Those graduating college in 2010 are essentially at the bottom of the job search food chain. At the top are the older generations who were laid off from their jobs but whose professional experience makes them more qualified than any recent college grad out there. The odds are only made worse by previous years’ statistics. We’re not just competing with our own graduating class, but with the past few years of unsuccessful job searchers.

Last September, ABC News cited a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers that shows just how much of a difference a year can make. In 2007, 51 percent of graduates found a job. The numbers dropped to 26 percent in 2008 and then plummeted even more in 2009 with a 19.7 percent success rate.

Ilysse Weisenfeld, a sociology major at Purchase College, says that she feels prepared for her first professional interview, but worries that it will be a long time before she gets a chance to show off these skills. “There are so many people with more job experiences than I have,” she says. “With the workforce so decimated, my chances aren’t high.” For this reason, Weisenfeld plans to work towards her PhD, biding her time and crossing her fingers for an improved job market.

While today’s job market may be enough to have even the most qualified 20-something shaking in his or her post-grad boots, those who are willing to make sacrifices may have the best shot.

For Leah Rocketto, a magazine journalism major at Syracuse University, compromise is key. “I know I’m not going to get paid well right out of college or even have the greatest benefits,” says Rocketto. “If I wanted to be ensured an amazing first job, I would have gone into something safe . I will do whatever I need to do to get my foot in the door. Then after a few years, I will get a little pickier.”

An MSNBC article from 2009 compared the overall unemployment rate to that of the 20-24 year old bracket. Studies found that the younger generation has about a 5 percent greater unemployment percentage than the country as a whole.

For many soon-to-be grads and post-grads, all qualifications of a “good job” such as salary, location, and benefits are thrown to the wayside. The job market has become a settler’s world and more and more job searchers are learning that compromise is key.

Though the daunting nature of the job market is difficult to ignore, patience and perseverance are key. Here are some tips for making the most of your hard-earned education:

If, like the majority of college grads, finding a job seems near impossible, try applying for internships. This is a great way to add experience to your resume while still actively applying for a paying position.

Network, network, network! Get on Twitter, create a LinkedIn account, and research local networking events in your area. Ask professors if they have any connections and contact workers at past internships. Often, it’s not what you know, but who you know.

Research qualifications for your dream job and become a self-teacher. Our generation is nothing if not resourceful. Take a class at a local community college or invest in a computer program to learn a new language, or volunteer in your area of interest.

Even if you haven’t taken a history class since high school, this is one subject that may provide some reassurance for the job-searching crowd. Through all your efforts, keep in mind that everything, especially the economy, is cyclical. It’s not a matter of IF things will get better, but WHEN. And when that day arrives, you want to be the best prepared for the task at hand.

MSNBC

I’m friends with a wonderfully witty gay couple who are known to exchange snappy, LMAO-inducing repartee. Of course in 2011, these conversations take place while sitting right next to each other on the living room couch, but without actually speaking a word.

When my boyfriend accompanies me on a shopping excursion and I’m eager to debate whether my newfound flatforms are kinda cute or one of fashion’s biggest man repellers, he scrambles to find refuge in the nearest man chair, holds up his iPhone as a sort of social armor, and prays his Yahoo! Sportacular app will somehow shield him from this discussion and impending emasculation.

Hmmm, are we smarter than our smartphones?

Smart gadgetry has undoubtedly become an extension of who we are and alas few situations are sacred.
A 2010 Retrevo Gadgetology study asked social media users under age 25 if it were OK if they were interrupted by an electronic alert during: a meeting (22% said yes), a meal (49% said yes), while in the loo (24% said yes), even during sex (11% yes, yes, yes!) Percentages in the over 25 age group were about half as much for each scenario.

And if we’re not even going to switch off the HootSuite for an intimate encounter, why would we ignore our social network for a full eight hours at work? Well, we’re not.

