Okay. Let’s admit it—you hate your job. Or, at least, you find that stress from work is affecting your personal life for the worse. And when your work life has been constantly interfering with the satisfaction and quality of your personal life, it’s probably time for a fresh start and a new career.

So how does one actually change careers?

7 Steps to Changing Your Career

1. Assess If You Want to Change Careers
2. Choose a New Career
3. Find a Job Posting
4. Write a Resume & Cover Letter
5. Send out Applications
6. Interview with Employers
7. Volunteer If Necessary to Strengthen Your Resume

Assess.

First, consider whether you really hate your work, or whether you just had a bad day. Perhaps you enjoy the work that you do, but your boss is out to get you and make your life miserable—and this time you’re not imagining it.

If the company culture or your boss is the problem (and you enjoy your work), consider changing jobs rather than careers. Our free resume writing, cover letter, and job search tutorials will teach you how to change jobs.

If, however, you feel like the problem is that balancing accounts payable/accounts receivable is the equivalent to drinking chloroform, read on.

Choose.

The next step, now that you’ve decided that your current career is not where you would like to be in five years, is to decide where you want to be instead. Many people struggle with this step. Choosing what you actually want to do is often a very existential, challenging question. Generally, there are three key factors that bring happiness in the workplace: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Autonomy means you have some level of control of the work you do or how you do it. Mastery means you are constantly improving and learning, and that the work presents new challenges every day. Purpose means you believe you are offering something that matters . . . and that it’s making the world a better place. Meet these three criteria, and you will probably be very satisfied with your career.

Okay, so that’s the theoretical. What about the practical? Write out a list of all the things you would enjoy doing. A fantastic resource I recommend to all of my clients that are looking to change careers is MySkillsMyFuture, an intuitive website that allows you to enter in your current job title and see other options (and even what other jobs are paid comparatively!). But, to point out the obvious, as helpful as personality and career software can be, it is not the end all, say all solution. Ultimately, no one but you can tell you what you like to do. You must be the one to choose your passion and then follow it.

Find.

The next step is to understand the nitty-gritty requirements of the career path you are looking to break into. After all, before you start trying to catch dinosaurs, it’s probably a good idea to know what type of dinosaur net to bring, right?

To do this, look up at least 10 job postings. Go to SimplyHired.com and search for the job title of the career you wish to pursue, browse the job postings, and take notes on trends you see. What is it that all of these employers seem to be after? Does it seem like you are actually qualified for this career? This list you create is what you will use to create your new resume.

Write.

The next step is to write that darned resume. This is definitely one of the hardest steps—writing a resume is a lot of work and not easy. For brevity, I will not go into nuances of resume writing. Be sure to visit our free resume writing tutorial in our Advice Oasis to learn how to write a resume.

After your “umbrella resume” is finished, take out that list of job postings that you already found. Pick one that you fancy the most. Then, keeping your umbrella resume the way it is, create a new file, copy and paste your resume into it, and then tweak that resume so everything in the resume relates to the job posting. We do this because resumes are only as effective as they are targeted to the skill sets employers are looking for. Then, learn how to write a cover letter and compose a killer cover letter for the job posting.

Follow the instructions of the employer and submit your job posting. Then pull up another job posting and repeat the resume and cover letter process at least 2 times a day for 2 months straight. I know—it’s a lot of work. But the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t comes down often to simple numbers—there is a big difference between someone who submits 60 applications per month and someone who submits 5, because the 60 application per month person will be employed at her new dream job while the 5 application person won’t be. That’s the magic of probability.

Interview.

Great! 2 months have now passed. So you’ve sent 120 applications! If you’ve done everything right, you’ve probably had a few job interviews by now. Maybe you are even employed in your new career!

Or maybe you’re not. Maybe you have had 5 or so interviews but no job offers yet. If so, that’s great! It means you ARE qualified—employers do not interview with job candidates unless they are qualified. This just means that your interviewing skills probably need work. That’s actually very easy to fix. Be sure to visit our free interviewing tips section for help on interviewing if this is the case.

If you have gotten zero interviews, it probably means that you are either 1. not qualified yet for the career you are trying to break into or (and the more likely one) 2. Your resume and cover letter are not effectively selling your skills. If this is the case, then I would recommend getting a free resume critique from us so you can assess weaknesses in how you market yourself and break into your new career.

