These last two days I was back at my grad school doing recruiting at a jobfair. It’s surprising the amount of douchery that goes on at these events, and definitely does not help them get a job. I’ll try to list out some key things I noticed as do’s and don’ts.

Some Things to Do:

Know the company you are talking to. I couldn’t believe how many undergrads came up trying to get a job and didn’t know a damn thing about what we do. If you want to talk to a recruiter, at least learn about the services that the company offers and who they are.

Know who you are talking to. It made me smirk when the job hopeful would shake my hand and start off on the prewritten sell, then have to pause and look up at the sign for the company name. It went something like this- “hi, I am a senior in [insert major] and feel I would be a strong applicant for..[pause, look up at sign]…[company name]. Yeah…no thank you mr douche.

Eat a breathmint..or five. If I have to avoid inhaling toxic air and and getting lighteaded from lack of oxygen, I probably won’t be listening to your pitch. At least one recruiting booth will be giving away mints; go pretend you care and get some.

Some Things Not to Do:

Don’t make your pitch seem badly prerehearsed. It is a good idea to figure out what you want to say, but when you deliver don’t make it seem like you’re just reading off a sheet. I personally glazed over when undergrads started (badly) reciting their sales pitch.

Pay attention to the recruiter’s response. If I’m looking bored, please cut off your five minute long sermon of why you’re such a good fit. I was in the same spot as you before, so I know all the bullshit tricks. Don’t give me that bullshit because it is very easy to spot.

Don’t just try and whore yourself off to the company by going on and on about your GPA and you saving the dolphins last summer. Have a conversation with me, and it will be more likely that I won’t think you are a total douche king.

Don’t givr me a wacky handshake. When you shake my hand, give a good grip and pump once. This is so basic but so many people messed it up. I got every lame shake from the fingertip shake to 20 pumps to limp wristed shakes. If you have trouble, just practice with a friend..hand shaking is a very important protocol for meeting people, so learn how to give a solid handshake.

Don’t call me “buddy”. If I don’t know you and you are some freshman, I’m probably not your buddy. It is almost as annoying as being called “bro” by a total stranger. I feel like introducing my knuckles to your face when you call me buddy. Just call me by what’s written on my nametag and keep it at that.

There are many other things to keep in mind while working a jobfair, but these are the things that bugged me the most these last two days. Keep them in mind and just keep things relaxed. Have a conversation and be genuinely interested. Otherwise, you just come off as a douche, and that’s the note I’ll be writing on your resume.

Many wish they had their own business once the daily drag of corporate life eats away a good chunk of their being. As such a person I want others who are in the same situation to prepare well before taking the jump. Since I’m still in process (not completely insane..yet), I can only offer what I’ve bumped into so far.

First, be prepared and understand you will lose current benefits like health insurance and 401K. Unless of course you didn’t have it anyway, in which case you’re a step there already. Health insurance is quite expensive, so make sure you can swing it.

Also be aware of what behind-the-scenes requirements your business will come with. For example, what licenses might you need? Will you need a certain insurance for something unique about the business (stuntman dying from being impaled by blunt object insurance, for instance)? How will you hire employees? This behind the scenes stuff requires a lot of research; know the business well before you start. Become an expert.

Finally, what is your revenue model? This is very important but it seems many don’t even consider it. There seems to be the thought floating around that if you do the business and work hard the money will come. Hard work is great for your work ethic, but if you don’t have a revenue model you’re likely to crash and burn. To start it helps to create a model of the business, and figure out costs, prices, and profits. This model will allow you to play with inputs to see how it affects the business. A lot of times this stuff isn’t intuitive, so making the model really helps you make fact based decisions.

These are just some of the foundations to starting. I’ll update as I progress; if anyone has thoughts on this please post in the comments. Best of luck! FREEDOMM!!!