The studies, the findings:

A Nucleus Research study reports that 77% of workers surveyed who have a Facebook account use it during work hours, some as much as two hours per day. One in 33 surveyed only used Facebook while at work.
In my own unofficial research, one person admitted to checking his TweetDeck every half hour while on the clock; another said she streamlined things by leaving her Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and CouchSurfing tabs open all day and clicking back and forth between them every few minutes. “I know this is bad,” she said, “but I can’t help myself.”

But whether being addicted to text is disastrous or not to office productivity depends on whom you ask.
The aforementioned Nucleus study found that Facebook shaves 1.5% off total office productivity. A survey conducted by IT services group Morse estimated that employees’ social “notworking” cost British companies $2.2 billion annually.

On the other hand, a University of Melbourne study reports that workers who engage in WILB (Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing) are 9% more productive than those who don’t.

According to Dr. Brent Coker, from the Melbourne Department of Management and Marketing, “Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to reset itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity.”

The operative word here is short: within a limit of less than 20% of your total office time, says the study.
Wired Magazine writer Brendan Koerner adamantly advocates social media breaks in his essay “How Twitter and Facebook Make Us More Productive.”

“For knowledge workers charged with transforming ideas into products — whether gadgets, code, or even Wired articles — goofing off isn’t the enemy. In fact, regularly stepping back from the project at hand can be essential to success. And social networks are particularly well suited to stoking the creative mind.”
Koerner goes on to talk about creative association—“the mashing together of seemingly unrelated concepts”—as crucial for creators.

“This means that tweets about Lady Gaga’s lingerie can help someone debugging Perl code (Or a tweet about Perl code may help Lady Gaga’s underwear stylist.) A random scrap of information can trigger just the right conceptual collision. It’s hard to know which scrap might do the trick, but that’s the beauty of social networks — they constantly produce potential sparks, for free.”

Job skills from social networking? No way! But wait . . .

And more than just invigorating our imaginations, SocialMediaToday.com blogger James Adams posts about the highly desirable job skills one can acquire from social networking.

The Twitter Generation, for example, is far more adept at following hot trending topics in their industry, banishing the old school desktop rolodex and widening their client base through social media, and impressive multi-tasking.

“While adults in their 40’s and 50’s can easily manage three to five tasks at once, teens and twenty-somethings are effectively managing between 10 and 20 tasks and interactions at a given moment,” Adams writes. “Monitoring Twitter updates, replying quickly to a Facebook message, checking blogs, and sending email is all managed simultaneously…Younger adults can handle a variety of tasks and a greater workload, increasing productivity.”

Dwindling are the days of company-wide memos or time-consuming monthly meetings. Frequent micro-communication is immediate, efficient and to-the-point. When it comes to messages—either internal or external—brevity equals profit.

Journalist Katjusa Cisar credits Twitter’s imposed cogency with helping her hone this profitable job skill.
“One advantage of Twitter is that it forces brevity. When I was writing for print, brevity was incredibly important,” she says. “I remember routinely spending 10 minutes just finding creative ways to shave a lead down to the fewest number of words possible! It was a game for me. Online, there’s this temptation to just sprawl out paragraphs sloppily. With no space constraints, nothing is forcing you to clean it up and be brief. Twitter does that.”

Cisar also warns of the compulsion to “keep up” with your network, that uneasy feeling that if you go away for even a few hours, you might get left behind during the #rapture.

“Social networking should be digested in moderation or in intense, quick patches throughout the day,” she says. “It’s a great way to bounce ideas off of friends and followers, find news and interact, but you have to be careful because it’s overwhelming to digest a constant stream of information and it absolutely scrambles your brain to have 15 tabs open at all times.”

To cope with all the communication, Cisar takes total Internet hiatuses from time to time and absolutely loves her time off the grid.

“Sorry I’m not getting back to you sooner,” she writes after receiving my emailed interview request. “I was in Indiana visiting relatives and taking a 24-hour Internet break! And yes, I feel much better now. I don’t know if it’s traveling or talking to new people or getting off the Internet, but I feel more driven and focused . . . Powering down is immensely helpful. Afterward, you feel refreshed and better able to handle the Internet’s flow of information.”

