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Personal branding has become a buzz word in the last few years, but it has been around forever. Branding as we know it in the 21st century is simply an evolution of how savvy entrepreneurs in the past used intelligent strategies to get the attention of their target audience.

As my marketing- master’s-degree wife tells me more often than I care to hear, a brand is a promise. As simple as that, your brand is your promise to the world. It is what service you offer other people. As Michael Ellsberg defines it in his book, The Education of Millionaires, (which by the way is a must-read book for every recent college grad), your brand is what other people think of when they hear your name, or the name of your business.

At this point in our technological revolution, with the social media frenzy and more jobs and industries moving online, branding is no longer optional. You already have a brand whether you want one or not. The only question is, what are you doing to enhance your brand, if anything?

Distinguishing yourself from others serves as the primary purpose of branding. At the end of a set of interviews, or when deciding which new book to buy on Amazon, or when choosing between who you’ll take to the movies this weekend – the brand that penetrated your psyche the deepest will ultimately win your approval.

If you are trying to win the approval of anyone now, or would like to at any point in the future, the time has come to build your brand.

“Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence.”

- Dan Schawbel

I have just put the finishing touches on a new website that will serve a few purposes for my own personal brand.

Why I Built JeffSanders.tv

1. To define my promise to the world – I will foster passionate achievement in others.
2. To clarify who I am and what I do – like any self-described entrepreneur, I have more ideas than I know what to do with. Therefore, I need a vehicle to keep myself on the ground, helping to define, to myself and others, exactly what I care about, what I am involved in, and how I will make enormous progress toward my life’s passions.
3. To serve as a hub for my other entrepreneurial projects – more specifically, I am in the process of building many new websites and JeffSanders.tv will provide one central location for all of my many ventures.
4. To facilitate opportunity – with just one website available as the metaphorical train depot for my life, anyone can drop by, learn more about me and, potentially, head off to an unknown destination as we find opportunities to work together.
5. To make a ding in the universe – Steve Jobs was many things to many people, but to me he was brilliantly fearless. His bold statement that he wanted to make a ding in the universe really struck a chord with me. I also want to make waves, start a movement, and cause people to rethink how they live their lives. Though my personal brand site is incredibly minimalistic, it is also quite bold. That is what I strive for in every project: simplicity and boldness. With those two elements I believe I will accomplish a few things in this lifetime that will ultimately amplify my significance.

Moving Forward

JeffSanders.tv is a new vessel for me to express my desires, goals, and aspirations with the world. I hope you will join me on this adventure. Stop by and take a look. Also, feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions or feedback.

• JeffSanders.tv Facebook Fan Page
• JeffSandersTV on Twitter
• Jeff Sanders on LinkedIn

In case you were wondering why I purchased the .tv domain instead of .com . . . JeffSanders.com is currently priced at $698. JeffSanders.tv was only $34.

And yes, I will have a podcast in 2012, but not on this site. Stay tuned on Twitter for more info.

By the way, this site, Graduated and Clueless, will remain online indefinitely. The blog posts are going nowhere, though I cannot guarantee how much more I will continue to add new content to this site. I have a few ideas up my sleeve that I need time to develop. I hope that this website has served a great purpose in your life, or at least inspired you to pursue something significant.

If you would like to download my book for free, it will remain online as an eBook and audio book. I’m still pushing to get it published as a “real book” and I will make that announcement sometime in the near future.

Thank you for being a part of the Graduated and Clueless family. I sincerely appreciate your support.

Time for more bold action!Similar Posts:

• Something BIG is Coming . . .
• How to Start Your Own Blog
• Meet the World’s Greatest Goal Setter – Sneak Peak into My Book (Part 7 of 12)
• New Mission, New Look, New Opportunity
• Committing to Personal Growth

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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This is a guest post from Bryan Cohen: author, actor, and comedian.

Bryan Cohen here, guest poster and author, promoting my new book The Post-College Guide to Happiness for The Happiness Blog Tour. I’m giving away free digital review copies of the book and doing a giveaway for paperback copies, audio copies and even a Kindle Fire! Read on and check out the info below the post.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

- Helen Keller

Doesn’t the past seem to suck sometimes? We’re just sitting around, minding our own business and then something reminds us of a long-felt regret. We try to push the regret away. It might be a past love who we think about from time to time. It might be an opportunity we missed out on. Maybe it’s even a decision that we are still paying for today. No matter what we do, it seems like that past event or relationship continues to dog us from time to time.

I’ve heard hundreds of variations of the “When one door closes, another opens,” phrase, but I think this Helen Keller version takes the cake. I used to scoff when I heard the general “door opening” quote, because I never seemed to see the silver lining, the open door, the next opportunity, whatever it was. I just continued to wallow in my misery and watch the closed door remain closed.

But what if I had just moved on? What if I tried something new and it became the new open door? What if the company I made that utterly failed was just a stepping stone, like Bill Gates first company? What if the girl who got away, wasn’t meant to be here and this other wonderful girl is the person I’m actually meant to be with? These are the questions I began to ask myself when these doors would close. Eventually, I started to look for the new doors of happiness. They weren’t always obvious and they usually required some extra work. Once I found a new path toward happiness, I tried to walk as far as I could on it. By the time I had traveled all that distance, the new door was open and the old one was long gone.

But I’m a sentimental soul. I still think of my regrets and past mistakes from time to time. How do I deal with these bubbling feelings of negativity when they crop up? I remind myself of the parts of those mistakes that I’m grateful for. Every mistake and challenge that takes you down a notch is a teaching experience. Perhaps that person who broke your heart taught you the value of loyalty. Maybe that financial meltdown prepared you for a steady income for the future. That health scare? It taught you to watch your diet and exercise closely so it never happens again. All the parts of your past make you who you are today. Be grateful for how they shaped you and you’ll notice even more happiness doors opening in your future.

–

Bryan Cohen is giving away 61 paperback and audio copies of The Post-College Guide to Happiness and a Kindle Fire between now and May 7th, 2012 on The Happiness Blog Tour. All entrants receive a free digital review copy of The Post-College Guide to Happiness. Bryan hopes to give away at least 1,000 copies during the blog tour. To enter, post a comment with your e-mail address or send an e-mail to postcollegehappiness (at) gmail.com. Bryan will draw the names at the end of the tour. Entries will be counted through Sunday, May 6th.

Bryan Cohen is a writer, actor and comedian from Dresher, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 with degrees in English and Dramatic Art and a minor in Creative Writing. He has written nine books including 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids: First Grade through Fifth Grade, Writer on the Side: How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job and his new book, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 25,000 visitors a month to push past writer’s block and stay motivated.

Feel free to follow along with the tour at The Happiness Blog Tour Hub Page or on the book’s Facebook Page.Similar Posts:

• eBook Arriving April 5th!
• Adding Ultra Pizazz to Your Life – Sneak Peak into My Book (Part 8 of 12)
• Why I Started My Blog
• Edit My New Book and Get a FREE Copy! Details Below:
• 6 Steps to Become Happy in Life

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The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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You have less control than you think.

You have more control than you could ever imagine.

Both of these statements are true at the same time. The difference lies in which you believe at any given moment. As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.”

You don’t get to decide whether or not you go to college, or if you will become a published author, or if you will one day become a senator. Each of these great goals are decided by someone else or a bunch of someone elses. The Great Distinction, as I call it, is the division in life between the things you can control 100% versus everything else.

Due to massive technological innovation in recent years, many people now have power their never once had. This is both breathtakingly empowering and immensely daunting at the same time. Though you now have the ability to redefine your future, so does everyone else. What this means for you is that you get to decide who you want to be, up to a point. This breaking point is the division between what you can do for yourself and what others will eventually have to decide for you.

Your goal is to focus on the things you can control and work really, really hard to see them through – while simultaneously letting everything else go.

This can become a hazy discussion, so let’s dive in a little deeper and flesh this out.

