Maybe it’s the beer. Perhaps it’s the reality television. There is something so comforting to a college student living in the “college bubble.” Instead of proactively looking ahead into their future, they are staying in college for an extra semester or two.

College is their safety net and they aren’t ready to consider what happens when they eventually take the plunge and enter the real world…

Check out the Internqueen’s tips on how students can get focused on their careers in her exclusive article on the Cheezhead Blog.

Lauren Berger is called “The Intern Queen” after completing 15 internships during her 4 years of college. Lauren is the expert on everything internship-related and she actively pursues opportunities to help educate Students, Parents, Professors, and Employers about internships.

I had quite an adventure getting our latest venture, Mobile Money Minute, LLC off the ground in the last two years.  I began writing the business plan in January 2007 and had saved enough money myself to bootstrap its launch in October 2007.

The first part of the business plan was providing a piece of proprietary software (an “online shareholder forum”) per SEC requirements to public companies.  Then, in November 2007, the SEC changed the rule slightly, and we had to change our business model.  So we took the site down indefinitely.

The second part of our business plan was making a television show for PBS or another network, called “Mutual Fund Circus,” about mutual fund and 401(k) investing.  We immediately found an investment fund to invest in our project ($1.4MM).  We had a conference call with them January 25, 2008, and set a closing call (papers would be traded, bank accounts would have money wired into it) for February 1, 2009.  I got a call from our investment banker January 30 saying that the “fund”, which was backed by MBSs, which was formerly worth $80 million, was now worth $0.  They would not be investing.

We searched for funding for the next few months while I shuttered our sales force due to lack of funds.  We found another investment fund (this one with assets of $200 million).  They gave us a verbal yes in May.  We were approved by their board of directors in June, and were to receive the $1.4MM by July 15, 2008.  Their fund was also backed by MBSs, and by July 15, they were worth $0.  So we didn’t get the money!

We continued pitching the show, and got interest from PBS, but they would not commit to a series until a pilot was made.

Finally, as of this week, a new national television network, BizTelevision, is launching nationwide August 1, 2009.  ”Mutual Fund Circus” will be their flagship primetime program.  In addition, we will use our “Mobile Money Minute” series of PSAs for personal investing as content for BizTelevision as well as other networks, sending important information to investors and the general public about money matters, via TV, radio, email and SMS alerts.

It only took two and a half years!  Ha!

I have to say that all that time searching for funding, wondering if we’d ever find a home for the show or the money to produce it, was really a mixed blessing.  While you’re walking through the tunnel, you do not see the light at the end.  I really wondered if I was wasting my time.  However, at the same time, taking longer than expected allowed us to improve every aspect of our business plan, and made our business not only better, more efficient, and more responsive to what our market wants as far as information is concerned.  It improved our business across the boards.

Had we gotten the funds in January 2008, we had an entirely different (inferior) show lineup for our first 6 episodes of “Mutual Fund Circus.”  Because we had to wait, I went to a business gathering in February and met (and got appearance commitments for our pilot episode) from Dr. Arthur Laffer (Reagan’s chief economist, inventor of the “Laffer Curve,”), Jon Najarian (CNBC commentator), Jim LaCamp (CNBC Contributor), Mike Norman (Fox News contributor) and others.  We have an A-list show now.

Having to change the website because of SEC changes on the online shareholder forums allowed us to investigate the market further, and what we were going to build from scratch for $1 million (web portal), because we didn’t have the $1MM to do so, allowed us to look around for a while, and we found a similar, already-created software product in Italy, that we licensed (and have an exclusive license for) for $15,000.

More SEC changes, like making tagging and hosting public company filings in XBRL (a new computer language, Extensible Business Reporting Language, a business subset of XML) allowed us to experiment with how we could (being a small business) be more nimble and do it cheaper than the giants SAP and others, and we brought on board a professor of XML from a major university to design our software for us.  We will be offering it alongside our TV show launch in 90 days.

So what didn’t kill us truly made us stronger.  It almost killed us (at least our hopes) but it didn’t.

Anthony Migyanka, an economist, has appeared on “Cavuto” with Neil Cavuto, and is recognized by the Fox Business Network as an Investor Relations Expert. He has also contributed public company governance, stock market and economic trend commentary to other media outlets, including FamilyNet TV, The Dow Jones Corporation, and The Washington Post.

Follow on Twitter – @AnthonyMigyanka and @MutualFundCircu

“Mutual Fund Circus™” with host Anthony Migyanka, will air on BizTelevision nationwide beginning Oct. 1, 2009, M-F, 5PM and 8PM EST.

“Mutual Fund Circus for Kids™”: Talking to Children About Money” will air on Saturday and Sunday mornings on BizTelevision nationally, beginning December 2009.

YSN – Expert Advice on Career Advancement and Tools for Professional Development

Here’s my mantra: Stop Looking for a Job and Start Looking for a Person. The right person will lead you to the right job. Reach out, using what I call The Rule of Three, to contact three people a day by phone or e-mail  (one in the morning, one at noon, and one at the end of the day) to ask for informational interviews and other leads so you can build your network. In time, this process is guaranteed to uncover an opening. 80% of all jobs reside in the “hidden job market” and are never advertised; 80% of all jobs are filled by personal referrals. So start reaching out—but do it the right way!

