I love this post from one of the smartest college students – if not the smartest – I know.  Ben Casnocha suggests that if you want to find out what someone really does for a living, ask him what he does ''on a day-to-day basis.'' According to Ben, typically when you ask someone, ''What do you do?'' you get a grand, idealized vision of what ...

I just got my official copy of my friend Michelle Goodman’s My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional.  I say official because I had the opportunity to provide a back cover blurb a few months ago.  I was happy to do so, because for those of us who long to have the flexible lifestyle and income ...

A few months ago, I met Lia, a woman who has done what I think is a very sensible thing with her career – fulfilling her desire to make a difference in the world in the context of working for a large company – so I thought I’d share her story here.   When Lia chose to transition from the non-profit to the corporate sector, she wanted to ...

It’s finally here.  My new book, How’d You Score That Gig?: A Guide to the Coolest Careers and How to Get Them, has just been released!  The book starts with a quiz that tells you your job personality – be it an adventurer, creator, data-head, entrepreneur, investigator, networker, or nurturer – and then suggests several unusual and ...

Leaving the business world to start one’s own gig is a hot topic these days.  I read blog posts about it every day, and my friend Pam Slim just sold a new book about it.  Over lunch a few weeks ago, I asked my good friend Keith Alperin if he’d be willing to tell WCW readers how he launched his new business, Helium Foot Software, and what ...

Given current events, I thought it would be appropriate for this dream job spotlight to focus on a political career.  Today, we’re talking with Chris, 29, a speechwriter who gets paid to put eloquent words in the mouths of our favorite candidates and is featured in my new book, How’d You Score That Gig?     Alex:  How do you ...

Marketing guru Seth Godin has just set a bunch of us wondering if we really and truly are workaholics. I always thought I was.  After all, I’m driven to work 50+ hours a week.  It’s not enough just to be in the office, I actually have to be contributing something.  If I spend an entire day that’s completely unproductive, I feel ...

My good friend from college, Phil Saken, recently switched careers.  How he pulled this off actually makes a pretty remarkable story, which I’ll be sharing in more detail in the next week or so.  But anyway, he had decided that his job as an evening news producer for a top network in Columbus, OH, wasn’t floating his boat anymore. ...

Thanks to the folks over at Get That Job for pointing out the story of Sean Aiken, a twenty-something who is figuring out what he wants to do with his life by trying out a new job every week for a year. According to Sean, after finishing college with a business degree, he made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t settle for a career that he was ...

I am really excited to share the debut of the new 30/20 Podcast series - especially for the 20-something woman who wishes she had a couple of big sisters to clue her in on the ins and outs of life after college. The series will feature me and my fellow authors and pals Christine Hassler (20-Something, 20-Everything), and Lindsey Pollak (From ...