Too often people pour their souls onto the Internet, whether it be a friends wall posting or a blog post, and once it is up, it is permanent. A snapshot of how you were feeling at one point in time has been published to the world, and you can’t change your mind on it. We are the first generation that grew up with social media, our lives are practically public information from politically incorrect jokes we write on a friends facebook wall, to the many many inappropriate pictures of us that other people took and tagged us in. For many it won’t really matter, but for those with big dreams (specifically business, political, or athletic) it may.

For the last 7ish weeks I’ve obviously taken a bit of a hiatus from writing. Some of the hiatus had to do with writers block, some had to do with a lack of desire to write, but a good bit of it was actually me censoring myself. As a writer who draws from his own life experience for just about every post, it’s now much harder to write since my co-workers know about this site. Now, if I write about a bad day at work, even if I write about what I’ve learned from it and try to spin it in a positive light, I could come off as complaining (something no one likes). If I write about how I really messed something up, I could (or would in one instance) become a direct target for all the blame, when I shouldn’t be.

Protecting your personal brand online is fairly easy, and protecting it offline is too, but when those worlds collide it becomes a much different world. These instances are even becoming newsworthy: someone on disability posts facebook pictures of them skydiving, someone fires an employee then updates their status telling the world why, or my personal favorite someone gets a job offer then tweets about it saying how the money is great but the company sucks. I’m not saying to have two different “brands” but think of it like this: your work persona vs. your out at the bars persona. Your friends may not care how you act at work, but your boss may care how you act out at the bars.

Over the coming years, as more members of Gen-Y run for office, and further succeed in business and sports it will be interesting to see the scandals that come from all of this, but I think the bigger question is, as Gen-Y becomes even more of an influence will anyone care about poor decisions posted on facebook or twitter? After all we’ve all had them.

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What’s that you say? You’ve spent hours perfectly crafting every word in order to make yourself look fantastic on paper? You even read my advice on resume building? That’s very kind of you, but I repeat, no one cares, and here are 5 reasons why.

• Resumes are boring. No one wants to read them, not even recruiters. It’s a chore that takes time, and realistically the last time you did read one (instead of glance at it) was when you were writing your own.

• People are lying to protect your feelings. When was the last time you or someone you know told a friend you wouldn’t forward their resume on because it was crap? When was the last time you asked for resume advice and everyone told you it looked good? Friends think a lot of things, but very few friends will be brutally honest to help you, if no one is giving you constructive criticism try sending it to other people.

• Your resume won’t get you a job. Do you really think someone is going to hire you based on a piece of paper?

• You’re exaggerating. Everyone does it to a point, but did you really collaborate with the team on the $300 million dollar project, or did you just make copies for them? If by chance someone does read your resume, they are reading it with a skeptical eye and taking it with a grain of salt.

• You are sending it into a black hole. Applying online? Unless you have a persons e-mail address not a generic recruiting address, it will most likely never be seen by  a human eye. Even if you are sending it to a real persons address, remember it’s a chore to open it and they probably don’t want to.

With all this said, it’s true, no one cares about your resume, but you should still care. As much as it kills me to say it, resumes are still very important, and here are 5 reasons why:

• It’s not for other people, it’s for you. Your resume should be a running tally of every impressive thing you have done, and you should use it as a refresher to remind yourself of these things. It should be up to date whether you are job hunting or not, and when you accomplish something of note, write it down. You can always shorten your resume, it’s very hard to lengthen it. Know your resume backwards and forwards and be able to expand on everything on it without fumbling. Even know what doesn’t make the final cut, your resume will help you in the interview (but be careful to not only talk about what is on the resume).

• It is currently the most accepted way to showcase yourself. We are fast approaching the days when someone will say “send me your link” instead of “send me your resume,” some early adopters have already started this with LinkedIn, however, for the time being the resume is still the most accepted way to showcase yourself.

