Gals' Guide

Take That Entry-Level Position and Be Fabulous!

Aside from internships, thesis papers and summers abroad, most college graduates don’t have consistent real-world working experience. So, wouldn’t it make sense for college graduates to start at the bottom? While it’s tough for anybody to get a job right now, you’d be surprised at how many gen-yers I’ve run into lately that turn down jobs because they aren’t willing to take entry-level positions unless it’s at a (insert fancy name here) big, showy firm. Let me be the first to say, you’re missing out. Take that entry-level position, be fabulous and get on with it, like Monica, Paul and Chris—real life, entry-level success stories.

Monica Nino is an executive producer for Living, a morning show on WOAI—the NBC affiliated network in San Antonio, TX. Her daily duties consist of meeting 4-time NBA World Championship Spurs, celebrities like Eva Longoria, John Corbett from Sex and the City, and the list goes on and on. But guess how she started? “First, I interned for five months. Then, I took a job in Austin as an overnight associate producer for the morning news, in which I had to commute from San Antonio everyday for four months! I was making minimum wage, and, since I put over 1,000 miles a week on my car driving to Austin, my paycheck went back into my car for maintenance and gas. Then, I was given another job in San Antonio at WOAI, as a camera operator for seven months. I finally got a position as a part-time associate producer. And, after another four months, I became a full-time producer.” All in all, Monica has been with WOAI for four years, and with hard work, ambition and a bit of luck, she’s now an executive producer.

Preparing for Your Work Day: Plan The Night Before and Spare the Headaches

We've all been there, right? 

You thought you set the alarm, but for some reason, you overslept. Either the alarm didn't go off or the battery died on your phone (which is what happened to me this week). If you are strategic with getting things ready for your work day, you'll be able to be out of your place in a snap. 

The solid time you spend upfront with organizing will save you quite a bit of Morning grief down the road Some Tips:

Organize Your Closet

Take a few hours on a weekend to go through your entire wardrobe. I color code my sweaters and also have a separate section for cotton tops for layers.  When it comes to hanging clothes, I organize by type and also by color. As you refold and rehang, start piecing outfits together.  Keep your accessories like belts and scarves in full sight - I can't tell you how many 'undiscovered gems' I find because they were hidden in a big group.  Lastly, I try to take Sunday night to select a few outfits and place them at the end of the line up.  That way, I have a few set grab and go options ready to roll.

Plan Your Meals

Take the weekend to use the crockpot, casserole dish or the dutch oven and make some something big enough to freeze or put in smaller portions in the fridge. Cooking not your thing? No problem. Pick up some HEALTHY frozen foods (I'm a big fan of Amy's Burritos), wheat bread, lunch meat or even hummus. Either way, you'll have set ideas for lunch that won't take too long to pack.

Wash Your Hair At Night

Save yourself some time. Most hair stylists will tell you that freshly washed hair doesn't keep a look as well as hair washed the night before. I'm sure that you've also read that washing your hair everyday isn't the best idea - dries out the scalp and natural oils.  Washing your hair at night enables you to get up, set you hair in rollers for a bit, hop in the shower (the steam helps set the rollers), put on your makeup, get your bag packed, drink some coffee and have some breakfast.  By this time, you can take the rollers out, do a little styling and you're good to go!

Make It a Point to Clean the Kitchen/Dishes Before You Go To Bed

A small chore, sure, but you'll be happy when you leave the house at 7 am and the house is in good shape. When you return home and relax on the couch with a glass of wine, you'll be thankful you did.

Oh, about the day I woke up late this week? I got to work on time - no problem. I had the clothes ready to go,lunch was packed and my hair was done in a snap.

The Best Way to Brown Bag It To the Office:Go Green and Get This Bag!

So I started a new job today. Yep. Back in the office setting full-time.  I reorganized my closet, starting planning weekly meals again and shopping for work bags.  I already have a laptop bag, but I need a more user-friendly/cute work bag that I can invest in (I'm almost done with my research and I'll let you know when I'm set. A slew of girlfriends gave me a LIST Of bags to check out).  

I'm a big fan of bringing my lunch to work and was looking for a new food transporter. I found these awesome lunch tote bags from Built NY and said, 'Eureka!'. Environmentally friendly, large and keep your food cold and hot for a long time, you can't go wrong. Available via eBags for $19.99. Built NY Lunch Tote.

