Energy is transferable. It’s true! Have you ever heard of someone with an infectious personality? It’s better to have an infectious personality than to be known as Debbie Downer.

1. Try out a smile: It can change a grim, uninviting, and downright scary situation to a lighter one. If that’s not enough, Garfield (the cat) says smiling uses fewer muscles than frowning. Again, it’s a choice between working with a happy person versus working with someone who is scary and sometimes creepy.
2. Have a positive demeanor: People often slouch and appear sluggish. Give your team a jump start and liven up. If you boost company moral and increase productivity, then you’re a valuable asset.
3. SHOO! Monotone be gone: Voice has a huge impact. It’s better if you sound excited about what you’re talking about and utilize voice inflection in your speech. If you aren’t excited about yourself, then why would anyone else be excited?

It’s awesome watching faces change every time Eric mentions how scary people appear. The room normally changes – all smiles no frowns – slowly everyone starts to pay attention to their demeanor and flash a smile.

Can you smile without looking crazy? Send your comments to ken@jointap.com. Smile away!

One of the most difficult struggles transitioning college graduates have is adapting to the 9-5 work pace. I’m not purposely trying to lump everyone into one category, but it just seems like a fitting trend between most college grads I’ve met.

Currently, I commute two hours a day, twice a week to intern as an associate producer for The Ability Project. Getting up at 5:30 AM to make it here for a 7-8 hour day of work is extremely hard to adapt too. But— there is a but— it isn’t impossible. Here are some common sense tips I’ve learned these past few weeks but have neglected to actually use until now.

1. Sleep! Make it a schedule: Make it your priority to get to bed early enough so you get the right amount of sleep. You will feel more energized in the long run and still have time for weekend shenanigans that make the week’s work worth it. During my last semester at college, I went to bed after midnight, not caring about my late arrivals and droopy eyes. In the real world, this won’t cut it.
2. Organize Your Life: Organize through the traffic jams and put things back in place. The less clutter, the more space you’ve opened to creatively and tactically use to your benefit. Plus, a tangible recognition of accomplishment boosts your mood and work-ethic, which motivates you to be more productive and less lackadaisical.
3.   Make To-Do Lists: It’s important to find something that works best for you and to reiterate these habits daily. My apartment is littered with notes listing my to-do’s. Dates, deadlines, important parking ticket info, can be found all over my house. I hang them on mirrors, near light switches, on the refrigerator, in my wallet, even in friend’s houses so they know what I need to do, too. While my muse is visually stimulating myself with my Post-It notes, yours may be a calendar or chalkboard or even writing on your hand (like Ken said). Whatever it is that you prefer, stick with it.
4. Unwind: Take a night off after the long, stressful, brain-draining weeks. Let your laundry sit another day. Let your significant other make dinner. Fall into your guilty pleasures— perhaps Perez Hilton with Ben & Jerry’s— make time for yourself. It is the therapeutic kind of quality time you can enjoy.

Let me know your guilty pleasures at michelle@jointap.com and tell me how you unwind.

Many of us are stuck without a job or an internship right now, but that isn’t an excuse to not do something valuable with your time. Two weeks ago, Seth Godin blogged about Graduate School for Unemployed College Students.

In his post, he suggested some excellent ideas to make great use of your time if you are not currently working. They will look great on your resume and will serve as excellent talking points in your next interview.

The most interesting, productive, and doable, points are:

1.    Volunteer: Spend twenty hours a week running a project for a non-profit organization or coach/assistant coach a kids’ sports team.

2.    Build a network: Write a regular newsletter or blog about an industry you care about and develop your credibility.

3.    Get healthy: Run a marathon and work out regularly.

Refer to his blog for the rest of his suggestions. No one has an excuse to wake up at 10am every day, search Facebook for hours, and watch TV endlessly.

Get out here and do something! Not only will it make you a more interesting person, but you’ll feel better about yourself. Let me know if you have you accomplished any of these and send me any ideas of your own to jillian@jointap.com.

It may seem overly simple, but asking questions, taking risks, and putting yourself out there can be the difference between landing a great job and sitting on the couch wondering if you’re qualified. Who cares? You might as well take the first step.

All that you’ve read here is great advice, but it won’t do you any good unless you take the leap and actually do it. I encourage you to plunge in and be a person of action. It can be scary to put yourself out there, but it’s necessary if you want to get ahead in the job market. Expand your horizons and try new things.

Informational interviews are a tremendous resource. Utilize your college alumni and get in contact with them! If you are the type of person who would shy away from an opportunity, then I implore you to – at the least – try it out. You’re missing out on prime advice from people you already have similar interests. Who knows… it might even land you a job.

Go out on a limb and send me your thoughts, worries, or questions to adam@jointap.com

Scribble on a notepad, write on your hand, or text yourself. People find all sorts of ways to remember things. You may prefer to call it organized chaos, but it’s still chaos.