What You Can Influence

There are many areas of life that you think you can control, but the end result is actually determined by another person, system, or natural force.

To get more specific, senators must be elected by voters; authors must be selected by publishers; college hopefuls must be allowed into the University of their choice by bigwigs with PhDs.

You might believe that you control whether or not you can get into college – or that you already did control that process. However, any college administrator knows that students never make that decision. Ultimately, the school has to accept their applicants individually and they can reject anyone that want, for any reason.

Where does that leave you?

You must influence the college administrators to let you in.

You must persuade the voters to cast their ballots in your direction.

You must network yourself into a publishing house and make deals behind the curtain to even have a chance in hell of ever getting your manuscript even skimmed over. Can you tell I’ve been through this process?

The end result in all of these situations is ultimately determined by another force outside yourself. You can work like mad to position yourself and still be turned away. Alternatively, you can use minimal effort and make big things happen. The trick is to know when you have control and when you don’t. Learn to recognize when you have given your all and when you can just let go. Acknowledge that you have done all you can – and relax.

This is tough for a control-freak like myself. The idea of letting someone else control my future is scary, unnerving, and disruptive to my goal achievement persona. However, knowing when to cool down and move on is just as important as knowing when you ramp up the effort and kick some butt.

This is a process. Your skill will improve with time. Just breathe.

What You Can Control

You do have more control than you think.

When things don’t go your way, how do you normally respond?

This is where most people give up, blame others, and become Negative Nancy’s for far too long.

It’s human nature to believe that your misfortunes are caused by other people. It’s easy to push the blame onto someone else. It’s easy to believe that you didn’t become successful because you had bad luck.

It’s not easy to look in the mirror at the person who has the power to fix the problem at hand. However, once you realize that you have the ability to make enormous progress, without anyone’s permission, the tables begin to turn.

Time to Move

From starting a blog, to running a marathon, to educating yourself with powerful how-to books – you have the ability to start and finish many, many things without a gatekeeper holding you back.

No one has to elect you mayor of the city to write a book on politics.

No one has to approve your daily schedule application to begin waking up at 5 am for a good workout.

No one has the power to stand between you and your dreams – except you.

Hard to Believe

It’s ridiculously empowering to realize that you have the power, right now, to begin working on your lifelong dreams. It’s so damn exciting to start work on something you have been longing to do, especially when the barrier of entry is zero.

If this concept is difficult to accept, I get it. It’s hard to believe that you can become a billionaire without a college degree – but it happens.

It’s hard to believe that homeless men can build businesses that change the world – but it happens all the time.

It’s hard to believe that the “rags to riches” stories are real – but the American dream is alive and well.

Just Start

Surprisingly, to begin this process all you have to do is start. Move in the direction of success and keep moving.

Hoping for success puts you in a weak position. Making real progress simply requires focused effort that begins now.

You can control more than you imagine. Don’t let the stuff that’s out of your control cloud your thoughts.

You can change your life today.

Just start.Similar Posts:

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• What Would You Attempt if You Could Not Fail?
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• 4 Strategies to Procrastinate More Intelligently

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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I heard Lou Holtz speak at a seminar last fall and he left me with a productivity tip that I have not forgotten, “Always ask yourself one question, ‘What’s important now?’”

This question runs through my brain dozens of times each day. I live by it. In the middle of any situation I can take a step back and realign myself with my most critical task.

This one question refocuses my efforts, energy, and direction. Asking the question bolsters my productivity, but most importantly, it greatly improves my effectiveness. In other words, I am getting more done and what I am working on is more essential than anything else.

Useless Activity

Most people spend much of their time doing stuff that just doesn’t matter. It’s either low-value or no-value activity. We think we’re busy because we are. Unfortunately, we are busy doing “stuff,” instead of making phenomenal progress on critically valuable activities. Watching TV, surfing the web, playing video games, reading gossip magazines, or taking part in any other useless activity you can imagine simply adds up to wasted time.

You may be doing things every day that offer value to your life or others. However, chances are that those activities are not the absolute most important things you could be doing.

When I am actively avoiding working on something, I find another less-important task to focus on instead – like cleaning. Though picking up my room and doing the dishes both need to happen at some point, do they really need to be addressed now? Doubtful. Chances are that my day will have more value if I work on that project I keep avoiding. This translates to first working on that task you fear the most. Then make time for everything else later.

“In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.”

- Robert A. Heinlein

Make Better Use of Your Time – Every Day

John C. Maxwell, famous leadership expert and best-selling author, said that your daily schedule is your most important success tool. In other words, what you do every day adds up to create the long-term success you desire. John even wrote a book that talks all about this stuff: Make Today Count: The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda.

I heard an interview with John a few years ago when he stated that he could tell if someone would turn out to be a success later in life by simply following that person around for one 24-hour period. Making small deposits each day into the areas of life that matter will add up to big results in the long run. This is the same concept discussed in Darren Hardy’s book, The Compound Effect, which is an absolute must-read for anyone wanting to make huge progress on anything.

Consistent Knowledge Action Get Results

Two weeks ago I returned to a daily schedule that I knew would change my life. I knew this because I used to do it, but I got distracted. I got lazy. I found excuses and then a few “reasons” to not stick to my plan. The reality is that I know what it takes to accomplish my goals, I just don’t do it. That’s the case with most people. Most of us already have all the knowledge we need to get great results, but we simply don’t do the work. Why? Because it’s easier to make excuses than to make things happen. It’s easier to blame others than ourselves. It’s easier to fail than succeed.

How did I manage to overcome all of this and discipline myself to make a change? I found something I wanted more than excuses. I wanted results. I wanted progress. I wanted to see things happen. In order to get those results I knew I had to change.

It could be something small, but nothing new happens unless something changes. I can make small changes every day. I can become a new person, but I have to start.

New Schedule

My new schedule has me getting out of bed at 5 am, working out, then eating a crazy healthy breakfast, and working on my most important task for the day. All of this happens before I leave for work. Sound busy? It’s not. Sound too difficult to pull off? It’s not.

I also go to bed a few hours earlier each night. This was the hardest part actually. I have to force myself to stop working and go to bed. I have found an early bed time works well because I am more awake, focused, and effective early in the morning.

Try a new schedule. Experiment. Shift around the most important activities until they have found their home in your day. Once you find your ideal schedule, each day will flow smoothly.

Find the Distractors

I have also cut out nearly every useless activity I could find in my life. I took one day and wrote down every useless thing I did and then made a focused effort to cut out each one of them over the course of the next few days. Some of the distractors included playing games on my iPhone, watching TV before bed, surfing Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and reading blog posts about topics that I didn’t actually care about.

I then found replacement activities for the things I eliminated. Instead of playing games on my iPhone, I read an eBook that I know is important now. Instead of watching TV before bed, I read. Instead of surfing the web, I work on what I’m procrastinating. Let’s get real, I only look at Facebook when I’m trying NOT to do something else.

Did you notice how most of my new activities involve reading? Yeah, I like to read. I read because I am looking for ideas. I am constantly searching for action-items that I can put to use in my life quickly. I read books and blogs to find innovative new ways to make progress on my current goals. I avoid reading or listening to advice on topics that don’t directly pertain to my current goals. This process is called just-in-time-learning, and it is one of the most vital factors in my recent boost in effective productivity.

Make Your List of 3

Brian Tracy calls this the Law of Three: make a list of the top three most valuable activities in your personal and professional lives. Ask yourself this question to get started, “If I could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be?” Write down your answer, then ask this question two more times.

This is a process, so expect it to take a few days of brainstorming and work. These top three activities should represent 70% or more of your total productivity. For more insight into this strategy I highly recommend Brian Tracy’s book, Eat That Frog!.