Reevaluate, Volunteer, Repeat, Keep At It, and You’ll See Results.

If the career you are trying to break into is really different than your current career, then it’s time to start volunteering and searching for internships to get your foot in the door and gain valuable work experience. Employers love free labor. And if you do a great job, you may just get a job offer!

I work for a small company that is only able to offer part-time hours to most of its employees. A couple weeks ago, just as cold and flu season was starting to set in and people were beginning to use their sick days, I had several additional employees with life issues. One employee was struggling to get to work. She and her boyfriend share a car and it had been in the shop for a week. Her mom had been driving her 20 minutes to the train so she could commute over an hour more.  She didn’t feel she was being supported at home to get to her job. She turned to me as her support away from home.

Another employee’s father was in the hospital. Not only that, there was a good chance his father’s cancer had returned AND his aunt had forced herself into a decision making role and was making choices this employee and his sister did not agree with. Amidst all this, his aunt/godmother passed away suddenly. He called me. “I need a day off.” “Ok, take the time you need,” I said, meaning it but knowing the stress of having fewer employees show up for their shifts.

A third employee’s girlfriend is pregnant. I’d asked him how things were going with the baby and he replied, “not good.” Knowing he’s not a talker, I simply asked him to let me know if I could be helpful in any way, even though I knew that would most likely take him out of work for a day here or there.

So, why give all these people leeway? Why give them space to call in? To not be at work? Because – and you all know it! – LIFE HAPPENS.

One thing I have learned in management is the importance of empathy. I know, it’s a big word. But, it’s important. It is particularly important as an employer to understand that life has its unexpected ups and down and to be aware that the people who work for you have more going on than just work.

And don’t just care about the big things. The smaller things, the life occurrences that come up, are important to pay attention to as well. Did someone get offered last minute tickets to see their favourite sports team? Does someone want to leave work early because they’ve got a lot of homework to finish? Take a look at this person’s track record. Have they missed a lot of work or do they show up? Do they ask for a lot of patterned time off or are they conscientious about their vacations? If they work hard and do well and are a valuable member of your team, ask yourself, “What can I do today to make sure this person is happy at work because I helped make another part of their life run smoother?”

Yes, you need to make the distinction between when an employee needs a little time and when this person becomes a liability to the functionality of the company, but it is by showing compassion to your employees and not just caring about the job they are doing that you are able to develop a dedicated and productive team.

Managers: how do you feel about allowing your staff to take time off for emergencies, life issues or even just because they’re doing a good job?  

Employees: is your manager compassionate about what you have going on in your life?  How does this effect your dedication to your manager or the company you work for?

This is the fifth post in a series of 5 posts about blogging: why to start, how to start,how to get readers, how to build community and how to monetize your blog.

There are so many ways to monetize a blog these days.  The catch is that most of these ways require a LOT of traffic.  More importantly, you need a fiercely loyal fan base and a very niche topic too.

In addition, you may have to invest some money customizing your site and having a professional make it look pretty.  Advertisers (and even some of your readers) will have expectations about your site’s looks and the value they want it to deliver if you’re going to have advertisements up there. Credibility is huge if you want to get paid people!

Beware: some readers will stop visiting your site or start to make snide remarks once you start to monetize.  This is the strangest thing to me considering that when you keep a blog that is 100% ad-free, they’re your biggest fans.  We all have to eat, right?!  Ask any blogger, this scenario is unfortunately a true story.  Therefore, if you’re new blogger who is writing with the intention of monetizing, you may want to carefully consider how, when and why you are monetizing your site.  Some people have better luck with advertising/monetizing right from the start.  Others do better with building trust and credibility for a few years before monetizing.

Here are 11 ways people make money online and a real example of each method.

1. Information Products: e-books, coaching and/or how to videos.

Info products are the easiest and quickest way to make money online.  If you know more about a topic than the average bear, you can package your information and sell it.  Creating an e-book is a great way to test this out.  You can even recruit others to contribute to your e-book.  Jairek Robbins, the son of world-famous Olympian and motivational speaker Tony Robbins, has some great information products out there.  I even own a few of his pre-recorded coaching programs.

