How to Solve 3 Common Work Mistakes

The name of the game changes when you enter the workforce, so it’s understandable that a lot of people make mistakes early on in their careers. Here’s how to pick yourself up after the occasional mishap.

1. What if you already hate your job on your first day there?
Things like this happen. It’s important that you maintain integrity and don’t put the people who hired you in a bad position. Show them respect by telling them how you’re feeling as soon as possible. Be honest, but nice. Tell them that you’d like to talk to them privately and explain your initial concerns. Explain that you’re worried you might have had the wrong impression or expectations.

But be sure to leave room in case you misread the situation. Maybe you’re in a special training program, office or project for the first few weeks. Maybe you’re in the wrong position. Or maybe you didn’t understand their expectation. Be specific about what you like or don’t like so far and talk about possible options with the company. The worst thing you can do is be a coward and just not show up again. It’s disrespectful and shows no sign of integrity.

2. What if you take on more work than you can handle?
Again, be honest. Some managers and bosses will want to test you to see how much you can handle – and that’s not a bad thing! There’s nothing wrong with having to prove yourself or earn respect in an organization. It’s good to show people what you’re capable of!

However, use extra caution if you could cause real damage to your boss or company by not finishing the workload or not completing it successfully. Sometimes you can lose more credibility by saying you can do something and not following through, simply for having asked to be trusted. Be dependable. Also, be honest about your concerns and give it your best shot. Recognize that you have to do whatever it takes to achieve the objective – even if that means recruiting the help of another.

3. What if you got embarrassingly drunk at the company outing?
First, make sure you didn’t offend anyone or do anything too inappropriate. If you did, deal with it right away to avoid gossip. Apologize for your lack of judgment and try to make sure the relationship you bruised is still in tact. If it was harmless (ask your closer coworkers to make sure), it might be better not to bring it up and just be on extremely good behavior for a while. If it comes up, acknowledge it lightly. If you sense pain, discomfort, anger or resentment, apologize sincerely.

What’s Your Game Plan for Life?

Once you have your Ideal Life concept articulated and you can confirm with some confidence where it is that you want to go, a Grand Plan will help you connect the dots between where you are now and your Ideal Life. The most important thing to do is, to the best of your ability, determine what the critical steps or benchmarks are to get from here to there. Write the steps down, then add a series of intermediary steps in between along with “time to completion” estimates.

Ideal Life Component/Category: Chose an area of your Ideal Life that you want to focus on (career, finances, personal development, health, relationships, etc.)

Status Today: Include a brief description of your current situation or where you’re starting from at this exact moment in time, in this particular category.

Major Benchmarks: Write out the major benchmarks that would form a logical path to lead you to achieving your ideal situation.

Intermediate Action Steps: Work out your first set of intermediate steps that can lead you to connect one benchmark to the next.

Estimated Time: Estimate how long it should take you to complete each action step. Commit to a reasonable timeline.

Ideal Life Realization: Lastly, finish off the exercise with a little reminder of what you’re working towards in the first place. What will signify for you that you’ve achieved your ideal situation or goal?

7 Ways to Make Flights Fun Again!

As YSN’s resident road warrior, needless to say, I travel a lot. In fact, I became a Platinum member of American Airlines’ frequent flier program for traveling more than 100,000 miles last year! That’s a lot of hours spent in security lines, terminals and, unfortunately, flight delays so I thought I’d share a few of my personal tips for making travel more of a pleasure and less of a pain:

1. Unless you get airsick, always eat a good meal before you board AND bring more food with you. You never know anymore if any snacks will be available on your flight or how long your trip will take, despite the estimated travel time.

2. Dump your bottled water at airport security, and immediately suck it up and buy another when you get to the other side. Don’t expect the flight crew to keep you hydrated any more than you expect them to feed you.

3. Bring your own headsets – good ones – and if you are noise sensitive or just easily annoyed, consider buying those awesome Bose noise canceling headsets. Worst case scenario: invest a buck or two in good earplugs.