Recap

1. Identify everything you’re doing every day that is holding you back from success. You know what these things are – stop them.
2. Identify your Top 3 most valuable activities.
3. Create a new daily schedule that allows you to get up early and kick butt on those Top 3.
4. BONUS: In your daily schedule, incorporate time for exercise and reading personal development books. These two activities alone will change your outlook on life (and your results) almost immediately.

End Result

This stuff works. You will find peace in this process. It’s cleansing. Stripping out the useless activities will free your mind and daily schedule to pursue things you are passionate about. Get to it!Similar Posts:

• How to Properly Read a Book – 11 Steps to Capture ALL of the Best Content and Get Real Results
• The Theory of a Balanced Life: It’s Not What You Think
• The Power of the EvE Ratio + Bold Action
• How to Make Every Moment of Your Day Productive
• Achieve Excellence by Eliminating Mediocrity

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The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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This is a guest post by Lindsey Harper Mac, who specializes in writing about career building and professional development.

Motivation is an amazing force. It gives you the ability to work harder so that you can achieve greater things in life. You may want to pursue a degree in higher education as you continue to work full-time. But what happens when you lose your motivation? You lose your energy and ability to concentrate, and may have trouble finishing the task at hand because you can’t focus well. Learning how to motivate yourself can help maintain the drive that you need to stay on track and achieve your goals. The following suggestions can help. Keep trying until you find a few that work for you.

Plan Ahead

You will inevitably have moments when you feel unmotivated. You can get over them faster and regain your motivation if you prepare for them ahead of time.

Here are a few tips:

• Recognize the signs - You may be unmotivated when you notice that you are struggling to complete a routine task because you feel as though the task is not that important. Another common sign of lack of motivation is procrastination.
• Make a list - Write down the reasons for your motivation. You may want to get a bachelor’s degree to feel a sense of accomplishment or to be eligible for more jobs, or you may be working a full-time job while going to school so that your children have a better future. Each time you need motivation, read through your list as a quick reminder of why you should continue.
• Call someone - This may be your spouse, your best friend or a classmate. Find someone who is willing to be your motivator in critical moments. Talk to that person about your goals and motivators so that you can receive a pep talk when you need motivation.

Here are a few more ways to maintain your motivation.

• Make it fun - If you’re studying, play mind games to make it interesting. If you’re working, make up stories about the people who will benefit from your work. You can get a little silly with it, and the more you practice, the better you’ll be at keeping it fun.
• Find some role models - Think about someone you really admire. It may be a famous person who’s gone through some tough times or your mother or father who worked so hard for so many years to make your life better. Think about what your role models achieved, how dedicated they were and how you can be like them.
• Recognize your progress - This is highly important in keeping yourself motivated. At school, you have assignments and exams as built-in milestones. At work, you may need to be more disciplined about recognizing progress yourself. You might choose to reward yourself when you finish a major project or learn a new skill.

You have to work hard if you have lofty goals. Even when you’ve already accepted and embraced that fact, though, you may occasionally lose your motivation. We all lose motivation at some point, but you can learn to overcome this. Use a variety of tricks to help you stay focused on succeeding at what’s really important in your life, whether that is family, work, school or all three.

Lindsey Harper Mac is a professional writer living in the Indianapolis area. She specializes in writing guest posts on education and health. Currently, Lindsey is completing work on her master’s degree.Similar Posts:

• Top Four Things to Look For in Your First Job
• Putting Your Master’s in Business Administration to Work
• 6 Steps to Become Happy in Life
• Mastering the 80/20 Rule: How to Learn Only What You Absolutely Have To
• Help Yourself by Helping Others

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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I am an undeniably self-centered person. My goals and aspirations for the future are all about me. My past accomplishments are all about me. My life story is about me. Though that may seem logical, it’s off-base. My life is not supposed to be about me – it’s supposed to be about the difference I have made to others.

No matter how you slice the pie of my life, everything I have ever done has been at the expense of others for the glory of me. I have created a career path, a health plan, a success formula for building myself up to become the greatest me on the planet. However, as awesome as I may want to become I will never reach the height of my own potential without building up others.

Success in America is about personal achievement. As much of a fan as I am of personal growth, achievement, and development – all of that work is nearly meaningless – until you can optimize your gifts, talents, and abilities for the development of other people.

Don’t get me wrong – I love personal development. Doctors need to spend years in training developing themselves, so that they may one day use their skills to help their patients. Artists must hone their craft to one day sell beautiful works of art to the masses. Businessmen, athletes, teachers, administrators, homemakers, and chefs all must develop their greatest talents in order to offer up something of value to their target audience, those they can help the most.

Businesses survive by making a profit – but a true enterprise will thrive when it makes a difference. Likewise, your life will have true significance when you actively look for opportunities to engage with another person – doing whatever you can to care for, build up, and positively transform their life.

Here is a segment from Darren Hardy that truly inspired me to write this post. I believe he hit the nail right on the head.

“As a society I think we often misunderstand the word, success. No matter the means, ethical or not, our society celebrates those who obtained fame, wealth, power, and celebrity – and we call them successful. Success is often equated to an achieved status, not a measure of value or contribution.

We are taught early on in life to strive for success – to achieve this status, win the trophy, get the notable degree, land the big position, win the impressive title, acquire the big house, bring back the enviable vacation photos, and collect the cars, boats, jewels, and big bank account. And then when we are waiving from the mountain top having finally achieved these markers of success, we often still feel this stark emptiness inside.

What’s wrong? We might have acquired everything we ever wanted except the one thing that really matters: significance. We want to know that our lives meant something – that we’ve had a positive impact on the lives of others. And only significance provides us that. Success by itself cannot.

You see, success has come to be defined by self-focused achievements: a rank, class, position, or level obtained. Significance, however, is about the impact one has on others. Success is about what we get. Significance is about what we give. The interesting thing is you can be successful but not significant, but you cannot be significant without being successful.”

- Darren Hardy, Success Magazine, October 2011

Similar Posts:

• The Strangest Secret – One of the Greatest Lessons on Success You Will Ever Hear
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Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
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Jeff Sanders
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To avoid blatant hypocrisy this will be a short, yet powerful, post about minimalism. Enjoy.

The king of minimalism is Leo Babauta, blogger at zenhabits.net and mnmlist.com. He is also the author of multiple best-selling books, including Focus, which you can download for free. Leo has been an enormous influence in my life recently and I highly recommend that you check out his work.

In response to my own minimalistic revolution, I have been on a tirade for the last 6 months – extracting every bit of quality out of the areas of my life that matter while simultaneously stripping away everything that has lost all perceived value. From giving away over half of my wardrobe to the Goodwill and going paperless, to building a standing desk at home and at work, I am on a mission to identify what is important and give my life to it.

Minimalism is freeing. Getting rid of junk is revolutionary, whether it be superfluous material goods or excessive body fat. The process of reorganizing each area of your life will clear your mind and calm your nerves. It will bring clarity to your day that you otherwise could never experience. You don’t have to take on the 100 Challenge or sell everything you own, yet.

It’s your journey. Start small and keep moving. Do less. Accomplish more. Ask yourself what the simplest answer is to any problem at hand. Chances are that the most simplistic answer is the right one.

My Recommendations to Get Started:

1. Read about minimalism. You can start with one of Leo’s books.
2. Donate, recycle, or throw away all of your junk at home, at work, and online. Think of this as spring cleaning.
3. Eat a raw vegan diet.
4. Go paperless.
5. Early to bed, early to rise. Try 10 pm and 5 am, respectively.
6. Identify your top 3 priorities at work and at home. This is Brian Tracy’s Law of Three method.
7. Develop a few key habits to successfully repeat steps 1-6 for the rest of your life.

Full disclosure: these recommendations are based on successful habits I have built into my own life. Though I may not hold to them 24/7/365, this is my success system for living a minimalist lifestyle. It works. Trust me.Similar Posts:

• Accomplish More by Doing Less: The Art of Minimalism
• Top 3 Things a Recent Grad Should Do
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• Mastering the 80/20 Rule: How to Learn Only What You Absolutely Have To

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
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Jeff Sanders
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This is a guest post from Jemima Lopez, a freelance blogger and writer for Zen College Life.