But no matter what any blogger, researcher or your Facebook doppelganger thinks, what ultimately counts is the boss’s opinion, no?

For this part of the story, I polled two higher-ups to see what they really thought of their subordinates’ social networking and smart phone use while on the job. Both asked that their real names and organizations not be used.

Lauren is a 38-year-old creative director who manages a team of graphic designers, account managers, web developers and media buyers.

Her employees are allowed one hour per day where they can access social networking sites freely, and then they are blocked once they reach this quota.

Everyone in the creative department used to have 100% access (now only herself and the Internet marketing manager do), but when a few employees were bellyaching about their workload and Lauren herself had to pick up the slack 2-3 hours every day, she had IT run a report to see how people were spending their time.
“I found out my two biggest [Internet] abusers were on [social networking and other non-work related sites] up to four hours a day. Everyone needs a break to clear their mind, especially if you are having a creative block, but more than an hour during work time is too much. It’s bad because if something falls through the cracks it’s a reflection of all of us and the complaints come straight to me.”

Of course even with restricted access on office computers, employees can now just sneak it on their ever-present smart phones.

“The best is when I see their Facebook updates during work hours,” she says. “I typically wouldn’t care, but the employee who I notice doing it the most is the same one that complains she has too much work to do! So that does piss me off.”

Taking a breather to watch a double rainbow YouTube video is utterly unheard of at Steve’s office.
An underwriting specialist for a major insurance company, Steve says all personal email is blocked at his company and employees are strongly urged not to access websites unless they have a specific business purpose for doing so.

“As long as it has a business purpose, it is acceptable. Personal access is discouraged and inappropriate use can lead to employee termination,” he says.

You’ll probably have a tough time convincing a boss like Steve that social media has much merit, however. The 56-year-old doesn’t use any of the networking sites personally and tells me “I don’t have a business need for these at the present time. To me personally, I don’t want to be bothered with endless interruptions and useless information.”

Policies and ideologies such as these run the risk of alienating talented Gen Y employees like Jeff, a 29-year-old bioscience customer service rep who insists on making work fun.

An example of this would be the amusing dress code he devised for his department: Turtleneck Tuesdays, Thargyle Thursdays, and one day when coworkers looked perplexed at his head-to-toe black ensemble, he proclaimed it Walk the Line Wednesday.

It’s a small thing that may even cut into productivity as employees take a few minutes to chuckle at each other’s daily sartorial decisions, but it builds teamwork he says.

“It helps create culture in the office, puts people in a better mood,” he says. “People are more willing to work when they’re in a better mood. If you’re having a shitty day, especially at the office, you’re really only going to want to do the bare minimum. But if you’re having a good time, you’re more willing to take that extra step and put a better effort forth.”

The great irony of it all?

While companies may try to restrict social networking, some not even allowing you to post where you work on your personal profile or to even have a profile in extreme cases, it’s absolutely essential for young professionals to be active in social media if they’re looking to advance their career.

When I asked social media guru Caitlin McCabe how important it was for YP’s to participate online in order to get ahead, her answer was an emphatic “Very!”

“You can set yourself apart from your peers by creating a presence online in the industry you’re in,” she says. “Even if you’re not being published on major online networks you can still show that you’re involved by offering insightful comments and sharing great information. If an employer Googles you, being active online in your industry groups, tweets, etc. will show up in your rankings.”

In McCabe’s opinion, social networkers can be extremely useful to a company by generating leads online, creating awareness for their company by writing articles or participating in the comments, learning the newest tips and tools for their industry and networking with potential customers and clients.

It can be equally beneficial for the individual by allowing us to participate in conversations with our favorite author, CEO or mentor no matter where we live. These connections help us stay ahead of the curve in our industry, get interviews for jobs that aren’t even posted, and lets us ask questions and get answers from top thinkers instantly.

