Participants must be available to devote two hours on Tuesday, June 23rd, from 6:30pm- 8:30pm OR Wednesday, June 24th, from 6:30- 8:30pm, to offer their candid opinions in a group setting. The focus groups will be held in midtown Manhattan. The group will be anonymous — any information recorded from these sessions will not be used in association with any names and will have no impact on employment decisions.

Pizza will be provided!

If you are interested in participating, please email me at lindsey@lindseypollak.com with the following information:

Name
Current School
Degree
Graduation month/year
Major
Home State

Please respond by Wednesday, June 17th. Participants will be confirmed and sent final instructions by Thursday, June 18th.

Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to forward to trusted friends!

Image: BehaviorResearch.net

I’m excited to share this new website and blog design, which features more career advice videos, more social networking opportunities, more information about my campus and corporate speaking and — coming soon — audio downloads.

Many thanks to Scott Weiner of Brandwagon for all of his creativity and hard work.

I hope you enjoy the new website and please share any feedback you have!

There aren’t any reality shows about finding America’s next top writer.  And I’m not saying there should be.  I know that my writing process—sitting in front of a computer silently willing myself to focus instead of Google ex-boyfriends from college—wouldn’t make scintillating television programming.  But still, without a Simon or Tyra barking directives from the television, an aspiring author might feel left in a lurch when it comes to launching a career.  So, Lindsey asked me to write some tips on starting a writing career.  And while this is a tough request as there’s no one path to follow to writing success or specific way to guarantee getting published, there are a few writerly must-do’s when you’re getting started.

1. Write. Writing is a pretty huge part of being a writer.  That sentence might read stupid obvious, but it’s a fact that writing’s easy to talk about and hard to do.  Having a book idea or writing aspirations is one thing, but churning out the pages to back those ambitions up is a completely different thing.  So put your fingers to the keyboard, pen to the page, or quill to the parchment, and get writing.

2. Share. As hard as writing is, sharing your writing can be even harder.  But you can’t get published if your work never leaves your hard drive.  So, don’t be afraid of other people’s eyes on your words or editorial feedback.  In fact, you should seek it out.

3. Read. Read as much as you can, and not just from the genre you’re writing.  Read everything from literary memoir to paranormal romance to the instructional poster about hand washing in your dermatologist’s office.  Inspiration and influence comes from everywhere and seeing how others are practicing the craft can be very motivational.

4. Toot. Toot your own horn because, to paraphrase someone famous and philosophical, if you’re not tooting your own horn, who is?  Let people know that you’re not just a writer, but an awesome writer.  Tell the world how funny/poignant/lyrical/thrilling your work is.  How else are they going to know?

5. Live. Writing is important, but so is having something to write about.  A story about a guy who stares at his QWERTY keyboard for eight hours a day and limits his social interaction to the pizza delivery guy and his cat isn’t going attract that many readers.  So get out there and learn and do and see, so you have a base of experiences from which to write.

Hope this helps and inspires writers out there.  And I’ll leave you with this insider secret: never underestimate the power of switching fonts to WingDings when you’re up again writer’s block.  Inspiration at its finest!

Click here to check out Julie’s new novel, Slept Away.

Q: So I’ll be graduating college next semester. What do you recommend I should be doing now to prepare for the job market?

A: I think you want to get as much real experience as you can. Whether it’s internships, part time jobs–anything where you can have accomplishments, real world experience and are meeting as many people as you can. I don’t mean networking in a cheesy way, like using them.  I just mean meeting other people and offering to help them, and someday they might offer to help you. Also use your college’s career services office. So many college students I know don’t take advantage of that. They can help you make sure your resume is excellent.

Q: What’s the biggest mistake that grads make when they’re job hunting?

A: The biggest mistake is doing nothing, becoming paralyzed by the bad economy. The reality is you have to get out there and do stuff, even if you don’t get your dream job right away. Take a retail job, temp, volunteer, do something just to get out there. Don’t stay at home playing video games. It sounds obvious, but a lot of people think it’s better not to take a mediocre job or temp — but it’s better to be out there. If you’re a barista at Starbucks, then be the best barista at Starbucks. That’s better than sitting at home waiting for the perfect job. A lot of people disagree with that mentality, but I feel pretty strongly about it.

