So my last Christmas Break is drawing to a close--it was really not nearly as frustratingly unproductive as some previous ones were, although I didn't do as much as I could have.
I did the usual Christmas decorating and traditions, played a lot of Wii Resort, got a lot of fantastic cooking-related gifts (including a mouth-wateringly awesome Le Creuset dutch oven), made the questionably wise decision to buy an iPhone, saw two movies with friends, made stew for those friends in the aforementioned dutch oven, ate at a fancy restaurant, blew $23 playing slots at the MGM Grand, worked on a blog I've been commissioned to design, destroyed and rebuilt the Gargoyle site in the process of attempting to update Movable Type, watched entirely too much Food Network programming with my family, had Kobe beef tartare (delicious), got to know my sister's boyfriend a little better, slept in til precisely 9:30 every day, went to Frankenmuth, saw the gorgeous Richard Avedon exhibit at the DIA, and a variety of other things.
When written out in a list like that, it looks very impressive, but largely it was pleasantly dull and restful, a good couple weeks of unwinding before I start on my final semester at Michigan. What I didn't do that I should have done was apply for some jobs. I think part of me wants to put that off as long as possible even though I consciously know it's going to be a long, tough process, and I should get started on it as soon as possible. It's comforting that, talking to many of my friends, a lot of other people seem to be in the same wishy-washy, undecided, apprehensive, and overwhelmed boat as me. I suppose the thing to do with this, as in most things, is to tackle it one step at a time.
Anyway, the hovering monster that is job-hunting aside, I'll be happy to get this last semester (and my last two Gargoyle issues) done with. I'm a little sick of school and all other kinds of unpaid labor and ready to get started on my life. It's scary, but also really exciting. Wish me luck.
Good luck! Honestly it seems like most jobs expect you to apply very shortly before you intend to start. I had no luck job-hunting months early. You may want to try anyway, though, for the sake of just getting experience at interviewing.
Good luck! Kris is right: early job hunting won't get you much. UM has a pretty useful career center, where you can get a good pair of eyes looking at your resume.
In DC at least there is a pretty big turnover right after Labor day, especially for internships and entry-level jobs. Don't get discouraged! And apply for EVERYTHING!
I know you don't believe me, but I think you are well positioned to land something interesting -- at least salaried.
I HAVE NO ENCOURAGING WORDS