December graduates. Primarily those on the four and a half year plan. Not so much for those overachievers on the three and a half year plan. Here’s some advice for you who are entering a world I’m sure you’ve been stressing about.

1) Slash your credit cards. You already have student loans to pay back…why build up more debt?

2) Get involved early and often. Many of you will be moving to a new city for the new job. If you don’t get involved with some of the community events going on in the city, you’ll spend more time cursing the city from your couch than enjoying the city for what it is.

3) Your first job usually won’t match your expectations. In other words, your first job may really suck. Remember that it’s a puzzle piece that builds up to something greater.

4) Live with a roommate other than your parents. Roommates open you up to a world of opportunity. Their world is partially a part of yours as well. This gets you involved in some really cool scenarios and situations.

5) Have goals. You’re out in the real world. Congratulations. What do you want to do? Give yourself some direction and go in that direction. If you don’t like that direction, make a u-turn, go off road, slow down, take a left or a right. Just don’t stop and be stagnant. Life is for adventure. Set up goals for whatever adventure you want to have.

I am the endangered character that rarely disposes of junk mail. I slash open the envelope, read the first line of the standardized letter, and usually toss it aside without bothering to read the rest. The process provides me with enjoyment, however meager it may be.

A piece of junk mail I received yesterday had the catch phrase “Important information about your RV” embodied in big bold letters on the regular white envelope. Taking a moment to briefly glance at the Pursue the Passion RV in my driveway (which is now much more of an icon than an active participant of sporadic, nomadic travel), I opened the letter.

Inside the first paragraphs read:

Dear Brett Farmiloe,

You live an active lifestyle. You’re young at heart. And odds are, most of the great things you’ve experienced happened while traveling with your RV.

There are few things in life that are as great as packing up the RV and heading out on the open road- ready to embark on the next great adventure. And GEICO wants you to know that we’re right there with you…

I read the lines to my roommates because of its truthfulness and non traditional nature. GEICO expressed themselves in a unique way, and as a result, left a positive impression.

I write about this letter because this is something we should all do in our email communication. Whether you are sending an email for a job, communicating with a co-worker, or coordinating with a potential client/partner, the lessons we learn from this letter are this:

1) Provide an interesting subject line- otherwise, why would someone bother to read your email?

2) Express Yourself. Show some personality in your communication to prove you’re not another average applicant out there for the job, or a corporate drone out for the almighty dollar. The Jobing.com sales team does a great job at this…if you don’t believe me, call them (602) 200-6800.

If you just be yourself and embrace what makes you, “you,” people will respond. Try it.

The 2008 summer jobs outlook for teens is looking dismal. In fact, it’s the worse outlook in sixty years, dating back to WWII. Here are a few facts that draw a picture, based on a report compiled by Andrew Sum, Joseph McLaughlin, Ishwar Khatiwada, and Sheila Palma at Northeastern University- Center for Labor Market Studies. It’s called The Continued Collapse of the Nation’s Teen Job Market and the Dismal Outlook for the 2008 Summer Labor Market for Teens: Does Anybody Care?

• The average teen employment rate for January-March 2008 was 33.5%, implying that 1 out of 3 teenagers were employed. This is the lowest rate since 1948.
• Eight years ago, in 2000, the employment rate for teens was 45.2%, a difference of 11.7 percentage points.
• If teens had been employed at the same rate as 2000, there would be another 2 million teens working in 2008.
• During the national job recovery from the third quarter of 2003 to the end of 2007, total civilian employment rose by 8.747 million workers. The number of employed teens at the end of the boom compared to the beginning was 10,000 workers lower- despite continued growth in the size of the teen population.

Last night I went to the Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns basketball game. This post is not about basketball and the millions players make, nor how it was very nice of Mary Gilbaugh to provide me with complementary tickets, but rather about the initiation college graduates have when entering the “real,” working world.

Brandon Wright around this time last year was the most recognized figure on the North Carolina campus. His lanky six foot nine frame and fifteen points per game scoring average was the subject of many basketball commentators praises as NBA scouts drooled at the opportunity of drafting him. Buying into the hype, Brandon decided to forgo his final three years of college and go to the NBA.

With the third overall selection in the draft, Brandon went to the Golden State Warriors.

Being a huge Golden State Warriors fan and Bay Area native, I have had the privilege of enjoying the best year the team has had since the ’91-’92 season. I have also seen very little of Brandon (the Mr. Wright is completely unnecessary considering he is three years younger than I). He has averaged about four points a game while appearing in half the games this season, with the other half being spent on the bench.

Last night Brandon did make an appearance in the game, albeit for about six seconds. As he joyously responded to the call to put him in the game, he was briefly corralled by the head coach before reporting to the scorers table. Brandon’s first impact on the game was immediately fouling Shaquille O’Neal, which the big man did not take a liking to. For a minute I thought Shaq was going to break Brandon’s braces with one swift jab. With that, Brandon was quickly taken back out of the game and took a seat on the bench, where he would not move from for the remainder of the contest.

What Brandon did for the Warriors is what an entry-level college grad would do for his first employer. Fouling Shaq was like getting a cup of coffee, or washing the boss’s car. Both are meager tasks only assigned to rookies, for no other good reason other than to give the message of “welcome to the real world. If you think you’re going to own this business in six months you’re wrong. Now take a seat back on the bench/cubicle.”

“In the film industry,” CathyAnderson, president of the San Diego Film Commission says, “most people are mistaken by thinking, “I want to be a director. I want to be a producer. I want to be an actor.” But there are so many different levels, so many different avenues to do something just as exciting, if they only knew it was out there.”

This was one of my challenges coming out of college, and one of the reasons why I started Pursue the Passion. I didn’t know what was out there.

Cathy shared a few areas that are often overlooked, or not thought about in TV and film industries. Here are a few:

1) Public Relations. An actor has its own PR. So does the TV show or film. And so does the network. Three different angles of PR, and never enough publicists to do all the work.

2) Accounting. Every show or movie has a budget. Someone needs to keep track of the numbers. Plus, you might even make it to the credits.

3) Computer Science. Cathy said that her organization might not even be needed in the future because computer science people might just create the background for a scene instead of shooting on location. Might be a head start for you computer savvy people.

4) Filmmaking. Yes filmmaking. There are some filmmakers that have nothing to do with a movie, but they will compile a trailer for the film, or shoot some promo pieces. Apparently, Stu Segal has a reputation for hiring young filmmakers and teaching them a thing or two.

5) Swing Gang. A swing gang cruises around the city from set to set to pick up props. A “green man” does the same, but just picks up plants. Might be pretty cool.

There are many more opportunities that are out there, and if you’re in San Diego, you can find them in the Film Commission handbook, available online. Or you can call them at 619-234-3456 and ask for one, or talk to someone about additional opportunities.