I’ve been on a bunch of job interviews. I’ve been interviewed by one person, a panel of three, in multiple cities, for varying sizes of companies, and for everything from retail to administrative to creative positions. There are a few general rules for job interviewing:

Eye contact
Speak succinctly and with clarity
Allow the interviewer to lead the interview
Bring multiple copies of your resume handy
Do prior research on the company your interviewing with

These will definitely help get you out of The Shire. However, there’s one golden rule above them all that is guaranteed to make you a “can’t miss” prospect.

It’s not about what they can do for you, it’s about what you can do for them.

They called you in. They called you in to see what you can offer them. This approach will have you focus on what your strengths are, allow you to comment on what exemplifies the company you want to be apart of, and how you can become an indispensable addition, because you can contribute.

Maybe you can refill a stapler in under 6.5 seconds. Maybe you can run a half-mile in 2 minutes-whatever your skills, strengths, or accomplishments, this kind of mentality allows you to focus on those and how they work within the system you’re attempting to get involved with.

You don’t have to phrase this as in, “This is what I think you’re missing,” but rather, “This is what I love about this place, and here’s how I can add something to it.” It makes you appear proactive, eager, appreciative, and a team player. Because that’s the key to any job: remembering that you’re not going to be on your own the whole time but working with other people.

It’s not about what they can do for you, it’s about what you can do for them.

Every question they ask, think that thought. Every time you see an opening to elaborate on an answer, think that thought. It’s a way of keeping your focus in the room. You have something to offer them. Make the offer.

Always Be Closing,

The Dude

Coming to SXSW all the way from London, England, Graffiti6 blew everyone in Austin away. Graffiti6, made up of pop/rock duo Jamie Scott (vocals) and Tommy “D” Danvers (producer and songwriter), bring a whole new kind of sound to the SXSW music scene. Graffiti6’s sound feels like mix of Gnarles Barkley with a splash of The Naked and Famous and a dash of Robin Thicke. This band knows how to groove and made everyone at SXSW fall in love. And how could you not with an accent like that?

Our team at SXSW had the pleasure of speaking with Jamie before the show. Yes, he’s just as cute in person! Be sure to check out the Graffiti6 website for latest tour dates and send ‘em some love on facebook!

[Lead Image via Graffiti6]

Meghan McCain used to really bother me. I thought the only reason she had become a well known political commentator was because her father, John McCain, was a prominent politician. It’s obvious that she’s worked hard to brand herself as a new, young voice of the Republican party. I thought that most of her positions on issues were carefully calculated to help her achieve that image. This interview she just did with Playboy is an example of that – she has some good things to say, but she’s trying hard to seem cool and relatable.

But I’m starting to respect her quite a bit. Being very liberal myself, I disagree with Meghan McCain on many issues. But she supports marriage equality, and although she is anti-abortion, she’s very pro-birth control. Recently, she appeared on the Rachel Maddow show to speak out against the Virginia bill that would have required women seeking abortions to have a transvaginal ultrasound first. That’s an unnecessary and invasive procedure. Luckily, that part of the bill was eventually changed. But here’s what Meghan McCain had to say about it:

“I’m pro-life. I’m not pro-vaginal probing. I feel like I have to go on television and delineate between the two things. I’m horrified by the bill as a woman, as a Republican woman, I’m horrified. It scares me that this can go on, it scares me that a woman can be vaginally probed without consent or a doctor’s consent.”

And she also said this about birth control:

“I always say the best way to prevent abortions is supply birth control. I’m pro-birth control, something that alienated me with pro-lifers, but I’m not an extremist.”

I really respect her for taking that stand on women’s issues. The discussions about women’s health this election season have truly scared me. Seeing as almost every single woman I know is on birth control, I never thought we’d be debating whether or not women should be using it. But we are, and not only is it frustrating and insulting, it’s distracting from issues like the economy. So I’m glad that someone is standing up to the creepy boys’ club that the Republican party has become. And I’m especially glad that someone is a young woman.