More than any other activity, searching for a job has the singular ability to either completely demoralize or uplift the searcher, depending on the daily results of the search.  Recently I’ve been looking for a second job to supplement my income, and even with a steady first job I find that my mood will drastically swing up or down as potential employers call, don’t call, or totally ignore my application (and it’s been mostly the latter of the three).

The whole ordeal is trudging up memories of my first job search out of college, one marked by hours and hours of fruitless effort and an impressive, though ultimately irrelevant, resume submission rate of about two an hour.

By the end of my first job search I had probably submitted over 250 resumes (I was unemployed for several months after graduating).  Why hadn’t any of my professors told me about this?  Why did I even go to college?  Such were the thoughts that ran constantly through my mind — and as my search for a second job continued, I found those thoughts creeping back into my mind.

Until I Changed My Approach

Students typically believe that getting a job is a fairly straightforward, uncomplicated process that happens almost as if by magic: graduate, submit resume, impress employer in interview, accept job offer for position that pays $25 an hour.

If you’re reading this, I probably don’t have to tell you that it’s not that simple, not that fair, and definitely not magical.

At the end of the day, it takes more than a great resume to get a job.  I attribute getting my first job almost entirely to luck because, thought I did submit more resumes than I care to admit, I left it at that.  No phone call follow-up, no conversation with a manager.  Nothing.  Just me, sitting in my room, looking at my phone every five minutes hoping for a response.

If you choose to get a job working for someone else (and yes, it is a choice), you have to go above and beyond what you think is necessary, above and beyond what employers are expecting.  Find ways to circumvent the application process, or at least shortcuts through it.

Think about it: You aren’t the only person applying for the job you want.  Hundreds of other people with resumes almost exactly like yours are also applying.  Any given company will be able to choose a candidate blindfolded because all the applicants are so over-qualified; sometimes good resumes and candidates aren’t even considered.  It’s just a fact.

So You Have to Change Your Approach

Wondering what else you could be doing?  Perfect.  The next time you apply for a job, remember this one strategy:

Research Everything – Then Act

A good rule of thumb is this: The only way to differentiate yourself in anything is to be the best.  Think you know enough about the company you’re applying to? Learn more.  Spend two hours browsing the website, reading bios of the executives, finding out who the person interviewing you will be and reading his or her bio — map out your shared interests, experiences, anything.  Know what the company is about better than the people who work there: what’s their annual revenue? When were they founded? What exactly do they do? Know how much other people at the company make and walk in prepared with a comparable salary requirement.

Get a Meeting

Find someone in the company you can connect with and buy that person lunch.  If you can swing it, try to get someone who is in some way responsible for hiring.  Pick his or her brain about the company, how he or she got to be in the position he or she is in, how he or she likes working for the company.  Anything.  Everything.  Use the research you conducted to guide your questions.  Companies want to hire people who are enthusiastic about the company.

Getting a job isn’t supposed to be easy, but you can always use the search as an opportunity to expand your network and fine tune your skills.  Don’t be afraid to deviate from the norm.  Even if it doesn’t work, you’ll have made a name for yourself, and that goes a long way in the business world.

Jemima Lopez is a freelance blogger and writer who writes for Zen College Life, the directory of higher education, distance learning, and best online schools. She welcomes your comments at her email: lopezjemima562@gmail.com

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Darren Hardy

This list is simple. It consists of just a few good men – men who have inspired greatness in my life.

If you are feeling stuck – find someone to pull you out of the funk. Look for those individuals who are plowing forward, full steam ahead.

The men on this list are just a few of many. From all of the books, documentaries, seminars, coaches, teachers, friends, colleagues, and even strangers in my life, I have been, and will continue to be, inspired.

You don’t have to know someone personally to have a mentor. Simply find someone who is breaking ground and learn all about them and what they do. It won’t take long until you have been inspired too.

By the way, this list is not in any kind of priority order.

10 Great Men

1. Brian Tracy – Goals – Because of Brian, I set goals for every day, week, month, year, and beyond. I have more lists of goals than I know what to do with. You will know you’ve reached this point when you have a list to organize all of your lists! But seriously, Brian Tracy is the king of goal setting, sales, and business. He knows how to get things done and he has the discipline to do just about anything.

2. Dave Ramsey – Finances – Because of Dave, I stopped borrowing money and revolutionized  how I spend money. Four years ago I was first introduced to Dave thanks to my parents who bought me his book for Christmas. I refused to read it for months. Once I did, everything changed. My financial life will never be the same. Reach out to Dave’s teachings and revolutionize your financial future.

3. Darren Hardy – Success – Because of Darren, I am committed to excellence in every area of my life. Thanks to Darren’s incredible efforts as Publisher of Success Magazine, as well as his many other endeavors, he has inspired me to take on my own entrepreneurial dreams and make them outstanding. As a man who became a self-made millionaire at age 27 and who has yet to reach the age of 40, Darren has achieved more in his life than most people on earth ever will. Learn from him. Subscribe to his magazine. You won’t regret it.

4. Michael Hyatt – Leadership – Because of Michael, I am a better author and leader. Michael is the Chairman and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. He is a phenomenal blogger, speaker, and organizational guru. He taught me how to pursue publishing companies to get my book noticed, among many other strategies that he freely shares on his blog.

5. Dean Karnazes – Fitness – Because of Dean, I now run ultramarathons. If you haven’t heard of Dean, you are in for a big surprise. Dean is a running god. He truly is one of the most gifted athletes on the planet and he is solely responsible for my running obsession. Read his first book, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, and get hooked. It won’t take long.

6. Dave Foster – Spirituality – Because of Dave, I have a voice for my faith. Dave is a serial church planter, pastor, and author. He dares to challenge conventional religious wisdom and he frequently opens my mind to who God is and what role I play on this earth. If you are in need of a spiritual awakening, Dave is the man for the job.

7. Shaun Monson – Animal Rights – Because of Shaun, I am a vegan. Shaun is the director of the groundbreaking documentary, Earthlings. I’m not shy about my health nut persona. I love being a vegan and I love how Shaun’s movie was the turning point in my nutritional life. I’m not going to ask you to watch his movie because I think it will help you – I am demanding it. Watch it. Watch it again and again until the message breaks your heart and changes your life. The truth is out there – you just have to be willing to listen.

8. Michael Arnstein – Diet – Because of Mike, I eat a low-fat raw vegan diet and I run a long, long way. Like Dean Karnazes, Mike Arnstein put a face on my ideal dietary system and lifestyle. I eat what Mike eats, the 80/10/10 diet, which is based on a HUGE amount of fresh, organic fruit. Really, it is the best of the best. Mike is a freak when it comes to his non-stop running and fruit-eating, but that’s what makes him so great.

9. Dan Miller – Careers – Because of Dan, I am pursuing my life’s calling. Dan is a best-selling author and podcaster. He also wrote the forward to my book. Dan’s message is simple and profound. Do what you love, every day, all the time. Do what you’re great at doing. Do what you were meant to do. If you don’t know what it is, find it. Don’t stop until you do. That message can take a while to sink in and it will certainly take some creativity to apply your passion to a model of work that suits you, but it’s worth it.

10. Tim Ferriss – Business – Because of Tim, I started an Internet business. I was just out of college and working one of my first jobs when I came across Tim’s book, The 4-Hour Workweek. Among Tim’s many brilliant ideas, this book expanded my brain more than I was ready for at the time. I am still to this day applying lessons I learned in that book more than four years ago. Follow Tim Ferriss. He is not a fad. He really is that good.Similar Posts:

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This is a guest post by Jaime A. Heidel, a natural health and wellness blogger.

