When we think of our favorite celebrities, gigantic mansions, amazing closets and fantastic vacations come to mind. Sometimes it feels like they’ve been churning out hit movies and chart-topping singles since they were born. We usually forget that they were once regular people, too. They had to pay the rent on time and probably asked Mom and Dad for some cash once in a while.

Until fame and fortune came knocking at their door, celebrities had to pick up odd jobs too, just like everyone else. Last week we shared with you our dream summer jobs, now take a look at these…well…less enticing positions once held by our fave celebs. Read More »

We know that college students are always looking for ways to save money. Especially at this time of year, when the semester is coming to a close and your bank account is sinking closer and closer to $0! Keep reading to find out how YOU can win a $200 PRIZE PACK with everything you need to get through spring in style from our friends at ReadyU. ReadyU is a great resource for college students. Looking for advice on college life outside the classroom, like how to deal with a bad roommate, or how to clean your room for your parents’ surprise visit? ReadyU has got you covered! And now you have the chance to have your favorite “How Not-To” moment immortalized in film.

Visit the ReadyU Facebook page now to enter your most memorable “funny fail” – like the time you tripped on the way to class and landed smack on you face in front of your crush, or the time you fell asleep in class, only to wake up and realize class let our 15 minutes ago.
Summer is so close that we can almost taste it, which means a much-needed break from school, and most likely, a summer job or internship. Check out ReadyU’s awesome tips for landing that coveted internship now before springtime is over. Read More »

Four months is a lot of time to spend doing nothing, which is why more often than not college students find themselves with a lap full of summer resolutions. Now we’re in the last month of summer and some of us, no doubt, have given up on forgotten about those promises we made to ourselves, but it’s not too late to get back on the horse. Here’s a few ways you can still achieve those summer resolutions.

1. Getting a head-start on classes

Okay, maybe you were getting a little ahead of yourself when you bought all your textbooks early and vowed to have at least the first couple chapters read by the end of the summer. Now you have an unhappy stack of overpriced textbooks that are being used as a doorstop. Luckily, there’s still a way to get ahead of the game without even cracking open a textbook. Email the professors of the courses you’re taking and ask for last year’s syllabus. It’s easy for a prof to just attach the file to an email, and then you can use the syllabus to plan an effective study schedule so you’ll be prepared for classes even if you haven’t forced yourself through fifty pages of molecular biology.

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We’ve survived another year of  8 A.M. lectures and caffeine addiction. Our drunken immunity has been tested like never before. What is our reward? For most of us, a summer job. And for many of us, a summer job in retail.

I’ve had my fair share of retail gigs and, let me tell you, they’re not all rainbows and awesome discounts. Nope, most of the time, they’re just folding, counting and really bitter customers… with a pretty great discount. If you find yourself behind the register this summer and want to make it out alive, keep these key things in mind:

1. Keep your peace of mind.
I’ve had more crap summer jobs than I can count and I don’t think I made more than 50 cents over minimum wage at any of them. Some money is always better than none, but don’t forget to put a premium on your peace of mind. So many nights I would come home and be totally exhausted from rude people and domineering bosses, but I would keep myself awake for 2 or 3 more hours wondering if I had balanced my register or entered the security code correctly before I locked up. Take it from someone who learned it the hard way: forget about it. This isn’t your career, it’s your summer job. Focus on it  from 9 to 5 and the second that glass door locks behind you, use your time to enjoy your summer. Read More »

Usually when I tell people I write for a website I get a range of reactions. These can span from “Oh, like a blog? Like,about what?” to “Wait, let me help you construct some material that I personally find hilarious but wouldn’t appeal to anyone else other than me and maybe four other people in the world. Here, let me give you advice for the next 30 minutes on what your next article should be about.” When I receive the latter response, my eyes typically glaze over, which can often be misconstrued for boredom. That could not be further from the truth. I’m just daydreaming about raspberry sorbet or the easiest way out of the conversation.

However, sometimes I actually pay attention to outside advice on what I should “Write a top ten about.” So I can write the Weekly Ten about it. Or rather, why their ideas are miserable. Below are some of the suggestions I’ve gotten. Honestly, I wish I could make this up.

10. “Top 10 Best Calculator Words”
“You know like if you type in 1134 it spells hell when you flip it upside down. That’s funny, right?”
No. No it’s not. Also, I doubt that you can make any more than 5.

9. “Top 10 Best Footwear”
Wait, really? Best brands? Best type of shoe? Flats, high heels? I don’t even understand this one.

8. “Top 10 Reasons Why I’m Not Upset I Don’t Live in Somalia”
Double negative and unappealing to the CollegeCandy demographic, for the most part. Also, I’m not touching other countries ever again. Read More »

Last week, I was sent over to the fashion closet to help the style interns on a busy day. They had just finished shooting a story on the perfect pair of denim for every body (curvy, boyish, apple shaped, etc.), and now the remains of the project were stuffed in bags that popped out of every corner in the room.