Gals’ Guide Job Tip:Getting Laid Off Can Be a Blessing

With the economy struggling the way it is today, I wanted to repost something that first ran on Gals' Guide in 2006...how I got laid off and how it helped  me grow stronger as a career woman...

Yep, I was laid off once.  I don’t care how you spin it – fired, let go, laid off, downsized, etc that was me in March 2001. 

It was my first job out of college. I was working for a prominent Internet consulting firm and we were bursting at the seams.  We had so many employees, many of which duplicated job functions and the industry was wising up to the idea of ‘too much’.  The founders of the company were no longer there and it just didn't feel like the same place - I should have left when they did.  Upon graduating school, I entered a fun world of the dot com boom – from launch parties to new office parties, I was a 22 year old being wined and dined by agencies and company owners. It was amazing.  I barely spent a dime of my own money on ‘fun’ because my company or my friends’ companies were bound to have some event. 

You Are a Brand. Yep, That's Right - A Brand.What Are You Doing to Promote and Protect It?

Coke. Budget Car Rental. Chanel. Apple. GAP. General Mills. These are all brands I'm sure you recognize. Let me fill you in on a brand you know better than all of the brands in the world. That brand is YOU.

Google yourself. That's right. Take a few minutes and type in your name in the Google search box. What appears? A blog post? Facebook entry? LinkedIn entry? All of these search results are possible - in addition to the potential online rant you gave your boyfriend or former roommate on some message board or forum that used your real  name. I won't go into the techie definitions of how search engines work, but I'll get into the basics of why you appear the way you do in the search results in a minute.

First, let's get back to the topic of Brand You.

A Chat with The Creative Career

A recent note from GG Reader, Nicole, asked me to write about the difficulties you face in being 24, not wanting to work in the corporate world and wonder, 'What's Next?"

I met a terrific gal, Allie, who happens to be in this age group, happens to have a full time job at a major PR firm in town and happens to run her own site, The Creative Career. Allie interviewed me for a recent show. The topic: how to be an entrepreneur and how my corporate experienced parlayed into what I do now.

People like Allie work full time and have a flexible work environment that enables them to 'moonlight'. This wasn't widely accepted at ALL when I was starting out. It's refreshing to see the work place change to accommodate passions we have on the side.

Here is the interview, about 6 minutes, audio...

Lessons From the Movie, ‘Working Girl’

It was released 20 years ago, but ‘Working Girl’ continues to be a reminder and inspiration every time I watch it.  Yesterday was one of those days. I was catching up on email on a lazy Saturday afternoon, flipping TV channels and saw that my second favorite movie was about to start (my favorite movie of all time is ‘The Sound of Music’). With the economy in its slump and managing various projects – I needed a little girl power yesterday afternoon. Oh sure, I don’t care much for the shoulder pads, winged hair or Reeboks with business suits, but the lessons and inspiration still remain.

If you haven’t seen the movie, here is a quick synopsis: a sharp secretary (Melanie Griffith) works hard to obtain her college degree, starts a new job with a merger and acquisitions executive (Sigourney Weaver), learns that her idea was stolen, then acts like someone else to make her business idea come to life.  Along the way, the secretary partners up and falls in love with her bosses ex boyfriend (Harrison Ford). 

Unbelievable? Not really. I’ve seen variations of this scenario happen in my former corporate life. Here are some takeaways from the movie that I think you’d benefit from:

Confirmation from an Entrepreneur: Gary VaynerchukHustling from One Start-Up To Another Takes Sacrifice

Ladies,

I mentioned Gary in an earlier  post, but thought this recent video entry of his will resonate with many of you. Time and time again, you ask me about starting your business idea. How to find the time, trying to balance your day job, etc. I won't lie, it's tough and guess what? You'll need to give some things up.

• You'll need to stop going out as often
• You'll need to forgo drinks after work
• You may need to stay in an entire weekend
• You may need to get home from one job, then start your passion late into the night
• You may have to give up your yearly Girl Trip

This may last from 4 months to two years, but, in the end, it will pay off. Gary Vaynerchuk, as busy as he is with Wine Library TV and public appearances, is working with his brother, AJ, to create a new startup: Please Dress Me.  Looking for a special kind of t-shirt? Please Dress me has a cool search engine that does the looking for you:). Neat, huh?

Check out this video from Gary bringing home the points I mentioned above.

At the end of the day, ladies, it's hard work. NO way around it - but worth every piece of sweat to get to your end goal. Trust me, it's working for me:)