College Lifestyles March Book Club: The Violets of March

College Lifestyles is announcing our latest endeavor, a Book Club!  Every Saturday (when most of us curl up with a book), we will post questions to the site, Facebook, and twitter related to the book of the month.  Mid-month, we will develop style looks (based on the characters) via Polyvore and post to all our media outlets! Later in the month, we will host a twitter party (with great giveaways!) based on your thoughts surrounding the book.  In addition, we will have an interview with each author on their reasoning behind the book plot AND their future publications!

The book for March is The Violets of March: A Novel
by Sarah Jio.

Several of the College Lifestyles Interns are praising their love for the The Violets of March and are ready for Sarah’s next book, Blackberry Winter.

Book Description:

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after. Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily’s good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.

Book Trailer:

 

About Sarah Jio:

Sarah Jio is a frequent contributor to major magazines, including Real Simple, Glamour, Cooking Light, and Redbook, and is also the health and fitness blogger for Glamour.com. She lives in Seattle with her family. The Violets of March is her first novel.  Follow Sarah via her website, Facebook, and Twitter!

Purchase the book:

Click here to purchase the The Violets of March: A Novel.

The Violets of March discussion will start on Saturday, March 3.

SIGN UP for our Book Club to win a copy of The Violets of March:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZSBCYVY

QUESTIONS:

-Have you read The Violets of March or the Bungalow (Sarah’s 2nd novel)?

-If you read The Violets of March, what questions should we pose to Sarah for our interview?

-What questions should we cover in our Twitter Party?

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3 Things You Should Quit (And Start) Doing This Year!

One full month of 2012 has come and gone. Now that you’re well adjusted to the change of the year (it’s not so “new” anymore!), it’s time you let go of those habits that are holding you back and pick up some new, positive ones! Think you’re up for this CL challenge? Let’s find out!

3 Things To Quit

1. Comparing — Comparing yourself to others breeds jealousy, and jealousy is one unattractive trait! Learning to love yourself could be as simple as smiling to yourself everyday in the mirror, appreciating your curves, your “four-eyes,” or your frizzy hair, or it could turn into a journey that takes a little more soul-searching to fulfill. Either way, wishing you had what the girl sitting next to you has is a waste of your valuable time. Sending positive words instead of ones of envy will help you feel better about yourself, so tell her how stylish her outfit is and take with you inspiration for you own wardrobe.

2. Nail Biting — Nail biting is a nervous habit that millions of people have, making it even more difficult to break–you’ll probably walk by at least one nail-biter a day. Some women find it helpful to get their nails done which in turn makes them resist ruining their stylish manicure by biting at it.

3. Excessive Cursing – It’s natural to belt out a profane word or two when you’re upset, but cursing excessively may give off a less personable impression of you. Here at College Lifestyles, we live by a standard of staying classy, so refrain from muttering (or screaming) those four letter words that only offer temporary satisfaction. When you feel ready to curse, remind yourself to hold back. After a while, your brain will get the hang of it.

  3 Things To Try

1. Moving On – If you find yourself making unnecessary assumptions about people and situations, it’s the leftover anger, hatred, or mistrust from past grievances that’s getting in the way. Once you start trusting that negativity tests your mental and even physical strength, you’ll realize how tough of a woman you are. If you need help healing old wounds, seek a therapist or a trusted friend or family member to begin the coping process.

2. Read A Book Every Month — This year, tons of people have started challenging themselves with once-a-day tasks (blogging every day, eating a fruit a day). Reading one book is an accomplishment in itself so set your standards high and strive for finishing one book for every month, even if it’s a short book. To make this easier, you may want to stick to an area that excites you: history, women’s rights, love stories, or book series such as Gossip Girls or Stieg Larsson novels, for example.

3. Complimenting Yourself — CL wants you to be as confident as can be! The more you tell yourself that your “flaws” are in fact attributes, the more you’ll begin to believe in it. What you feed the mind, whether that be good or bad thoughts, manifests itself until you agree. So rather than hating your freckles, start telling yourself how much they compliment your skin and eyes and soon you’ll start to love what you’d grown to despise! 

