It’s not as creepy as it sounds and a warrant was not put out on me.

I moved to New York because I wanted to be in magazines. Not just any old magazine, but teen magazines. After spending a few months going through HR totem poles I realized I needed a different approach.   So I sat down one day and thought, “who do I want to be?” “who has my dream job?”

I picked out two or three Editor in Chiefs and asked all of my family members and friends if they had any connection to these magazines. Boom. I got results. And 5 years later I’m still in touch with this Editor in Chief.

Meeting your CEO…

• Tell everyone you know what kind of company you want to work for. Lets say you’re dying to get into a top advertising agency. Chances are you will know someone who has a connection to the CEO.
• Your schedule is their schedule. Be flexible with the date and time. My EIC had to reschedule 3 times, but I just let her choose the date and cancelled whatever else I had planned.
• Know everything about them…Including their favorite cereal. Find out what their background is before going into the meeting. The obvious is the company website, but search for blogs and articles too.
• Dress the part. Obviously you don’t want to dress better than they do, but look like you belong at the company. You can do a little research online and see what types of outfits they’ve worn to functions. I made the mistake by dressing like a stuck up consultant. The EIC actually told me!

The meeting…

• Don’t huff and puff if they’re running an hour late. It happens. Suck it up. If you’re feeling bitter think about how long you would wait to meet a celebrity and hopefully that will help shake it off.
• Treat them like a celebrity. You know this from experience, but people love love love talking about themselves. Ask them how they got to where they are (even if you know) and what their advice is to you.
• Follow-up immediately after. Letters are out. Email is in. Send an email when you get home or from the corner Starbucks. Bring up 2 or 3 pieces of advice that they mentioned and how you look forward to applying it. End it with “I look forward to being in touch”, or something along those lines.
• Stay on their radar. This may not be applicable to all CEOs, but the EIC taught a 1-night class at the Learning Annex and I signed up for it immediately. Stay up to date with what your role model is doing.

Even if you’re not going in for a job, you’re making connections. I didn’t get a job with this magazine, but the Editor in Chief gave me the opportunity to pitch article ideas and sure enough I got to write an article for a hot teen magazine.

A few weeks ago I was invited to a fund raising event for a non-profit arts organization.  This was the perfect networking opportunity especially since I have been thinking about returning to the non-profit arts world.  As I was doing my hair and makeup I did a quick run-through in my head of the essential networking guidelines.

• Be friendly and approachable
• Have a good, strong handshake
• Do research on the hosting company and key people
• Business Cards

I was only missing one thing: business cards.

Business cards are like little souvenirs you get after meeting someone interesting.  Of course I have business cards from my job, but my current job has nothing to do with the arts or the non-profit world.  After all, you wouldn’t wear your workout shoes to a cocktail party (unless you are Mariah Carey and you exercise in stilettos).  Different outfits call for different shoes and the same goes for business.

Unless I was trying to start a business deal on behalf of my company, handing out those business cards at the event would not have made sense.  My work business cards would have also steered away the attention from myself as a potential non-profit arts leader in the making.  I did not want to introduce myself as a member of that company; I would rather introduce myself as someone who likes the theater, volunteers at museums and is eager to return to the non-profit world.  I also would not want to receive follow-up emails from people I networked with on my work email because they would not relate to my 9 to 5 job. I faced the same predicament when I recently attended a meeting for an organization called Emerging Arts Leaders. I showed up eager to meet young, hip, artsy soul-searches like myself but found myself empty-handed.

So to all you career girls, who have a 9 to 5 job that is not aligned with your career goals or are looking to make a career switch, or have a passion project outside of your 9 to 5, I suggest you have a set of personal business cards that represent who you are and not what the source of your paycheck is (if these two do not go hand-in-hand).

You may love your 9 to 5 job but as a Generation Y career girl you probably have other talents that you want to highlight.  For example, Nicole has a background in banking but she might also have a set of personal business cards that represent her as the founder of Ms. Career Girl.  You may also want to have a set of personal business cards if you were laid off and you are looking for employment.  Your business card can say your name and the degree you have if that degree is relevant to what you want your next job to be.  If you have a blog you might want to have a set of business cards that say your name, email, and your blog url.

Get creative and have memorable souvenirs that will contribute to your personal brand.