1. Invest in a calendar: I forgot is a horrible excuse. Everyone should have a calendar to keep track of deadlines, upcoming events, and relevant information. I forgot only gets you so far – soon your internship supervisor will just say I forgot to hire you.
2. Utilize a daily planner: Keep your thoughts organized. It’s just as important to micro-manage as it is to macro-manage. What’s sexier? I can manage multiple large scale projects and micro-manage my team members to ensure high productivity or I can follow directions.
3. Find your niche: Most importantly, learn about your working habits and when you perform at your best. Keep a notepad with you, a blackberry, or a journal to jot down your best ideas which you can organize later.
   

Take initiative and start organizing your life. Show you can manage your own schedule along with your job responsibilities. Sooner or later you will run out of hand space. I hope you have plenty of yellow-colored hand-shaped sticky notes.

How do you keep organized? Send your thoughts to ken@jointap.com. Please no hands with scribbles all over.

A great piece of advice that I’ve received numerous times is to start a blog or participate actively in one. It is an excellent avenue to voice your opinion and ask questions that will be answered by your peers and others interested in the field. There are many advantages to blogging daily such as:

1.   Staying up-to-date on the latest events in your field of interest: Find the areas that interest you the most and google them to find the most popular blogs. There are thousands of blogs out there waiting for you to join and voice your opinion!

2.    Good networking: You can meet so many people that are in your field of interest— not just peers—but professors, managers, CEOS, and experts. The opportunities are endless of who you’ll meet and connect with.

3.    Looks great on a resume: Having the word ‘blog’ on your resume shows that you’re tech-savvy, well-connected, and genuinely interested in something.

4.    Demonstrates and improves your writing abilities: It serves as a great supplemental writing sample and shows employers a unique understanding of your thoughts and opinions.

So get out there… find a blog that interests you and don’t just follow it every day but actively participate and start a blogging career of your own!

What’s your favorite blog? Email me at jillian@jointap.com J

Yes! Why fear change? You shouldn’t. The ability to handle pressure is enticing to employers. If you aren’t able to adapt to a changing work environment, then you may need to rethink the application to sell $5 footlongs.

I’ve taken a double take while working at TAP. Sufficient just isn’t enough in todays economic down turn. Finding and keeping a job is harder than ever. Unemployment is rising, jobs are scarce and the U.S. is in a recession.

Stay current and make effective use of free time to learn how to use social networking websites, latest software, and sharpen your communication skills. Most importantly: Invest in your future – do your homework and change for the better. Make it part of your routine and daily news consumption.

Send your ideas to ken@jointap.com on how we can change for the better. Pennies accepted.

Eric often emphasizes that the job application process is all about you. He’s right. Success can’t be measured by some kind of imaginary formula. We are constantly overwhelmed with societal and parental pressure of what you should do with YOUR life. We have heard it all:

Study hard, get involved in extra-curricular activities, get internships, secure a job offer by the time you graduate, climb the corporate ladder, make your first million by 30, get married, settle down…etc.

By no means is that pathway a bad one, but only if it’s what you truly want. We often overanalyze the past and forget to live towards the future. People change, plans change, and life changes. Live in the present before you dwell on the past and realize that your career path is one of the few things that you are fully in control of.

Quit sweating the small stuff, don’t be afraid to shoot for the stars, and don’t accept anything less than doing what makes you happiest. It’s NEVER too late to discover or pursue your greatest passion/s.

Take a step in the right direction and send me your thoughts about the song “Everybody’s Free (To WearSuncscreen)” by Baz Luhrmann at Melissa@jointap.com

I’m a true believer that you’re only as happy/successful/apathetic as the people with which you surround yourself. Recently, Ryan Stephens blogged on BrazenCareerist about your success and its relation to your friends.

It is best to surround yourself with people that will push you to be better mentally, physically, emotionally, professionally. As Eric suggests, everyone needs an accountability partner (like a personal trainer at the gym) that will give you constructive criticism and encourage you to perform your best.

All in all, it’s best to surround yourself with motivated, happy people – and share your ideas and ambitions with them! The good friends will urge you to follow your passions while others will bring you down— ditch ‘em, they’re not worth your time

So, what do you think? Do the people with which you surround yourself have a significant impact on the type person that you are? How much of a good influence are you on your friends?

Send me your opinion at jillian@jointap.com!

Life happens. Up, down, side to side — it’ll tug you in all different directions whether you like it or not. Bottom line: deal with it.

The train was delayed over 40 minutes Monday. Faces of anguish, angry sighs, and complaints rumbled through the train. It didn’t solve anything.

Everyone has the right to complain, but not everyone wants to hear it. Complaining doesn’t help unless you offer a solution. Who would you prefer to hire– an energetic, driven and optimistic individual or a sluggish, apathetic, and pessimistic person?

Email me at ken@jointap.com and ask a question or comment on the post. Just no complaints… unless you have a solution.