Meghan McCain has also faced a lot of criticism about her body. Last year, Glenn Beck mimed vomiting on his TV show after watching a skin cancer PSA that McCain did. She also faced attacks from the Twitterverse after tweeting a picture of herself in a tank top. She’s handled all the controversy with class, and admitted that the criticism led her to see a therapist:

“Now I’m very sensitive to any pictures taken of myself at photoshoots and whatever because the Internet has this very weird … especially people in politics … this very weird reaction to my body because I’m not super skinny, I have large breasts, I know, they’re real, I can’t do anything about it, and like the Internet just has this really weird reaction to my body … I’ve seen a therapist about it.”

I think her openness and honesty about the media’s reaction to her body is important. It’s an unfortunate reality that women are often criticized based on their appearance in situations when it shouldn’t matter. It isn’t fair, and it can be seriously damaging. It’s a brave thing to stand up to that, and at the same time admit that it really hurt.

So I’ll be paying more attention to Meghan McCain. I’d feel a lot more comfortable about the future of our country if the Republican presidential candidates sounded more like her and less like… all of the Republican candidates.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

Three words that are thrown together more often than we realize in today’s society. Whether it be a news story about an anorexic woman, a magazine ad telling readers how to go about getting a bikini body, or a blog post about the double standard that exists for women, it’s safe to say that our culture covers women and their weight pretty heavily. (No pun intended.) But has anyone ever actually bothered to question why exactly society is so concerned not just with “fat people” but “fat women”?

Kim Brittingham, author of Read My Hips: How I Learned to Love My Body, Ditch Dieting, and Live Large has. And what she realized upon further exploration was so troubling that she wrote a memoir about it, chronicling not only her own struggles with her weight, and accepting herself for who she is, but also an exploration of the reasons why she, and so many other women, have these troubles. The result? An inspiration and heartfelt memoir so worthwhile that we just had to share it with our readers. So keep reading to find out why she is against the idea of dieting and how she learned to love her body as it is.

What gave you the inspiration to write Read My Hips: How I Learned to Love My Body, Ditch Dieting, and Live Large?
I feel like I wasted a lot of precious time as a younger person worrying about the size, shape and texture of my body.  It makes me sad to remember how passionately I used to plot these physical overhauls for myself.  So much energy and planning went into these self-transformation campaigns – and they were motivated by stupid things, like a desire to lessen the curve of my hips, or eliminate that little nugget of chub where my armpit meets my upper arm.  You know that chub?  I used to want a smooth line there so badly!  None of those grand makeovers had anything to do with health, strength or longevity.  It was about whittling and sculpting myself into somebody else’s image. And the things I did to change those physical details – like dieting, for example – were the very things that made me fatter in the long run.  I wish I’d invested that energy in discovering more about myself and the world.  My life could’ve been a REAL dream come true, much sooner.

Why do you think plus-sized women are treated differently than model-sized women in society?
Americans love to pick on fat people – and what qualifies as “fat” seems to get smaller every year.  All this fat stigmatization might have something to do with the fact that our culture tolerates fewer and fewer prejudices as time goes on.  It’s not nearly as socially acceptable today to spout ignorance about blacks or gays, for example, as it might have been even just 25 years ago. And people are no more secure today than they’ve ever been – maybe even less so.  So they’re looking around for somebody to dump on, and fat people are a favorite target.

Why do you think people, especially us women, struggle with their body image so much?
I think girls and women specifically are taught to focus on their looks, at least in American culture.  We’re taught to constantly doubt ourselves and seek ways to fix what’s “wrong.”  And those fixes almost always involve giving our money away to someone else for a treatment or cure.  Corporations don’t make money when women are happy with themselves.  And big corporations are really holding most of the money in this country, and thus they can afford to give their messages the longest, most persistent reach. A lot of what you hear in a day is the result of someone trying to sell you something.

You wrote that “we live in a culture in which the phrase ‘lose weight’ causes a Pavlovian response in almost anyone born with a vagina.”  Would you say more about that?
The promise of being able to lose weight is more appealing to females in our culture than anything else.  We’ve been conditioned that way.  If someone wants to sell a product to lots of American women, they’ll look for a way to link that product to weight loss.  Why else do you think almost every women’s magazine on the newsstand has something about weight loss on the cover?  Look for words like “lose pounds,” “shed pounds,” “weight loss secrets,” “slim down,” “get fit,” “lose two dress sizes,” etc.  You’ll see them everywhere.  Watch any television show geared towards women and count how many commercials refer to weight loss.

