With graduation around the corner and the economy plunging deeper into recession, many young women are facing the possibility that they may graduate without a full-time job. While this is not the ideal scenario—especially for those with student loans—it’s not the end of the world.

There are many ways to make money and build your career without a full-time job. Plus, you’ll keep busy and you’ll be “out there” while continuing to look for a full-time position. Many short-term or part-time gigs also have the potential to lead to more permanent employment situations. The following suggestions may not make sense for everyone, but hopefully they’ll open your eyes to some new possibilities.

Temp. Temporary employment agencies are hurting along with the rest of the economy, but they are still a good option to try. Here’s the trick: register with a few agencies, register in person and follow up regularly (every few days) to see if any opportunities are available. It’s common for companies to hire temps into permanent positions, so it’s worth the extra effort to win a temporary assignment. Plus, you may gain some experience—and potential interest—in a field that you didn’t know about previously.

Become an “Urban Intern.” Urban Interns is an innovative website that connects small business owners and busy professionals with a pool of qualified, college-educated part-time assistants looking for flexible opportunities on a paid or unpaid basis. The site just launched in New York City and will be expanding to other metropolitan areas. According to Urban Interns co-founder Cari Sommer, “Urban Interns offers opportunities ranging from assisting with marketing projects, doing online research and customer outreach to running errands and organizing files. When an Urban Intern registers, he or she can dictate what tasks are interesting and hours of availability.” As with temping, an urban internship has potential to lead to a full-time opportunity in the future.

Tutor. If you’re a college student or recent college grad, you may worry that you don’t have enough experience to get a job in this economy. Well, there is one area in which I guarantee you have experience, if not expertise: being a student. Organizations such as Kaplan Test Prep, Princeton Review and local tutoring companies hire most of their staff from the ranks of college grads. Once you get some tutoring work under your belt, you can also take on private clients and charge by the hour.

Freelance. Do you have writing skills from taking writing or English courses? Editing skills from working on your school’s newspaper? Coding skills? Graphic design skills? If so, check out freelance marketplace websites and bid for some projects. In most places, you can complete the work at night and on the weekends while you focus regular working hours on your job hunt. Check out websites such as Guru.com, Elance.com and Craigslist.org to bid for opportunities.

If you do pursue a short-term strategy for making money, remember that you in no way have to give up on your ideal career goals and dreams. While you’re trying one (or a few) of the above options, continue to network in your desired industry, attend professional association events, read industry publications and apply to open positions. Good luck!

A version of this post originally appeared on the Lindsey Pollak Career Blog.

TAGS: Employment options, Generation Y, Job Search

Last week, the Families and Work Institute released a new study that showed attitudes of and about working women have changed radically even in the last few years ─ and for the better.

One of the findings:

Whether they are mothers or women with income, no kids (WINKs), substantially more women under 29 want to move up the corporate ladder than did in 2002.

Source: Families and Work Institute

So, if you are one of those women (or even a little older!),  be sure that you let people know that you have high aspirations .

One of the things we discovered when we wrote Her Place at the Table: A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success is that way too often, women suffer from The Tiara Syndrome. “What’s that? you may be wondering.   It’s when you keep their head down, deliver outstanding results and hope that someone notices and places a tiara on your head to reward you.  The problem? It didn’t happen very often before the economic crisis hit and happens even less now.

Some things to consider:

• If your company offers career planning services, take advantage of them.  Ask for advice about alternate career paths in the firm.
• Proactively seek out mentors in your company and outside your firm as well.

• Read as much as you can about your organization and issues that affect it directly or indirectly.

• Raise your hand for high visibility assignments.
• If you are willing to transfer, make that clear.
• Think creatively about ways you can increase your profile in the firm and in the industry more broadly.

It’s up to you to proactively manage your career – nobody else will do it for you.   Don’t assume people in your company know you want the corner office,  tell them.

