Archive | 6:57 pm

I Get By With a Little Help From.. Pandora

5 May

Getting through the work day can be hard at times.. especially with the plethora of fun internet sites (Perezhilton anyone?) Alas, something has come along that is more addicting than your daily cup of coffee and Facebook account… Pandora radio. And, all you need to enjoy it is a set of inexpensive headphones.

This website started in 2000, is a product of the Human Genome Project. Basically, a team of music analysts have analyzed thousands of songs, so that when you type in a song or artist, a “station” is created that has music very similar to whatever you typed in. You not only enjoy music from your favorite artist, but find new music that you will probably love and race home to download on your itunes. And best of all, you can enjoy this while you work away at your desk. Sure some of us may love the sounds of our fellow employees typing away at the keyboard and the constant click of the mouse, but for the rest of us, Pandora is the perfect solution. Stressed from the hundreds of emails you have to write and the power point presentation you have an hour to put together? Just type in “Eye of the Tiger” on Pandora and your good to go…

Tips for Writing a Cover letter: A Brief Intro

5 May

If you don’t think a cover letter is important, imagine this situation: You walk up to a person you have never met before at a party and randomly start talking about yourself. The person is probably going to be a little confused and wonder, ” Wait this person is interesting.. but who are they, and what is their connection to me? A better approach (and one you probably do) is first introduce yourself (your name.. how you know the party hostess.. why you are approaching them (could be simple as “I haven’t met you before”) and THEN you can begin telling them about all of the wonderful volunteer work, and jobs you have done! Okay maybe you wouldn’t go that far.. but you are getting my point. Introductions are a necessary part of our everyday lives, and this is why a cover letter is so important. It is a way of introducing yourself to the company and giving them incentive to look at your resume. Imagine receiving a resume without one. You might think,  ”Wow this person is very experienced and seems like a great fit for this position, but who are they and why do they want this specific job at our company? “ 

There are many great books and website out there that have very helpful tips for writing an amazing cover letter. Before you begin, here are some tips to get you in line for an interview (instead of the paper shredder)

Have a great opening line: If you are applying for a good position (esp if you are using craigslist) chances are the person is reading a lot of applications besides yours. Grab their attention immediately and either mention a name who referred you, or connect to a common experience. Think of it like the conversation described above. When you meet someone and you both have a friend in common, it sparks conversation and keeps you both interested. 

Briefly Summarize your experience: Your resume will have this in detail, but using two or three relevant qualifications/experiences  will lure them in. For example, let them know a skill you posses, a time you used it and why that was unique. A lot of people might have “excellent communication skills” but using them to coordinate multiple events, and write excellent media briefs at your internship with NBC, is sure to grab their attention. Remember keep it short and sweet. 

Make a Powerful Closing: If you are saying goodbye to someone you just met and are interested in, chances are you aren’t going to end the convo with a simple  ”Bye see you later!” Always indicate that you wish to have further follow- up and look forward to meeting with them in person. 

Address it to a specific person:  Addressing your cover letter to the specific person reading it, is always more personal and effective than a simple ” To Whom it May Concern.” This may require some detective work, but this is well worth it, whether it be through Google or contacting the company directly.

Proof-Read!!!!! Ask any hiring manager, and they will give you countless stories where people made some pretty big goof-ups on their cover letters. “ Enclosed is a ruff draft of my resume,” and, “Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty!” are great ways to get your cover letter passed around the office, but not for the reason you intended. Always read it several times and have someone else review it as well for errors. 

Avoid using a generic cover letter. If you are applying to a bunch of different places, it might seem tiring to have to write a unique cover letter each time. However, each company and position is different. If you are applying to similar positions, some of your letter may stay the same, however you should take the time to research each company and position, and make each cover letter unique.

 

 

 

Feeling Inspired by Powerful & Smart Women

5 May

Last night I attended an event with a panel of women who were a variety of brilliant women who have either started their own companies or have been instrumental in helping create new technologies for Internet based businesses. There was also a room filled with smart entrepreneurial women asking invigorating questions regarding starting their own businesses. Being the youngest person in the room made me think of all the possibilities that lie in the future.

Being so young and in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco puts anyone who is young and ambitious at such an advantage. Everything these days in moving in the direction of the internet at a warp speed and getting in early is where the advantages lie. Sitting there feeling intimidated by being around so many great minds was I was trying to soak up every word that was being said, and because it was all women the tone and the subject matter was different that if it were a crowd of men and women.

