On Friday, May 1st, I got this email from someone named Willie Jackson who had happened upon my website. Pretty neat, right? It gets better. He’s also studying IT (in California) and was instructed by his professor to do a vanity search.
His unedited message is below.
Hi Willie,
True story… I’m finishing my Associate’s degree for Information and Technology and in one my classes, during a discussion about reumes, my professor tells me that I should Google my name and see what comes up. To my surprise, there was a website called williejackson.com at the top of the results. I was even more surprised when I learned that the site had tips on resumes and maintaining a good web image (which was the very topic that lead me to Google my name in the first place).
I was pulled over for speeding once and the officer told me that there are at least fifty Willie Jacksons in California with warrants out for their arrest. Needless to say, I rather be mistaken for you than for any of them. Anyway, I will have my Associate’s degree in June and as I continue working towards my Bachelor’s in Computer Science, I will check your site frequently for more tips and information. Keep up the good work!
-Willie Jackson
P.S. How do you start a career in web design or programming when all of the openings seem to be looking for people with 3 – 5 years of experience?
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An essay on the interoperable relationship between business and fear, in particular as it relates to the current world economy, especially having to do with the prospect of losing one’s job vis-à-vis layoff, by David ‘Bucky’ Schwarz Jr. Esq.1
Well, the unthinkable happened: You got canned during a recession
If you’re anything like me when I got laid off, your mind will be reeling. The kind of reeling that happens after your dog unexpectedly dies or when you find out your sweetheart actually wasn’t so sweet and sort of operates an escort service at night and is kind of well known throughout several large metropolitan areas. It’s ok though, this reeling feeling is completely normal. But what to do about it?
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Be concise and direct
Don’t say “got a better idea of” or “was exposed to” when describing experiences; be specific and detailed – it’s obvious when you’re fluffing. “Mastered the fundamentals of Object-oriented PHP” is much stronger than “was exposed to scripting languages” and gives you a bit of wiggle room if your interpretation of “mastery” and “fundamentals” are different from the person interviewing you :)
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A primer on why I have a website
In the spring of 2006 while still a student in the FSU College of Information‘s Information Technology program, my class was tasked with creating what they called an Interactive Resume (IR). An IR is essentially a website that showcases a student’s skills and experiences. It was also my first exposure to something that would make me fabulously wealthy web design. A gifted communicator and opportunist to boot, I immediately “got it” and set out to build my first real website.
My first one wasn’t too exciting, but it got the job done (smile). I build it using a free template from solucija.com. My site has seen quite a number of revisions since then, and here are a few things I’ve learned since then that might be of interest to you.
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