Cold and flu season is here. With mounting evidence surfacing on the dangers of flu vaccines, many are turning to natural remedies instead. These five ways to prevent colds and flu not only boost your immune system but keep you healthy year round!

1. Dietary Changes

When it comes to preventing colds and flu naturally, it’s best to work from the inside out by changing your diet. Processed foods such as French fries and microwaveable burritos may taste good but they offer no nutritional value. When your body lacks nutritional support, your immune system weakens, making you more susceptible to colds and flu.

To ward off sore throats and sniffles, load up on whole food fare such as:

• Fresh Vegetables and Fruit
• Nuts
• Dried Cooked Beans
• Whole Grains

2. White Tea

You may have heard green tea can boost your immune system but have you heard of the health benefits of white tea? White tea is very high in inflammation-fighting antioxidants that boost your immune system and give you the support you need this time of year. White tea also acts as a natural antibacterial, which can shorten the duration of colds and flu.

When choosing your tea, opt for organic. Loose leaf white tea is even better than pre-packaged. It’s full of flavor and the antioxidant content is much stronger for an immune system-boosting punch!

3. Oregano Oil

When you think of oregano, you probably picture a pasta dinner but did you know it can help prevent colds and flu? Oregano oil is a powerful volatile essential oil, which acts as a natural antibacterial and antifungal. As soon as you feel a cold coming on, pour 5 drops of this essential oil into four ounces of warm water and drink through a straw.

It will send that bacterial infection running for the hills!

Rubbing some oregano oil and vitamin E on your feet before bedtime will have the same effect. Wear socks and let the oregano oil create heat and draw the toxins from your body as you sweat.

4. Garlic and Honey

Feeling a little under the weather? At the first sign of sniffles, try this simple natural remedy: Get a small bowl, a spoon, a clove of organic garlic and some natural honey. Chop up the clove of garlic into small pieces, mix it into a teaspoon of the honey and swallow. Don’t chew.

The secret germ-fighting ingredient in garlic is allicin, which acts as a natural antiviral strong enough to knock out a cold before it can slow you down. The honey soothes sore throat, quiets cough and helps the garlic go down easy.

5. Vitamin D

One of the most common vitamin deficiencies is vitamin D. According to studies, those suffering from a vitamin D deficiency often experience frequent colds and flu.

The best way to get your daily requirement of vitamin D is to get 15 minutes of sun exposure during peak times of the day (between 11am and 1pm). Adding a vitamin D supplement to your diet may also help offset a deficiency and help boost your immune system naturally.

Preventing colds and flu is as simple as making some dietary changes and adding a few natural remedies. Over-the-counter cold and flu remedies only mask the symptoms. These natural remedies get to the source of the problem and keep your immune system strong.

Jaime A. Heidel is the founder of I Told You I Was Sick, a website dedicated to helping those suffering with mystery symptoms find natural ways to heal.Similar Posts:

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This post was originally published on the news articles page of Anthem Education.

I distinctly remember finishing college and dreading the thought of reading another book. After spending countless hours toiling over textbooks, essays, and research assignments in the library, the last thing I wanted to do was pick up another book once I had a job in the real world. Ironically, since graduation I credit reading as one of the greatest factors in my personal and professional success. The practice of teaching myself skills, seeking additional knowledge, and staying on the lookout for growth opportunities has fundamentally shifted my life in the direction of exponential achievement. This outlook on life, which has produced phenomenal results, began in school.

It Starts in College. Even if you love a topic, the required reading of a textbook as a homework assignment in school can be a draining experience. However, like most challenging tasks, you greatly appreciate the hard work long after it’s over. The academic challenges of college honed my skills in reading, writing, and research while simultaneously refining my disciple to meet rigorous deadlines. The real world requires these exact same skills. Academic and career education can be the best training ground for life on your own and life as a new employee.

Personal Development Becomes Necessary. Self-improvement is essential in life outside of the college bubble. While academic environments will force you to learn more and grow, jobs in the real world will ask you to repeat the same tasks and use a limited set of skills over and over again. The only way to grow in your career will be to devote yourself to continual learning on your own. You will quickly discover that a passion for becoming the best in your industry will set you apart from those who are only there to collect a paycheck. Personal development, at its core, is an inner passion to become the best version of you by making forward progress on a daily basis. If you commit to personal growth you will eventually surpass all of your co-workers and former classmates in your field. You can get started now by simply picking up a recommended book in your industry.

Not All Readers are Leaders, but All Leaders are Readers. Former President Harry S. Truman had it right when he commented that all leaders are readers. It’s simply the truth. Those who lead their industry, manage their departments, and start and grow businesses are all leaders who spend a significant amount of time growing their minds. Non-fiction books that enlighten you to fresh ideas about your career field are the best place to get started. You will undoubtedly expand into other genres, but start with the skills and knowledge that get you noticed by the right people at work.

Make the Time. It would be foolish to not discuss the greatest challenge that most people face when it comes to reading, finding the time. Let’s knock this one out quick: don’t find the time, make it. You will have to prioritize reading, at least 30 minutes a day, in order to make a dent in the infinite pile of reading material available to you. I would highly recommend you read more than an hour a day, but start small and work up to it. Don’t forget you can always listen to audiobooks in the car, while working out, or while doing household chores. It doesn’t take much to prioritize something than can change your entire life trajectory.

Reading may seem like a pain at the moment, but when you allow yourself the time to expand your mind with material that inspires you, it won’t be long before you are hooked. Personal development is my drug of choice. I am an achiever by nature but an avid reader by choice. Make that same choice for yourself and I firmly believe you will have a similarly profound experience.Similar Posts:

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Six months ago I changed the way I read and it has made an enormous difference. I used to read a book and then put it on my bookshelf, never to return to it again. Now, reading is a process. I have a system that allows me to get the most out of everything I lay my eyes on and the results speak for themselves. I have extensive notes, action steps, scheduled activities, and a stack of new books ready and waiting for me.

The best books I have are the ones where I can pull them off the shelf and tell someone else exactly how my life changed because of that book. Whether it’s a new financial system, marathon training plan, or career path, I have dozens of books that have changed my life and the only reason that happened is because I took action based on what I read.

Don’t forget to check out my list of recommended reading.

“Knowledge without action is personified in the over-educated broke and broken who wander listlessly among us.”

- Dave Ramsey

Your New Reading Plan

1. Buy a Non-Fiction Self-Help Book – Let’s get real, fiction books don’t get results, they just entertain you. The goal here is to change your life – not distract you for hours, no matter how amazing the book may be.

2. Find a Place to Read with Zero Distractions – Multitasking is a myth. When you read, just read. Don’t do anything else.

3. Schedule a 30-60 Minute Block of Time to Read – Early morning or late evening is best. If you can read twice a day for 30 minutes, that’s even better.

4. Bring Your Supplies – book, pen, notebook, highlighter, and a laptop/iPad/computer for research, if needed.

5. Begin Reading -  Take vigorous notes and highlight anything that catches your eye.

6. Finish the Book Within 1 Week – Don’t let the book drag on for too long. Get the info and move on quickly.

7. Digitally Record All of Your Notes – I prefer Evernote, but you should be recording the important stuff somewhere.

8. Look Through Your Notes and Highlight the Top 3 Action Points – Three is plenty. Anything more than that and you’re more likely to not do anything.

9. Schedule Time on Your Calendar to Act on those Top 3 – This is critical. Schedule what matters and you will have no choice but to work the rest of your life around these important tasks.

10. Follow-Through and Get Results – AKA: do what you said you would do. Find an accountability partner if need be. I use post-it note reminders constantly and I carry a 3×5 card in my pocket every day with the most important task to accomplish written on it.

11. Repeat Steps 1-10 every Week for the Rest of Your Life – Reading is not just for children or students. Make habitual choices to read and work it into your lifestyle. Years from now you will see huge rewards and you’ll wander what life would have been like if you had never started this incredibly journey.Similar Posts:

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This is a guest post by Lindsey Harper Mac, who specializes in writing about career building and professional development.