Over 500 pairs of jeans had been surveyed in order to find the perfect few that would appear in the magazine, so you can imagine how much material I’m talking about here. I, along with the other intern I work with, was informed that all these jeans had to be separated by brand and then put in separate piles. After this we would send the jeans back to the PR companies that sent them to us.

Thus began my day of physical labor – if you think carrying huge piles of denim around in your arms all day isn’t heavy and tiring, you’re wrong – and I didn’t sit down until about 5 pm. I realized that these fashion girls were doing this every day as I sat placidly in front of my computer typing and web surfing! This got me to thinking about some of the jobs that require you to stand/lift/push/pull things all day long, and I decided to ask my friends with labor-intensive jobs for some funny stories.

Amusement Park
This summer, thanks to the totally sh*tty economy, one of my friends is working at a water park in New Jersey where she has to lift little children on and off a miniature waterslide all day long. The other day, a three year old peed on her in mid-air, and then the mother (standing behind the gate) proceeded to yell at my friend for making her daughter cry. Not to mention the fact that these water park pools and rides are probably filled with pee anyways, since little kids think its okay to let it all out wherever and whenever they please. Awesome. Read More »

Dear Upper East Side,

I’m writing this letter with sadness in my heart and hot fudge in my hair. I’ve spent the last two months scooping your ice cream and ringing up orders and now its time for me to go home. But even though I must leave, I wanted to spend a few final moments reflecting on our time together.

Like remember all those times when you came in with your Blackberry in one hand, your Bugaboo stroller in the other, and you didn’t even look up from your phone to place your order? I always respected you for your determination to complete your conversation, even if it sometimes meant you couldn’t make eye contact with me.

Or haha, I’m cracking up about that time I gave you two cents in change and you held your hand out waiting for it so you could put it back in your Prada wallet, which you shoved into your Fendi bag instead of the tip jar. That was a great time. Read More »

There’s no question about it: finding somebody to pay you is hard. In some cases, it’s even hard to find somebody to not pay you but instead give you something that’s supposed to be equivalent: college credit, for instance, or a big-ticket line on your resume.

Yeah, I’m talking about the Real World.

I’m far from a career counselor, but I have picked up a lot of helpful tips along the way. Since it’s sometimes hard to know where to start when looking for a job or internship, let me offer a few things that I know to be helpful:

• Work those connections. Connections, connections, connections. Have I made my point clear yet? CONNECTIONS! If you know somebody whose friend knows somebody whose brother knows somebody… well, what are you waiting for?! There’s only two degrees of separation between you and that person, and nobody else is going to do the legwork for you. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that a ton of industries are based on connections, and at some places it can be impossible to get your foot in the door unless you physically plant it there. Talk to people, ask questions, and be proactive. Networking is far more important than you think. Read More »

I experienced the real meaning of the saying “April Showers bring May Flowers” the other day as I walked through a part of Manhattan I hadn’t visited in two weeks and suddenly realized it was now home to green tree branches and blooming tulips (…as well as a homeless guy who kept trying to get me to make out with him…).

New York City is in bloom. And it’s fantastic. And will only last for about three more weeks and then summer will roll in and burn everything to a crisp and cause me to sweat so badly on the subways that I become concerned for my own health.

BUT. Before summer truly has us in her hot, hot choke hold, we are being blessed with May. Sweet, little, darling, beautiful May. It could be my favorite season. And not just because it signals the end of school and the beginning of constant barbecues and awesome hippie skirts. To me, May always represents rebirth. Nature’s ability to forgive and forget. Our ability to move on. Brighter things to come.

And the freaking beach.

What are your May plans, dear awesome readers? Graduating? Finishing up finals? Heading home for some much needed R and R before an internship / job / summer classes start? What exactly ARE you doing for a summer internship or job? Have any hot tips to pass our way?

Oh yeah, and also…what’s your favorite summer treat?

[Questions, Comments, love letters for CollegeCandy? Contact J directly at jess@collegecandy.com]

So, I realize that a lot my peers have a strange fixation with this thing called “the summer hook up”. As my friend and co-blogger Sol so eloquently, (actually she just corrected me, it was belligerently) put it;

Solgurl88: IT’S THE SAME THING AS HOOKING UP IN THE WINTER

Solgurl88: how come people never say

Solgurl88: ‘winter hookup!’(?)

I added that question mark in there for ya, buddy. But poor AIM grammar aside, I have to agree with her. A hook up is a hook up, why the classification?

Well, I suppose for people who vacation in a foreign country, or somewhere other than where they normally reside, the ‘summer hook up’ symbolizes the opportunity for a no-strings attached ‘relationship’ of sorts. (Those people are not to be confused with me, I am doomed to work endless summer jobs with either all females or no attractive co-workers for all college eternity.) Read More »