So with all that influencing us, how did you learn love and be confident about your own body?
For me it was a gradual process.  One thing that helped a lot was taking pictures of myself in my underwear.  I wrote a chapter about it in “Read My Hips”;  I did it in private, in my apartment with a camera on a tripod, with the timer on.  I took a lot of time to study those pictures.  I really made an effort to be non-judgmental about the images.  Over time I started questioning why we’re supposed to think certain things about human bodies are ugly.  Take cellulite, for example.  Everybody’s taught to loathe cellulite.  But think about it – it’s just a texture.  It kind of looks like a pattern on wet sand, like when those tiny bubbles on the edge of a wave leave patterns behind.  What’s so awful about that?  Who makes these things up about what’s ugly and what’s beautiful?  And why are we letting them be right?

Are you against dieting? If so, why?
I am absolutely against dieting.  Dieting makes us fatter.  Diets are temporary,  and when we go off of one, we eventually regain all the weight we lost, plus extra.  I think the smarter alternative is to focus on adopting healthy habits, and stop watching the scale.  If you need to gauge your progress, try setting exercise goals, like reaching your target heart rate in your cardio activity, or sustaining it longer, or increasing weight or reps if you’re weight training.  Make goals to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet.  Body weight really doesn’t tell you much about how healthy, strong, or beautiful you are.  But it CAN mess with your head in ways that are distinctly unhealthy.  So ditch the scale.

What advice do you give to other women struggling with their body image?
I might tell them to spend some time looking at their bodies, really looking, without judgment.  Whether they take pictures of themselves like I did, or just look in the mirror.  Stop dismissing what you see right away as unattractive.  Look at features of your body that you think are ugly and ask yourself, what else in nature looks like this?  As a shape or a line or a texture, is it really that awful just by itself?  Why should it be so ugly just because it’s part of your body?  And try thinking of your body as a vessel that carries your essence, your heart and soul, rather than just some superficial object.  Bring beauty to the world in what you do, in the positive feelings you create inside yourself and other beings.   That’s where your true power is.  Besides, your flesh is temporary.  It’ll rot in the ground someday anyway.

Inspiring, right? You should read the book. Actually, you should WIN the book. We’re giving away one signed copy of Read My Hips: How I Learned to Love My Body, Ditch Dieting, and Live Large. How do you win?

1. Tell us one thing about yourself that you love most. That’s it. You’re automatically entered to win the book if you do that.  Oh, and make sure to use your real e-mail address so we can contact you if you win.

2. Contest closes at 11:59 PM on May, 8 2011

3. Please note this giveaway is only open to US and Canadian residents. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Good luck!

Instead of glitzy night club scenes with boring conversations, Downtown Girls actually shows the lives and friendships of Nikki, a boutique owner, Gurj, an Atlantic Records digital marketer, Klo, a bride-to-be, Victoria, an aspiring lawyer, and last but not least, Shallon, a Glamour.com blogger.

In a world of plastic reality show Barbie dolls (i.e: Heidi Montag), seeing young women working, living on their own, and trying to figure out their 20-something lives was refreshing. With each girl offering her unique individual style and perspective, it was impressive seeing MTV tackle real people, doing real everyday things for once.

Although Downtown Girls chronicles a group of friends, Shallon Lester steals the show with her outspoken and funny personality. With a larger-than-life persona that makes Shallon seem like everyone’s best friend, her energy is contagious. Who wouldn’t want to be her friend?

With one co-written book under her belt, Hot Mess, and a collection of memoirs chronicling her dating life coming out in 2011 called Exes and Ohs, expect to hear more from Shallon. So, consider this an inside look beyond the MTV cameras…

Five Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What’s your favorite college memory /most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Riding a bull freshman year of college. I went to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, which is way out in the country. Everyone takes rodeo—yes, it’s an actual class—and you learn how to rope and ride and brand. Our final was to ride a bull, and I went last because I was a coward. I’ve done a lot of risky and scary things in my life, but I’ve never been more frightened than when my instructor was tying my hand to the saddle and riling up the steer with a cattle prod. The chute opened and I lasted 2.7 seconds before it bucked me off and kicked me in midair, like a volleyball spike. I still have a lump on my lower back from it. Wicked.