• Key words help you get a foot in the door. Remember that black hole I wrote about? There is a way out, and that is through key words. More often than not applying to a generic recruiting e-mail address will send your resume into a software program in which it will be looking for key words. If it matches the key words, then someone might look at your resume to see if you fit the bill and invite you in for an interview. So remember to use industry language. (Note: although this is my most hated form of applying for a job, I actually did get my current position this way. It never hurts, but don’t get your hopes up.)

• Be true to yourself. A little embellishment is expected but always be true to yourself and NEVER lie on a resume. Lying on a resume is career suicide and it will come back to haunt you. It is better to not get the job by being honest, than to get it by lying. Just ask George O’Leary, former head coach at Notre Dame who was forced to resign because he lied on his resume.

• It won’t make you, but it can break you. First impressions are important, and the resume is frequently someones first impression of you. While it may not make you, it can definitely break you, so in the off chance that someone actually looks at your resume, it needs to be easy to read and perfect. One misspelled word and you are through.

As Gen-Y becomes more of a staple in the work place I see a lot of this changing, particularly the accepted resume format. I believe we will transition to websites with professional bios being the standard (non-boring) way to showcase yourself. But in the meantime, I’ll continue my love/hate relationship with resumes.

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Thomas Edison is credited with creating the filament in light bulbs that made them feasible for average americans to buy (no he did not invent the lightbulb).  In order to find the correct filament he tried over 2,000 times before getting it right.  If he stopped trying after the first few times, or even the first 1,999 times it would have been deemed a failure, but he didn’t, and thus it is considered successful.

I wish I was writing this after an amazing semester for the Entrepreneur Mentor Society of Dallas-Fort Worth (EMS) so I could rave about success, hard work, and The Power of Gradual, but unfortunately this isn’t the case.  

This semester nothing happened with EMS Dallas except for a lot of talk, after all of the work I put into recruiting only 3 people signed up (ouch). Some people will call this a failure, and I will agree with them; for the time being it has been a failure.  But I know that it isn’t the end, I will try again next semester, and upon trying again this stage will no longer be considered a failure, just a set back because failing is when you quit before you give yourself the chance to succeed. 

My first attempt with EMS was not successful because I did not give myself the chance to succeed. I did not ask for help, and thus I did not succeed, however I won’t call it a failure until I quit.  Over the past few months I developed a good network and I learned some valuable lessons, primarily that I can’t do it all myself and I need to ask for help.  The next few months will be spent re-tooling the concept, and bringing on a student board with leaders at each University, for them to help recruit and share ownership in the organization.

I’m not quitting because I know there are a lot of people who I don’t want to let down, and a lot of students I don’t yet know who I have the desire to help achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.

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Today is the last day of my first job out of college. As I have written before (elsewhere on the site), I graduated 2 years ago as a cocky know-it-all, but I honestly don’t know if I learned as much in my four years of college as I have in my 18 months of work at a Fortune 500 company. Between the training I have received, the mentors I have found, and the day to day business interactions I have been able to participate in, I gained not only a great deal of knowledge which I will carry with me for the rest of my life, but also many close friends. I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for taking me under your wings, teaching me, training me, and putting up with me on the days when I would endlessly quote lines from various movies or TV shows.

I also greatly appreciate the trust you placed on me and the encouragement you all gave me when I took on new projects around the office. This trust has served as my gold star that, as a member of Generation Y, I am stereotypically striving for. It made me feel proud to go into work and work harder to fulfill what you thought I could do.

For all of these things, and many many more, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making my time with you quite enjoyable.

For my fellow Gen-Y reading this, remember that you You Are Who You Associate With, and while you really don’t have much of a choice with who you surround yourself with at work (especially in your first job), you can only hope to be surrounded by as many good people as I have been surrounded with in my first job out of school. It’s important to remember that you are still learning, so don’t be afraid to latch on, ask tons of questions, and observe. You aren’t expected to know everything and most people genuinely want to help you succeed however they can. I have truly appreciated having this kind of support, and you’ll soon find that you have it too, you just have to remember to ask.