TAGS: ambition, career choices, career goals

Women are more vulnerable financially as we age.  Why?  Because we have very unique money issues:

• lower earnings
• work patterns
• health status
• life expectancy
• marital status

We have lower earnings because we work in different and often less lucrative occupations and sectors.  Two-thirds of us earn less than $30,000 a year – a number that has been diminished even more by the ongoing downturn in the overall economy.  U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says the recession is especially hard on women because we earn less money than men for the same work.  Women earn from 78-cents to 52-cents for every dollar men receive.  (Source: The Womens’ Data Center, Institute for Women’s Policy Research,  http://www.iwpr.org/femstats/wocdata.htm - Asian 78-cents, White 73-cents, African-American 63-cents, Native American almost 60-cents and Latinas 52-cents).  The average 25-year old woman with a college degree earns $500,000 less in her lifetime than a man.  While women are in the workforce in greater numbers, we are often part-time or work for an employer offering few or no benefits. 

Women’s work patterns are different.   Women on average work 13 years less than men.  During our time away – most often to care for children or frail parents or other family members – we’re not increasing our earning power, not vesting in pensions and our lifetime earnings for Social Security income is lower.   Most defined pension plans vest at 5 years.  Women average 4.7 years in a job while men average 5.1 years.  Half of working women have no pension. 

Women spend more on out-of-pocket health care expenses than men.  The system sees our health status differently.  Men have more acute illnesses and die sooner but  their medical needs are covered under insurance and Medicare.  Women at midlife have more chronic illnesses, require specialists and leading edge medicine.  Our illnesses frequently result in the need for long term care – and other needs often not covered by many insurances or Medicare.

We live longer than men – on average about 5 years longer but a woman’s income at age 65 is half that of men.  Women must factor in longer life expectancy as they plan for retirement and should work with a  financial specialist to accurately figure out the rate at which they spend their retirement savings.

90% of women will live alone – by choice or circumstances – at some point in their life.  29% of single, older women are poor or near poor.  Widowed and divorced women are three to four times more likely to be poor than women in couples.  For many older women, Social Security is their only source of income in retirement.

Women deserve economic security.  In order to attain it, we must not allow ourselves to become the victims of this recession.  See and seize the opportunity to become better stewards of our personal money.

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: benefits, caregiving, chronic illness, earnings, health status, life expectancy, Lower earnings, marital status, pension plans, widowed and divorced women, work patterns

When I was a little girl I used to ask a million questions.  It always annoyed the adults who told me, “Don’t you know, curiosity killed the cat?”  Then I would ask what cat?  How did it die?  When did it happen?  Lately I’ve been thinking about the relationship between curiosity and success and it reminded me of this experience.  I definitely think there’s a direct correlation between the degree to which you exhibit curiosity about others, about the world, about events and even mundane things you may never have to recall and the degree to which you believe you have achieved some modicum of success. 

And, I’ll let you in on a little secret.  In my coaching business, Corporate Coaching International, one of the key factors we use to assess the likelihood of a potential client actually meeting his or her goals is curiosity.  In initial interviews we’ll ask questions like:  

• What was the last book you read? 
• Is it important that what you read have practical applications or do you just like to learn new things for the sake of learning new things?
• What was the last thing you did that took you completely out of your comfort zone?
• Given your experience, education and work history, what are some insights you’ve gained about people in general?
• What questions do you have for us/me?

If the person hasn’t read any kind of book in a long time, opts for practical over learning new things, rarely goes outside of his or her comfort zone, has no insight about others or has no questions, then we’re not confident about their ability to engage in behavioral change – a factor critical for career success. 

If you’re not naturally the curious type, here are 3 exercises to help you develop your curiosity muscle:

• Read “The Week” magazine.  Click on the link and you can get four free issues to see what it’s all about.  I recommend it highly because it contains the best of articles from periodicals around the world.  It contains information related to politics, science, personalities, entertainment — you name it.  If the $59 subscription fee is a little high for you, wait til the holidays when you can get two subscriptions for the price of one. 
• Talk to one stranger a day.  They could be sitting next to you in the doctor’s office or standing ahead of you on the grocery checkout line.  Ask a question – then really listen to the answer.  It can be as simple as noting a particular product they’re purchasing and asking about their experience with it. 
• Set learning goals.  Identify those things you’d like to learn or activities you’d like to try and write them down.  Then develop a plan for tackling them over time.  Learning to play piano or touring on your own around Europe are ways to explore what you’re most curious about. 

TAGS: curiosity; the Week magazine; corporate coaching international; success factors

Do you know how much time you spend reading and responding to email?