Maybe you went back to school for a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) to leap past the competition on the corporate ladder, or maybe you weren’t quite ready for the ‘real world’ after earning your Bachelor’s degree. Either way, you’ve made it through, and it’s time to launch your career. Where should you send that newly-polished résumé?

Manufacturing: You didn’t learn about business ethics, marketing, and operations strategy just to end up on a factory line. Luckily, the manufacturing industry needs people to develop the vision, manage employees, and balance the books for the nation’s automobile manufacturers, food producers, and furniture builders. Use your MBA to your best advantage. For instance, financial news corporation Bloomberg reports that GM is back on top as the global leader in automobile production, as the vehicle sales rose 10 percent for a second year in a row. It just makes good business sense to ride that wave.

Natural resources: Bloomberg also reports that iron mining and natural gas production are on the way up. No one is suggesting you tuck a pickax under your arm and head for the fields; however, someone needs to keep track of operating procedures and the best ways for a company to turn a profit year after year. With the going green trend, a love for and responsibility towards preserving the environment can be a marketable skill.

Service industries: You may have joked about flipping burgers, but the same roles required in manufacturing need to be filled in the parent companies of service industries, such as restaurants and retail stores. Use your graduate degree to help develop new products, plan for expansion, or maintain industry leadership. Show that remodeled neighborhood bistro how to attract new clientele, or be at the forefront of the fashion industry in a boutique that makes headlines for its innovative and affordable designs.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

Technology: We’ve gone through the ages of personal computing, the development of the Internet, and the explosion of social media. Someone needs to fill Steve Jobs’ shoes and show us the way to the next great thing – why not you? Whether you get your feet wet at a small startup and take the company global or you help an industry giant remain at the forefront, get your creative juices flowing and your ideas in front of people who can help make a difference.

Nonprofits: As you search for a job that best matches your abilities, education, and interests, you can be productive with your free time and volunteer for an organization whose mission you support, such as a local nonprofit. In addition to keeping your hard-won skills sharp, you will be afforded the chance to give something back to your community. Many nonprofits are small enough to provide experience in a variety of positions, allowing you to broaden the expertise you bring to the table during an interview.

Entrepreneurship: There’s no better place to put your leadership, venture strategy, and organizational behavior skills to work than in your own company. Aside from being the boss, having your own company is the best way to be the key decision maker, diversify your income stream by working with a variety of clients or industries, and greatly increase the chance that you will be doing only what you love.

Let the years you spent pursuing your graduate degree really pay off for you. Do your research, stay apprised of news reports and trends, and before long, you’ll find a great company eager to utilize your talents.

Lindsey Harper Mac specializes in writing about career building and professional development. She blogs on behalf of Colorado Technical University.Similar Posts:

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Have you ever wandered what separates those who are consistently successful from those who fail for a living? It seems somewhat obvious and yet illusive at the same time that certain people have characteristics which set them apart from the crowd. Some people just “get it” while others just don’t. What’s the difference? More importantly, are you one of those few people who will be abundantly successful?

Simple answer to the last question: you will be one of those successful people if you know and apply the greatest personal development lesson ever told.

The greatest lesson won’t blow your mind at first. In fact, it may seem so obvious that you will blow it off and return to life as normal. So be it. That’s your choice.

However, if you listen carefully and choose to apply the lesson discussed here, your future will open up like a vast ocean. You will literally be able to accomplish whatever you choose.

Earl Nightingale

The Strangest Secret is a book and audio program, written and recorded in the 1950s by Earl Nightingale. Earl was an American motivational speaker and is widely known now as the founder of the modern-day personal development industry. He is the architect of achievement, the grandfather of goals, and the CEO of success itself.

If long-term success and achievement is one of your goals, Earl’s 30-minute recording you are about to hear is going to rock your world.

First Take

When I first heard these words I literally couldn’t sit still. I got so excited about changing my life that I began reading voraciously. I searched for every seed of knowledge available and absorbed wisdom wherever I could find it.

I hope you have the same reaction. I believe you will. I believe that you will fully grasp the concept and embrace the message. You may have to listen to it a few times. You may have to hear it once and then come back to it in a few months before it clicks. Once it clicks, game over. You will be be on a warpath of daily success. Let me know when you begin that journey. I’d love to hear about it.

Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret”

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Photo Courtesy of cgarrett

Here’s the pink elephant in the room: I talk to myself . . . out loud . . . everyday . . . all the time. I have full-on conversations and sometimes I ask and answer my own questions as if I’m speaking for two different people. Weird? I’ll let you be the judge. Socially acceptable? Nope. Effective as a tool for productivity and emotional sanity? Most certainly, yes.

I can’t remember when I first began talking to myself. I can only assume this personality trait evolved as a coping mechanism for some childhood trauma, of which I have no memory. I talk to myself whenever I’m alone: in the car, the shower, at work, while walking my dog, running, and any other situation in which I feel that know one else will notice.

The reality is that I prefer talking to myself over most people. Am I just that arrogant? Probably. But, I will say that the benefits seem to far outweigh the alternative of keeping my thoughts in my head or simply on paper. The audibility of my mind brings out more genius than you would ever imagine.

The Science

According to a poll by Nottingham Trent University, research subjects felt that is was legitimate to audibly communicate with others, but not with themselves. However, when asked to try a little self-talk, those same subjects noticeably decreased their own stress levels.

Dr. Adam Winsler of George Mason University deduced that kindergarten kids who talk to themselves are more confident, participating actively during class compared to their more introverted peers. By chatting with themselves, they are able to put their problems into perspective and reflect upon their past actions. Dr. Adam says “private speech” was essential in childhood development and should not be censured, but rather heartily embraced and encouraged.

- HealthMad.com

3 Strategic Benefits of Talking to Yourself

1. Audible Thoughts are Different Than Other Thoughts

When you allow yourself to literally speak your mind you will most likely tap into a genius that you would otherwise never have access to. It’s hard to put a number on it, but I would argue that I have considerably more moments of brilliance during a rant than during a writing frenzy. I believe that some of the smartest things I’ve ever come up with, or the best ideas I’ve ever had, came as a result of allowing myself to speak one-on-one with me.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

2. It’s Therapeutic

Much like journaling or writing in a diary helps to get your inner thoughts out of you head, speaking out loud lets your emotions fly freely. Open up. Scream, yell, cry, laugh, and embrace your emotional journey. The mind is a complicated mess of trillions of neurons firing in an infinite number of directions at any given moment. That’s a lot of potential traffic jams. Give yourself the freedom to express your innermost thoughts in every way possible. This is especially effective if you are typically a reserved, shy, or introverted person.

3. Problem Solving Skills Increase Dramatically

In college, the capstone project for my Theatre degree was to direct a play. I had been in rehearsal for weeks and found myself with a dull performance. I decided to spice things up and make my actors perform the entire play as normal, expect for one small change. Every thirty seconds they had to spontaneously alter their character’s speech pattern – not their dialogue or blocking – just their accent. This one small change gave their characters completely new personalities, new movements, new interactions, and a completely new perspective on what they thought they knew. After an hour of this we ran the show one more time as “normal.” Needless to say, what transpired was anything but normal. The energy, personality, and character development was oozing out of them. The entire show changed in just sixty minutes of vulnerability.

Were the actors talking to themselves? Sort of. What they did was alter what came out of their mouth. They didn’t hold back. They let themselves experiment with all new possibilities, even the ones that seemed too outlandish to ever make any sense. The end result was nothing short of phenomenal.

Am I advocating that everyone begin talking to themselves like the loonies at psych wards? Yes. Don’t get me wrong, I respect crazy people. Just check out Apple’s famous commercial and you’ll see what I mean.Similar Posts:

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This post was originally published on The Professional Intern.

