Fandom Achievement List

So you're looking at your fandom experience, at your hobbies, and asking yourself "OK, what did I learn and what can I do?" so you can think about your career or add to your resume.  It's not always easy – you've done a LOT, but you may keep thinking over the same two or three skills.

There's a trick I've found that works well: an Achievements list first.

Sit down and list all the things you've accomplished in fandom: running a convention department (and list every year you did it), creating a website, editing a fanfic series, doing a group cosplay, etc.  Put those down on paper or type them up in a word processor or spreadsheet – I recommend a spreadsheet (more below)

Now that you've done that – and gone as far back as you can – next to every achievement, list all the skills and abilities you used JUST for that achievement.  Don't worry if you repeat yourself, list them for every achievement, even if you put "sewing" next to every single costume you finished.  If you used a spreadsheet, you can create a separate cell for every skill, keeping them all in one big column.

Now sort through the lists of skills and see which stand out – which keep popping up and which stand out (this is why a spreadsheet helps).  You now have a huge list of what you've done, a rough idea of how often you use a skill, and ideas of skills you may never have thought of.

So if 90% of your fan/geek activities involve writing convention program booklets, you may have a sign of your skills and interests there.  When "photography" pops up more than you expect thanks to your cosplay work, you may have a career option – or some skills to try and use on the job.

Of course, this method also works fine on your career too, geeky or not, but I felt introducing it this way had a bit more impact!  Besides, we usually are more aware of our careers than we are of what we do in our fandom, since we're usually busy having fun in the latter.

– Steven Savage

News of the Day 7/13/2009

First of all, you writers, Venture Beat is looking to HIRE full time writers – so if your idea of a job is writing on venture capital, new technology, and more, send them a resume! Tell them you saw it here.

Career:
The ever-reliable Jason Alba has some suggestions for those of you sick of the job search.

Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
Is war obsolete? Put your Freakonomist hat on and think this one over.

Canada is having an increase in self-employement – this seems to be on decline in the U.S. The why of this – and the implication of this – will be important as things drag on. I also can see this being brought into the ongoing healthcare debate in the U.S.

Wells Fargo is suing itself – Really. I got nothing. Reported as a curiosity.

Movies:
L.A.'s loss of movie business is hitting some support businesses very hard – This is far worse than I thought, and looks to be a game-changer for LA and the movie culture. However it also seems movie production is scattering all over North America (and the world), which suggests to me that there will be many "movie centers" and many "subcenters." This changes people's career opportunities a great deal – follow this if you're interested in the film and television industry, your career may involve a lot of relocation.

Social Media:
Facebook is worth more than CBS – Just so you know.

We've got Mashable's roundup of Social Media events, which we remember to post here erratically, but still.

Technology:
And the Titanic Tech Tussle continues: Microsoft will apparently do a lightweight, free, web version of office, a shot against Google (and in a way Zoho). At this rate between Chrome OS, Bing, etc. I don't think there's any one dominant issue – I think the two companies are starting to go at it furiously. Robert X. Cringely gives his thoughts on the Chrome throwdown, and has some interesting ideas. Personal thought – if Microsoft/Google gets into a seriously painful tussle, it could leave both companies more vulnerable.

Microsoft is also planning to launch a music streaming service. More fronts in the tech battle emerge . . .

Video:
HBO and Cinemax join the TV Everywhere project – More big names on the rather limited online video contender. Again I feel this is more an attempt to slow decline or buy time, but more names means more chance of at least short-term survival.

Video Games:
Online gaming up as console games slide – No surprise, but here's some numbers.

A look at the continuing run towards 'free' MMOs. Interesting thought is that Free is one way to complete with WoW. Additional thought – if you've got ane conomics degree, what kind of employment can you get at game companies with that knowledge . . .

– Steven Savage

Review: Punk Rock HR

REVIEW: http://punkrockhr.com/

PROS: A snarky, intelligent look inside human resources specifically – and the world of hiring and HR in general

CONS: Focus is on HR and may not be for everyone.  Blog is also personal and is not always about HR/career issues in a few cases.

SUMMARY: An attitude-laden, heartfelt blog on HR, hiring, and corporate behavior with personal insights on other areas. Great for HR professionals, good for people who are career-minded because you'll learn a lot.  Worth visiting to see if it'll help your job search/career needs.

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