2. Membership Site/Group: a site that provides premium content for a periodic membership fee.  Most membership sites include coaching, discussion forums, how-to video’s, expert advice, social networks and/or premium articles.

Pam Slim’s Escape Cubicle Nation Community

3. Public Speaking: Tony Robbins

Like I mentioned above, Tony Robbins is the man.  He is also a very unusually successful public speaker so don’t assume you can go from blogger to millionaire in a few years.  It may take decades.  For more advice on how to build a career as a public speaker, check out Jane Atkinson‘s blog, books and “Wealthy Speaker System.”

4. Event Host: Hosting networking or niche Meetups & events can be a fun way to make some money around the topic of your blog.

A great example of someone who is rocking in this space is Bump Club Chicago.  They hold luncheons, classes and social events for pregnant women and new Moms.  You can charge a ticket price, get some gift bag donors, food/alcohol sponsors and there you have it- revenue!

5. Online Brand Rep: This model is somewhat of a celebrity revenue model.  If brands and companies think you’re influential enough, they’ll pay you decent money to host Twitter parties, write sponsored blog posts on your blog, be a featured guest blogger on their blog, Tweet, run contests online and give out coupon codes to your following.  Basically you’re like a real-life human endorser for their brand and products.

I’m an example of a real-life (non-celeb) blogger who has done paid brand repping.  I’ve done this type of work and earned a free lap top, free designer clothes and cash!  This role can come in the form of sponsored blog posts (with a few relevant links somewhere within the posts) and hosting Twitter chats too.  Lots of Mommy Bloggers make a big living doing this since companies love reaching Mom’s whoa re typically the shoppers and household decision makers. Note: I only rep brands & products I personally love and would personally buy with my own money. If I can’t honestly suggest it to a friend or reader, I refuse the opportunity regardless of how much it pays.

6.  Dedicated Emails: niche-topic email newsletters that are typically sponsored or include affiliate links (see # 14).

Daily Candy & Daily Worth are amazing examples of dedicated emails. Daily Candy sends an email out daily about a cool store, salon, product or service in your area.  Businesses wait months to get on these emails because they go out to a very targeted audience.  This company makes a killing by promoting companies in a fun and somewhat disguised way to an trend-seeking audience.  Daily Worth is newer on the scene and sends a short (and surprisingly fun & entertaining) daily email on the topic of personal finance. They make money because each email is sponsored by a credit card, credit score or financial management company.

Tip: In any online business, your email list is your most valuable asset, so the earlier you start to build it, the better.  Even more bonus points if you collect demographic info.

7. Online Advertising: Banner Ads, Text Link Ads, Advertising networks

Honestly, this is what most people assume earns bloggers & online businesses the most money but it’s quite the opposite.  I wouldn’t bank on this method to pay your bills but I still need to mention it. Although over time you can earn steady cash from advertising, it may take years to buy more than a few cocktails with ad money.  Plus, no one likes a cluttered and banner-ad riddled site.  I’m not going to bother giving you real life examples of this one because we’ve all seen banner ads.  My guess is that if you’ve seen a lot of banner or text ads, you aren’t a huge fan of the site anyways.

8. Coaching:  If you write about a specialized topic and want to earn money by helping others, this method might be for you.  Although there is no legal requirement to become a certified coach, it is a good idea in many cases.

One of my favorite coaches who is truly earning her living thanks to her online presence is Michelle Ward, aka the “When I Grow Up Coach.”  Michelle is a career coach who specializes in helping those who are in creative fields. She offers a free session to new clients in addition to workbooks, workshops, e-courses and she even does paid speaking.

9. Productizing Bethenny Frankel is no doubt the queen of this monetization method!  Bethenny’s mission is to “democratize healthy living.” Most of us know Bethenny for her Skinny Girl Margarita’s (she now has Skinny Girl sangria and White Cosmo’s too!) but did you know she also has shape wear, a cleanse program, personal training package,  books, yoga DVD’s and more?  Bethenny has taken a simple niche & mission statement and created products around it.  Being on a reality TV show was likely what fueled her business success.

10. Lead Generation This method is especially popular for programs advertising going back to school for some type of specialty, career certification or graduate programs.  In addition, insurance companies, credit card companies and credit score websites use “CPL” to pay bloggers and website owners each time someone fills out a form and submits for information.