According to a survey by Radicati Group, if you are “average”, it’s 25% of your workday. People who responded to the survey sent an average of 38 messages a day and received an average of 102.

Wow, that’s a lot of time devoted to email.

As I’m sure many of you do, I struggle with keeping up with email. It can be overwhelming to start the day with not only that day’s unread messages but an inbox overflowing with messages two or three weeks old that you still have to do something with. And when I travel, I tend to respond to only the most important or urgent because trying to compose well-written responses using a keyboard the size of the one on my PDA is not fun. The emails continue to pile up.

Advice about managing email usually suggests:

• Setting aside a specific time(s) each day to handle email, for example, early AM, noon and day end.

• Turning off the “you’ve got mail” notification so that you aren’t constantly distracted.

• Having a system to handle messages. David Allen recommends handling each message just once, Farhad Manjoo writing in The New York Times suggests setting criteria, either responding if it will take less than two minutes or “holding it for later” if it will take longer than two minutes to deal with –although he warns that this can be tricky. But Manjoo also cautions to avoid email management systems that are so time consuming that they create more of a problem than they solve.

All good advice.

I’d add another suggestion, particularly applicable to women who find it difficult to say “no” – use the “delete” button early and often. Just because someone you knew in high school but haven’t seen in ten years emails asking you to help his daughter find a job doesn’t mean you have to do it. It doesn’t even mean that you have to let it loiter in your inbox while telling yourself that you’ll get to it when you have more time.

Feel free to add your email management advice to the Comments section – trust me, I can use them!

TAGS: email, productivity

The Thin Pink Line’s very own Lindsey Pollak appeared on CBS to discuss what young people looking for jobs should do – hint, don’t wait for the job to come to you.  But I think the tips Lindsey shares work for people of all ages.  What do you think?

TAGS: informal networking, job seeking, Lindsey Pollak

The price of gas goes up and down but you can be on the road to consistent savings by keeping your car running efficiently and therefore more economically. 

Keeping your car’s engine tuned and purring at its fuel-efficient best means being deliberate about what’s happening under the hood of your car:

• Don’t forget to change your oil as recommended because clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between your car’s moving parts and removes harmful substances from your car’s engine.
• Checking and replacing your vehicle’s air filters can increase gas mileage up to 10%.
• Most vehicles have gasoline filters so make sure they’re changed, too.
• If your car’s trunk is habitually filled with “stuff” – clean it out because an extra 100 pounds of weight in there can reduce your car’s fuel economy by as much as 2%.

Before you gas up again, take a look at and follow the recommendations in your owner’s manual regarding the right octane level to use.  Most cars run on regular octane and automotive specialists say there’s no benefit to using a higher octane gas than is recommended. 

Frank Washington is managing partner/editor of the gem of an online car information site called AboutThatCar.com ( http://aboutthatcar.com/) – a website dedicated to easing the automotive purchasing and ownership experience of all consumers.  Washington says:  “Unless you have a high performance engine, buying high octane gasoline is a waste of money.  What’s more, most contemporary vehicles list the recommended fuel octane on the inside of the refueling door.  And yes,” Washington goes on to say, “the bottom line is that every gasoline powered vehicle will run just fine off regular fuel.”

What about all those gas saving gadgets we hear about?  Do they work?  Car specialists say “no, they don’t” – steer clear of them.  And the Environmental Protection Agency which has tested more than a hundred of these gizmos found that very few provided any fuel economy benefits.

The fact is – how you drive is as important as how far you drive when it comes to fuel efficiency.  Commit to staying within the posted speed limits since gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds over 60 miles an hour.  Avoid unnecessary idling.  AboutThatCar.com’s Washington says:  “Miles per gallon is exactly zero when a car is idling.”   To idle is to waste fuel, which costs you money and pollutes the air.  Drive “gently” rather than with fast starts and stops because “gentle driving” improves your in-town gas mileage by up to 5%.

On the highway – use cruise control whenever you can because it improves fuel economy.  Keep your tires properly inflated and properly aligned which reduces friction and you’ll increase your gas mileage up to 3%.

So whether driving across town or cross country – how you gas up, operate and maintain your car are important factors that will help you drive down your costs.

Here’s to your health and wealth!