Read the full interview on the Youth Radio website…

I absolutely understand we are in deep economic trouble, but I also know that there are opportunities available for young professionals who are smart, hardworking and willing to go the extra mile. PricewaterhouseCoopers has the same attitude. I’m currently working with PwC on a national project to help students and recent grads to “recession-proof your job search.” A few weeks ago I provided ten tips and a video on PwC’s website, and now we’re expanding the resources available to make sure you can find all the help you need to get a job.

Visit PwC.tv for:

Job search Q&As
Career advice vidoes
Downloadable worksheets on such topics as getting started, networking and personal branding
A blog to post your own questions for response by me and PwC’s career experts

Don’t miss out on all of these free resources — visit PwC.tv today and learn how to forget your fear and recession-proof your job search.

From the authors:

Thanks so much for your interest in our work and your willingness to participate in The Thin Pink Line Survey.

The survey will take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

Although we value everyone’s opinion, if you are self-employed we ask that you not complete this survey.  We look forward to getting your input for our next project!

Here’s the link to complete the online survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cy9xPNgCE_2flPK7MMhSLzMw_3d_3d

To thank you for your participation, we will enter the name of each person who completes the survey into a drawing to win a complimentary one hour coaching session with either Dr. Lois Frankel or Carol Frohlinger, Esq.

Thanks for your participation!

Carol Frohlinger and Lois Frankel

Did your New Year’s resolutions include the goal of traveling overseas? Taking more risks? Casting a wider net in your job search? If you’re interested in any of the above, you might be interested in this contest, sponsored by Tourism New South Wales, a consulting client of mine:

Tell us why you deserve to win the ultimate Sydney work and play lifestyle.

All you have to do is tell us why you should in the ultimate working vacation in Sydney. If you win, you can combine a little work or a little study with a LOT of fun and travel. Make it original but most importantly make it about you and why Sydney will love you. Tell us why you should win in a video or in words.

4 Prizes of approx. $6,000 USD each:

- We’ll fly you here – Return flights to Sydney, Australia.
- We’ll get you a job – Talent Management package courtesy of Hudson and CareerOne.
- We’ll make sure you have fun – Free event access courtesy of Moshtix.
- We’ll settle you in – Talent Fee courtesy of Tourism NSW.

Click here to apply now.

Click here to learn more about opportunities to work, study or vacation to Sydney, Australia — now easier thanks to a new Work and Holiday visa arrangement between Australia and the United States.

As I’ve blogged about before, I lived in Australia for two and a half years — feel free to ask me any questions about the experience!

I believe that constant news about the bad economy leaves job seekers with two choices: 1) focus on how bad the job market is and feel paralyzed, or 2) understand that it’s bad and look for opportunities anyway.

I’m going to recommend door #2. To help, I spent some time this past weekend looking for bright spots in the bleak job market. It wasn’t easy; there’s a lot of terrible news out there. But there are definitely opportunities in this recession.

Here are five of them:

1. North Dakota. Besides loving the movie “Fargo,” I can’t say I know a lot about North Dakota. Until this weekend’s article in the New York Times, I definitely didn’t know this cold state is a hot spot for jobs. According to the story, ND has about 13,000 unfilled jobs and is desperately seeking skilled workers. Click here to visit the state’s official job site.

If North Dakota isn’t your cup for tea, check out BusinessWeek’s list of 20 other locations it defines as the best places to ride out the recession.

2. Women-owned businesses. Nell Merlino, creator of Make Mine a Million $ Business, is launching a new initiative, the Make Mine a Million Dollar Race, which challenges women entrepreneurs to hit one of three business revenue goals—$250,000, $500,000, or $1 million—by the end of 2009. The goal? Economic stimulus and jobs, jobs, jobs. BusinessWeek just interviewed Merlino about the program.

The best way to find a job with a growing woman-owned business (or any small- to medium-sized business) is through networking, because most smaller companies don’t recruit through college career services or major online job boards. Talk to people in your personal and professional networks (parents, friends, professors, community members, etc.) to meet entrepreneurs, or attend events hosted by such organizations as Make Mine a Million $ Business, the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the Downtown Women’s Club or local women’s business clubs and organizations in your area.

