Abbey Lee Kershaw. Numero Issue 133. by Greg Kadel
Ok James Franco…you aren’t just ANY dude, but he wrote a piece for the HuffPo about a guy’s perspective on Girls. One of my new favorite shows on HBO. Lena Dunham, you speak my language girlfriend. It’s nice to see television feature imperfect girls who are making mistakes, dealing with quirky situations and living real, and at times, complicated lives. The world doesn’t need another show about gorgeous, size 00 women that revolves around going to nightclubs and Christian Louboutins. Thank god Girls is the answer!
LA Times editorial about being in your 20s and trying to figure life out. Apparently it’s nearly hopeless to have any resemblence of a life figured out until you reach 30. Well, I’m 30 and I’m still trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Here are some lines I took to heart…
“30 is not the new 20. Don’t be defined by what you didn’t know or do. You’re deciding your life right now.”
“Some researchers say the 20s are an extended adolescence; others call them “emerging adulthood.” This “changing timetable” for adulthood demotes young adults to the ranks of kids, just when they need to engage the most.”
“These are contradictory and dangerous messages. We are led to believe that the 20s don’t matter, yet there is little to remind us that anything else ever will. Twentysomethings like Katherine have been caught in a swirl of hype and misunderstanding, much of which has trivialized what is actually the most defining decade of our adult lives.”
Building your personal brand - one tweet at a time! Excellent advice!
What Would You Do If You Could Name Your Own Salary?
Good article & super informative via salary.com
Picture yourself in the final stages of your job interview.
Everything so far has gone fantastic. You’ve passed the screening of HR in the first round, met your future manager and totally connected, and have spoken with several other team members. The job is a great match for both your skills and your personality. The executive across the desk from you is thrilled, saying you’re their ideal candidate, and is ready to make you an offer.
The only thing left to talk about is salary.
The mere thought of the conversation makes your pulse quicken. What if I name a number that is too high? What if they give me a lowball offer? If it’s lower than what I make now, I’ll struggle to pay my bills. If it’s a great offer, maybe I can finally take that long vacation. Why does talking about money always have to be so stressful?
To your surprise, the person leans back in their chair, looks at you in the eye and says:
“It’s our policy here to let employees name their own salary. So just let me know what you’d like to make, and we’ll finalize the offer and you can start on Monday.”
Let’s go ahead and get the dream scenario out of the way. You know, the one in which you stand up and yell “I’d like to make $1 million a year!”, shake hands, dance out of the room, and live happily ever after. Easy. Simple. End of story.
But hold on one moment. What if it’s not a dream?
Meet Alan (not his real name). Alan lives in Manhattan and has had a successful 15-year career, most recently managing $7 billion in assets at a major bank. Right now he is weighing a very unique opportunity from an international company, with the chance to essentially “be” the New York City office for this very small firm. He’s had several day-long meetings with the CEO, and believe it or not, they informed him they’d allow him to name his own salary.
For the sake of this article and to avoid the “I want a kajillion dollars!” response, let’s add two words. You are allowed to name your own salary, within reason.
When I sat down to help him analyze the situation, something surprised me: the approach to negotiation doesn’t really change that much.
If anything, it becomes harder. Some people would rather just be told what the salary is and have to make a decision on whether or not that works for them (obviously, the higher the better). But here are things to consider:
1. You still need to perform
Let’s say you’re a new salesperson at a small company, and for you, a dream-salary-within-reason is $75,000. At the end of the year, if your efforts have only generated $40,000 in sales, the company would be forced to let you go. Conversely, if you’re able to generate $750,000 in sales, that $75,000 salary might make you underpaid.
2. Everything is relative
Building on the last point, would you be happy with a salary of $5 or $10 million? Few readers would say no. But now imagine you are actor Shia Labeouf. How much should he ask for salary? You’d have a hard time getting any kind of consensus that he is one of the best actors of our generation. However, with four movies grossing more than $300,000,000 each in the US alone in the past few years, he could make a pretty strong case for what he feels he’s worth.
3. Doing your homework becomes even more important
No matter how the topic of salary is brought up, the most important thing you can do is be prepared by knowing the value of your skills in the marketplace. Whether HR says “How much were you looking for in terms of salary?” or you’re allowed to name your own, the research is the same.
Let’s say you’re up for a senior manager position, in charge of a group of 10 employees. You’re asked an open-ended question about your salary requirements. The simple math is, you’re going to want to know the salary range of people that you are managing, and earn more than that, without choosing a number that would make you paid more than the director of the department (your boss). Fortunately, tools like Salary.com’s Salary Wizard can help narrow things down.
4. Entrepreneurs need to know how to choose the “right” salary
I’m not talking about people like Oracle CEO Larry Ellison (the 5th richest man in the world), who took just $1 in salary, but cleared $77 million in other forms of compensation. But more common are small business owners and startups. For months or even years, they might not take a salary at all, choosing to reinvest all profits back into the business.
Let’s say your business eventually brings in $200,000 per year. You’re the boss, so you can name your own salary, right? But do you take $150,000? $175,000? Or are you better off taking a salary of only $50,000, and hiring two employees, expanding your product line, or doubling your marketing efforts?
5. The workplace is changing
Recent trends have altered the traditional workplace as we know it. In the digital age, the ability to work remotely has given people more freedom, in many cases giving them the right to decide whether to come into the office at all on any given day. Other companies have dropped their vacation policies altogether, which in effect becomes a similar dilemma of “If you could take any amount of vacation days per year, how many would you take?”