“My advice is if you are an employee who likes the online space, then ask that it be made a part of your job description,” she says. “Attend conferences to learn more and show your boss brand examples of companies like yours that empower their employees to take the lead in social media for their team.”

“As long as the jobs are getting done I don’t think it hurts a company,” she explains. “People have been taking breaks at a water cooler to chat about work related and non-work related topics for a long time.

The key is not to restrict use but to let employees play a role in the online presence of the brand. If there are no guidelines, of course someone is going to go out there and maybe make the company look bad. If the company comes out and says ‘This is how we’d like to be represented online’ it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Internships:
If that full time job is not right around the corner, and the company you really want to work for offers an internship, consider applying for it. Internships are a great way to network within that dream company and mostly likely if you are a good fit, it might just land you a full time job. Most internships are only a couple months long so keep this as an option, you never know where it might lead. Also don’t be afraid to ask if they would consider you for a full time position after the internship is completed.

Networking:
Networking is a powerful tool and is often over-looked as a job search tool. “It’s all about who you know” is very true in connecting candidates with an interviewer or recruiter. Networking requires work and sometimes you may have to force yourself to become comfortable selling “you” to people that you are meeting for the first time. Developing a networking comfort zone is a necessary job skill, so there’s no better time to start than right now. Networking is a great way to get face time with recruiters, business owners, other young professionals and HR reps. Always have your business cards ready and don’t be afraid to tell people you just graduated and are currently looking for a job.

Wait staff/serving:
If you need a job this summer that pays the bills, try to find a serving job with a great lunch or happy hour crowd. What better way to network then serving food to lots of professionals over lunch. I served at a restaurant with a really busy lunch crowd and was able to make many connections that I still have today. Remember to always carry your business cards with you, even while serving.

When attending a business-networking event, have a game plan before you ever enter the door of the event. This includes knowing whom to talk to, how to present yourself, what information to gather, and how to follow up after the event to foster the new connections. A good strategy also involves identifying and connecting with groups at a networking event who can provide an ongoing source of advice, research, and idea-sharing. More often than not, these connections also end up opening career advancement opportunities as well.
To make the above strategies work, here are a few helpful tips:

• First, be willing to introduce yourself but never be pushy or act like a rookie salesperson on the shop floor with customers for the first time. People come to network events to meet others who work in the same industry or activity, but they don’t necessarily want to be pitched someone’s résume within the first 30 seconds. Instead, approach introductions in a relaxed and casual manner, engaging with new faces and finding similar interests. Relationships will open other opportunities once people are connected.

• Second, when seeking ideas and information from other networking folks, be willing to share a bit. Networking involves exchange. People want to feel that they are talking to someone who is actually open and willing to engage with them. Closed-off body language signals won’t work well in networking events.

• Third, steer toward networking groups at an event that are working on a project or committee. While doing so may end up requiring more of a time commitment, it creates links and bridges with other attendees who may be interested in showing you the ropes. It also ensures that long after the networking event, connections through that group or committee continue. Again, the goal is to build long-lasting bridges, not to just collect people’s business cards.

• Fourth, when engaged in forums, which are common at networking events and are also referred to as “breakout sessions,” let your guard down a bit and discuss how you really feel about business. These side meetings allow participants to learn from shared experience when discussing business topics. They create a “time-out” area where people can voice their issues and get advice from others who may have been through a similar situation. Those who share win the shared experience of others, and valuable connections are typically gained from the meetings.

• Fifth, find a way, big or small, to give back to the networking event or subgroups involved. Doing so shows that a person is willing to engage and become part of something bigger. This gets your name known and creates a network of new connections where one didn’t exist before.

Business networking events are great opportunities for you to refresh your business perspective and widen your knowledge and contact list. Instead of trying to use one as a job-hunting session, you should look to build new friendships. By approaching others with an interest to share and learn, you can eventually open up new career doors via your new friends.

