three of them were published throughout the Christmas break.  They were kind of themed like, “Don’t be scared of social media. It’s fun!”  Of course, I worded it better than that, but you get the point.

Anyways, I want to encourage you to contact the editor of your hometown newspaper to see if you’d be able to do some writing while you’re home!  Most of you have probably had newswriting by now, and I’m sure you’ll impress them with your awesome use of AP Style and professional writing skills.

You can also get paid!  If that doesn’t rope you in, I don’t know what will.

Then, when you go to your internship interviews, your potential employer will love the fact that you donated some of your time over the break.

Over the break, you should also watch A Christmas Story.  It’s one of my favorite movies, and I decided to share a little clip with you.

What’s Your First Impression?

Let’s face it – we all judge. Whether we admit to it or not, first impressions make huge impacts. You walk into class on the first day and sum up your professors. Why else would there be drop/add? We judge our friends, neighbors and classmates without even realizing it. 

The bigger questions are… who’s judging you and what are you doing to contribute to their first impressions?

Answer? Your e-mails are most often the first contact you have with influential people such as professors and potential employers. Start taking online communication seriously, because it can end up costing you in the long run.

Whether you realize it or not, 10 seconds worth of proofreading can end up earning you an hour in an interview rather than the two seconds it takes to trash your resume. People in public relations and journalism do not take kindly to poor grammar, typos or text abbreviations in e-mails.

Some professors, such as Grady’s Dr. Sweetser, insist that all class e-mails be in AP Style or points are deducted from your grade. The way I see it… there’s no excuse to not be writing professional e-mails.

So start practicing today what will be expected and demanded of you in the real world. Make your e-mails prove that you are worth hiring and prove that your Grady proofreading skills set you apart from other graduates.