Note from Nicole: The picture here shows 3 different business cards I use.  The two green business cards are by Tiny Prints.  I couldn’t agree more with Aimee’s post!

I bet you’re wondering why I decided to put an “Online Marketing 101” series on a career blog.

Well, I believe that moving ahead in your career goes beyond perfect resumes, landing a job and dealing with corporate politics. I also know that many of you have your own side business, a hobby you’d like to turn into a business or hope to work for yourselves someday. There’s no doubt that ambitious Gen Y’ers place a high value on entrepreneurship and “lifestyle design.”

I also decided do this series because I’m a strong believer in diversifying your career portfolio. You wouldn’t invest your retirement funds in just one type of investment, so why would you invest your career into just one income source? Diversification helps absorb losses.  If one investment vehicle fails, you have others that are performing well to even things out.

What better way to truly experience “lifestyle design” and “career diversification” than to own an internet business? You can do this while working full time, while raising your kids and/or while pursuing your hobbies.

This series is designed for beginners who may not have a business idea or blog yet. I will show you how to create your own website or blog and optimize it for search engines. We will also talk about strategy and monetizing.

Here’s a simplified road map of the Online Marketing 101 Series

• Pick a niche topic you are madly in love with

• Buy a domain name, create a Wordpress Thesis site

• Create great content

• Give away a freebie

• Build an email list

• Launch your 1st product

• Test, tweak and repeat

Why a niche?

Internet marketers live for the niche. Why? Because a niche website’s content is more searchable and more likely to attract a targeted audience. Building your site around a targeted audience means a better understanding of how to provide helpful products and services to them. People come to the internet to solve problems. How can your passions and interests help others solve their problems?

Most people dream about becoming an entrepreneur but have no idea what business to get into.  Let’s start by brainstorming your “passion project” which you can turn into a winning blog, website or business.

Leave your topic ideas (whether they are for you or for others) in the comments section.

Here are some examples of niche topics to get you started! college women’s soccer, Notre Dame grads in Chicago, best undiscovered chocolate, (your town) work at home moms, vegetarian cooking lessons for beginners.

Sorry, Penelope.  I’m back.

My fellow career blogger friend  Nick Corcodilos pointed out a blog post written by Penelope Trunk that I couldn’t help but question and discuss here on Ms. Career Girl.  In the post, titled “Why Job Hoppers Make the Best Employees,” Penelope argues the following five points to be true:

1. Job hoppers have more intellectually rewarding careers.
2. Job hoppers have more stable careers.
3. Job hoppers are higher performers.
4. Job hoppers are more loyal.
5. Job hoppers are more emotionally mature.

Really Penelope?!  Do you REALLY believe these statements or was this another way to get more traffic back to your sites and be a career evangelist to lost recent grads?  Why should we believe you?  Or is it just easier to believe you so we don’t have to deal with difficult situations and never learn how to overcome adversity at work?

Nick Corcodilos and I have crossed paths over the last year many times.  Oddly enough, the topic of several of our conversations has been about Penelope Trunk’s odd career advice and strange personal branding strategies.  Well here we are again, looking at more bizarre career advice from the woman who founded my generations most popular career network, brazencareerist.com.  Thankfully companies, including Brazen, have teams of diverse staff- to balance out the outliers.

When reviewing the comments on Penelope’s post, I was surprised (and disappointed) to read that so many people were excited and completely on board with Penelope’s advice.  Groupthink, anyone?  Denial?

For the record, I am 25.  I am as Gen Y as it gets in many ways.  Like most people in my generation, I’m addicted to technology, I love feedback, I’m used to instant gratification.  I’m a bit impatient and I have both a day job and a “passion project.” I’m also a typical Gen Y’er in that since graduating from college four years ago, I have worked 3 different jobs: the first for 7 months, the second for almost 3 years and I started my current position (which is my favorite company thus far and my hopeful long-term landing pad!) 7 months ago.  Heck, it weirds me out but I realize that some may even consider ME a job hopper (even though I do not feel like one at all).

Do I think that having 3 jobs in 4 years is something to be proud of?  Not necesarily.  My job history is what it is, but by no means do I feel it makes me a “better, more loyal, higher performing or more emotionally mature” employee- HA!