2. What are five things you cannot live without?
Hockey, lip gloss, Tim McGraw’s greatest hits album, my mom, my Google alert on “Zac Efron shirtless.”

3. What is your motto/advice you live by?
If you trust your dreams more than you doubt them, you will get everything that you want. You don’t always have to know how you’re going to achieve it, you just have to believe that it will. It’s like Christmas morning; you don’t know the schematics of how Santa got into your house, but you knew he would.

4. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar/car/karoke?
“Baby Got Back” by Sir-Mix-Alot. If you saw me in boy shorts you’d know why.

5. Ten years from now you will be …
Married to an NHL player, overseeing the movie adaptation of my latest novel, and explaining to my friends why being voted “Sexiest Woman Alive” by Playboy five years in a row isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Signing autographs is exhausting, you know.

Five Questions specifically for Shallon:

1. What is most essential to a good friendship?
Loyalty. My life is pretty weird, so I can’t have a friend who will jump ship the moment I do something offbeat. Because “strange” is pretty much my only setting.

2. You seem so confident in who you are. Was there a defining moment that made you say “You know what, I truly accept myself for who I am.” If so, what was it?
When I started writing the sex and dating column for my college newspaper at Cal Poly, girls would come up to me and say “OMG that happened to me too! I thought I was alone!”  I realized that all of my experiences were pretty relatable, so why pretend to be someone I’m not?

3. After watching yourself on Downtown Girls, did any moments make you cringe or uncomfortable to see on camera?
Oh Jesus I looked so fat. I’m actually quite irresistible in person. And it’s never high on your list of goals to be caught crying over your ex on national television, but eh, at least my mascara didn’t run. The boy was a different story.

4. What was your worst break-up experience and how did you get through it?
About three years ago I fell deeply in love with a boy and was 100% sure that he was The One, and I knew he felt the same way. And he did…about someone else. A stripper, actually. He left me for her and I spiraled into a severe depression for seven months. I can’t tell you how many pro athletes I had to bone to pull myself out of it. But I finally did, and at the end of it, I’m wiser and stronger…and all he has is a scorching case of Chlamydia.

5. If you could go back and tell your 20-year-old self one piece of advice to hold onto for the future, what would it be?
At 20, I was so concerned about what people thought of me—boys, my sorority sisters, family—that I never asked “What do I think of myself?” When your goal is pleasing yourself first and foremost, having fun and attracting the right kind of people is inevitable.

Wanna see more awesome interviews? Check ‘em out right here.

Boston’s Boy is blowing up now in a big way, booking dates all over the place, and his party jams and special way with the ladies are creating major buzz.  With summer coming up, there is no better time to throw his EP, “Boston’s Boy”, into the car or blast it at a party. But first, you lucky CollegeCandy readers, get to know the guy behind the rhymes.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is your most ridiculous college memory?
Pretty much all of freshman year.  Nothing stands out in particular, but that whole year was crazy.

2. Well, if you can remember anything (or Freshman year at all) let me know.  Five things you can’t live without?
My Macbook, friends, music, weed, family…

3. Any motto you live by?  What’s the Sam Adams creed?
Have fun, I guess [laughs]. No motto really.

4. What’s your favorite song to belt out in the bars, in your car, or for karaoke?
Wait, what’s that song… It’s Michael Jackson. [Yells to friend] Yo, what’s that song from Rush Hour?  Chris Tucker…It’s Michael Jackson?  Don’t Stop Till Yet Get Enough!

Ah great song!  Would you sing it at shows at all?
No [laughs]. That would be good though.

5. What about in ten years?  Where do you see yourself?
On an island, hopefully doing nothing.  Not caring about anything.

In ten years?  That’s so soon to be just on an island!
[Laughs] I don’t know, I mean, I don’t really know where I’ll be then!

5 Questions Just for Sam:

1. How did this whole thing, this “meteoric” rise of Sam Adams, start?
Well it started in Boulder – I was there visiting some friends, played some shows, and it just kind of blew up.

