Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

This week I wanted to focus on something a little different than social media (okay maybe a lot different): mentors.

I am teaching a public relations related course for the University of Maryland, and the professor is notorious for over-emphasizing (in good way!) the importance of having a professional mentor in the field that you plan to work in. Before taking the role as a teaching assistant for this course, I took as a student.

When he first assigned every student the responsibility to find a professional public relations practitioner in the field we are most interested in (mine being entertainment) I felt awkward and unsure. Now, I have my fair share of socially awkward encounters and experiences with people, but the thought of e-mailing a professional- or even calling- really freaked me out. Why do I need to contact someone I do not know and expect them to provide me guidance? I thought, hey I have my academic advisors and an internship lined up—I’m good to go. WRONG.

Having a professional mentor while you are still a college student can be incredibly beneficial to your own professional and individual growth. Professional mentors can answer any inquiries you have about a given field and offer helpful tips, advice and wisdom. I am actually very thankful that my professor required us to all have a mentor—my mentor has given me great advice about public relations internships and has even gotten me in contact with other professionals in my industry.

Now that I have the role as teacher, I really try to get through to my students that they too will have even more opportunities thanks to a mentor. Establishing a relationship with a professional can give you a leg up on getting an internship and/or a job. If you form a bond with your mentor they may be willing to provide you with a formal recommendation when needed and suggest opportunities for you.

Mentors have been where you are sitting and they understand what it is like to be a college student; they have already run down the path you are trying to find and can encourage and guide you in the right direction. According to this article at The Internshiprs blog, not only can mentors be a great source from you to learn from, but also acquiring a mentor expands your connections (which can be of great help after graduation).

So, where can you find mentors? For starters, if you visit your campus’s career center your advisors can recommend and help get you in contact with university alumni. And, for those of you taking advantage of all the social media and networking tools available for free online **wink** you can find a mentor through researching different companies and contacting a person who works there. Contacting a mentor can go beyond e-mails and phone calls. You can follow them on Twitter and tweet for their advice, or make a connection on LinkedIn. Good luck!

The Thin Pink Line Wants You To Rethink Your Accomplishments: In regards to work experience, Lindsey Pollock reminds readers that you may underestimate the actual impact of your accomplishments. She argues that you are more experienced than you may think you are, and gives a list of experiences and skills you may be overlooking.

The Monster Blog is Having Technical Difficulties: "Early on in the job search, my children’s caregiver decided to hook up her new computer to the wireless router. She wanted to use her computer remotely during the kids’ naps. Unbeknownst to me, she spoke to my Internet provider in her native language and was instructed how to change all the security and router connectivity settings. So now I am lost in translation without wireless access in my own home." Then her computer died. A warning of the perils of a technologically dependent job hunt.

CareerHub Recommends a Low-Tech Networking Session: While on the topic of technology, Louise Fletcher reminds us that - even though social networking is great - it is important not to forget about low-tech aspects of a job hunt. She suggests a reference library, where a librarian can help you find information on a specific career that you may not have much knowledge on.

Alex J Mann Has Advice For Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Alex is a recent grad and an aspiring internet entrepreneur. His blog is an informative and interesting look at the progress he is making with his start up. In this post he details how "two guys in a basement, hacking away, flooded with pizza boxes and burrito wrappers" can appear more professional.

The Wall Street Journal Provides Advice on Mentors: "[D]on't limit yourself to people within your company, suggests Ms. Ensher. Rather than make a cold call to a potential mentor, she recommends getting introduced through a mutual friend or colleague. 'Contact more than one mentor and think about what complementary skills you might offer them,' she says. Mentoring is about reciprocity. Be clear about what you hope to learn and what you can offer."

College Finance 101 Has Advice For the Frugal Colelge Student: Hey, we know college is expensive. And since you're in class all the time, it's difficult to work more than just part-time. So funds are low. CF101 has a good breakdown of where to cut corners and where to find free or cheap selections of food, entertainment and clothes.

College Finance 101 Alerts Us to Some Scholarships You Need: It's not too late to meet some of the fall deadlines for the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship and the Educationxpo Scholarship. So click on through or hit up College Finance 101 for more info.