If you haven’t figured out by now, this is my website on which I’ve been chronicling my journey from cocky know-it-all to professional with more to learn. I mainly deal with the topics of business, personal finance, and entrepreneurship for Generation Y, and I don’t get “personal” on the site unless I can relate it to something professional. Jump in, kill some company time and have a look around if you’d like, but whether you do or don’t, please try to stay in touch.

One of the great advantages of blogging and social media is that it makes it very hard to lose contact with someone, so I encourage all of you to stay in touch. I am providing enough modes of contact for there to be no excuse not to.

Email: daniel at this domain dot com

My Facebook Profile

My LinkedIn Profile

Twitter: @danielpbowen

Coming soon-ish: DanielPBowen.com

Or, you can always Google Me (I’m number 2, but closing in on #1 thanks to my syndication on Brazen Careerist).

I hope to hear from you, and wish you all the best in whatever life hands you.

Daniel P. Bowen

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Even as we get older peer pressure is still extremely powerful. Have you ever noticed that no matter how old you are thugs hang out with thugs, executives hang out with other executives, and entrepreneurs hang out with entrepreneurs? The list is infinite! I wakeboard and I hang out with other wakeboarders, I’m ambitious so I surround myself with ambitious people… get it?

By surrounding myself with wakeboarders I am constantly pushed and encouraged to try new tricks, by joining a local running club I am pushed to become a better runner, and by making the effort to surround myself with entrepreneurs and others who think differently I am encouraged to take risks to follow my entrepreneurial dreams.

So take some time to think about what you aspire to be and do. Do the people you surround yourself with share these same goals and aspirations?  Do they want to see you succeed? Do they push you to be come better at a mutual interest?

I’m not saying to dump your friends, I have many good friends who don’t share some of my most important interests, but think about the groups or “cliques” you belong to. What are they doing to further your career and aspirations? If nothing then make the effort to surround yourself with the people who will!

What if you want to be an entrepreneur, but all of your friends want to work their 9-5 for the rest of their lives? Go find an entrepreneur! They are in every city and small town. It doesn’t have to be the CEO of a large company, it can be the owner of the local hardware store; it doesn’t matter! Walk up to that person and explain that you want to be an entrepreneur and start asking questions, set up a weekly meeting, even ask them for a part-time job like Holly at WorkLoveLife did with a local coffee shop! These acts get your foot in the door to meet their entrepreneur friends as well as give you an understanding what it’s like to run a small business.

The internet is the most useful place to start. Search for local groups on Meetup or LinkedIn and find the group that fits your interest. For startup culture a local Dallas Entrepreneur, Alex Muse, co-founded a great blog group called SpringStage that is a coalition of bloggers who write about startups and startup life, it truly is a great resource.  Use Twitter and start following those you admire; I love how I’m able to follow Guy Kawasaki and Lance Armstrong, both are people I greatly admire! 

What are you waiting for!? Surround yourself with the people you want to be like and others who share your passions to ensure that you make your own dreams come true!

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This post will be continued over at the Entrepreneur Mentor Society of Dallas-Fort Worth Blog… Continue Reading

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Over the last year I have tried to share some of what I have learned through a variety of posts, most notably: Getting a Job: The Resume, Getting a Job: Networking, and My Mandatory Class Proposal.  But a few months ago I was contacted by a reader who told me to read a book that covered similar issues, so I took the opportunity and read it.

Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World, by Lindsey Pollak is a book that I wish I would have read two years ago, but I’m just as glad that I read it now.  

Geared toward the of short attention spans of gen-y, Lindsey writes 90 small blog-like bites so it’s easy to digest and not overbearing to the reader.  In fact, she goes so far as to include a directive to action at the end of each tip to ensure that you take time to think about it and use it more as a step by step tool to your success instead of reading it like a typical book.