Tiana Blue is a Senior Writer for College Lifestyles™. This fourth semester sophomore at Penn State is a print journalism major with a penchant for food, stilettos, and the city that never sleeps.

 

All Work, No Pay: CL Reviews The Intern Queen’s New Book

If you’re in college, you’ve probably heard of Intern Queen, a website that helps you find internships and blogs helpful internship tips (including some from our very own CEO!). The Intern Queen herself is Lauren Berger, so nicknamed because she had  a whopping 15 internships in college. Early this month, Berger came out with a book, All Work, No Pay: Finding An Internship, Building Your Resume, Making Connections, and Gaining Job Experience. So now the big question is – should you buy it?

Pros:
Internship Focus.
There are countless career books, but a book focused solely on internships? Now that’s new. The Intern Queen brings her expertise to the table and spares you the advice that might be useful later but is totally unnecessary now.

Organizational Tools.
When a girl lands 15 internships in college, you know she’s organized. Berger gives the reader the Intern Queen Dream List, a spreadsheet used to keep track of all your applications. But if, like me, you bought this book on an E-Reader, you’ll have to make it yourself. Not that it’s complicated, but hey, I’m in college. I’m lazy!

Tone. Despite all that she’s accomplished, Berger is only 25 years old. Her age shows in her work, which is a good thing. Berger avoids the stuffy tone of many career advisors, and her book is both packed with information and easy to read. Many of her examples stem from her own personal experience or that of her contacts, which serve as a source of inspiration.

Legal Advice. All Work, No Pay has a chapter devoted to the legal issues surrounding internships, and Berger herself deems it “one of the most important chapters.” Berger breaks down the Fair Labor Standards Act from the US Department of Labor, providing a list of the intern’s rights at chapter’s end. It’s the kind of thing that you could and should do on your own, but you know you won’t, so this chapter is incredibly helpful.

Chapter Essentials. At the end of each chapter, Berger provides a bulleted list of its most important points. Not having to go through every single page of the book to find one piece of advice is a major plus.

Cons:
Basic. All Work, No Pay is geared towards newbie interns. So if you’ve been interning a while, or if your school has an excellent career center, much of this information will be repetitive.

Verdict:
Even if you already know the information, it’s nice having it all organized in one place. And if you’re new to internships, this book is indispensable. Buy it.

Already have an internship? Check out the Top 10 Intern Fashion Must-Haves or Ways to Plan Out Your Day: Clutter Free.

Sasha Graffagna is a junior Journalism and Comparative Literature major at New York University. She is currently on exchange at La Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Get Noticed at Your Internship! An interview with Jessica Kleiman and Meryl Weinsaft Cooper.

How can I get the boss to notice me?  Everyone says networking is important, but how can I network successfully with my colleagues?

College Lifestyles frequently receives these and similar job related questions via our social media mediums.  While it is stressed to students the importance ‘getting an internship’ and ‘having a standout resume,’ the ‘what to do when we get the internship or job’ is often neglected.  Many of us have aspirations of working for the company of our internship, or moving up to a VP position at the company we start working with the job title ‘assistant.’

How can one network?  How can I get noticed?  Instead of turning to the ‘silly’ questions of ‘What would you do with $80,000?’ taught by speed ‘networking/social’ classes, College Lifestyles turned to 2 experts in the magazine and public relations industry to answer questions on getting noticed at our internship and work.

Jessica Kleiman and Meryl Weinsaft Cooper have a combined 30-plus years experience in the public relations industry, having worked both in-house and on the agency side.  Kleiman is currently VP-public relations for Hearst Magazines, one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines.  Meryl Weinsaft Cooper is a co-founder and principal of Allen/Cooper Communications, a marketing, exhibitions and events company with a focus on art and lifestyle brands.  Both are authors of the book, Be Your Own Best Publicist:  Build Your Reputation, Make Yourself Indispensable, Promote Brand You.