11. Affiliate Marketing is simply the art of getting paid a percentage of sales each time something is purchased via a link found on your website.  In other words, you place a link on your site that has a special code in it that is linked to you, and the retailer tracks click through and purchases.  You get a percentage of sales or flat commission each time something is purchased.  Some bloggers make a TON of money through affiliate marketing.  Be sure to carefully consider what you write about if this is something you are considering.  Generally, technology review sites make the most with affiliate marketing.  Other high-paying niches include writing about how to make money.  Note: some states have strict laws about affiliate marketing.  Check out sites like Commission Junction to find great products you can sell as an affiliate.

Check out John Chow, ProBlogger or Copyblogger for examples of people who are making a killing through affiliate marketing.  In addition, they also happen to teach people about making tons of money which is ironic.

 How else do you see people making money online?  How do YOU make money online?  We’d all love to know any tips or secrets you have!

Submit your career and life questions to nicole@mscareergirl.com!

Q: Like you, I was a finance major as an undergrad. Why finance? Because it was what all of the prestigious kids took, of course, and I wanted to waltz around Wall St in thousand dollar suits too!

I actually started undergrad as an English major (I have always had a huge passion and talent for writing) with the dreams of becoming an author someday, but somewhere along the way I was jaded with cynicism and decided it was impossible to have a “real” career as an author. That’s when I made the switch to finance and because I was “good” at it, I never felt the urge to look back.

Now I’m working at a bank in risk management and I hate it. I feel no passion for what I do and its really bringing me down.

Like you, I started a blog as a creative outlet. While blogging has given me a hobby outside of work, I long for a career that I can actually get engaged in.

I’m trying so hard to get into marketing but as I have no experience in the field.  I know if I could just get in the door for an interview I could land a job, but I’m having a tough time even getting in the door.

I’m reading great books about entrepreneurs and feel inspired but I’m also starting to feel hopeless.  Do you have any advice for me?

-Natalie

A:  I can ABSOLUTELY relate.  This was my life for 5 years.  EXACTLY.  Everything you said resonates with me.

A note from Nicole: Today’s post is a MUST READ for every young female professional out there! Regardless of what industry you are in- this doesn’t just happen in business, ask your friends who are teachers- you are likely to face some pressure (if not just plain old insecurity) about appearing too young.

I’ve personally dealt with this quite a bit, especially when I was selling mortgages to people more than twice my age at my first job, and working with seasoned business owners, attorneys and bankers at my second job.

I made the same efforts that Melody did in the post below until my Mom (an experienced businesswoman/owner) said, “Who cares!  If you’re good, you’re good. Focus on doing a great job, serving your clients and getting back to them right away if you don’t know the answer to something.  Believe me people won’t care how old you’re if you’re doing a great job.”

And she was right.  As a new manager, I just finished a long round of interviewing and hiring two new marketing coordinators for my team.  In hindsight, there’s no doubt that my final choices were made largely on self-confidence (not experience or age).  Keep these stories in mind before you waste time doubting yourself or trying to make yourself look older!

Thanks for a great post Melody!

–

By, Melody Sabedra

As a young female professional with a baby face, I often find it hard to gain the acceptance of the older executives within my company. Once when I was in the process of being hired, my then boss stated that because I looked so young I should try to dress in darker colors. He claimed that only younger people wore bright colors. Being that I had just been offered a job in this down economy, I took the advice with a smile on my face. I mean, the person had just hired me so they couldn’t possibly be criticizing me, right?

Since that date, I experienced many more times when I was told how to dress, look or appear in order to be perceived as older and more professional. At first these suggestions were welcomed, as I was completely unaware that I was appearing too young to look professional. However, after a while I started to get upset. These repeated suggestions made me wonder, does it really matter how young or old I look to be successful in my career? I got my answer as I was walking into the attorneys section of a courthouse when someone inside the room said, “this room is only for attorneys young lady.” I shut the door and went to the bathroom to hide from the embarrassment of not looking like an attorney when I was one.

That statement definitely lead me to the reality that no matter what I think or how I feel, others perceive me as a ‘young lady.’ My next thought was that I had to try to do something to make myself look older so that I could appear more professional. In an effort to accomplish this goal, I tried numerous things. I first decided to cut my hair into a short angled bob style. As a result, my hair went from below my shoulders to right about the height of my chin. Although this was a drastic change, when I came into work the next day the first thing my boss said to me was, ‘I like that haircut, it is very professional.’ Apparently the haircut was a success.