Before attending a networking event, ask yourself, “Who would I like to meet?” Acquire a guest list if possible and research the attendees ahead of time. Prepare what you will say when you meet someone. You’ll want to focus more on the other person and talk less about yourself.

Go to the event early. By doing that, you are the “center of influence,” and everyone gravitates towards you. A good place to meet and greet, and see and be seen, is near the entrance.

Go with the intention of meeting two or three new people. Don’t sit with those you know or see every day. Instead, choose to sit next to someone you don’t know or would not normally be drawn to.

Don’t make a beeline for the food and drink. Eat a little something before you go to an event. Scope out the crowd first and the goodies second. Don’t talk with your mouth full, and carry your glass in your left hand, so you can shake with your right.

If there’s an open bar at the event, remember that it’s not an open invitation to drink yourself into oblivion. Indulging in too much alcohol could have unfavorable repercussions if you’re not careful. To maintain your professionalism, limit your alcohol intake to one or two drinks.

Avoid talking with only those you know well. Circulate, and introduce yourself and your guest to others. But don’t bring a guest to an event unless the invitation states that guests are welcome. It’s not an open house, so plans have been based on a specific number of attendees.

When making an introduction, smile, make eye contact, extend your hand, and introduce yourself. Your genuineness and courage will create an instant connection. If you need help with introductions, find someone who knows just about everyone in the room and ask him or her to introduce you. And don’t forget to bring a supply of business cards.

Practice remembering names. When you first learn someone’s name, repeat it in conversation. Think of someone you know or someone well-known with the same name. Picture that familiar face next to this new face. This easy visualization trick will help you lock names in your mind. If you can’t remember someone’s name, don’t fret. Simply say: “I’m sorry, it’s been one of those days and I’ve gone blank. Please tell me your name again.”

Jacqueline Whitmore, CSP, is an international etiquette expert, author, and spokesperson who has helped thousands of people around the world learn to be more confident and courteous in business and social situations. She is the author of Poised for Success (St. Martin’s Press, November 2011) and Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (St. Martin’s Press, 2005), which is currently in its tenth printing and has been translated into four languages. Visit her website at http://jacquelinewhitmore.com/

The worst part about my job, however, was dealing with rude and unruly passengers. Traveling can be stressful especially during these tough economic times, but that doesn’t mean that you should leave your manners at home. Here are my top ten business etiquette travel tips:

1. Dress well. You never know who might meet at the airport, in the car rental line, or on the airplane. A stranger may turn out to be your next client or customer.

2. Keep your voice low and wear headphones when watching movies or listening to music on your electronic device.

3. Respect your seat mate’s personal space. Keep your bags, laptop, newspaper, e-reader, arms, legs, and elbows in your immediate area.

4. Be prepared. Have your i.d. and boarding pass ready when you approach security.

5. Check your bulky bags. Don’t hold up the boarding process by trying to cram your oversize roller board into an overhead bin the size of a glove compartment.

6. Be kind to your flight attendants and others who serve you. You can tell a person’s true character by the way he or she treats someone in a service position.

7. Be courteous and allow passengers in the seats in front of you deplane first.

8. If you see someone struggling to get their bag in or out of the overhead bin, offer to help.

9. Open the overhead bin carefully and slowly. Items may have shifted during flight and may fall and injure someone.

10. Be careful not to recline your seat all the way if you know the person behind you is trying to work on his or her laptop or eat a meal.

Bonus tip: And please…when the flight attendant tells you to turn off your cell phone, do so immediately. Don’t keep talking and risk delaying the flight for yourself and the other passengers.

Jacqueline Whitmore, CSP, is an international etiquette expert, author, and spokesperson who has helped thousands of people around the world learn to be more confident and courteous in business and social situations. She is the author of Poised for Success (St. Martin’s Press, November 2011) and Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (St. Martin’s Press, 2005), which is currently in its tenth printing and has been translated into four languages. Visit her website at http://jacquelinewhitmore.com/

Tell us how you thought your life would be.

