The new year brings new goals, new hopes, and new dreams.  I watched a vine where a girl laughed that every year she was going to leave her boyfriend but she actually did the very things the year before she said she would never do.  It's so easy to say your resolution and daydream about the wonderful results.  I've done it too, and then by March, nothing has been accomplished.

How to Manage a Manager

       

‘Bless their heart’ is all you can say sometimes.  They’re overwhelmed, dropping the deadline ball, and everyone knows they probably shouldn’t have the job.  You know this superior.  Whether you’re working with a superior like this or you’ve heard tales of this superior.  This article is for you.

Sometimes people receive positions they are truly unqualified for and they start to slowly fall apart under the amount of pressure and obligations they just aren’t ready for.  They are just as aware, if not more, about their shortcomings.  Is this your fault or your problem? Absolutely not!  But this is a great opportunity for you to grow your own managerial skills and manage up!

You Can't Pour From an Empty Cup

              We want to climb the ladder, get that corner office, and bring home the bacon.  All of this while wanting to have a spouse, watch your kids recital, and go to SXSW.  It’s impossible.  No, it’s not impossible to have it all, but it’s impossible to think you’re going to get it all if you leave nothing for yourself.  I’m 28 years old and my career has been quite lucrative until now, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.  There’s been times when I’ve worked 10+ hour days, slept 4 hours, and skipped my lunch break all to get ahead and stay ahead.  Then one day, my body stopped me.  I couldn’t seem to sleep enough, couldn’t stay motivated at work, and was not trying to be clever with office politics.  I realized then, I’m too young to be burnout.  Somewhere along the way, taking a mental day or a vacation become taboo.  It became that the person with the most vacation and sick leave built up was a great worker; ideal worker.  WRONG.  How can you give your best to the world when you’re not taking care of yourself?  How do you think you’re going to be fresh and charismatic when you don’t take care of yourself?  You can’t give the world everything when you have nothing left to give. 

               I believe wholeheartedly that the person you need to take care of the best is yourself.  Normally I do a list of some sort, but I wanted to provide you with two letters.  I’m kinda going rouge here:  

How do I find the Hidden Job Market

The iceberg is a great example of the hidden job market.  According to statistics, 80% of all jobs are not posted.  You know the story, your co-worker is extremely under qualified for their position yet they knew someone who knew someone and now they’re your cube-mate.  It’s so frustrating, you went through a tough interview process and stressed over your presentation only to hear your cube-mate was a shoe-in from the beginning.  Every job I’ve applied to through Applicant Tracking Systems, I’ve loathed.  Every job I’ve gained through networking, I’ve loved.  So here are 6 ways to tap into the hidden job market:

Why Career Advice from Family Can be Risky

They’re family.  They’re the ones that know you best. They’re the ones that will give you the cold hard truth and love on your wounds later.  We’ve all gone through situations and called home only to leave the conversation feeling annoyed, angry, or even confused by the advice.  I have a great honest adult relationship with my parents and I think everyone should have someone they go to for the realest truths.  So yes continue to ask your family their opinion but take it with a grain of salt and here’s why:

5 Ways to Advance Your Professional Self Over the Holidays!

The holidays are my favorite time of the year.  In my family it's a mix of spending hours upon hours listening to old R&B Christmas songs, watching football, and devouring the best banana pudding the tri-state area has seen. Although this is great and I love it, by Friday, I'm ready for a little alone time to get back to myself, especially if I've been feeling a lull in my career.  Here are 5 things you can do to pull yourself out of the job lull this holiday:  

8 Ways to Know It's Time to Move On!

Do you find yourself staring at the clock? Counting down the days you've been in your role?  Don't fret you're not alone! A recent GALLUP survey found that only 29% of millennials/young professionals are engaged at work.  That means 70% of millennials/YP are disengaged!  70%!!! That’s ridiculous.  For whatever reason you feel disengaged or unhappy; you are validated.  Your feelings towards a situation are your own to have.  Here are 8 steps to help determine if it's time to move on from your job:

