Lately, I have been thinking about the
Midnight Hustler concept presented by Jessica Constable, genius business owner, entrepreneur, fashionista, and owner of Jessica LC Design (love her jewelry and accessories, by the way.) I admire not only her fashionable accessories, but also the emphasis she places on what she calls "design with intention." In an age of corporate irresponsibility, it is refreshing to know that small business owners still make a strong commitment to building prosperous neighborhoods and communities with their well-intentioned, ethically-developed products and services. Kudos, Jessica.
Returning to the idea of the Midnight Hustler--which is basically the idea that, with careful planning and responsible social networking--one can go from "day job to dream job." I read
these stories from Jessica's blog this afternoon, and they really resonated with me. These blurbs come from creative, honest, talented and brilliant women who dare to take a personal leap of faith and grow their personal brands and businesses from the ground up. I am at a stage in my life where I'm making the transition from doing my "day job"--which turns out is actually a very, very good and fulfilling job--to beginning to market myself in the area I want to be in most: public libraries. In an uncertain economic climate, this hasn't been easy, and I've only just begun. But I know the journey will be worthwhile.
Ultimately, I plan to continue my education in the area of second language acquisition and bilingual education (English/Spanish). I don't plan to further my education
formally anymore (at least not in the foreseeable future,) but I dream of a career in which I am able to use my passion for bilingual education and bilingual literature for children in a big way as part of my job. I love bilingual programming; I love working in an intergenerational environment; I love bilingual literature; I love language diversity. My professional vision revolves around these things, but I know it's going to take a lot of work and professional branding to get there.
Some of the networking info I have read is just plain old superficial, and I'd really like to de-mystify that process for any current or prospective library school student (or any grad student for that matter) who might read this. You will NOT get a job because you attend x number of networking events per year. You WILL get a job if you make a commitment to professional development, personal branding, and devoting your time and energy to the organization you hope to one day work for. I say this because I think there's a lot of garbage out there about attending as many social networking events as possible to market yourself. In my experience, it has been more helpful (and meaningful) to only devote my time and energy to those activities which I feel are closely related to my personal and professional vision.
This brings me to personal branding. I'm not going to lie: I'm really proud of my new business cards. (Especially those four great letters after my name.)
I guess all of this has come about in my mind because, after investing 2 years of my life in a graduate-level education, I feel like I owe it to myself to carefully consider my employment options after I finish my degree. In this tough market, it's challenging to be picky. Fortunately for me, my dream employer--The Denver Public Library--has agreed to hire me as an on-call librarian in June. Until I can secure a permanent, full-time job, I will be able to work in the great job I have now PLUS work at different branches of DPL, learning about all the services they provide and all the communities they serve. I am thrilled about this, and I feel fortunate to have this opportunity--it's literally a dream come true.
These things are stepping stones to what I see myself doing (ultimately) in the future: consulting, program development, teaching. Having a part-time, temp job will allow me to be flexible in discovering more about the field of librarianship (as Jennifer Johnston affirms in this
amazing article from www.liscareer.com).
The best part? I'm only just beginning; I'm excited for what the future holds, however uncertain it may be.