There are some rules of the road, and here are 4 keys to successful outreach:

1) When you contact people, be respectful of their time and their right to say no. They don’t owe you anything.  You might send an e-mail or ask an intermediary to ask for you: “Would you be willing to talk with me for a few minutes, on the phone or in person, about your career path and opportunities in this industry now?  Would you be willing to do a brief review of my resume and make suggestions for improvement?” If someone says no, don’t take it personally-they don’t know you!

2) Once you arrange a meeting, do your homework. Google the company, industry, and the person. Set Google alerts for all three so you’ll know about breaking news in the field or whether the person with whom you’ll be speaking or his/her company has been in the news.  Have a list of concrete questions to ask the person based on what you know about his/her experience and based on your experience. Do not just say “do you have any advice for me?” Too general.

3) When someone says “what do you want to do?” don’t say “I’ll do anything.” You might think you’re being helpful and flexible, but you’re not; you’re just making it hard for me to access specific information or names to help you. You MUST have a concrete answer, even if it’s “fake” in the sense that you’re not sure; you must start somewhere. So use The Rule of Three again and choose three areas you’re interested in and pursue each one to the max, one at a time, until you find out either that this is a path you’d like to pursue or that it isn’t.  For example, you might be interested in “media” but you don’t care whether it’s TV, print, or radio. You can mention all three to a radio person so that if he/she knows anyone in the other fields they’ll put you in touch, but focus on the field of the person you’re talking with, since this is his/her area of expertise.

4) The most important and most often overlooked thing: follow up and thank people! When you’ve gotten advice and leads from someone, keep that person in the loop. Send an immediate thank you note or e-mail. If you meet with someone in person and they take you out for a meal, for example, and if you get a job through someone, you might consider a small thank you gift: flowers or a bottle of wine.  If you speak with leads they give you, thank both parties: “Dear Mr. X: I wanted you to know that I had the most helpful conversation with Ms. Y at your suggestion; thanks so much. I appreciate the introduction very much.” Don’t take names from someone and then not use the leads. If you don’t think you’ll contact them, be explicit: “Of all the names you mentioned, I’d like to be in touch with X, Y and Z if you have contact information for them; I’ll hold off on the others for now but thanks for the suggestions.” If you thank me and keep me up to date, I’m more likely to help you again and think of you as opportunities arise.

Follow these rules and you should be off to a great start.

Article written by Ellen Gordon Reeves.

Over decades of helping job hunters put their best foot forward, Ellen Gordon Reeves has been asked thousands of questions, now collected in Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? The Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job (Workman, 2009). Vice President of Engagement and Marketing for the Harvard Alumni Association, she posts daily as a career advisor for jobs.change.org and is the resident job-hunting expert at the Columbia Publishing Course.

Hi!

My name is Melanie and I am a freshman business major communication minor at Texas A&M University. I really need your help!  I want to get an awesome internship this summer, but I don’t have the exact experience to get the ones I want. How do I make my resume and cover letter stand out above everyone else? I’m highly motivated, enthusiastic, dedicated, and thrive in a high-pace, high-energy environment and want so badly to be able to get an awesome internship this summer.

If there is and advice or suggestions you could give me I would truly appreciate it! 
Thank you so much for all of your time!

Sincerely,

Melanie S

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS BY LEAVING A COMMENT.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO ask@ysn.com,  AND FIND US ON TWITTER @ysn_careerSOS

After the non-stop madness that is our typical schedule here at YSN, getting any time to have a normal life is tough sometimes. For any of you building a business of your own, juggling a family, or relentlessly pursuing your passion…you know what I mean.  It’s amazing to see how many people are putting in double or triple time these days too.  I guess we’re all working like dogs to push our projects further or worst case just keep the lights on. That’s one of the things I love most our network here at YSN.  We’re all out in the world fighting – some to achieve their very first taste of success, others to maintain and build on the things we’ve worked so hard to achieve.

While you may not turn to YSN on a daily basis, we just want to remind you that you have a wealth of resources here to help and a whole family of like-minded members as dedicated to their own success as you are.  We may come from all different backgrounds, cultures, environments, and over 150 countries, but we can be an incredible support network for one another – through the good times and bad.  So, don’t forget that YSN is filled with people whose stories can inspire you 24/7. We also have our Career Q&A section where you can ask questions about new opportunities you’re exploring, or help others.  You can also send your burning questions to ask@ysn.com and one of our experts will post their answer right here on the blog. Don’t forget to add @YSN_CareerSOS on Twitter to get updates on new articles and exciting news!

Bottom line, we’re here for you. Want to help us?  Keep spreading the word about YSN to your friends so we can keep growing stronger.  And hang in there!

Here’s to your success!
Jen

YSN – Expert Advice on Career Advancement and Tools for Professional Development