Hand
MANUAL
essential life skills // BLOG YOUR PORTFOLIO
in case of emergency, read quickly.
The web is a great way to put yourself out there, whether it's chatting with friends or searching for a job.
Hosting your portfolio on a blog is an easy and accessible way to keep your work displayed and up-to-date year-round for employers to find.
Meaghan O'Connell, director of outreach for Tumblr.com, one of many similar user-friendly blogging sites, says Tumblr's dashboard has post icons for text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio and video. This feature makes it simple for students of many different majors to publish their work, whether it is art, film, writing or design.
Another advantage of blog culture is its ability to bring people together based on their shared passions. O'Connell says communities form amongst bloggers with similar interests, which is great for inspiration and networking with your target audience.
If your followers really love something you post, or vice-versa, Tumblr.com allows you to re-post others' blogs on your own site. However, if you do this you should always use proper attribution and make sure others are giving you credit for your work. Plagiarism is not a skill you should add to your resume.
Publishing your work with simple blogging sites such as Tumblr gives potential employers easy
access to your work and contact information and shows you have the social networking skills key to growth in several fields.
Your first spring job interviews may still be a few weeks away, but perhaps it's time to jump on the blog bandwagon and catch those employers in your web.
// EMILY JOHNSON
Photo by Emily Johnson
Blog for a job. With websites such as Tumblr.com blogging can help enhance your portfolio and score you that dream job you've been searching for.
in the life of ... // A BREW MASTER
living vicariously through others is ok with us.
Geoff Deman doesn't come home to an ice cold beer. He brews it.
A Lawrence native, Deman has been professionally brewing for 15 years, the last seven of which have been at Free State Brewery, 636 Massachusetts St. He is the assistant head brewer there.
After spending a semester with a friend in Berkeley, Calif., Deman says he discovered his love for brewing in college. Later, Deman returned to Lawrence and started brewing like crazy, eventually leaving for Seattle, where he worked for the Pike Brewing Company.
When a spot opened back in Lawrence at Free State, he took it.
As assistant head brewer, Deman's days are spent checking fermentation levels of the two-to-four batches of beer that Free State pumps out a week and prepping the various containers that beer moves through in each stage of its creation. Each batch yields 14 barrels at 31 gallons each. Deman says Free State rolled out 3,200 barrels last year.
Since Free State opened a new production facility across town, batches of its flagship beers have shifted to the new building, allowing the downtown site to shift focus to new specialty and seasonal beers, which Deman says has
been a lot of fun and has expanded the brewery's repertoire.
Deman's advice to aspiring young brewers is persistence. He says the profession takes a certain fortitude, an attention to detail as well as a balance of brawn and a keen mind, Oh, and of course, love and respect for a good beer.
// BEN SULLIVAN
Photo by Ben Sullivan
Glass half full. Geoff Deman brews quality beer, ensuring customers of their local favorites at Free State Brewery, 636 Massachusetts St.