As a young girl I always envisioned a life of giving, caring, and making the world a better place to live in. As a teen, I volunteered my time at hospitals and other community organizations. I love children and had many of my first jobs working with them. I have always felt it is important to give our talent and energy back to the community.

What is the inspiration behind Evening of Elegance?

What inspires me is my son, Marcus. He was born with encephalopathy and multiple medical issues. We have spent and do spend a tremendous amount of time at Children’s Hospital. We are truly blessed to have an organization like Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin and a facility like Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin who are there in a family’s time of need.

I, personally, wanted to give something back and at the same time, as a business owner, I knew lots of others interested in helping the community. So, I thought if there was an event that could bring the community together and give back to the organizations that were dear to me it would be a win-win for everyone. As I started talking to businesses it was clear that people wanted to make a difference. An Evening of Elegance has been a pioneer event, in that there are no administrative costs. Everything is donated! A Day 4 Dreams will allow kids to meet some of their sports heroes and families to have fun together.

What in your opinion, makes for a great event—is it the theme and decor, the community response, the amount of money raised, or the mix of people that attend?

I really think it’s the community response. An Evening of Elegance is a perfect example of everyone giving a little bit and making great things happen. Every demographic—families, entrepreneurs, businesses, etc. participated in the event. Some donated time, products, or money and some people came just to have a great time. However, the common theme is everyone getting involved!

What has been your favorite event (either one you’ve planned or one you’ve attended) and why?

Of course, my answer has to be An Evening of Elegance. The joy of watching people come together for the greater good of our community was overwhelmingly heart warming.

Why do you feel it is important to “give back”?

As I mentioned, it’s really who I am. As a child and now as an adult, I truly feel that if it is not “us” then “who”? We all have been given so many talents, and I feel it is my mission to use my talents and blessings to make the world a better place. One of my favorite quotes is by Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

With all the hats you wear and events you plan, how do you stay
motivated to keep going?

I get extremely motivated by knowing that I am making a difference in the lives of children and families here in Wisconsin. However, my faith, my family, and my friends keep me going as well! I am an optimist; I believe in positive affirmations, “attitude is everything”, and “count your blessings not your troubles”.

What advice do you have for the person who wants to be involved but doesn’t know where to start?

The most important place to start is to figure out what you are passionate about! Once you have a mission or can see a vision of what you want to change – you give yourself purpose. And when you are passionate about that purpose, anything is possible!

An Evening of Elegance is April 21, 2012. For more information, please visit: Elegance Salon and Spa

Do you know anyone who is not busy these days?  It’s literally impossible to find someone who says they have extra time on their hands anymore.  While your life might be in high-gear, don’t let your food keep up the same pace.  Many people try to eat healthy at home, but when they’re on the road, any thoughts about making a healthy choice are thrown out the passenger seat window.  Avoid these common pitfalls when you’re living and dining on-the-go: 

Mistake #1 – Failing to Plan

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not planning ahead. You know the old adage “failing to plan is planning to fail.”  When it comes to eating on-the-go, the same rule applies. Knowing what you are going to eat at least 24 hours in advance will keep you from entering an “emergency hunger” state.  You’ve been there before: you’ve gone hours without eating and suddenly you need food fast – so you reach for fast food. When an “emergency hunger” state hits, most anything goes, and food becomes an object of your obsession.  In these moments, you are more likely to choose the quickest option to cure your starvation, which can equal highly processed food full of unwanted ingredients.

Make time to plan ahead each week.  I like to dedicate 30 minutes on a Saturday afternoon to planning what I will eat during the week ahead.  I may plan in certain days for eating out and others for eating in, but I always know where my next meals are coming from.

