Becoming a Brand

I have been thinking a lot about how I am about to be shoved out of academia-land and into that Fire Swamp called the job hunt (hold the R.O.U.S's please) and I'm not going to lie...it terrifies me.  But somewhere underneath the noise in my mind, I had an idea.  Now hear me out, this is going to sound like your worst nightmare corporate robot idea (plus--it's in no way original), but I am convinced that there is a correlation between success and building a successful personal brand.

Here's how my brain-child was conceived.  Project Runway Allstars has been one of the worst shows I have ever seen on television which is ironic because the original Project Runway is one of my all time favorites.  But here's where Allstars goes wrong.  3 words: Fake Heidi Klum.  I don't even know her full name, Angela something, and I don't care.  I could have forgiven her for not being Heidi if she had just one quality that sold her as a personal brand.  She is by far the most dry television host I have ever seen.  She fails to sell herself, whereas Heidi makes you believe that Project Runway is the best show ever.

In Allstars defense, Isaac Mizrahi, Georgina Chapman and Joanna Coles are awesome as judges and mentors.  All three of them are very successful at selling their own personal brand.

Lastly, there is one designer on the show that I don't think is going anywhere and that's because he fails again and again to show any personality or integrity.  He doesn't seem to know who he is...(I may have to eat my words if he wins tomorrow, but then I'll just be watching to see if he can make anything out of his win.  I highly doubt it.)

Okay, enough about the Runway.  I have gotten a lot out of observing this twist on my favorite show and it has taught me a valuable lesson.  For the next month, I am not going to look at another job posting.  I am going to create my brand.  I want to interview well and part of that is successfully communicating my personal brand to potential employers.

Happy New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  Are you making any resolutions?  I don't usually but this year I am feeling the need to push myself at the end of my college experience.  So I guess mine would be more like goals for the next six months.

• I am taking Nike literally because I have to "Just Do It".  There is no more planning, just making it through each school and nanny day.
• I resolve to fulfill each task on my planner, even though some of those tasks require extra time at the library or wearing exercise clothes to school so I can't justify missing pilates.
• I resolve to end the 'poor me' monologues (which play too often in my mind) and to focus on what's good about my life right now.
• I resolve to take both actuary preliminary exams before my graduation date, so that I can walk right from the graduation stage into a new situation.
• I resolve to wake up, and to get dressed and ready on purpose.
• And, (this one's the hardest one!), I resolve to accept the rain.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve!

Gender Mobility

I find myself thinking about motherhood a lot.  Slow down....thinking, not actualizing.  It makes me tired.  I am tired now, as I have been struggling to balance going to school and earning money, so I can't imagine trying to juggle family and a career.  It's hard to be patient, especially when there are so many girls younger than me that have started their families.  But children are expensive and I'm not ready for that bill yet.

Thinking of motherhood also make me think about mobility, about who belongs where, and who can move about without restraint.  Women are still in a bind.  All of the 'social' constraints may be gone that kept women out of the workforce, but its not really fair yet. (I mean the decent wage-earning workforce.  It should be clarified that women have a history of being medial wage-earners.)  This is not an academic research paper on gender equality.  I have a real knot-in-my-stomach about my future as a woman.  Here are some of the scenarios that run through my head.

1) My future as an actuary...Trying to study for the qualifying exams will make my bachelor's degree look like learning phonics.  It will take me years of ladder-climbing, competing with men who don't have to take maternity leave or have a human being grow inside them and then become completely dependent on their bodies, but still get to enjoy having a family.

2) Yesterday I saw a story on the need for dentists in this country.  This is a career I have seriously considered before.  I would have the flexibility to work 3 days a week and the income to pay for childcare.  Plus, I could run my own office instead of dealing with dopey male-chauvinists as colleagues.  But it means 1 yr.+ of prerequisites, then 4 more years of school.  No problem!  I would do it in a heartbeat if I was a man.  But I am 25, and waaayyy past my family-starting age already (by my upbringing's standards), and waiting 5 years to have a baby seems crazy.

There...I have spilled my maternal guts to you.  I'm sure I will make good decisions as I start my life.  My biggest concern is that I remember that while babies are cute, eventually they become people, and I want them to have the best start possible.  I just hope I can find a career that facilitates my dualism, that both my career will make me a more fit mother, and that my motherhood will make me more fit for the workforce.

Let the Math Begin

Today has been a math day but I don't mind it.  School doesn't start until Monday but I have started studying for my first actuary exam on financial math.  I want to take the exam the week after finals in December so that I have plenty of time to study for the second exam.  If I have two under my belt, my chances of getting an internship are much better.

The more I study, the more I get excited about becoming an actuary.  I don't think I could ever have a career that didn't involve a lot of Math, especially after investing this much time into my degree.  If you want to know more about what an actuary does, check out beanactuary.org.

Yesterday I converted my dining room space into an office.  It was free, and we still have space to eat! (provided I keep it tidy)  I debated purchasing a desk, but I think this is going to work out great, and I get to use the desk money for rain boots :-)

Have I mentioned before how accidentally retro my apartment is?