2. You’re a big Boston Boy and your song played at Fenway during opening day. How was that?
That was crazy.  We weren’t there when it happened, but everyone was calling me and we were freaking out.

3. What’s the craziest thing about this whole rise to fame? Is it the fans? On your Facebook and Twitter pages they are definitely showing the love.
Yeah, I love the fans, man; they are crazy.  Like at the shows, when they’re singing along to the songs, it’s the craziest feeling.  But sometimes it gets weird, like when they get my phone number.

They get your phone number? What do you do when that happens?
[Laughs] Try not to pick up?  Sometimes people will call, and just be like “Is this Sam Adams?” and I’ll just hang up.

4. What other artists are you dying to work with?
We’re going to be doing some stuff soon with Wiz Khalifa, and I’d love to work with artists like Drake.

5. So what’s next for Sam Adams?
Well the Stoolapalooza tour already kicked off, so I’ll be touring this summer.  I’ll be playing with Snoop Dogg in Indiana soon, and I really want to meet him.  I just want to hang out with him, he seems like the coolest guy ever [laughs].  I’ll also be recording – in Boston, New York, kind of all over the place.  I’d like to get on vacation sooner than later, but if we keep booking dates, I’ll probably wait till later on in the summer.

Fingers crossed that vacation somehow involves me, romantic dinners and cuddling on the couch.

The following post is courtesy of our uber fashionable friends at CollegeFashion.net!

As we get closer to the end of the school year, many of us are going on internship/summer job interviews- myself included. On College Fashion, we have already covered How to Dress for a Job Interview and How to Get the Internship of Your Dreams. However, in addition to dressing to impress, your makeup and hair needs to look natural and polished for interview success.

Interview beauty can be tricky because you want to make sure you’re making a good impression, while still looking natural and chic. This post will help you achieve the perfect interview look to help you score the job/internship of your dreams!

Do: Wear Natural, Light Makeup!
Although makeup is a great way to your express yourself, no matter what type of interview you’re going on, it is best to remain conservative with your makeup. You want your natural beauty to shine through, so keep the makeup light as possible!

Need some product recommendations? Check out my picks below. I chose these products because (with the exception of the foundation and perhaps the lipstick), they are universally flattering for all skin tones and types. These are all gorgeous, natural colors that will help your true beauty shine!

Product information: Foundation: Clinique Soft Finish Foundation ($21.00), Eye Shadow: MAC Naked Lunch ($14.50), Nail Polish: OPI Dulce de Leche ($8.50), Lipstick: Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Rosy Nude ($8.99), Blush: NYX Powder Blush in Angel ($5.00)

Don’t: Go All Out With Makeup
I know you want to look your best for your interview, but when it comes to beauty in the workplace, less truly is more. Here are some products I’d recommend you stay away from for a successful interview.

Avoid:
Heavy eyeliner
Bright colored eye shadow
Heavy, caked-on foundation
Overly glossed lips
Brightly colored nails
Anything with glitter in it

Read the other major interview dos and don’t right here.

Ben and Lauren, the brains behind TFLN

It used to be that I spent a good chunk of my day stalking my friends (OK, my exes) on Facebook, but all that changed the minute TextsFromLastNight came into my life. Now most of my time is spent LOLing at my computer and emailing my latest faves to my friends. And I know I’m not the only one. TFLN, a website born out of a drunken weekend in Detroit, gets over 15,000 submissions a day and 5 million readers LOLers a month. It’s even been nominated for a Webby award, a huge honor in the Internet world, especially for a site that documents drunken debauchery. (Go vote for it!)

Since my very first TFLN encounter (“I used a bag of wine as a pillow last night”) I’ve been determined to meet the geniuses behind it and kiss them on the mouth shake their hands. And I finally got my chance… to talk to them, at least. Last week I got to sit down with Ben Bator and get a behind-the-scenes look at TextsFromLastNight: how it started, where it’s headed, and how they choose which texts will earn a coveted spot on the site.

I also got his direct number so I could send all my drunk texts directly to him, but I’m gonna keep that one to myself.

CC: Tell me how this happened.