Mistake #2 – Calorie counting 

Most of us think calorie counting is the best way to limit our food intake. Don’t get me wrong, reading labels is a good idea, but solely choosing a snack based on its calorie content is an outdated method of eating.  Calorie counting leads us to choose low-fat products full of sugar or worse yet, artificial sweeteners.  Keep in mind, the longer the label, the worse it usually is.

Instead of nutritional number crunching, focus on eating for energy.  Ask yourself, will this satisfy me for more than an hour?  How much energy will I get from this snack or meal?  Clearly a handful of almonds will give you more energy than a bag of fat free pretzels. 

Mistake #3 – Confusing a snack as a meal

Eating on-the-go may mean eating smaller meals, more frequently.  It’s important to differentiate between a snack and a meal substitute.  A snack is usually one item, something that will tide you over in between meals.  A meal substitute is more like a mini meal.  It is larger than a snack and may substitute as a meal on-the-go until you arrive at your next destination.  Eating many snacks may not satisfy you, as you can easily skip some important nutrients.  Mini meals can provide energy and satiate you, but should be chosen wisely.  You want to make sure you are getting essential energy boosters like protein, healthy fats, and whole grains. These are the foods that will make your mini meal go much farther than your taste buds.  Try these mini meals for long-lasting energy: a fruit smoothie made with nut butter and yogurt, healthy food bars without added sugar, a hardboiled egg, veggie sticks with hummus, whole grain crackers with cheese, or yogurt with granola and nuts.  

Mistake #4 – Leaving Veggies Out

We’re supposed to get in nine servings of fruits and veggies per day.  Most Americans are hovering at about 2.5.  Fruits and vegetables are antioxidant powerhouses, so make sure to include them as often as possible.  Eating fruits and vegetables on-the-go are actually the fastest of fast foods.   There’s not much to crunching into an apple, peeling an orange or even tossing a salad with your favorite dressing.  There’s no cooking involved, yet on-the-goers tend to skimp on the fruits and veggies.  Bring some veggie sticks along for the ride or find stores that carry grab ’n go salads.  

Learning the tricks of the trade of eating on-the-go is essential for staying healthy. With a little planning and prep, you’ll be eating healthy in no time.

Suzanne Monroe is a Food Coach and certified holistic health counselor.  Her company, Real Life Food, helps busy women finally answer the question, What do I eat?  For a free report on Eating for Energy, visit www.reallifefood.com.

The queen bee toolkit, for both young and old, holds a variety of manipulative weaponry. Typically, teen queen bees keep competition at bay through acts like slur texting, social vexing, and competitive besting. Adult queen bees serve up their brand of suppression in similar style. For example, while the teen queen may spread the ever-popular slut slur via texting, the adult queen may plant the same seed in the office rumor garden through subtle innuendo: Guess who I saw out with yet another guy?! Not quite as overt as flat-out calling a girl a hoochie, but it gets the job done just the same.

Identifying the Workplace Queen Bee

References to queen bees surged in relation to Wiseman’s book and Fey’s film, but the term, in reference to adult queen bees, had been coined decades before. In their 1973, twenty-thousand person study, psychologists Staines, Tavris, and Jayaratne first identified the buzz of Queen Bee Syndrome. The term was used to describe top level women in organizations who are so protective of their self-carved niche they are intent on keeping other women from joining them. They want to remain the only queen in a hive of drones.

A workplace queen bee is one who has successfully climbed the patriarchal ladders and, so, believes other women should just quit their whining and work, work, work to do the same. However, since the queen bee enjoys the cache of being the main female, she really prefers that her sister bees simply stay put. Instead of lashing out at the patriarchy which made it so difficult for her to reach the top, she will often begin associating with it and abandon her association with the plight of the lass class altogether. All this talk of The Man keeping us down and it’s The Sister doing the suppressing!

Share the buzz, not the sting!