AboutThatCar.com provides buying, leasing  and insurance tips, financing links and reviews of new vehicles as well as the latest on safety and regulatory issues.

TAGS: AboutThatCar.com, automotive, car efficiency, choosing the right octane, fuel economy tips, fuel-efficient suggestions, gas saving gadgets, oil and air filter changes

The following letter from a reader reminded me of how many times women doubt their capability and, as a result, take a pass on great opportunities that less qualified men jump at in a heartbeat: 

Several years ago I was offered a management position but did not accept it because I was afraid of the responsibility.  I’ve regretted that decision ever since.  When the position becomes available again I’m going to go for it.  This time, however, there will be more competition.  What can I do to stand out… and not yield to fear?

First of all, I say to this reader YOU GO GIRL!  You’re not going to make the same mistake twice and that’s good news.  Here are some coaching tips that will help position you for the job when it becomes available:

1.  Remember that no one goes into a new job without some fear.  Regardless of the fact that I’ve spoken to hundreds of groups in front of thousands of people I’m still a little anxious when I get on stage.  No one knows it except me and that’s what you want to keep in mind.  It’s normal to have some anxiety around meeting new expectations but others won’t know that.  Tell yourself that this fear is actually a good thing because it will make you more vigilant to the new cues for success.   In the situation described above, you’ve already passed up one bite of the apple so, as you’ve already surmised, getting the second chance to bite will require extra effort on your part.

2.  Consciously identify the leadership characteristics your organization values and create a plan to demonstrate them.  Obviously you possess them because you were already offered a position in management.  Now it’s even more critical that you consistently exhibit these leadership behaviors.  For example, if “assertiveness” is important, be sure that your plan includes speaking up early and often in meetings.  Or, if your organization is data driven be certain to do the advance research needed to support your ideas and proposals.

3.   Find opportunities to call attention to your leadership contributions.  Even if you’re exhibiting the desired behaviors, you still might have to get others to notice.  So don’t be afraid to illuminate them in your weekly status reports, pre-performance review update, or conversations with your boss.  An example here might be dropping by the boss’s office and saying something like, “Just wanted to let you know that the pre-work my department and I did on the Edwards account really paid off.  I just received the signed contract.”  Keep it simple and subtle. 

4.  Throw your hat in the ring before the job becomes available.  Let your boss and HR department know that since last being offered a management position you’ve gained the skills and confidence needed to step into the job and do it successfully.  Ask to be considered for the next vacancy. 

5.  Volunteer for high profile assignments.   This is where you get to demonstrate the full range of your capabilities.  You want the level of management above your boss to have you on their radar screens.  Make presentations on critical issues impacting your company.

6.  Enlist advocates.  If you do a favor or project for someone in management with which they’re particularly pleased, don’t be afraid to ask them to put a good word in with your boss or HR.  Similarly, ask for mentoring from people who might have a say in who is ultimatelty promoted. 

7.  Keep an “atta girl” file.  This includes kudos you’ve received from others, articles you’ve written, or other exemplars of your talent.  When the vacancy you want is finally announced use some of these when applying for the job.  It also provides a good source of encouragement for those days we all have when we wonder if we’ll ever achieve our goals. 

TAGS: demonstrating leadership, marketing yourself, promotion

This Saturday’s New York Times featured a front-page story about how the recession is prompting some people to start their own businesses instead of looking for new jobs. It’s an encouraging story if you’ve ever considered the option of creating your own venture, large or small.

While some people decide to dive headfirst into entrepreneurship, others feel more comfortable dipping in a toe, then an ankle, then a knee before swimming solo.  The choice is very personal and depends on your experience, finances and overall comfort with risk.  But, if you’re thinking even just a little bit about starting your own business, it’s never too early to take actions that will set you up for taking the plunge when you’re ready.  Here are some suggestions for first steps to take if you’re thinking about starting your own small business or becoming a full-time freelancer:

Find Real and Virtual Mentors. I guarantee you are not the first person to start a business in your industry. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, DowntownWomensClub.com, Make Mine a Million $ Business, Yahoo groups and other networking organizations and websites to make connections with people who have started similar-sized businesses (though not potential direct competitors  — as you can imagine, it makes me really cranky when someone asks me for advice on how to start a business exactly the same as mine!).  Ask people how they got started and what advice and recommended resources they might offer.  You can also use the web to research successful entrepreneurs.  What do their websites look like?  What experience is listed in their bios or LinkedIn profiles?  What professional credentials do they maintain?  Take notes!