Whether your school begins handing out iPads like gummy bears or not, you need to get your hands on portable educational devices, NOW. The world moves fast – we all know this – but textbook publishers have been hesitant to update their archaic system until Apple basically forced them to with the introduction of iBooks Author. Textbooks will now be digital, update on the fly, and include everything from traditional text and pictures to sound effects and feature films.

What does this mean for you?

For one, an educational opportunity of a lifetime. Let’s break down the basics:

3 Benefits of Embracing the Educational Technology Revolution

1. Just-in-Time Learning

iPads, Nooks, Kindles, iPhones, Droids, and the like are all opportunities to get the latest information in your brain faster than ever before. College professors will love to teach you out-dated theory that they learned three decades ago, but few of them can tell you what is happening right now in their field of study. You have the chance to teach yourself what you need to learn, when you need to learn it. Employers will want you educated on current events, whether your teachers do or not.

2. You Will Know More Than Everyone Else – After School

If you have yet to set out into the real world you are in for quite a shock. What I experienced was nothing less than a blow to the brain, so-to-speak. What I found was that the rest of the world (those not recently in college) moved slowly, thought even slower, and worst of all, had no clue how to get stuff done. What I mean is this: assuming you embrace the digital revolution to its full capacity – you will leave college with more skills in technology, more knowledge of current events, and more ambition than the vast majority of your future co-workers put together. The world needs your ambition and your tech-savvy know-how. Stay current. Stay smart. If you do, the sky will literally be the limit for what you can achieve.

3. You Can Lead Your Field Faster Than Anyone Else Ever Has Before

Those who rise to the top of their organizations, start the fastest-growing businesses, and are recognized as thought leaders in their industry are all connected. They know the right people, the most relevant information, and have access to the best resources. However, they did not start out as filthy rich, networked gurus. They started off with the desire to get connected, the willingness to find out what they needed to know, and the discipline to work harder than everyone around them. The technological revolution that is taking place in education right now is an opportunity for you to surpass the rest of the world in your field and make a huge difference.Similar Posts:

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• Why I Started My Blog
• Top Four Things to Look For in Your First Job

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The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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This is a guest post by Lindsey Harper Mac, who specializes in writing about career building and professional development.

With unemployment still in the high single digits, being picky about your first job can seem impractical. However, there are certain job qualities you should lean toward when searching for potential positions. Even if you have been out of work for an extended period of time, it might still be in your best interest to hold out for a job that exhibits the following characteristics, rather than settle for one with no positive prospects. As a young professional, your time is highly valuable and should be used toward gaining professional experience rather than wasted in an unpromising position. To ensure a more fruitful job search, consider the following four areas in your first job.

1. Opportunities to Work with Different People

One of the most valuable lessons you will learn on the job will come from your interaction with professionals in various departments of your work. Having the opportunity to work with people in senior management positions and professionals in technology, sales, finance and other departments can help you get a better idea of how the company functions as a whole. This kind of collective experience within the company might also help you better market your own skills when you want to advance in the company, or in your search for new job opportunities.

2. Potential for Advancement Beyond Your Job Description

One of the worst mistakes you can make when beginning your career is getting into what’s known as a “dead-end job.” A dead-end job offers no opportunity for progression or advancement within the company, which can become frustrating and provide little motivation to work to the best of your abilities. When searching for your first job, look specifically for jobs that give you the opportunity to try new things and work your way up the corporate ladder.

3. Tuition Reimbursement

If you have always wanted to extend your education but feel discouraged by the high price of college tuition, you should look for jobs that offer tuition reimbursement. Working for a company with tuition reimbursement can allow you to gain experience in your field and to develop the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in your industry. To balance both educational and career responsibilities, consider online education alternatives to study according to your own schedule.

4. A Manager Invested in Your Success

Although some managers may stray from their role as a mentor to the position of a dictator, you can also find managers who genuinely care about your success on the job, and who will actively strive to provide you with the tools and instruction you need to perform on an outstanding level. When searching for a job, look for managers who offer guidance and advice to new employees, work to ensure quicker understanding of the tasks involved, and encourage a greater opportunity for advancement within your career. Generally, you will want to look for a manager who treats his or her employees as apprentices rather than just workers below him or her.

When reflecting on these concepts, you will find that not a single one was focused on money. Although your salary should play an important role in whether or not you will stick with a job, it shouldn’t be quite as important for professionals who are newly entering the field. Focus on developing yourself as a professional first, and then you will earn the right to be selective about your salary.

Lindsey Harper Mac specializes in writing about education, professional and personal development, and career building. She writes on behalf of Colorado Technical University.Similar Posts:

• A New Year, A New You: Changing the Way You Look for Work
• Going Beyond the Resume
• Careers 101: Should I Sell Insurance?
• Don’t Be Like Tennessee – Finish College
• How Networking Can Jumpstart a Recent Grad’s Career

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
Follow @JeffSandersTV

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Here’s the goal: experience all life has to offer – especially the stuff that doesn’t fit into a neat little box. You will be able to make this happen more often with a well-balanced life. However, balance is not a daily activity. If anything, you should seek to balance out your life on an annual basis. What I mean is that it’s ludicrous to think you can give equal weight to your health, relationships, business, spirituality, money, and career every single day. It’s just too much. So, how does it work? Projects and priorities. It all starts with knowing what you want to accomplish and intentionally scheduling everything you can in advance. Some things can be done in huge chunks (like cleaning out your apartment or completing a 30-day trial on a new diet), while other things (like making time for your significant other or showering), have to be addressed much more frequently.

The Dilemma

The challenge you will face is the dilemma of the great decision. By making a choice to do one thing is also a choice to NOT do everything else. I can’t stress enough how important it is to grasp this concept when you are seeking to discover your life path. The natural tendency is to keep your options open. However, the necessary evil that accompanies this line of thinking is that you will never truly choose anything. You will always find a reason to not fully pursue something important because something else might come up. The end result is that you give mediocre effort to everything in an attempt to “balance” your life, but the results end up sub-par and extremely disappointing.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

In my own life this just may be the one factor holding me back more than anything else. I have a very hard time making decisive choices, mostly due to the fact that I get a thousand new ideas every day and I think that all of them are brilliant! Some of them are, but they are horribly distracting nonetheless.

Balance is all about the long-term. Make time in the next 12 months to address all of the necessary areas of life. On a daily basis your focus should be on one of those areas, not all of them.

The Action Plan:

1. Prioritize your top 3 goals for the next 12 months.

2. Schedule time in large chunks to complete each task (unless your goal requires daily activity throughout the entire year). This is a great way to form new habits, one at a time, over a long period of time.

3. Focus on the top goal for the next few months and make progress on that goal each and every day. This is crucial. Daily progress is nearly equivalent to guaranteed success. The goal is a good as done if you work on it every single day, without fail.

4. In between the big goals, make time for the smaller ones. Plan a day or two every few weeks to devote to the miscellaneous tasks that don’t seem to fit anywhere else. Make the small stuff a priority then. After all, life (and any big goal for that matter) is simple a compilation of a bunch of tiny priorities. Think big, start small, and keep moving.

 Similar Posts:

• How to Focus on What’s Most Important All the Time
• You’re Not Busy – You’re Distracted: How to Focus and Tackle Work that Matters
• How to Make Every Moment of Your Day Productive
• 4 Strategies to Procrastinate More Intelligently
• Baby Steps: Setting Achievable Goals

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
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Hi Jeff,

Thank God I found your website!

My name is Chris. I am 24 and from Poland but I studied in London and I have traveled to the US a lot. For the past 2 months I have been hunting for an entry-level marketing position at a small to medium-sized company (either in England or the US).

After sending out HUNDREDS of emails, resumes, cover letters, and connecting with dozens of professionals on LinkedIn, I think I am stuck.

I would love to hear your advice on what my next move should be here.

Best regards,

Chris

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Hey Chris!