Then I attempted wearing more makeup to work, as I had heard that maybe wearing more makeup would make me look older. Now, I generally always wear a little mascara, powder, blush, and eye shadow, which I thought was pretty standard. In an attempt to look a little older, I decided to wear darker eye shadows and more blush. This looked ok, but I found it kind of an onerous task for an everyday habit. I also tried to wear lipstick, which I NEVER wear. The result of my makeup extravaganza is that I ended up feeling stupid, like a young girls trying on her mother’s makeup. I started to give up trying to look older.

Then one day during a lunch conference, I noticed a ‘young lady’ that was a guest speaker at the event on the due diligence process of acquisitions (exciting stuff!). Although this woman appeared pretty young, there was something about her that made her appear very professional. While I was at the conference I couldn’t put my finger on just what it was about her. When I got back to the office I sat and thought about why that woman caught my attention. At first I thought it was the fact that she was speaking at an event, which would make anyone appear professional. Then I came to the conclusion that it was not that she was speaking or that she was wearing a nice suit, she looked professional because she had an exuberant amount of confidence. This confidence made her look and appear older and more professional than I am sure she was.

From that day on I realized that persuading others to trust you in business is not always about what you look like. Sometimes all it takes is just a little bit of confidence. Through my experiences of being an extremely fresh faced attorney, I have learned that I need to portray confidence to my client in order to be respected. Obviously a client is going to trust an attorney who appears to know what they are doing over someone who stares at them like a deer in headlights.

Just think about it, when you are in any type of a business meeting with people who have been in your field longer than you, what draws you into listening to some people and not others? I did this one day at a meeting. I looked around the room as everyone talked and I took notes of who I actually paid attention to and who I caught myself day-dreaming to. The result was that the people with the loudest voice and the most charisma caught my attention more than the quiet wallflower type who was only speaking because he was forced into doing so. It was their confidence that made me listen to them. It is confidence that can turn you into a true professional, not a haircut or a fabulous suit.

So next time someone tries to tell you that you should look a certain way to appear more professional, don’t take offense to it. Rather, think about how you are presenting yourself to other people. Ensure that you are always portraying an image of confidence, even in your weakest moment.

Everyone wants to live up to his or her potential in life. For some people, this means that they want to have a big family or contribute to charities. For others, it means advancing as far as possible in their career. Career advancement can be a stressful and difficult process. It is hard to understand when to ask for a raise or try for a promotion. However, there are several things you can do to set yourself up for advancement in the career of your choosing.

Be Patient

Asking for a promotion or raise too soon is one of the biggest downfalls for people looking for career advancement. You never want to seem pushy, especially if you really do not deserve to be advanced. Instead, be patient and work hard to demonstrate your abilities. People will notice you putting in extra effort in the workplace without having to actually announce what you are doing. You will be surprised how much respect you will earn from your bosses and coworkers simply for doing your job.

Be Humble

Once people start noticing your hard work, you do not want to gloat and brag about your accomplishments. Be humble and keep doing your job. People who are higher up in your company will be impressed with your attitude. They are more likely to advance someone who is quietly proud of what they do over a person who is constantly talking about how hard they work.

Praise Others

People respond well to positive energy in the workplace. Compliment others any chance that you get. Emphasize the things that your coworkers do well. Let them know that they are really bringing a lot to the company. They will be more likely to help you in the future if you have consistently been nice to them. For example, you will be able to use them as references as you are advancing in your career.

Join Associations and Organizations

You should always be on the lookout for associations and professional organizations that are related to your field of work. These will be very helpful in teaching you the ins and outs of your industry. You will find out several tricks and tips that the average worker does not know. In addition, associations and organizations provide great opportunities for networking.

Go Back to School

A lot of companies require an advanced degree in order to move up in the organization. This means you will have to go back to school if you only have a bachelor’s degree. Thankfully, a lot of companies will pay for your continued education. There are also several affordable online MBA programs that make getting a degree convenient.  Another cool online masters program – which may set you apart from all the MBA grads out there- is Creighton’s dispute resolution degree. In today’s world full of conflict, many government organizations, schools, businesses and health care systems are frequently turning to mediators instead of attorneys to get things resolved.