Understand the Essentials. It’s not the most exciting part of starting a business, but it’s crucial to research any licenses, taxes and insurance you’ll need to go solo, and I recommend doing this sooner rather than later.  Start a list or folder to keep track of everything, and don’t be afraid to ask experts for help, especially an accountant and a lawyer.  You can look to freelancers unions, entrepreneurial websites (my faves are StartupNation.com, FastCompany.com, Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com) and the Small Business Administration for free or low-cost help determining what “official” steps are required. Above all, be sure to find independent health insurance. Never take the risk of being uninsured.

Learn How to Market Yourself. One of the most important requirements of entrepreneurship is the ability to sell yourself and your ideas.  Even before you launch your own venture, you can begin working on this aspect of self-employment: Join high-profile committees of industry organizations to make yourself visible to members (who may be future clients of your new business). Volunteer at a nonprofit organization related to the business you’d like to start. Take professional development classes online or at a community college to enhance your business skills and industry expertise. Start a blog on a topic related to your entrepreneurial interests. Start posting comments and articles on Twitter that establish your expertise in the area of your choice. Check out the Personal Branding Blog for ongoing tips on marketing yourself.

Read up. Many, many, many people have written great books on how to start and run businesses of all shapes and sizes. Here are some of my personal favorites for young entrepreneurs.

Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

Getting Started in Consulting

Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money

The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It

If you have more how-to-be-an-entrepreneur books you’d recommend to aspiring entrepreneurs, please share in the Comments section!

Each of the above activities will increase your leadership experience, expand your network and, perhaps most importantly, build your confidence that there is a world outside of full-time employment.  The plunge into entrepreneurship could even take place sooner than you thought possible.  Or, if you find yourself resisting these actions, it may be a sign that you’re not quite ready to leave the regular paycheck pool, even if it is hard to find a job right now. Either way, self-employment is an option that many people consider at some point in their careers, so it’s always worth a bit of exploration.

A version of this post originally appeared on the Lindsey Pollak Career Blog.

TAGS: entrepeneurs, Generation Y

As important to career success as talent, skill or experience is self confidence. Not cockiness but rather appropriate self assurance that you will be successful at whatever the immediate task at hand is. And success at challenge after challenge begets success on a larger scale.

But it all starts with your belief in yourself.

An episode of 30 Rock (an NBC comedy) titled “Retreat to Move Forward“ is illustrative. Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin) is scheduled to deliver a keynote talk at a meeting important to him and is, understandably, nervous. So Jack stands in front of a mirror and gives himself a pep talk. He says things like, “You tiger you! You’ll be fantastic. You’ll knock dead.” Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey) walks by and catches Jack in the act of his self talk. Does Liz laugh? Does she tease Jack? No ─ she empathizes saying, “Oh, I do the same thing. I talk to myself in the mirror too.” Flash to Liz’s pep talk ─ she’s talking to herself  because she’s going out on a date.  But she’s saying things  like, “You look awful. Your hair is a disaster…” You get the idea.

Funny with an important lesson embedded ─ you have to get out of your own way.

Some things you can do to build your confidence in yourself:

• Take a deep breath. This works both physically and emotionally.

• Keep a journal of your accomplishments. Refer to it often.

• Create an email folder to store compliments you receive from clients and colleagues. See #2 above.

• Ask for feedback. Not too often and when the person you’re asking has time to provide it. Make it easy for the other person to give you information about what you did that worked as well as ways you can improve by asking, “What did I do that you think was effective? The reason I’m asking is that I want to be sure to do it again next time.”

Back to Jack and Liz ─ I’m left wondering about the fact that for Jack, it’s a career enhancing opportunity which prompts his anxiety whereas for Liz, it’s a personal situation. I’m hoping that the writers took the show in that direction because Liz Lemon knows how very good she is at her job and not that they are unconsciously feeding into a Thin Pink Line stereotype that women spend more time worrying about their relationships than their careers! What do you say, Tina Fey?

TAGS: 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin, pep talk, self-confidence, Tin Fey