Covering a range of topics from what I have recommended (reading the newspaper, getting a professional e-mail address, and watching classic movies) to creative approaches to networking and interviewing like getting active in your alumni association before you graduate and creating a “brag book” of all of your achievements, Ms. Pollak successfully conveys a process that isn’t easy to teach or even learn.  To drive the points home she often inserts interesting success stories from real people who applied these tactics.

Knowing how cocky I was when I graduated, I already knew it all and I probably would not have read this book, but if I could go back in time and force feed this book to who I was then I would do it.  With that said, the advice in the book isn’t just relevant for recent grads looking for their first jobs, it’s highly relevant to those young and old looking to learn or brush up on the basic business and life skills such as networking, resume writing, and various self improvement projects (Tip 59. “Perform Five Minutes of Stand Up Comedy” is something that I have always wanted to do).

If you are worried about getting a job, interviewing for a new job, or even if you recently got laid off, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book, and I can guarantee you’ll learn some new tricks.

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The business students look at the Liberal Arts majors and think “What in the Hell are they going to do when they graduate? How will they support themselves? Maybe they will just disappear to the shores of Walden Pond…”

Excuse me if I’m wrong, I was always on the business students side, but those studying Liberal Arts look at the business students and think “All their work is so easy! I’m not in school to get a training, I’m here to get an education!”

To be fair, everyone seems to respect the Science and Engineering majors.

In college I was a member of the University Honors Program, which essentially meant that I (and 30-ish other students) took different core curriculum than the rest of the students.  And then we would have to write a thesis in order to graduate with an undergrad degree (something the rest of the University didn’t have to do).  I was also a business student (after spending 3 semesters in Film School) and I graduated with a degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

With that said, I absolutely hated the Honors program.  I hated it so much that I went in to the director of the program to ask out of it, he said I could, but that I would have to retake all of the basic University core.  I wasn’t about to take any extra classes, so out of laziness I stayed in. 

I stayed in through Faust, Dante, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Friedman, Darwin, Dawkins, Antigone, and the list goes on…and on… and on.  I hated every minute of it.  I was writing 20 page papers while my other friends were writing 2 paragraph summaries.  As a result of my being discouraged and feeling stuck I was one of 3 or 4 underacheivers in the whole group, I was also the first to realize that like a Harvard student, you can’t fail out.  B- was the lowest grade I could be given which was to the detriment of my GPA.

Looking back on my years in college I have to say that I am thankful for the training I received in my business classes, but I am more thankful for the education I received through the Liberal Arts focused honors program.  Because of the Honors program I am more diversified.  I am able to hold high level conversations with my elders, drop jokes that only a handful of people in the room get, and I’m better at working with people who think differently than I do (or is it that they think along the norm and I think differently?).  Also, because of my film classes I am able to better relate to movies other generations grew up with, the classics that I’d be willing to bet most of Gen-Y hasn’t seen.

One of the best things we can do to improve our lives and our business relationships is to diversify and further educate ourselves outside of what we normally find interesting. Through continuing education and diversifying our lives we become more interesting people and we are able to speak and network with more interesting people.  You’ll be shocked to know how much diversifying your knowledge will help you network and relate to other people.

I hated every minute of my liberal arts education in the honors program, I was surrounded by people who I knew wouldn’t make any money, but I am extremely thankful that I finished the program, and most of my friends from the program are on their way to making good money.

Take a class at a community college, pick up an old classic that you read in High School and have since forgotten, watch Casablanca or Gone With The Wind.   My next step is to learn more about my worst subjects in school: Biology.  Diversify your life.

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Last week I wrote a resume crash course called “Getting a Job: The Resume”, and now that you’ve got your resume put together, it’s time to start meeting people.  Sure you can apply to job listings online, and no it isn’t exactly a waste of time, but in actuality the best jobs are found through existing relationships. 

Now it’s time to start creating those relationships through networking.  This week I’ve written some pointers for effective networking.