Dan Erwin Doesn't Think Mentors Are Necessary: "With today's fast-changing technology, project and team-based environment, volatile marketplace and organizational changes such as outsourcing, downsizing, mergers, buy-outs and bankruptcy, it's absolutely impossible for a mentor to provide the help and support you need." I can see this being controversial.

JobMob Solves Some Typical Job Search Problems: Through the power of song! See there's this guy Henry, and he's got this bucket. Well somehow that bucket got a hole ... and Henry thinks Dear 'ol Liza can fix it. I swear, eventually this post answers some very real questions about finding a job ... it just takes a few minutes.

The Career Dr. Fields A Questions About Changing Careers For Teachers: A lot of teachers get tired of teaching pretty quickly. The job simply isn't cut out for everyone. And despite the fact that education is one of the few growth industries right now, if it ain't for you, it ain't for you. The Dr. seems pretty positive about the decision to head back to grad school. My sister is an ex-teacher and she decided grad school was the right choice. And She couldn't be happier. So if that's an option, it is worth considering it.

Cheezhead Details a Study of Career Paths to Pursue and Avoid: "The survey, conducted by about 150 human resources executives, found that new students should avoid career paths dealing with law, as only 1.4 percent of respondents chose that field as the most promising, followed by marketing or advertising and human resources, chosen by only 2 percent of respondents. Less than 5 percent chose public service."

The Creative Career Explores the Online Portfolio: This post is specific largely to the Public Relations field. "These days, the practice is becoming more common, and for students looking to stand out in a competitive job market, I would argue that an online portfolio is quickly becoming a requirement. This is particularly true for those looking for a digital position (and I might add, most PR positions have become at least somewhat digital)."

The Wall Street Journal Reports Professors are Learning and Teaching Lessons from the Recession: Lesson 1: Ethics. "It appears that the system rose to tolerate borderline or obviously unethical or illegal behavior. It's always in the panic that the world settles up with unethical behavior. If you look at the discoveries of Ponzi schemes, they coincide with economic troughs. These crises are illustrations of the fruits of unethical behavior. Students should pay close attention to them."

If you are a college student or a recent grad, you almost certainly spend much of time on the internet - and a significant portion of that on social networking sites like Facebook (definitely), YouTube (You bet), Twitter (not too much) or MySpace (Whose space?). But, how do you spend your time on these popular sites?

Well, if - like most people - you use them to gossip, watch stupid videos or post inappropriate pics, you are wasting your time. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that finally business are getting smart about Social Networks ... IBM has announced a Facebook Application to find mentors for students.

Through a Facebook application, which IBM plans to offer in a pilot program in the United States this fall, students like Mr. Vogt, a sophomore at Pace University, can find mentors to give them practical or career advice, or oversee student projects, said Tim Willeford, a spokesman for IBM.

“We have existing mentorship programs within IBM, so it’s a natural extension that we’re trying to connect experts of multiple disciplines to university students,” Mr. Willeford said. “It’s one of the next steps in education.” ...

“Facebook and MySpace are great places for social networking, but they don’t really have a goal. They don’t make the kind of connections you need to move forward,” Mr. Vogt said. “This platform is helping students say, Here are my ideas, and IBM is saying, Come work with us and we’ll help you.”

It's good to see companies getting smart about using the sites to reach out to students where they are comfortable. These sites have a lot of potential, and in a career-related function can be useful to extend and capitalize on your network to land a job. I hope to see more companies reaching out across multiple platforms to provide opportunities like this for students.

On to The Links ...

GradSpot Suggests Careers For Night Owls: Aside from the obvious jobs of Bartending, club promoting and hospitality (hotels/casinos) GS adds "many companies (at least the ones that don't outsource to India!) need people to handle administrative tasks before the daytime workers get to the office in the morning—look out for data entry positions at financial services institutions or copy editing gigs at daily newspapers, for example." I would include financial services that deal with Europe/Asia as well.

Your HR Shares How His Blog Landed Him a Job: He found a niche community, contributed to it and networked out a gig. Advice for you: "If you think of blogging like you do networking, you need to start a blog, contribute and become a part of the community before you can leverage it to help you find a great job (either by your choice or the company’s)."

The Washington Post Advises on Email Etiquette: Specifically, the all-important sign off. "Will Schwalbe, co-author with David Shipley of 'Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better,' warns, 'You can really do a lot of damage, even with a careless closing. And one of the terrifying things about e-mail is: You may never know.'" This is why I end all my emails with "Get Bent" ... no confusion on that one.