In Nick’s recent blog post titled, Job Hopping: Career Crack for Losers, Nick offers some very different advice than Penelope does:

First, toss out your resume. Trash it yourself, before an employer trashes it for you. And I don’t mean you should get a better resume. I mean, Stop using a flyer that says KICK ME on it. Period. No resume. Search for a job strictly through personal referrals and face-to-face contacts which enable you to make your case before your butt is kicked into the can.

Second, find a place to work where you can stay put. Penelope Trunk – who tells you loyalty doesn’t matter and job hopping is good — is sticking a needle in your vein, pumping you full of happy juice, and leaving your career to die while she drives off to the bank to deposit the GoogleAds checks she collects for advertising career crack to confused GenY’s. Stay off the juice. Stay put. Establish a reputation. Then trade on it.

Thank you, Nick, for putting my thoughts into words without me having to do it first.  I really like your first point and think that is great advice for anyone, “job hopper” or not.

Of the 5 points in Penelope’s article, I see SOME truth to her first point: job hoppers have more intellectually rewarding careers.  Well, yeah, I guess, because they are constantly having to get re-trained, and re-acquainted with a company’s culture, procedures and politics.  Intellectually rewarding?  Maybe, for some.  For others?  Terrifying.

Let’s hear it people.

I don’t have to repeat the fact that Corporate America is not what it used to be.  Yes, I always say that everyone needs to create their own “career insurance policy.”  When debating with Gen X’ers and Boomers, I always remind them that Gen Y’ers have been through the crash of Enron, the wrath of September 11th,the fall of Lehman Brothers and a recession- we are scared to trust these institutions that were supposed to be the pillar of security and the foundation of “The American Dream.”

• What do you think: is job hopping career death or a career savior?
• How would you define a job hopper?
• Does Penelope really believe the stuff she “preaches” about?  Do you believe her?
• Would you switch companies every few years to get big raises if given the opportunity?
• Why should (and why do) twentysomethings listen to Penelope Trunk for career advice?

I made a mistake at work last week.

I did not miscalculate my numbers.  I did not break procedure. I was simply going way too fast.

We’ve all been there before: it’s a super busy afternoon, and all of a sudden a bunch of requests come in at once.  This happens minutes before the system is about to close which is also about the same time your afternoon reports are due.  On top of it, you’ve covering some accounts you are unfamiliar with for one of your co-workers who is out. 

I’ve written before about making mistakes at work.  In fact, that post brought some of you to this very site after you messed up at work and immediately Googled how to handle it (thanks for sticking around Aimee!).

But my previous mistakes seem minor in retrospect,  because I don’t think I really understood the magnitude that a little mistake can have on you, your department, your clients, etc. 

Mistakes are meant to be reality checks.  They are also meant so that you never make them again.  Lastly, they are meant to teach you something about yourself.

This may sound obvious, but the older I get the more I realize that little things are big things at work.  When I first graduated college, I felt that details were not that important.  It was more about the “big picture” (whatever that meant!).

But now I know that missing a little detail can ruin the big picture.  Immediately.

Consistency is Key

One of the best things an entry-level employee (or really any employee) can do is be consistent.  It is in part consistency in your attitude, but also your reliablility.  You want people to know where they stand with you and that they can expect you to do things correctly and in a timely way.

Think about the little things we do every day: we buy a latte, we go to the grocery store, we  go to the gym.  What happens if your barista makes you the wrong drink on occasion, the grocery store forgets to put a few of your grocery bags in your cart or your gym is out of clean towels?  Small details?  Not to the customer.  My guess is that you probably won’t be a patron of these establishments for long.

If you’re missing the small details, should your employer keep patronizing you? Today there’s an educated and capable person on every corner to waiting take your job.  If there is ever a time to slow down, stay consistent and pay attention to the details it’s right now.

I know for a fact that this little mistake reinforced the importance of the little things at work.  It showed me that focus is really important so much that us ADHD multi-tasker types need to change our ways.  Lastly, I’ve shifted gears from placing value on the quantity of work I can get done and instead focus on the quality.

What are your Work Mistake Confessions?

Have you ever made a mistake at work that made you re-think your daily routine? 

• What did you learn from your mistake?
• How did making a mistake change your perspective on your job?
• Was your first thought ever to blame someone else?
• Did you identify a bad habit after making mistake such as, trying to do too much, answering every client call in the middle of important transactions, trying to get your work done as fast as possible, saying yes to others before you finish your own work?