6. Putting it all together
So in the end, what Alan — and any job-seeker — should do is analyze the company and the job itself and determine if it is a good fit that will allow you to succeed. Research the market to find out what your skills are worth. Try and get the employer to give a number first by asking what range they had in mind for the position. Consider the big picture. Beyond salary, how do health benefits, vacation, bonuses, and travel stack up, and is this a job you are genuinely excited about.
We’d love to hear what you would do if asked to name your own salary during a job interview?
ShopBop did a gorgeous fashion spread a few weeks ago. It’s subtly sexy, a little androgynistic, a little kitchy, romantic, 1920s inspired, has a great vintage feel but crisp, clean and totally chic. Can I please have everything in these photos please?
IFB put together a list of must-read books for all aspiring blogging fashionistas. I quite agree with the list. What do you think?
On Fashion:
Fashion: 150 Years of Couturiers, Designers and Labels
- This beautifully illustrated book chronicles the evolution of fashion from corsets to pant suits, and all the designers and cultural movements that drove style forward. It’s a gorgeous coffee table book and an educational necessity for anyone who wants to blog seriously about fashion from an informed and enlightened perspective.
The 100: A Guide to the Stylish Pieces Every Woman Must Own, Nina Garcia
- As the Fashion Director at Marie Claire and a judge on Project Runway, we’ve come to trust Nina Garcia on all things fashion. She has an eye for trends, talent and classic appeal that manifest perfectly in this book’s collection of pieces and inspiration for any well-dressed woman. Garcia’s advice will inspire your wardrobe and the way you style your blog.
On business:
Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcom Gladwell
- This book came out back in 2008, but its over-arching question, “What makes high-achievers different?” and the answers Gladwell supplies still ring true today. From The Beatles to software billionaires, the author breaks down how where you’re from, your upbringing, your culture, family, and generation – all play a roll in how great success is reached.
- The founders of Gilt Group share the story of how they started out as re-connected acquaintances at Harvard Business School, with backgrounds in e-commerce and investment banking, and ended up as the heads of a brilliant fashion-meets-tech company valued at over one billion dollars.
- Whether you’re pursing a professional fashion career as well as blogging, or looking to gain insight as to how fashion PR agencies and in-house teams work, this is great read. Noricks covers everything from education to internships and interviews, as well as personal branding, reputation management and setting goals for an inspired and successful career.
On Writing:
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, William Zinsser
- No matter what topic or for what reason you may need to write, this book gives sound advice in a warm and friendly tone that is accessible to everyone. Its not a book you need to read cover-to-cover, but is perfect to turn to when you need a quick jolt of direction, inspiration or guidance. From writing about yourself to writing an email, its all here.
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clark
- “You need tools, not rules” says the author of this helpful guide. He includes 200 writing samples and examples from literature and journalism to illustrate each concept, making the tools accessible and relevant. Like On Writing Well, this book is full of wisdom that can be applied to any style of writing.
On Blogging & Social Media:
Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, Chris Brogan
- In this book, two social media veterans show readers how to tap into the power of social networks to build a brand’s (or your blog’s) influence, reputation, and potential profit. The author explains why online influencers like bloggers rely on trust, reputation, and relationships to grow, and how they use social media to do it.
Fashion 2.0: Blogging Your Way to The Front Row, Yuli Ziv
- In this first-of-its-kind book, the founder of Style Coalition (a network that represents top fashion and beauty bloggers, in partnership with ELLE magazine), gives tips based on her own experience as to how style bloggers can build their brand, expand their network and influence and turn their site into a profitable business. (We’d call this a must-read for any aspiring style bloggers out there.)
The Dirty Little Secret Of Overnight Successes
via Fast Company
As Chris Dixon pointed out in a recent blog post, Angry Birds, the incredibly popular game, was software maker Rovio’s 52nd attempt. They spent eight years and nearly went bankruptbefore finally creating their massive hit.
James Dyson failed in 5,126 prototypes before perfecting his revolutionary vacuum cleaner. Groupon was put on life support and nearly shut down at one point in its meteoric rise.
When looking at the most successful people and organizations, we often imagine geniuses with a smooth journey straight to the promised land. But when you really examine nearly every success story, they are filled with crushing defeats, near-death experiences, and countless setbacks.
We often celebrate companies and individuals once they’ve achieved undeniable success, but shun their disruptive thinking before reaching such a pinnacle. Before Oprah was Oprah, before Jobs was Jobs, they were labeled as misguided dreamers rather than future captains of industry.
In your life, you’ve probably had a setback or two. When you stumble, it’s tempting the throw in the towel and accept defeat. There’s always an attractive excuse waiting eagerly, hoping you’ll take the easy way out. But the most successful people forge ahead. They realize that mistakes are simply data, providing new information to adjust your approach going forward.
The ubiquitous WD-40 lubricant got its name because the first 39 experiments failed. WD-40 literally stands for “Water Displacement—40th Attempt.” If they gave up early on like most of us do, we’d sure have a lot more squeaky hinges in the world.
You have a mission to accomplish and an enormous impact to make. You will inevitably endure some “failures” along your journey, but you must realize that persistence and determination have always been primary ingredients in accomplishment.
Don’t cave to your mistakes, embrace them. In fact, mistakes are simply to the portals of discovery. There’s an old saying that “every bull’s-eye is the result of a hundred misses.” So the next time you feel the sting of failure, just realize you’re likely one shot closer to hitting your target.
And who knows? Maybe after a few dozen failures and months or years of hard work, you might just be that next “overnight” success.
For more insight on creativity and innovation, visit joshlinkner.com.
Good article about a book called The Finch Effect. It talks about creating your own personal brand and asks what are you doing to evolve your career. Key factor: being able to adapt and grow with the constant evolution of the business world.
