We have all seen how much our parents work a week...about 40+ hours a week. We have seen how they run their career and seen the time they devote to their job. I see it as a blueprint to how I would approach my career and work hours—hey, if it worked for my parents, it can work for me.

But, according to a report published by Yahoo! Finance there are economists who are suggesting for a 21-hour work week!

Today, I'm boarding a plane and heading away. Far, far away. Nine thousand miles away, to be exact.

Have plans of moving to a new state after graduation? While the prospect of starting your next chapter in a new can be exciting, finding work in an area that you are not familiar with can be difficult. Sure, you can take a leap of faith and wait to look for a job when you get there. But doing some groundwork in advance can help make the move easier, and perhaps even help you land a job before you get there.

Seth Godin is a blogger who I like to follow because his topics are both interesting and entertaining. One his posts in particular really caught my attention, partly because of it's simplicity but also because it really made me think. In his blog, “Exploration and the Risk of Failure” Godin states that there are two types of people in the world; “Those who seek stability, affiliation, work worth doing and the assurance it (whatever it is) will be okay” and “Those who explore, need to know that failure is an option and quest to make a dent in the universe”.

Originally I thought that I was the perfect combination of these two types. However, Godin argues that you can only be one or the other. After a long thought, I have realized that I am most likely the type of person who seeks stability and work worth doing.

What kind of person are you? Godin makes a great point that if you like stability, you need to find a career that will give you that assurance. On the other hand if you enjoy taking big chances, then you need to find a job that is going to keep you occupied and fulfill those needs to be a bit risky, otherwise, you’re going to be miserable. It is definitely important to figure out what kind of job you are going to be most comfortable at. You don’t want to get stuck in an environment on a daily basis that you don’t like or working at a speed you are not really prepared for. While applying for jobs, really think hard about what your values are and how your career needs to fulfill them.

"Staircase Silhouette" courtesy Randy Son of Robert via Flickr Creative Commons

Hi ThinkTalkers! Believe it or not, we’re now in the last stretch of summer break which means that most of you are probably soaking up the last few days of freedom before the school year starts up again. For me, this also means that this will be my final blog post as my summer internship here at ThinkTalk comes to an end. As I sit here and write, I wonder to myself… where has the time gone?

We’ve all seen them . . . the funny, the wild, and the CRAZY (mostly) R-Rated movies centered around the benefits and shortcomings of Greek life on college campuses. There are several that immediately come to my mind; one in which actor, Will Ferrell, attempts to recapture his youth and freedom by joining a fraternity along with a gang of other misfits (hilarity ensues) and another in which Ryan Reynolds refuses to graduate from college, changing his major over and over, for fear of the unknown and love of the keg parties.

Although you may think that having a great interview is the only thing you should be focusing on while trying to land a new job, things like your reference list are incredibly important as well. Picking the right references for your possible employee to contact is important because these people are the ones that will back up everything you said in your previous interview. Using your parents or best friend since the 5th grade just isn’t going to cut it on your reference list. You need people listed who really know how well you can handle tasks and stressful situations in a work environment.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with PostSecret, this clever community art project is as intriguing as it is simple. Anonymous people from all over the country mail a homemade postcard to Frank Warren (the creator of PostSecret), which portrays a secret that has never before been revealed.

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon one that read:

“It makes me happy to know that none of use get a how-to guide – we’re all just kind of winging it.”

I considered this statement as it relates to my own life. Many of you probably think about, and envision yourself and your future career. Regardless of the tracks we choose to follow as college-students, I relentlessly hope for myself and for others to fearlessly pursue their passions.

Sure it may sound cheesy, but the word “career” not only evokes a feeling of excitement, but also a sense of anxiety. For most of us, our entire lives have been structured around the core of education. Our parents, teachers, mentors… and even society have conditioned us to believe that our sole purpose is to find a career that will leave us (and our loved ones in the future) financially stable.

What I find, however, is that we are often paralyzed by fears of failure. Why not take your passions and hidden talents, and blend them within a career? Failure can’t happen if you never begin to create the reality of the life you dream about.

So today, let yourself daydream a bit. Climbing the rigid corporate ladder is not for everyone. Freely explore your interests. Your own career does not have to resemble anyone else’s. Who said it even has to be conventional?

Nevertheless, always keep in the mind that every person is a resource. You have the ability to learn from the experiences of others to help yourself prosper in any career-field you choose.

Photo courtesy of PostSecret

When we think about effective leadership, the first thing that may come to mind is a “pit bull” attitude, which includes such traits as competitiveness and assertiveness. Is anyone a fan of HBO’s Entourage? Unfortunately, the aggressive Ari Gold method may not work so well for most people. Others may believe in a more subtle approach – to be more collaborative, nurturing, and sensitive towards others. However, if we allow ourselves to find a balance between the two, we may just be able to have our cake and eat it too…

After looking back at a number of my blogs, I realized that I frequently mention the idea of going out and networking but I never really followed through with the "how-to." I get that networking can be intimidating and a little nerve wracking, but in a world where there are far too many people looking for jobs and perhaps only a handful of jobs open that you want to take, every little bit counts. The article, How to Network Without Being Phony, Lame or Desperate gives some great tips on how to network correctly. Here is a quick run through of the main points you need to remember while networking:

• Remember there's nothing phony, lame or desperate about being out of a job.
• Change your mind about what you're networking for.
• Remember that it's not all about you.
• Be yourself.
• Tell your story without the usual job-search downers.
• Have a full calendar. Have an agenda.
• Thank your networking partner immediately afterward and confirm you'll stay in touch.
• Pay it back.

For further details on these points, read the article!

"jus'a web....with a bit of dew here and there!!" courtesy Jus'fi via Flickr Creative Commons