Burnout:5 Steps to Reeling in the Chaos & Avoiding Burnout

I stared at my laptop for hours; let's be honest, days! I kept writing then deleting, writing then deleting, over and over. Finally my husband closed my laptop and handed me Pinterest.  He knows it’s my Fall night preferred relaxation tool. It’s something about all the recipes, décor ideas, and career posts that suck me in. After letting my brain wander, I realized; I just need a break.  Have you ever felt too drained to think?  Still irrationally dissecting a project at work?  Too drained to wash clothes when you get home?  Yea that's me right now.  The holiday break couldn’t have come at a better time. Feeling like Rhonda Rousey after a Holly Holm monster neck face kick thing. (PS.  I love Rowdy Rousey, but I was not ready!)  

We get so ambitious, focused, yet almost foolish at times.  We sometimes forget that life is a marathon and think we need to get everything right now.  That if we don’t have whatever fantasy by some fantastical time, then we’re off track.  So, we work that 14 hour day, erase work/life balance, volunteer for more projects, and still think we aren’t doing enough.  In turn, we barely sleep, find humor at the bottom of a large glass of grown up juice, or troll through the multitude of engagements, baby showers, and extravagant trips our Facebook friends just seem to have the mysterious time and money for.  So we increase our projects in hopes to be noticed and climb the ladder.  Except we just pile more and more on until we have a small chaotic cloud  we can't seem to get quite under control.  We’ve convinced ourselves this is normal; it’s what we have to do to get anywhere. But success is not measured by how fast you get there, but by how long you can sustain it.  I always fall victim to ‘doing too much’.  I know at 5:31 PM I need to leave my work at work, but I end up thinking about program logistics on my commute home anyway. 

Relax & Recharge

Orange and red leaves. Crisp fall air. Football. Pumpkin Spice Tea.  

MMM, what doesn't sound relaxing about that?  Did you prepare for a big presentation, have a bunch of meetings, study for graduate courses, or spend 2+ hours commuting?  Sometimes we don't realize how much we're taking on in a work week. Let alone finding time for personal; anything!  I hear so many YP's/Millennials say 'The grind never stops'; or my personal fave:  'I'll sleep when I die'. Insert eye roll!  Studies show without proper rest and meditation, you are not at your best; you haven't given your brain a change to RECHARGE.  So, whenever you leave work today; unplug from work.  No answering seemingly urgent emails, no stressing over that big presentation on Monday; NO!  Grab a book OR an 80's movie marathon Or a group of friends and just relax  

Millennial: To be or Not to Be, that is the question

      

Is it?  Or am I Gen X?  Or am I a generational outsider?  Merriam Webster defines a millennial as ‘a person born in the 1980s or the 1990’s’.  I was born in ’87 (and proud), yes I remember watching FraggleRock and singing to Zoom Zoom from Zenon: Girl from the 21^st Century; don’t play, you remember too!  Over the years I began to embrace the ‘millennial’ tag, but something started to stand out to me, how we were viewed by older generations. 

A few days ago I read an article, addressing the lack of self-identification with millennials.  Pew Research Center, wrote the article 'Most Millennials Resist the Millennial Label' addressing how generations truly view themselves.  Despite millennials being the largest and most influential generation ON EARTH, only 41% of millennials identify with the label; while older millennials identify with Gen X.  The survey found that Millennials are uncharacteristically more willing to pin negative stereotypes upon their selves.  What?  Ok, we’ll keep reading.  The article goes on to say that 59% of millennials think 'we’re self-absorbed'. What?  Ok that’s when I stop the presses.  The younger generation must be the ones answering these surveys!  Your saying, the generation that is pushing harder than any other for equality, free healthcare, free/reduced education, is ‘self-absorbed’.  The generation that pushed for equal marriage, the generation that said no more war, the most educated generation; said we’re ‘self-absorbed?  Hmmm.  I start to feel conflicted because I view our generation as ‘innovative’, ‘empathetic’, and ‘relentless’.  In this moment I’ve never felt more proud to call myself a ‘millennial’.  Then the career coach in me questioned, ‘if we see ourselves so negatively, no wonder other generations do as well’.