I Work in Retail, or Social Media Makes You As Big As You Want to Be

I work in retail.

There, I said it. I am a sales manager at the store level for a luxury home retail chain. For some reason, I excitedly tell all my friends and family what I do when they ask, but I have been very hesitant to tell complete strangers on a career website what my current industry and position actually are. Why is that?

I really like what I do. I don't plan to do it past the end of college, but it's fun and it's taught me a lot. I make pretty good money for a student. My job gives me a substantial amount of responsibility, but also gives me a lot of flexibility, too. I work a full time schedule, I have good health insurance, 2 weeks of vacation, sick pay, paid holidays and personal days, tuition reimbursement, and all the trappings of a “normal, adult” job. I have one-on-ones with my staff, biweekly management meetings, I complete sales reports and handle payroll adjustments when necessary. I do all of the things that your typical sales manager in most industries does.

So why did I not want to let this piece of my identity get out online for so long? It hit me as I was driving home from work, sipping a watered down Dr. Pepper from a Quik Trip convenience store: Retail makes me feel small. When I am participating in social media, I feel just as big as Kyle Lacy, Holly Hoffman, or Rebecca Thorman; my piece of the conversation is just as important and valued. However, when I contrast my relatively short list of credentials and accomplishments with those of the people I communicate with online, it is easy to feel dwarfed by these Gen Y giants.

As soon as I came to that realization, I was free. Free from tiptoeing around my words to sound “bigger” and “more important” than I am when I blog. Free from my own subjective self-judgment. Because that’s the beautiful part of social media: what you’ve done or haven’t done up to this point doesn’t really matter. What matters is what you are going to do now. And I’ve got big plans. Do you?

Blogging is Even More Important During Unemployment

TJ Wihera at Whys Perspective recently wrote a blog entry questioning whether Gen Y has an over sensitivity about blogging. The idea for the post was born after he witnessed a Twitter exchange in which someone scoffed at unemployed Gen Yers blogging about careers and business, and some Gen Yers then replied with offended responses. And this got me to thinking that the author of the original tweet, @AlexJMann, might not understand how blogging (and a history of it) can actually be even more important when one is unemployed. And then I thought, hey, maybe others don’t either.

So here is my short testimonial of how blogging can help you through unemployment:
· It can help you sort through your thoughts: Being unemployed, even for a short period of time, can wreak havoc on your confidence, your sense of self, and even your understanding of what your passions, strengths, and weaknesses are. Blogging provides a canvas on which you can paint your thoughts, organize them, and gain support and ideas from thousands of differing perspectives.
· It acts as a living resume: As pretty much everyone who has ever had to hunt for a job online knows, a one-page MS Word resume (and it should be ONLY one page) by itself is an incredibly tough way to impress anyone enough to call you back. However, if you have a blog to link to, recruiters can see your ideas and communication skills immediately. Additionally, regularly updated blog shows recruiters that you are actively managing your career, even in downtime. You will shine through as a superstar when compared with traditional job hunters.
· It is something consistent and positive when nothing else is: Unemployment is a scary, uncertain emotional rollercoaster. There are only so many jobs you can apply for in a day before you want to tear your hair out and scream from the lack of good news. Blogging makes you feel better because it is constructive. It exercises your critical thinking and writing skills, helps build your personal and professional networks, and is an outlet for the pent up stress inside you. Blogging during unemployment actually gives you the opportunity to publicly and honestly examine your thoughts on your work history, your industry, and your field without fear of any real backlash.

In short, I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with blogging during periods of unemployment. I blogged through my short stint of unemployment earlier this year, and it was incredibly helpful. What are your thoughts? Does being unemployed disqualify someone from contributing to the conversation? Does a temporary lack of a job completely discredit a person’s ideas?