Ben: We had a lot of fun in college. Lauren and I were friends in college and then we became better friends when she was in law school and I was about to go. We would hang out around Detroit and we’d go out with our friends, and we’d be texting our friends who were in Lansing and Ann Arbor and, you know, all the different colleges. And as the nights went on they kind of sent back more and more ridiculous things and we just had the idea of, like, what if we just took all of them and put them online? It didn’t take any crazy planning and we never thought, “OK, this is going to change the world.”

CC: Were you drunk when you thought of it?  Because I think some of the best ideas are born out of intense amounts of alcohol.

Ben: We definitely talked about it when we were drunk. [Pauses.] Yeah drinking played a part, I’m pretty sure.

CC: So, your plan was really small – just sort of make people laugh?

Ben: Yeah, it was just funny.  I mean, it was just a fun escape from law school, from real work [laughs].  So it was just kind of one of those fun things that reminded us of better times, you could say.  And yeah, I guess a lot of other people thought the same thing.  It was around finals week in most colleges when we redesigned it, and we made it really easy for people to post their own, and almost instantly, it just blew up.

CC: When did you realize that this was going to be huge?

Ben: I remember one day, we were getting more texts for some reason, and we knew people were talking about it; we saw it on Twitter and we saw our fan-page was growing. And I remember taking a break and going to my friend’s pool , it was the first nice day in Michigan, and all of a sudden I was sitting there and I look at my phone and I got four emails: one was from Penguin, one was from Harper Collins, one was from MTV and one was from a publication in New York, and I was just like “Someone’s messing with us.”  And it was only a few months after it started, it was just unreal.  It still doesn’t feel real.

CC: Wow, it happened so fast! Why do you think it’s so successful?

Ben: Well, you don’t have to watch a video, you don’t have to do anything.  You can read TFLN at work or on your phone. It’s something sneaky that can keep you entertained.  You can do it in class or whenever, and it’s really fun.  I guess you can even be inspired by [the texts] too [laughs].

CC: How do you decide what’s going to make it on there and what’s not? It has to be hard to choose.

Ben: Here’s the thing, people get upset when their text doesn’t make it, but it’s because we have to take it out of context.  So obviously I don’t know your friend Rachel, and it might be hilarious that she never gets drunk and she got hammered and slept with, like, half of, the Chicago Cubs… OK, actually that might make it anyway. [Pauses.] That was a bad example [laughs]. That would more than likely make it.

CC: Well, now I know what I’m going to do on Friday.

Ben: Right, now you’re going to be on a mission [laughs].  So a lot of the times people will send something in, and while it might be really funny to them, it doesn’t really translate. We don’t know what it means. It also has to be able to exist on its own, be funny on it’s own.  And we like things that are more open-ended, where the person doesn’t need to figure out what the situation was that set up that event.

CC: Sometimes I’ll read the site and think that there is no way on earth some of those texts are real. How do you know they’re legit?

Ben: We can really tell when people make them up. They’ll submit it three different times and they’ll write something different every time – like they’ll change an exclamation point and we can see [the changes] each time.

CC: So they thought grammar was the problem!?

Ben: Right, we’ve gotten some weird emails like, “Do you guys not accept the text if it’s not like grammatically perfect?”

CC: So what’s your favorite thing about TFLN?

Ben: [The commentors] get into arguments over how something happened and if it’s believable. And there’s always one or two people that are like “No, no, no, that’s possible…I’ve been there.” [Laughs.] It comforts me.

CC: Why did you guys decide to turn this into a book? I’ll be honest, I was skeptical, but then I got it this morning and I opened it and the first text I saw was, “There’s paper in my puke” and I kind of lost it.

Ben: I’ve read through this book so many times – as it was being made, as we were picking out what was going to go in it – and seriously, I got the book in my hands and when I read it through the first time I couldn’t stop laughing.  Me and my brother and my friend Ryan, who is like one of the most cynical people I’ve ever known, nothing can really make him laugh anymore and if it does, it’s really funny.  So we were looking through it and we were crying we were laughing so hard.  And I think it’s more fun because you can’t really do that on the computer – you can’t all huddle around the screen really giggly.

CC: Yeah, but I feel like having it online makes it more appealing to most people. You can’t bust this book out in class.

Ben: I don’t know I think there’s something amazing about having something so “digital world” in kind of an analog experience. I think that makes it way funnier.