(Note: Merlino’s program also has a component for high school and college-aged young women, called Make Our Daughters a Million, to encourage young women to begin entrepreneurial ventures. I’ll be facilitating a workshop as part of this program on Thursday, December 11, in Hollywood, Florida. Click here to learn more and register to attend.)

3. Your Monopoly board. The Associated Press just published a helpful Q&A (picked up in many local papers, including my hometown paper — shout-out to The Norwalk Hour!) about which industries are still hiring. The article advises job seekers to “look to your Monopoly board” for two of these industries: railroads and utilities. “Others are just as old school,” the article goes on, “like the logging and mining sector, and food, drink and tobacco manufacturing. The oil business is still adding a few jobs, as is pipeline transportation. General merchandise stores also did some pre-holiday hiring.”

The recent news that President-elect Obama is planning to create an enormous public works construction program to stimulate the economy supports the Monopoly theory. If you’d like to land one of those new jobs when they’re created, start studying now to understand what types of skills, experience and knowledge will be required. (For instance, you could set up a Google news alert for phrases such as “public works,” “national infrastructure” or “expanding broadband access.”)

4. Australia (the country, not the movie). I blogged recently about the new visa arrangement between the U.S. and Australia that makes it easy to study or work Down Under. The city of Sydney, in particular, is making a big push to attract twentysomething American workers. (Full disclosure: I am doing some paid consulting work with Tourism New South Wales, the organization promoting this program.)

Sydney is eager to receive resumes from young Americans with a variety of professional interests, ranging from environmental studies to hospitality to marketing to finance and beyond. Visit MySpace MySydney for a job search tool and information about how to get a visa. I lived in Australia for two and-a-half years and can honestly say it was one of the best experiences, personal and professional, of my life.

Another city seeking American workers is Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Click here for a recent story in New York magazine about young Americans working in this “hotly speculative Middle Eastern insta-metropolis.” I can’t say this story made me want to jump on a plane to Dubai, but, for some young people, this growing community might be an interesting option.

5. Accounting. Last week, blogger Penelope Trunk cited a study by recruiting agency Robert Half saying that, “accounting firms have been so chronically understaffed that we’d have to have a five-year recession for them to catch up.” It’s true that hiring has held steady at accounting firms across the country. Read this article to learn which accounting-related skills are most sought-after and visit this job board to find entry-level accounting positions.

Where else have you seen bright spots in the job market? Please share!

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Image of needle in haystack from KnowledgeWatch.com.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your job hunt or career management (particularly in this very challenging economy), there are places you can turn for extra help after hours. I’ve written before about the fact that university career services offices provide free job search and career help to all students and alumni, but I’m aware that these offices can be overbooked and, of course, only open during the day.

If you need more help, more resources and more advice, and you need all of this late at night or on the weekends (and, let’s be honest, it’s hard to fit in a job search when you have classes and/or a full-time job) , here is a new resource I recommend:

Forte Foundation Career Lab Virtual Campus

I’m a big fan of the Forte Foundation, an organization that helps young women consider careers in business, primarily through live events. Well, the Forte Foundation wasn’t content providing help only to students on the campuses where they held their events. So, they created the Career Lab Virtual Campus to offer resume and interview advice, discussion forums and a video of my Forte Foundation workshop and the presentations of other speakers — all for free (my favorite price!) online.

So, next time you’re up late editing your resume or stressing about your job search on a Sunday, take action by visiting the Career Lab Virtual Campus. Sorry, though, cute hockey players not included.

World, meet Generation Y. If you weren’t aware of them yet, you couldn’t miss them on Election Day.

Barack Obama’s victory is the biggest and most inspiring example yet of the growing influence of Generation Y (born approx. 1980–2000) in the U.S. and the world.

I witness this every day when I speak on college campuses and chat with students and young professionals in person, by text message and on Facebook (where Obama has over 2.5 million fans): Gen Y is smart, diverse, energized, socially and politically aware and able to use the Internet to do pretty much anything.

To learn more about how Generation Y took part in the election and helped to influence the outcome, check out the Youth Vote Blog and ABC News on Campus for blog posts, videos, photos and reflections by college students from all over the country and all across the political spectrum.

Of course, no matter which candidate you voted for and which generation you identify with, I think all Americans can be proud today to say:

We just made history.