(A Side Bar:  Be Your Own Best Publicist is used in lesson plans with the College Lifestyles interns due to its amazing, realistic content one can relate to in both work and personal life.  Mine is personally full of sticky notes and fully highlighted.)

Jessica and Meryl took time out of their busy schedule to answer our questions and put us at ease on getting noticed at internship/work.

CL:  What are simple tips you would suggest for interns and entry level job applicants to get noticed by the boss?

Jessica and Meryl: Get to work on time (or, even better yet, early), dress professionally and volunteer to help with whatever assignments the team has for you.  Most importantly, do every task — even if it’s menial — with a smile on your face.  If you have questions about how to do something, ask!  Better to ask once and do it right than try to figure it out on your own and do it wrong. Lastly, before the internship is over, see if you can get on the boss’ calendar to get feedback on your performance and, if he or she was pleased, request a reference letter.

CL: What are simple networking tips on getting to know co-workers/other interns?

Jessica and Meryl:  Be friendly and don’t be afraid to ask the people you work with to meet for coffee or lunch. Most interns are in the same position you are — they’re new to the company and want to do a good job. It’s better to support one another than compete with one another. If you’re going to ask a full-time employee to meet, be respectful of their time and offer to meet when it’s convenient for them.

CL: What is your opinion on ‘cleaning up’ social media sites while an intern/entry level worker?

Jessica and Meryl:  We are big proponents of scrubbing your social media profile to get rid of anything you wouldn’t want a boss (or your grandma, for that matter!) to see. Take down the pics of you drinking from a beer bong or scantily clad — no employer wants to see that. In fact, a recent Mashable poll shows that at least 45 percent of HR pros are now checking potential hires’ social media presence so, even if you’re still in college, keep in mind that an inappropriate post on Facebook or Twitter could stand in the way of you landing that awesome internship.

CL: Your opinion on facebook ‘friending’ a boss or supervisor?

Jessica and Meryl:  It depends on your relationship with your boss but generally we’re not huge fans of it. While you should treat every social media platform as part of your public profile, Facebook does tend to be used for more personal information and connections versus Twitter and LinkedIn, for example. If you do accept your boss as a ‘friend’, be hyper-aware of what you post (i.e. don’t call in sick and then post a photo of you at the beach!) or filter what they can and can’t see on your profile.

Stay connected with Jessica and Meryl through their website Be Your Own Best Publicist.

To order a copy of Be Your Own Best Publicist, follow this link to Amazon.

Jessica Kleiman is currently VP-public relations for Hearst Magazines, one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines. She has guest lectured about publicity at NYU and the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Columbia University and has written for various newspapers, Web sites and magazines.  A graduate of University of Michigan with a BA in Communication, she started her career at a magazine publicity firm and then served as director of PR at The Knot, a wedding media company. Kleiman lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and daughter and enjoys posting words she finds funny on Twitter, Facebook and her blog, Funny Word of the Day.

Meryl Weinsaft Cooper is a co-founder and principal of Allen/Cooper Communications, a marketing, exhibitions and events company with a focus on art and lifestyle brands.  Previously, as managing director  of the DeVries Public Relations‘ Home & Lifestyle division and as SVP-Partner at LaForce+Stevens, she led programs for a variety of hospitality and consumer brands including Veuve Clicquot, Viceroy Hotels, Vikram Chatwal Hotels, BR Guest Restaurants, Tourism New South Wales, Magnolia Bakery, Belvedere Vodka, Pepperidge Farm, Samuel Adams Beer, New Amsterdam Gin and Ecco Domani Wines.  A graduate of Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications, her PR experience includes stints in art, music and entertainment, including time at the Screen Actors Guild’s New York office.  She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and dog, and spends her spare time writing and producing films as well as seeking out the best culinary, travel and art experiences, which she documents in her blog, Searching for Jake Ryan.

Both authors are contributing bloggers on Forbes.com’s Work in Progress section.