Whether it be your family or newly acquired family (e.g., wedding, adoptions, abductions), it is common to eventually have someone in your family who just drives you insane. As I often get reminded, homicide is highly frowned upon illegal in this country and usually the person is not worth the angst. So before you whip up the rat poison margarita mix, take a breather and think about it. Something I read once really hits it on the (stupid) head -

For most people, dealing with annoying relatives or in-laws is like cleaning the toilet. It’s not something you want to do, but something you have to do.

Sometimes the situation is worsened if this pile of annoying is your spouse’s family. Your significant other may be the best most loving person in the history of man kind, but somehow they manage to be related to hell spawn. I’ve found it helps to always keep in mind that it is all temporary. The shithead leaving trash all over the place? The trash will get picked up and their poor hygiene will get them eventually. Maybe they’re eating all your snacks that you try so hard to hide. Eh, they’ll be gone soon, and your stash will once again be holy and safe. Hey, maybe you’re contributing to making them super fat..REVENGE IS BEST SERVED COLD.

Get very good at extracting yourself from any situation. This will come in very handy when you get so annoyed that your left hand reaches for the candlestick. Getting away from a sticky situation will give you time to breathe and think, and usually just let it go.

Many guides and articles online about the issue ultimately propose that you spend alone time with the
public disturbance. I however, tend to disagree. Once past a certain point of annoying, alone time can be catastrophic. I am in the standing that the best way to go is to try and make yourself laugh at the issue and put enough space to not let any issues erupt. Limit the contact, increase the breathing. And remember, no rat poison.

On my way to buy crap I didn’t need the other day, I tailgated a car that happened to have a great bumper sticker. All it had on it were the words, “It’s all Temporary.” That really hit me and made a lot of things click. Like when you’re trying to first ride a bike, and you keep falling on your ass, then all of a sudden you’re charging forward in a wobbly line. Kind of like that, but more useful.

A lot of times, we all get caught up with work and life stressors, and it gets us frustrated, stressed, and shortens our life. Globally, more than 3 out of 5 doctor visits are for stress related problems. Globally, 23% of women executives and professionals, and 19% of their male peers, say they feel super-stressed. While stress is useful in a fight-or-flight scenario, I find that most of the time I get worked up about something REALLY stupid (or someone really stupid). Seeing this bumper sticker put it all in its place. It’s all temporary. If you think about it, these three simple words make a lot of sense. It’s a common idea in Buddhism, and something that I’ve forgotten over the years. If some situation has you stressed out, just realize and understand that it’s temporary. It’ll be over in a few days, weeks, whatever, so really in the grand scheme of things it’s no big deal. Conversely, if it’s something good, also realize and understand that it’s all temporary so you should enjoy it and cherish it.

If you can get into that frame of mind, I find that it calms you down and makes difficult situations go down easier. While I still haven’t been able to stop all stress in my life, keeping these three words in my mind have helped tremendously.

There is a high likelihood that you’ll be getting married (if you haven’t already). Although the percentage of married people is declining, it’s still well over 50%. The rate of marriages is 7.5 per 1,000 total population, according to the CDC. Given that, you better prep yourself for a wedding.

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Many people have an interest in starting their own business. Either it be from a strong entrepreneur spirit, or you’re just sick of working for your belligerent boss, many consider the prospects of leaving the supposed rat race. Being an entrepreneur indeed has its benefits, but many do not see the not so cheery extras that come with working for yourself.
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I spent this past weekend meeting up with friends I hardly get to see (damn you real life and your jobs). We all met up in NYC from our respective cities for a few days of catching up and craziness. Of course, when you stick a bunch of guys in the City, there’s bound to be some Y-chromo tendencies. So many hotties around it kind of makes you goofy. Obviously, for the single guys this is no thing; for the rest of us, it is a nut kick waiting to happen.
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There’s always that talk that you eventually need to have that just totally sucks. Either you’re telling someone they’re being let go, or asking for a raise, or telling your boss you royally fucked something up. Each of these and more are sure your get you stressed and chewin on your nails. The good news is that you’re not alone. Most people have a terrible time dealing with terrible conversations. Read More