4. Be prepared to entertain yourself. Don’t show up empty-handed: bring a book, magazine, journal, video iPod or game with you (if not all of the above). Again, you never know when you might be delayed or whether they’ll show a movie on-board. Keeping yourself busy will keep you calmer and preoccupied.

5. If you get cold easily, shove a pair of socks in your carryon or purse, and even consider buying one of those great little blankets by NAP. Also find the thinnest, lightest and most comfortable flats or flip flops and throw those in your carryon, too. It’s amazing how many miles you can log schlepping from gate to gate or terminal to terminal at some airports.

6. A few other things that might be helpful: an alternate form of ID, a copy of your flight information; a rolling carry-on; an extra collapsible bag or tote; all the power cords, chargers and extra batteries you need for a 24 hour period; about $100 cash for any emergencies; a credit card for any “acts of God” that force you to stay in a hotel unexpectedly or rent a car, an airport lounge/club card (if you can afford it, they make a HUGE difference! I have one for American Airlines’ Admirals Club); and lastly….

7. Have the right attitude and expect that you WILL encounter challenges. If everything goes off without a hitch, you’ll appreciate it more. Also realize that you are not in control or the ticket agent/flight attendant/pilot’s biggest priority that day. You’re not alone in your frustrations so be respectful of EVERYONE you meet along the way. Find humor in anything you can too and roll with whatever comes your way!

How Can I Break Into Magazines?

There’s a great resource that could help you get started writing articles for magazines, even if you don’t have any experience. (You just need the talent!) Check out a big reference book called The Writers Market. Last edition I had was red, but they publish new editions every year or so and it lists writing and submission guidelines for thousands of different publications. Just find the ones that are most relevant to the audience you want to address and what you want to write about and start pitching your articles! This would be a great first step to getting the experience you need in starting a magazine.

Of course, it would also help tremendously to have some experience working in or with one. You could always volunteer for a small publication on the weekends. You could also start by writing for the investment industry publications while you start to lay the seeds for your big career jump. Just know that starting a magazine is like starting a restaurant. The failure rates are through the roof, so just be very strategic, do your research, talk to a ton of people in the business, make sure you’re okay not making money for a while, and definitely think in terms of publishing online to start.

Also, YSN members Jennifer Iannolo and Mark Tafoya are actually the publishers of an award-winning online food magazine. You should send them a YSN message at some point! Oh, and I just noticed some people from Business Week and Entrepreneur magazine are online at YSN, too. Start reaching out to some of them. There actually a lot of people with experience in the publishing industry on the site.

Industry Spotlight: Weddings

Breaking into the wedding industry should be real piece of cake (ha!) simply because it’s such a big industry with tons of media, resources, products, services (etc.). It’s also huge since it affects people from all walks of life, every background, every age, and from every corner of the planet. Someone asked this question on the ANSWERS board at YSN.com so I thought I’d share the insight here, too.

To figure out the best way to break into the wedding world, start by thinking about what you actually want to do in it. Produce events, design dresses, sell invitations, publish new media? Even pick a few related options. Then start scouring the market to see what’s out there. Assess your competition.

Think about whether you want to try to build a national or international business from the start (easier if you’re an online business, of course) or a local business. If you go with the local angle, start to visit all of the local vendors. Ask them if they know of anyone who has the service or products you’re thinking of specializing in. Then, try to find your niche. What can you do that no one else is doing? Or what can you do that’s cheaper, more high end, more customized, more turn-key, less hassle… pick your angle and make a go at it.

Look for the industry trade associations online. Devour whatever info you can find like a butter cream topped piece of cake. Sign up for the newsletters or other publications of interest. Attend their events. Join their membership once you’ve vetted the more prestigious ones out. That will also make you look a little more official when you start marketing yourself.

My only other advice would be, if you’re totally unfamiliar with a new industry, start by dipping your toe in it first. Take baby steps. See how you can provide samples or one-offs of your product or service. Maybe even give it away for free a few times, just to get people talking… and make sure you get plenty of pictures, endorsements and raving fans out of it!