Don’t Hold Grudges

Things do not always work out the way that you want them to. You need to learn how to let things go and move on. For example, if your coworker got the promotion that you wanted or was assigned the project that you were after, don’t get stuck on it. Keep working hard and you will eventually be noticed. Your negativity will only bring you down.

Do More Than What is Asked of You

One of the best ways to advance in your career is to do more work than what is assigned to you. Take on a new project if you find yourself with some downtime. Your bosses will take notice of how hard you are pushing yourself and keep that in mind when new positions open up.

Show Respect

One of the biggest keys to advancing in your career is something that you have been taught since you were a child. Show respect to everyone around you. You will be surprised how such a simple thing gets lost in the workplace. People get too caught up in their own job and forget about being respectful to those around them. Pay special attention to how you are treating others and you will stand out.

The balancing act of being a wife, new mom and career woman is like walking a tightrope. Sometimes I glance down and am shocked to find there is no safety net below. I start to shake and worry if I can make it; so much to do and so little time and energy. Then, there are times when I look back and wonder how I ever made it across so effortlessly from one side to the other without even trying and never looking down.

I am an every way woman and this is my story.

I have always wanted to be a successful career woman. Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of wearing the sexy business suit to the office, being busy on the phone and making executive decisions that would further my career. I was raised to be successful and assertive, to never give up. You control your future. Your destiny is what you make of it. Sound familiar?

However, ever since I was a little girl, I also wanted to be married and have babies.… at least five or six! I knew I would eventually get married, I just never imagined it would be to the love of my life, my true soul mate.

Why is being a mother always butting heads with being a career woman? Why is this a conundrum for most women? Why is it that we seem like we always have to choose one option over the other?

To be a seriously successful business woman, you have to give up your hopes of ever having a family. Sure, you drive a 500 S-class Mercedes-Benz, own a fabulous home in Malibu, but no free time since you’re always working overtime because you have no one to come home to after work. What a horrible double-edged sword that is….

On the other hand, to be a loving wife and nurturing mother, you have to give up a successful career. Being at home, raising your children and watching them grow-there is nothing like it. Hands down, raising your babies is the most important journey a new mom will take. You are there from their first smile to their first step, you, the mom, were there.

Being a mom is an overwhelming feeling of incredible pride, love, joy, happiness and completeness that is so special.

Being a mom is something so wonderful and so unexplainable, words cannot describe the feeling you have every time your little “bundle of joy,” your “miracle” look up at you and smile wholeheartedly. Just knowing that you helped create this little life is truly a blessing.

However, what about making money and trying to provide for your “little pumpkin?” How can a mom raise her babies, work, cook, clean and still be sexy for her husband?

Is it just me or does this seem so unfair and unjust? On the up side, women are much better at multitasking and on the average tend to outlive their spouses.

Wait, but what does that mean? Great, so now we are innately able to juggle more responsibilities until we are in our early to late 80’s and do all this alone. But, that’s the beauty of being a woman. We can and we should try to do and have it all.

Sometimes life throws you curve balls and just when you think you can’t do something. Stop, face forward and march on.

Today’s career dilemma is addressed by Chrissy Scivicque, founder of eatyourcareer.com.

“Dear Chrissy, 

I love your blog and the career advice you give, so I felt you were the perfect person to ask about my career dilemma.  I currently work in the financial world and am eager to make a switch into marketing.  Although I don’t have any agency experience in marketing, for the past few years I have been doing online marketing and social media consulting.  I also have a blog, have taken online classes on the subject and have a decent online presence. 

Would you recommend that I focus on increasing my freelance clientele or do you think it’s better to get some corporate experience in marketing before going out on my own? As always, thanks for your advice!”

-Carrie J.

First off, congratulations on all of your career success so far. Don’t get so bogged down trying to figure out your next move that you lose sight of all you’ve accomplished. Take a minute to celebrate your victories!

Okay, now, let’s look at your dilemma: To stay in corporate America soaking up experience or head out on your own into the world of Marketing “2.0”. Big question.