Thanks for reaching out to me! The position you’re in is very similar to nearly every recent college graduate. My wife actually has a Master’s in marketing and tried to pursue getting entry-level positions right out of school but ended up with nothing. She has since found her calling as a teacher, but the circumstances around finding a marketing job hits close to home.

The reality is that sending out blind resumes is the worst way to find a job, as you have noticed first hand. What you will need to do, especially in marketing, is offer your services to a company by showing them how you can help them. If you look like a desperate job seeker who only wants to collect a paycheck and climb a corporate ladder, no one will care about you specifically.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

What I want you to do is target companies you want to work for and research them. Find out what they do and how they do it. Look at their advertising and public image. Then, make recommendations to them about what they could do to improve their image, make more money, or improve their customer service. Then, offer to be the guy that makes those things happen.

For example, if you have web design skills, you could offer to tweak their website for them, for free. Offer whatever assistance you could to get their attention. When they realize you have great ideas and a new, fresh perspective on their company, your resume will float to the top of their pile.

Don’t forget to send all of your suggestions to a specific person. Locate a few email addresses of people who work at the company and target them individually.

I realize this is only one strategy, but it has proven to be very effective.

Remember, people get jobs – resumes get ignored. No one cares where you went to school or even where you have worked. They want to know how you can help them grow their business. That’s it.

Let me know how this strategy works out for you.

Jeff

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The Most Important Lesson in this Letter

. . .

No one cares about you.

Ouch! I know, that sucks to hear, but let’s get real. Think about the job search from the employer’s perspective. Why would they require a Master’s degree for an open position or demand you have 5 years or more of relevant work experience?

First, they want to know you have a brain.

Second, they want to know they won’t have to waste time training you on the basics of how their industry operates.

Third, and this is the most important, employers want to know how you will help THEM. Employers are not interested in your career trajectory. They really don’t care that you went to an ivy league school or that you had a killer internship in New York City during your summer break after college (although everyone will tell you that these two things are very important – believe me – they are almost meaningless).

You can prove you have a brain and that you understand their industry (and their company) by recommending ways to make their company better. Prove to them you’re smart, experienced, and willing to help by actually using your brain to help them directly. This method will always be more powerful than fancy resume paper.

What matters is how you will help them. That is the bottom line. That is the game. That is how employment works. That is also how entrepreneurship works. Businesses give customers what they want and customers give businesses money. Likewise, if job seekers give employers what they want, job seekers get money. The parallel is identical.

Focus on the employer. Give them what they want, every day, all the time, from the beginning.

If you are interested in one-on-one career coaching with me, including how to make your resume work, how to sparkle in an interview, or other strategies to get the attention of employers, let me know. I’m here to help.Similar Posts:

• Going Beyond the Resume
• Your First Real World Job 101
• Top Four Things to Look For in Your First Job
• Career Fairs: Hot Spot of the Unemployed
• A New Year, A New You: Changing the Way You Look for Work

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
Follow @JeffSandersTV

Subscribe

Here’s the goal: create a career that is more exciting to you than anything else you have ever created. Note that a career is a creation, not something you find or something someone else offers you. Your career is also your main source of contribution and it is your opportunity to create real, lasting value. If you don’t have a long-term career goal, now is the time to begin brainstorming. Write down ideas that inspire you, scare you, and energize you like nothing else. The sweet spot, the gem, your ideal career, will encompass your greatest skills and passions, while simultaneously overlapping with what other people want. Let me explain.

Meaning AND Money

Zig Ziglar is famous for saying, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” If you pursue a career that you love, but no one else cares about it, you will be a phenomenal starving artist. If you help other people by doing things you hate, you will be just like most people, making money but crushing your soul. You want the best of both worlds. Love what you do AND love that it provides a service to others in return for financial prosperity. The goal is meaning AND money. If you lack either one you will not have a career – you will have a hobby or a hellhole. Finding the middle ground is the challenge. It is as much an artistic endeavor as it is a skillful pursuit of willpower.

What your career could be is where the magic lies. Your career could be uplifting. It could be transformational. It could be the fantasy you imagined when you were four years old. The reality is that most people kill their own dreams. They let others squish their goals into tiny, meaningless chores that are only completed out of fear.

You have a choice. Your career could be the best thing that has ever happened to you – an opportunity to change the world. It could also be that thing most people exponentially regret as they age.

What Choice Will You Make?

I’m here to help you make the choice that results in meaning AND money. This is where my own career path has taken me. Through the 14 jobs I have worked and the 2 businesses I have owned, I have experienced my fair share of frustration and success. The path is wacky, but worth it.

Join me and the many others at Graduated and Clueless as we find the path of most resistance – the career you have dreamed about your entire life.

If this blog post is inspiring you, just click on the links to the left or at the bottom of the post and share it with someone who you think would find it valuable as well. I’d appreciate it and I think he or she would as well.

Your Next (or First) Steps

1. Find someone super successful in an industry that inspires you like none other. Examples:

• Mike Arnstein in the world of ultra-distance running and raw nutrition.
• Brian Tracy in the sales, speaking, and publishing industries.
• Gary Vaynerchuk in the wine, social media, and the crushing it to no end industries.

2. Jump in with your whole body, heart, and soul. Learn everything you can about how to become just like your superhero. Examples:

• Read the top 5 books in your industry.
• Join a club that gets you out in the community interacting with like-minded people (this could include the Internet, but try to meet people in person whenever possible).
• Pitch your services to someone successful in your industry and do whatever you can to work for that person directly, even if it’s for free. Apprenticeships like this can change the entire direction of your life.

3. Become a Thought Leader, meaning: have an original thought and tell someone what it is. Examples:

• Start your own business, like a blog, and share your thoughts with the world in a creative, authoritative, and meaningful way.
• Get on the mic and start your own podcast. Talk until someone listens.
• Pitch ideas to your boss and do whatever you can to bring on additional, creative responsibilities at the office. Authentic ambition is impossible to ignore and people that matter will take notice.

4. Create a plan that inspires and scares you at the same time. Examples:

• Based on what you learned about your superhero, do exactly what they did (at least as close as possible).
• Pick a career that will require tremendous growth on your part, as long as the final result is both possible and insanely cool.
• Be super specific as to what you want to be doing in 10 years. Make sure it makes you money and make sure you can create a very detailed path to get there. Smaller steps are MUCH easier to complete than monstrous leaps of faith.

5. Read “The Compound Effect” – Examples:

• Go to Amazon.com. Type in “The Compound Effect” into the search bar. Locate the book and buy it.
• Visit your local bookstore. Ask a salesperson where “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy is located. Pick it up. Buy it.
• Click on this link. Buy “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy.

I’m serious when I say that your career is either a hobby or a hellhole. It is so easy to waste years doing tons of stuff you hate. Yes, it does require a TON of work to create your ideal career. However, once you find it, the work won’t seem like work, it will actually become a labor of love. Wow. Sorry that is so cheesy. But seriously, it works that way. Writing this blog post for me was not difficult. It was not a pain in the butt and I don’t care that I spent two hours writing it. In fact, besides running a marathon, I really don’t know what else I would enjoy more at this very moment. That feeling is what I want for you. Find what drives you. Experiment until it hurts. Try and fail as much as it takes. If you give up, don’t sweat it. I gave up hundreds of times in the last week and I’m still here.

Send me your questions if this stuff is too wacky for you. I want to hear your story and I want to help. You could even consider utilizing my coaching program. Either way, fight for your dreams. The four year-old version of You would appreciate it.Similar Posts:

• Your Career is Not What You Think – Sneak Peak into My Book (Part 10 of 12)
• How to Achieve Your Ambitious Career Goals
• The Theory of a Balanced Life: It’s Not What You Think
• Continuing Education: The Value of Teaching Yourself After Graduation
• How to Become an Expert – Fast! (Part 2)

Don't forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff Sanders
Follow @JeffSandersTV