Being a women in the working world is still a challenge but being a working women in the technology space is even more of a challenge. Some of these women who are CEO’s of hugely successful online ventures gave some very important advice, some of the best I can relay is this:

Being a women in the work force is still not easy, there are many advantages and disadvantages learn what these are for you and play them up to your best ability. Women have just as much as men to offer so never sell yourself short and experience will build confidence.

Find a mentor, I think this is one of the best. If you are trying to do something entrepreneurial with no experience there are no books or online resources that will help you accomplish this better than someone who has been there and done it. Find someone who supports your ideas and wants them to flourish, people love giving advice especially when they have been in your shoes.

Don’t give up, I know this is very cliché to say but here is a story of proof that was told by a women on the panel, one of the first start ups she worked for was Magellan one of the first GPS systems released. The CEO of this company went to 86 Venture Capitalists who all turned him down, until the 87th took a chance of him and he now is very successful because he had faith in his product.

Make sure you believe in what you are doing or the business you want to create if you are only doing it for monetary reasons this will eventually become apparent and lead to failure. You have to dedicate a lot of yourself if you are trying to be an entrepreneur and so you must make sure it is something you believe in whole heartily even if now one else around you agrees.

These are only a few of the important reminders I took away with me, remember you have the world at your fingertips and it is up to you to decide what you want to do with it, so don’t just talk about your great ideas and dreams, give them a shot. What is the worst that could happen you fail and then learn from your mistakes and get it right the next time!

Bills, bills, bills

5 May

Yes that’s right you have graduated and moved out and now what? Mom and Dad have stopped flushing money into your account for various bills. All of a sudden you find yourself having to pay for you rent, apartment, cable, Internet, water & electricity. This can be pretty stressful the first few months because if you are like me you are having to learn to budget your money in a whole new way. Financing money can be very tricky and messy, but there are many resources that have been created lately that are making this a much simpler process. Most of these resource can be found online and just like your online banking system can make the whole process a lot easier and less stressful. I have to give credit to my Dad for some of these because he is constantly emailing me these sites (probably so I will stop calling and asking him for financial advice) but here are some that seem to be quite helpful:

The Mint– free personal finance software, money management, budget planner and tools or online financial planning. This is great because it is so simple to use which I like, it also can make financial predictions in turn saving you money!

Buxfer–is also tracks your money for free, but it goes above and beyond syncing with your bank accounts and even your amazon payments, this is a great tool because you can also access it from your phone or blackberry for when you are on the go.

expensr– is a neat tool because it also comes with a community of people that are also using the tool and you can contact them to ask questions. Most importantly it lets you see charts and graphs of exactly where your money is going and categorizes you and lets you see others who make the same amount and how they are balancing their money.

So start using these programs and you will soon see more money sitting in your account so that you can take the most advantage of your weekends and save for the future!

“Fall Seven Times, Stand up Eight”

5 May

 

This ancient chinese proverb above is perhaps one of the most important piece of advice to remember for recent graduates. As you graduate and apply to jobs, you will most likely find yourself rejected by many companies you apply to. 

 

It happens to all of us, you come out of what you think was a great interview, tell your friends and family how excited you are to start.. only to get a call a couple days later that they have decided to hire someone else. It can be hard in such situations not to take it personally and think you failed. You’ll ask, ” Was it something I said? Am I not intelligent enough? Did they not like my personality?” However the truth is that finding a job can take awhile, and will most likely involve some rejections (Applying to college or dating ring a bell?) 

The important thing to remember is to not take the rejection personally, and keep moving forward. Continue sending those resumes, calling companies, going to conferences and forming connections. The process can be exhausting, but the harder you work the better the outcome will be. 

If you ever get disappointed, think of all the successful people that failed before they came to be where they are today. Oprah was fired from her first television reporters job, Walt Disney’s first production company went Bankrupt, and Thomas Edison had nearly ten thousand unsuccessful attempts before perfecting the light bulb! What did these people have in common? They did not let their failures (or unsuccessful attempts) stop them from moving forward and reaching their goal. I’d like to use an acronym from one of my favorite books, Success At Life by Ron Rubin and Stuart Gold (which I think is pretty fitting for our blog): 


GRAD: Get Over It, Redefine your failure, Analyze Failure, and Depersonalize your failure.

Just remember, As paralyzing as failure may be, it is an essential stepping stone to success. Without it, you won’t appreciate the beauty of achieving your goal. Think how great it is going to feel when you are sitting at the desk of your dream job, after all of the hard work, interviews and cover letters it took to get there. Yes, Failure is a necessary part of success, but as Winston Churchill said, ” Never give up! Never give up!”

 

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