Certainly there is something to be said for learning the ropes of an industry before setting out on your own. However, it sounds like you’ve been doing that for a little while now—quite successfully, in fact. Even though you’ve been working in the financial world, you’ve been out there learning on your own and physically implementing your marketing knowledge. Sounds like you’ve been holding down two jobs…which can get exhausting, I know.

There are pros and cons to staying in the corporate world to gain some hands-on marketing experience. Just like there are pros and cons to going out on your own. So, you need to evaluate your goals and where each option fits in with your goals. I’m going to outline some questions I’d like you to think about.

• If you were to stay in the corporate world, what specific experience would you hope to gain?
• How would it serve you when you eventually do head out on your own?
• How long are you willing to spend getting that experience?
• Do you feel financially secure enough to go out on your own now? If not, how much would you like to have saved?
• What appeals to you about being self-employed?
• If you went out on your own now, what struggles do you think you would have? What can you do to help minimize those struggles?
• What has been your experience with your freelance clients thus far? Did you feel adequately prepared to meet their needs?
• Is there a service that you’d like to offer to your freelance clients that you can’t because you don’t know enough about it?

In my experience, I’ve seen that effective, energetic and experienced marketing professionals are in great demand. In this field, building your online presence and network appear to be more important than building your resume. Of course, a corporate/agency marketing job would offer you many things you just can’t get on your own, including valuable industry contacts, so you’ll need to weigh the importance of these things.  

Going into business for yourself requires more than simply knowing your field and the job. You have to market yourself, sell your services, track and manage your income and expenses, and a whole host of other things that aren’t always fun. With your background and experience (and your obvious intelligence) I have no doubt that you could do it very successfully if that’s the road you choose. Surely there will be stumbles and fears, but there’s no avoiding that when you’re carving a path of your own.

My Recommendations

Review the questions I listed above and be honest in your answers. If you choose to stay in the corporate world, focus on gaining experience, expanding your network, and saving some money. But give yourself a finite period of time. Make it one year, two years, whatever you need. Outline exactly what you want to accomplish in that time frame and then make your move.

Also, look for other options. You outlined an either/or scenario: You’re looking to either increase your freelance clientele or find fulltime employment in marketing/PR/digital media. Might there be a middle-road that you haven’t considered? These days (with the economy fluctuating so much) many companies are hiring part-timers and contractors. Could you possibly find a part-time or contract role in marketing that would allow you plenty of time to increase your freelance client load at the same time? Look for ways to break out of your limited thought patterns and find new opportunities.

Unfortunately, I can’t just give you a simple answer. This is something that requires your full commitment, whatever you choose. So the decision has to be yours. Focus on your career needs and how each of the various options will help you meet those needs. And seek one-on-one career guidance for more in-depth assistance.

Happy Friday!  It has been a great week in my world, thanks in part to two people: Bethenny Frankel and Ramit Sethi. 

No, I am not cool enough to be friends with either of these fabulous people in real life.  BUT, I am cool enough to read their blogs and take their advice seriously on two of most peoples biggest stresses: fitness and money.

What I learned from Bethenny Frankel this Week

I got to work on Monday and decided that my sedentary eat-whatever-you-want slump was OVER.  I stopped saying, “I need to go to the gym” and said “I am going to the gym today” instead.  Getting back on the wagon of healthy eating and going to the gym is the hardest part for me.  Once I get back on track, I’m easily hooked (albeit not always for long!).

Thankfully, Katie (roommate and best friend) sent me this great article by Bethenny Frankel on realistic exercise.  Bethenny recommends adopting health and fitness as a lifestyle, not as something you “have to do.”  Once you feel you “have to” go to the gym or “have to” eat salads, there is a negative association with the task and your motivation isn’t genuine.

In her article, Bethenny also recommended another simple adjustment: do exercise you enjoy.  If you hate spinning classes and running, then don’t do it!  You will never make it a lifestyle if you hate it.

I shifted my thinking this week and asked what I want my long-term lifestyle to look like.  I thought about what I’ve done in the past that doesn’t last long and I decided to go on a different track.  So far I’m loving it and craving fruit instead of fries- weird!

What I learned from Ramit Sethi this week

Ramit Sethi-in my opinion- is a true hero.  Ramit is another twentysomething Gen Y blogger who has blown it out of the water.  His blog (and book) I Will Teach You to be Richis way more than a personal finance blog.  Like Bethenny, Ramit focuses his teachings on lifestyle instead of  dramatic cuts. 