According to psychologist Naomi Ellemers, when an individual perceives a confrontation to her social identity she will enlist a strategy to cope with that attack. The discordance between a woman’s social identity as a female and the patriarchal tilt to many organizations causes just this type of confrontation. A woman who leans light on the plight of sisterhood is likely to abandon her ties to the women in her workplace altogether and wholeheartedly accept her boys’ club membership card. However, women who strongly identify with their female identities will instead enlist strategies that help not only themselves but other females in her workplace and womankind as a whole. These women will not adopt the queen bee personality. Instead, they strive to change the rules that benefit men at the expense of women and will work with, not against, fellow women to bring the whole group up as one.

Adult women and young girls are often more similar than we’d like to admit. Sure, the teen queens may behave more brutally, overtly wapping one another with their libel munitions and class manipulations, but you’d think the adults would have learned better. There may be a simple solution, though. The common denominator in queen bee literature is in the enlistment of female mentorship. Just as the teens need positive role models and guides for better behavior so, too, do the adults. With guidance, some would-be queen bees can learn that individual achievement does not hinge on the failure of others and in human life a whole hive of queen bees can succeed sans sting.

Take an example that many of us have experienced. How many times in a work day does an email pop up from a social networking site? You stop working to see who is communicating with you. Someone “commented” something really funny about your status on Facebook. You stop the project you are working on to quickly comment back. After all it only takes a minute! But then you log on, and OH, my friend posted new pictures from the weekend, I HAVE to look at them quickly. Twenty minutes later you finally get back to that project. These little breaks add up quickly and cost you more productivity than you realize.

The Good
However, there are some professional advantages to having access to social networking sites. There have been studies in Europe that actually show an increase in efficiency when using social networking. There are professions that use these sites to connect faster with other professionals. Recruiters and sales people can make the argument that they use social networking sites as an innovative, efficient way to connect with prospects.

Business owners can use social networking sites to get their name into the market place. An example would be a “friend” on Facebook that posts his bar’s specials daily. This is an efficient, cost free marketing strategy that reaches a large network. Twitter is another popular site. A connection may update their status that they are looking to connect with a local architect. This reaches everyone in their network, who then leverages their network and within minutes they send back a recommendation for an Architect.

The Bad
Business leaders in Milwaukee have mixed opinions on this subject. Small business owners see this as a vital tool. However, they are not sure how much their employees are using it for professional versus personal use. What a business owner will monitor is overall productivity. If your work is suffering or is not at the level it could be because you are spending too much time on these sites, they will notice. Although they may not be able to tie it back to social networking, it could be detrimental to your career.

The Ugly
Larger organizations have the ability to track your internet usage and see exactly how much time you spend on each website. A large, well known Milwaukee organization recently had to give out written warning in regards to overuse of Facebook. Another violation would lead to termination. Imagine having to explain that in an interview for your next job!

The first step to overcoming the threat of wasting away valuable work time to social networking is to not connect these sites to your work email. It is difficult for many professionals to concentrate on a report they are working on, or sales calls they need to make when they see the email pop up that someone, most likely in their personal life, is looking to connect about something that could quite possibly be more entertaining than the job they are doing.

Even if you take it off your work email, and make the switch to your personal email, there is still your cell phone. It is relatively easy to connect your social networking sites to your cell phone. This makes it even more difficult to stray away from social networking distractions. Unless you absolutely need to be connected because of your job, find a way to disconnect during the day. If this presents a problem that you could miss important calls, I would suggest taking the applications off completely. You have your personal time to get caught up. Again, this is only if you do not need these sites to be efficient in your role.

Social networking sites are powerful and can have a very positive impact on business. Everyone has to take responsibility for how they use these tools. If you know what your network of friends and acquaintances are doing on an hourly basis, you are abusing your ability to use these sites at work and it is time to cut the cord to social networking during work hours. Your performance is constantly being measured and that is arguably more important than knowing the exact minute your best friend from grade school joined a new fan group. Use these sites to your advantage to make yourself more efficient and do not become reliant on these sites as entertainment to get you through your day. And, by the way, if your job isn’t holding your interest enough to stay away from social networking, it may be time for a career change.