Keppie Careers Discusses Online Transparency: And it's an important and relevant discussion; how much info to share. Share to little and you damage the benefits of Online Branding. Share too much, and you risk crossing a line that an employer might not appreciate. I think the best advice is to carefully consider each piece of information you put on the web, before you put it out there.

Jibber Jobber Laughs at the College Grad Suing Her College for Her Inability to Get a Job: "In summary, this person went to school, apparently got a BA degree in something to do with 'information technology,' and I guess couldn’t land a job. So she is suing saying her career services office 'didn’t [live] up to its end of the deal [by] offering her the leads and employment advice it promised.' This recent grad has lived at home with her mom, who is a substitute teacher and is 'the only one of the two who makes any money.'"

Jibber Jobber Explains How NOT To Spend Your Time When Unemployed: "What's scary, at least to me, is that on any given day only 20% are spending time job searching, mostly in the morning and early afternoon. I know job searching is hard work, and it can be easier to try and avoid it. However, you're not going to find a job if you don't work at it. It's that simple."

I've found way too many good links to start off a post with some rambling incoherence. So, in the interest of maximizing the amount of information, I'm just going to ladle out some hot, steamy links to get your week started off right.

Let's just get on with it ...

Personal MBA Lists the 12 Core Human Skills Every Successful Person Should Posses: OK, essentially there are two paths to success: Become the best in the world (the top 1%) at 1 specific thing, or become very good (top 25%) at a large variety of different things. This post focuses on the latter (of which I subscribe - but fail). This post lists the core human skills that you can utilize for success. A highly recommended read. (via Lone Gunman)

The Washington Post Reports On a New Generation of Workers - The Digital Nomad: "They work -- clad in shorts, T-shirts and sandals -- wherever they find a wireless Web connection to reach their colleagues via instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and occasionally by voice on their iPhones or Skype. As digital nomads, experts say, they represent a natural evolution in teleworking. The Internet let millions of wired people work from home; now, with widespread WiFi, many have cut the wires and left home (or the dreary office) to work where they please - and especially around other people, even total strangers." It may not be as pleasant as it sounds, however. Check out the piece for more info.

The Lone Gunman Explores The Ideal Workplace: In this case it's all about maximizing creativity. Decorate in blue to inspire relaxation and a peaceful state of mind; increase psychological distance to encourage abstract thinking; live abroad to inspire input for the creative process and the psychological readiness of new ideas. Now, I guess you combine all of this with the digital nomad-ism from the Post piece and you have the perfect work place to maximize creativity and productivity.

BlueSky Resumes Addresses the Issue of Authenticity in Marketing Yourself: "When I first started resume writing, I did it like everyone else. I wrote resumes the way I saw everyone else do it. My resumes were good, but could have come from 10 other resume writing services. But now that’s not the case. Because instead of trying to squeeze my clients’ histories into a template, I am focusing on their individuality." This is a valid point. Explaining what makes you unique or different from other job candidates can go a long way towards getting you the job you want.

Monica O'Brien Gives the Lowdown on Mentors: How to get one and how to keep one. Learning from someone you admire in a field you strive to occupy can be extraordinarily helpful. More than just a contact, mentor's can provide useful, real-world advice and guidance on your career. Monica has some very good advice for approaching a potential mentor and how to cultivate the relationship.

The New York Times Reports on Some Picky Recent Grads: So, apparently, this year's crop of grads don't seem to worried about the foul market. In this article, one recent grad turns down a job for location, and one for the inconvenient hours. While the career counselors think these grads should be worried, many that appear in the article seem unconcerned, and assume the right opportunity will eventually come along. I'm not sure how representative of the rest of recent grads this is, but it would certainly mark an interesting development.

Mashable Explores Free Online Education: At some point (in the near future) I'd love to delve into this more. There are plenty of resources to supplement and further your education online that can really give you a leg up on competition in the job hunt. I, for example, am currently utilizing MIT's open courseware, which we've linked to before, to develop some computer skills I am sorely lacking. The Mashable article lists a few more resources.

"Chain Links Fence" courtesy *clarity* via Flickr Creative Commons