CC: True, and I can read it in the bathroom, which is way safer than bringing my laptop in there. OK, that was a little too much. Uh, so, your job is to aggregate texts of really drunk people…then put them on a website. Do you ever think about that?

Ben: Yeah, it’s actually funny. I’ll talk to Lauren about it and we’ll be like “Is this really our job?” And you know, sometimes it actually does feel like it. You’ll wake up and, as much as it’s a fun job to go through really funny text messages, it’s something you have to do every day.  So if you’re really not feeling like it, or really didn’t have a good night the night before, it’s kind of difficult. But yeah, it’s ridiculous – I just can’t even pretend. It’s just the best job EVER.

CC: Is there any truth to these rumors that there might be a TFLN TV show?

Ben: There’s…truth.  We actually are in production.  Happy Madison, Adam Sandler’s production company, is producing it.  And fingers crossed, it’ll work out, But we’ll see.

CC: So before this all went down, both you and Lauren were planning on becoming lawyers. I assume that’s impossible now?

Ben: Well we kept ourselves a little bit more low-key at first [to protect our reputations], then there was a post on the Wayne State Twitter account: “Did you know the creators of TFLN are WSU Law students?” So they really like that.  And we talked to some people that were at other schools and they were like, “Well if you’re ever in law school, you could still apply here…” So it ended up being one of the most amazing things; it’s managed to open doors that we were completely convinced were shut.

So you’ve got less than two months left of the school year and zero plans for a summer internship. Crap?

It may seem like it’s too late to find something fantastic to pad that resume, but there are still plenty of internships out there just waiting to be filled. You just need to find the one you want and then make sure you set yourself apart from the other internship hunters as the best person for the job.

With all that competition, scoring that coveted internship can be hard, but there are a few key things you can do to help. We sat down with Colleen Sabatino, Internship Coach over at Internships.com, to find out exactly what you need to be doing to land that dream summer internship. Keep these things in mind and you’ll be interning in no time.

Know What You’re Applying For:
“Most students don’t take the time to carefully review the internship description and requirements before submitting an application. If you spend time matching your education and experience with the requirements for the position, you’ll go a long way towards getting the internship.”

Tailor Your Cover Letter:
“Express your enthusiasm for the company & position and highlight the education and experience you bring that are a match for what the company is looking for in an intern. Use the company’s internship description and position requirements as a guide and try to include keywords that are company or industry related.”

And Keep It Simple:
“Your cover letter should highlight only those items that support your candidacy for the internship – don’t mention background/experience that the company isn’t seeking.”

Edit and Focus Your Resume:
“Include your educational and work history – start with whichever is the best match for the internship. For example, if you are applying for a marketing internship and you’re studying marketing in school but have never worked in marketing, start with your education and include courses that relate to the position. If you DO have work experience in marketing, then start with your experience and follow with your education.

Also, include any outside activities (volunteer, association, project, etc.) that support your background for the internship. In our previous example, if you’re a member of the American Marketing Association, include that – it supports your qualifications for the marketing internship.

Don’t include every project or assignment you’ve ever done at school and work. You want those items that match the company’s needs to stand out – keep the resume focused on those items.

Follow Up:
Prior to submitting your resume, do your research. Know the company’s industry, the products/services it provides, where it’s located, etc. If the listing you’re applying to doesn’t give a company contact, track one down! Call the company and ask for the name of the Human Resource Manager or the most likely hiring manager depending on the internship (e.g. Marketing Manager, Finance Manager, Sales Manager, etc.). Once you have a contact, take the initiative and use them as the first point of contact for follow up – if they aren’t the correct contact, chances are they can put you in touch with the appropriate contact.

For more internship tips and tricks, check out the Internship Coach on Internships.com. And if you’re still looking for a great opportunity for the summer, they’ve got over 20,000 to choose from!

Another week has passed and we’re all one more week closer to graduating. This simple fact may send some of you into a depressed-chasing-shots-with-pints-of-ice-cream-alone-in-your-bedroom sorta funk. But put down the ladle, take a deep breath, concentrate on the hotness of Taylor Lautner and relax.  (Usually that helps me anyways…)

As we leave our colleges we’re generally expected to do one of the following steps after graduation: get a job, go to grad school, or travel the world to find ourselves.

