What's Next?

My planner is completely booked until May 17th - graduation day.  That's when I hit empty.  Page after page is filled with white space, and it's terrifying.  As I approach "G-day," I'm excited to be finished with this stage of my life, ready to move on, but not sure exactly what I'd like to move on to.  The real problem: I have too wide a variety of interests to narrow down my future into just one field.  I've been studying a combination of business and philosophy over the past four years, interning at an investment bank, blogging, learning about new technology, defining the perfect diet and exercise plan for myself, learning about advancements in health-related science, cooking, baking, following my favorite baseball team (NYY), teaching piano lessons, exploring different religions, gardening, budgeting, etc.  The list goes on and on.  So, how do I apply the skills that I have acquired over my (rather short) lifetime, along with my talents and passions to a career path that will be the next step for me on my path?

I've thought through many options, among them (and what I've essentially narrowed it down to):

1) Journalism - I love to write, I am interested in following current events, sports, technology, and all the latest trends, and I thrive in fast-paced environments.

2) PR - Again, I love to write, I have developed communication skills, and a passion and interest in social media/networking.  I love to explore new technology, and would be good at finding new and creative ways to utilize that technology to help a company to grow and communicate with its customers, past, present and future.

3) Marketing/Advertising - Similar to PR in ways.  [Again] I love to write, since I was a kid, I've been memorizing ad jingles and reciting back TV and radio ads to my parents and friends.  Long car trips were a blast for me, and a nuisance for my older brother, who spend much of them with ear buds in, and metal music blaring.  I am the marketer's dream customer - I watch commercials on TV and immediately go out to buy some Hershey's Bliss chocolates or a "Snuggie".  I could have a lot of fun and be really productive in this arena.

4) Social Media - Fits into PR (probably).  I have a sincere interest in communicating a message to the world.  I'm a world-class blogger (clearly), (fairly) newly-initiated Twitter-er, Facebook-er, LinkedIn-user, TokBox-experimenter, etc.  I see the potential for many (if not all) of these applications to be used to make a positive change in a company's reputation and "branding".  The internet makes it super easy for corporations and individuals to reach a HUGE amount of people in a split second.  It's a powerful tool, and these social media tools are making it just that much easier.  My experience with those tools makes me valuable to companies who are looking to expand by including them in their marketing plans.  

So, I've narrowed down my search a bit.  What now?  Looking for jobs is not proving to be the simplest task.  More and more, I'm using social media to get the word out that I'm on the job-hunt, and hoping that my connections can help me to find something that fits for me and an employer.  I'm exhausting CareerBuilder and Monster, as well as the W&M Alumnus site.  LinkedIn has been possibly the most helpful of tools that I've made use of, but I am still searching and applying, with little to no luck.  

Any comments, suggestions, etc. are welcome, and much appreciated!