• Read the news, especially the Wall Street Journal every morning.  Pay for a subscription if you don’t have it.  This is prime conversation material, that you are able to use in any situation.  Plus, it sounds really cool and intelligent the first few times you hear yourself say “there was an article about this in the Wall Street Journal last week.”  You’ll be surprised how often you’ll reference it, and how much you’ll learn
• Everything is a networking opportunity. EVERYTHING.
• You aren’t shy anymore.  You are confident and assertive. That means firm handshakes, making eye contact, and speaking confidently like you are sure of yourself and comfortable in the environment.  People remember good handshakes and confidence, but they also remember weak handshakes and lack of confidence, this is your first impression, make it count.
• Listen and bond with them over something.  You need a memorable conversation, a Wall Street Journal article would come in handy here.
• Get the business card and stay in contact using the “bond” or memorable conversation.  Following up the next day is the key to networking.  Without the follow up, you are just an acquaintance, if they will even remember you.
• You want a relationship, do not ask for a job.  If the person asks what you do, be honest, say you just graduated, and you’re looking for something in (insert field here).  Don’t get too specific, A friends boyfriend who was straight out of school once told me that he wanted to do PR for a sports team or a Zoo.  A year later, he was still jobless, my friend had broken up with him (because of his joblessness), and he was still looking to do PR with a sports team or a zoo.  No one wants to help you when you box yourself in, it is best to swallow your pride and realize your first job may not be your dream job.
• Ask for advice.  People love it when you ask their advice.  It makes them feel respected and important, most importantly, they will want to help. 
• Everyone has been in your shoes, and everyone remembers what it is/was like looking for a job straight out of school, let them help you, many people will want to.  You’ll be surprised.
• Use their contacts. Ask them if they know of anyone who might be willing to sit down and talk with you, even if they aren’t hiring.  Remember, you are looking for a relationship.  Sometimes you need to cannibalize the off chance of getting a job offer with one person in order to get an introduction to that persons contact list, but make sure that everyone knows you are looking for a job.
• Have a personal elevator speech.  You have to be prepared for everything.  Be ready for the question of “why should a company hire you?”  You have to be able to perform this on the spot.
• Don’t turn down an opportunity.  Force yourself to be active and social.  You never know who someone knows, and you never know how an opportunity could arise.

The bottom line is that you have to make the most of every opportunity presented to you in life, when you do this you meet incredible people and build your network.

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About 10 minutes into the conversation, I notice a woman and her date crying because they are laughing so hard while overhearing us.  So in my tipsy state, I decided to reach out and include them in the conversation as I drove home a point by pointing at him and saying: “That guy knows what I’m talking about.” As a result of my olive branch, they became very active participants.

As the conversation simmered down, and the man’s girlfriend was trying to guess what one of the guys at our table did for a living (she guessed director for X- Rated Movies), we came around to formalities.  I asked the man what he did for a living, and he informed me that he is an executive for a major TV network (hint, it’s target audience is guys 18-24).  Well, at the time I was a film major (long story), and this was my chance. 

“Oh really!?” I said, “I’m in film school!”

His Response: “You’re in film school?  Do you need an internship?  Because I need an intern.”

I got his card, and contacted his assistant the next day.  After an interview, for some sober formalities, I started work the next week.

The moral of this very true story, is that every thing you do is a networking opportunity.  You never know how things will work out, or who you will meet.  So you always have to be prepared to take advantage of the situations presented, and don’t be afraid to go out on a limb.

Because of this chance meeting I got a position that I probably could not have gotten on my own, working at an awesome company for a semester.  This specific TV network (or conglomerate of networks), has a very in depth interview and internship process which has to be applied for at least a semester in advance.  A few of the other interns even moved to LA for a semester just to be a part of the internship.

Now, because of a drunken conversation about third base, I have something on my resume that peaks interest, and is consistently the first thing I am asked about in interviews.  However, now when I’m asked about how I got the job, I respond with “I was in the right place, at the right time.”

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