Most of us will fall into the first category: the job. Just saying the word makes me shudder. The only thing scarier than a 9-5 job to a soon-to-be-grad is actually getting one.

The job hunt can be intimidating, frustrating, and downright difficult. In today’s market, jobs are hard to come by and a degree from a top university no longer guarantees that you’ll instantly land your dream job or that you’ll even be the best candidate for it. But there are steps we can all take and advice we can all use that will better prepare us for the job hunt and make it seem a lot less intimidating.

Will you be getting this job hunt advice and tips from yours truly? No. Why not? Because I don’t have a job and things could get real awkward if you found out you were following the advice of a fellow unemployed senior. (Hint to all prospective employers: Hire me. Do it. I dare you!)

So instead, I’ve compiled a list of great resources about everything and anything the job hunt entails from people who’ve actually had real jobs and are professionals at more things than beer pong. Summarized with advice and points from powerhouse President of Hearst Magazines, Cathie Black, here are a list of tips and advice about resumes, cover letters, networking, interviewing and more! You’ll definitely want to bookmark this post for later!

Networking
1. Calling cards. Get them. Just because you don’t have a title to put on a business card doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one. These are vital for any and all networking opportunities.
2. Be aggressive. Introduce yourself to any potential contacts. Gaining contacts in your industries no matter how high or how low will help you in the long run. When you meet someone and have a conversation, make sure to give them your card and follow up with an email saying how much you enjoyed meeting them.

LOTUS&ASH Calling cards: This exquisite, intimate paper company by paper genius Ashling Loh-Doyle makes the best calling cards and stationery around. Her fine and warm touches can transform the personality of every client into the most classic yet eccentric paper products, whether that be greeting cards, calling cards, or stationery.

Cover Letter
1. Don’t forget the cover letter. Without one, it just says you’re lazy. Don’t know how to put one together? Take a gander at this handy guide or visit your school’s career development center. It’s there for a reason, people!
2. The best cover letters express three things: why you’re good at what you do, how you’ll help the company, and your enthusiasm for the job.
3. Close your cover letter by saying you’ll call them and then actually call them.

Resume
1. Keep it simple. One page, simple font, no crazy graphics, and keep it focused, including just the information that will show an employer your relevant skills and qualities.
2. Spell check. Spell check. Spell check.
3. Tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for. This is key! Have several versions of your resume, tailored to different types of job that will match your skills with the different employer’s needs.
4. Don’t exaggerate – and never lie. This could lead to disaster, especially in today’s world when we’re all Google-able.

Never written a resume? Try these resources on for size:
The Resume Handbook: This is the ultimate resume how-to guide stacked with tips, advice, and formats.
Career Perfect: These people make a business out of knowing how to get people jobs.

Landing and Preparing for an Interview
1. Be persistent. Show initiative and be aggressive. Don’t hound potential employers with tons of calls, but it is okay to call them and ask if the company is in its hiring process or whether there’s anything you can do to help move it along.
2. Do research on the company and the person interviewing you. Interviewers want to know that you want this job, not just any job. Show your interest by learning about the company so you can both ask and answer questions. Think about your ideals, what you want out of this job, and why you are simply the best for this position.
3. Explain all of your weaknesses as strengths. For example, when asked what your weakness is, say something like “I sometimes overwork myself” or “I spend too much time trying to perfect my work.”
4. Look great. Dress appropriately for the job you’re applying for. Even if most people dress casually in your industry (this is the case in advertising, marketing and journalism), dress up. Ladies, no cleavage. Look presentable and respectable.
5. Bring resume, cover letter, list of references, paper and pen.
6. Make sure you ask questions. Most employers at the end of the interview will ask if you have any questions. Have some things prepared. This is not the time to ask how much money you’ll be making but it is the time to ask questions about the company as a whole, where you will fit into the organization, and what all of your duties will be.
7. Be yourself. Actually though, be yourself. Be the best version of yourself. Obviously your behavior will be more refined as you’re in an interview, but still be yourself.
8. Follow up by sending a thank you note or letter. On nice stationery!

Want to brush up on those interview questions so you’re not blindsided? Here are a few of the more common things you’ll be asked in interviews.