As part of his earn1k class emails this week (that class looks absolutely amazing, by the way) Ramit went on a rant.  He encouraged his readers to stop focusing on cutting costs and focus on making more money instead.  He says to “go for big wins” and to “stop wasting your time cutting out $3 lattes”.  Ramit believes in spending money on what you love- even if that is world travel, $200 jeans or spending $30,000 a year on going out.  Ramit’s advice is the opposite of what 99% of personal finance bloggers will tell you, but it is actually the smartest advice.  

Like Bethenny said, adapting a lifestyle means creating a system that works for YOU.  When you create a lifestyle that you want, your motivation is genuine and it is no longer something you “have to do”.  This means you will have a healthy relationship with fitness and finances.  It means you don’t beat yourself up if you eat an ice cream cone or splurge on something at Nordstrom once in a while.  If you’ve set up a system for yourself that supports your lifestyle, occasional splurges aren’t a huge deal. 

Lastly, Ramit makes one of my favorite points of all- people don’t get rich by cutting lattes, they get rich by cutting out what they don’t value and making more money.

I hope this post gives you some food for thought as you end this week and go into next.  Hopefully by Monday you will think of one or two things in your own life that you can adjust to fit your lifestyle instead of what you are “supposed to do”.

• How has making “cuts” financially or in your diet affected you?  Did it last? Why did you make the cuts initially and why did you stop?
• How do YOU motivate yourself to stay healthy both physically and financially?
• What systems do you put in place to account for “splurges”?

You’ve heard the statistics before…

Gen Y doesn’t trust advertisements; we trust the people in our social networks.  But overall, Gen Y doesn’t trust much at all.  If you’re a big company of any kind, you will have to work much harder to win over the 70 million Gen Y consumers living among us.

How Should Marketers gain Gen Y’s trust?

Well, besides Corporate Social Responsibility, you’ll need to prove your brand to us.  Let us touch it, try it and talk about it.  And let us hear about it and experience it from “real” people. In order to gain our trust, you’ll need to focus on experiential marketing.

Experiential marketing 2.0 means offering your product or service to the right people at the right time. A simple example is the nice lady at the grocery store who hands you a sample of fantastic cheese spread while you are exiting the cracker aisle.  Do that online. 

Technically, paid search campaigns attempt to reach the right customer at the right time. When I Google “smart phone” for example, paid ads for Sprint, Verizon, ATT, wirefly.com and Apple appear. There is one huge problem though:  a vast majority of Gen Y consumers will never look at, trust, or click on sponsored results.

Nor will most Gen Y’ers take the time to go through each of the companies’ websites.  We like instant gratification and that takes way too long. Plus, we’d much prefer to read a short aggregated review of the phones on a blog and buy based on a “real” person’s opinion anyways. 

Here are some ways that companies have used experiential marketing to catch me at the right moment and convert me into a customer.

• WalMart.com.  I thought hell would freeze over before I bought any furniture from Wal-Mart (and then blogged about it) but I did.  And I love my $99 kitchen table.  Why? Because I knew exactly what I was buying before I bought it. Walmart.com had great multi-view pictures, tons of honest reviews and they were willing to ship the product to my local Wal-Mart for free so I could see it before I brought it home.  
• Groupon.  Groupon is the best way to experience something that you never would have tried thanks to HUGE discounts on local products and services.  If I were a marketer, I’d make sure my stuff was on Groupon so people could experience it with for little risk, talk about it and experience it again.
• MattChevy.com. A long time ago I sent out a frustrated tweet saying “can anyone in the Chicago area help me with WordPress?!” Matt responded immediately with a friendly (and calm!) tweet saying he could help me.  He caught me in the right place, at the right time.  He gained my trust.  We are now close friends and I refer people to him all the time.
• Amazon.com: “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” and “Best Value.”
• Ulta,  Hairuwear.com, YouTube demos, Ulta.  Worst hair cut of my life + obsession with Ulta + panic = temporary solution via J-Simp’s “Hair-Do.”

Readers, where have companies presented themselves to you at the right moment?

What’s the best example of experiential marketing you’ve seen?