My 14 Pieces of 9-5 Advice

During my two years out of college, I have been given many pieces of advice for surviving in the real world (of internships and work). Below you will find a list of the 14 number of pieces that I've held onto and used in my 9-5 life.

When you get dressed in the morning, dress like you're going into a meeting. This could vary depending on your office atmosphere but try to dress up, rather than down, for the office.

Don't give too many details about your personal life. I'm not saying that being the anti-socialite of the office is the way to go but it is often a good idea to keep personal details to yourself. Keep in mind that the details you may divulge to your boss and/or co-workers could have a direct affect on how your work is judged (i.e. a Thursday night out or a medical emergency). If necessary, tell someone in HR and/or your boss about the situation but not your co-workers.

There are two types of people in this world: people who ask and those who are afraid to ask. You may not be one to ask but remember that the worst anyone can do is say "no."

If you have to cry, go outside. My love for Ms. Cutrone aside, she has a very valid point. If you feel that you're going to be blacklisted for a mistake you've made and need to collect yourself, take 10 very deep breaths. If you need to, excuse yourself and go to the ladies' or gents' room.

It's probably not as bad as you think. I cannot tell you how many times I have built up a minor situation at work in my head to be a catastrophe. If you make a mistake in the office, bring it up to the person it directly involves, be honest about what happened and see if there is something you can do to mend the situation.

You do not have to apologize. I typically apologize for any mistake, no matter how small. One day, I was sitting with a boss and apologized for clicking on the wrong folder while she was guiding me to a document. She said, "V, you do not have to apologize." It may sound like a small step in my career, but from that moment, I realized that I don't have to apologize for the small mistakes because everyone makes them. And as for larger mistakes, I quickly apologize then fix the situation. Dwelling on the situation or over-apologizing might often makes things seem worse than they are.

Don't spend more than 15 minutes [of the company's time] trying to find something on your own. Whether it is an old file or something around the office, don't spend more than 15 minutes searching for it before asking for assistance.

When given a new project, ask if there's a project that might be similar to use as a reference. This will often save you the time and headache of starting a project from scratch.

Don't regret it, shred it. Yes, I saw this written on the side of a truck, but the point still stands. If you have documents to toss that could be considered confidential, etc. make sure you shred them. Better to be safe than sorry.

"I don't know" is no longer an acceptable answer. With the world at our fingertips, both inside of the office/home and outside on our smartphones, it is no longer acceptable to answer a question with "I don't know." You may not know the answer at that particular moment, but within seconds you'll be able to give the answer.

Always open and close your emails. Don't be a millennial. Make sure you begin your emails with a greeting and close with your regards to the recipient.

Don't invite your co-workers to your wedding. Unless you want to pay for 40 extra dinners and/or have 38 angry co-workers (because only 2/40 were invited, leave them off the list.

And a couple of work tips for your physical health...

Remember the Rule of 20-20-20 If you have a job that involves spending a heavy amount of time on the computer try to look at something that is at least 20 feet away, every 20 minutes for at least 20 seconds.

Sitting is Killing You Try to get up every hour and walk around, even if it's just to the restroom, the kitchen or the copier. And if you have the time (and the weather permits) try to walk around outside during your lunch break.

Live-Tweeting Weddings: My #Schrambled Experience

Yes, while some of her other close friends were assembling pistachio shell bouquets [see below], @k8_j asked if I would do the honor of live-tweeting her nuptials.

Nearly two years ago, I was acting as the Social Media Intern at Literacy Chicago (LC) while Kate was the Social Media / Marketing Coordinator. Sometime during my three month internship, we caught on to each other's self-motivation, positive attitude and dry sense of humor. After the internship ended, Kate and I kept and touch and occasionally met up for dinner - we now meet up for monthly dates. It was on one of these dates that she asked if I would do the honor of live-tweeting her wedding.

I said yes, of course, and was not too caught off guard, as I knew she'd gotten the idea from a fellow LC alum, @alexklevine and written about live-tweeting weddings and even tweeted another LC alum wedding - @denisekruse. (I guess we LC alumni are trend setters.)

As Skype wasn't an option for viewing Kate and Nick's special day, live-tweeting seemed to be the next best option. We brainstormed hashtags that seemed appropriate for the event. Kate chose #schrambled, a play on Kate's married name from the creative mind of Denise. With the hashtag, viewers could "attend" the wedding through the tweetchat room created for the event.

With Blackberry in hand, my beau and I walked into the event hall. Before the wedding began, I thought about the parts of the wedding I would want to follow if I were unable to attend, somewhat of an outline for my tweets. I was ready to be judged by the elders, but not before my battery would die - halting the chance of any updates. But neither of those things happened. I must say that my date was somewhat displeased, though I had given him fair warning.

All in all the live-tweeting went very well. I could have used a partner-in-crime for the event. I think it would have been nice to have another point of view of the day. However, I'm glad I could help Nick, Kate and their friends and family, enjoy their special day.

Having "The Talk" with Your Children

It is one of those cliché parental fears. Having "the talk" with your children. But there's another talk parents should consider having.

In the age of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Myspace and so on, much of what was once considered the intimate details of people's lives is now public. Though many believe that thinking before posting is common sense, some - in most cases, those who are younger - may not understand the consequences that could come in their actions. Let me give you an example.

A friend of mine has a niece who's 16 years old. One night she was out to dinner with her aunt, uncle and boyfriend at a local pub. Her aunt noticed a man in the corner of the pub, alone, who kept staring at her niece. When the group got up to leave, the aunt and uncle stayed back for a moment and watched as the man got up and followed the young couple out of the restaurant. He began to reach for the girl when the aunt startled him with an, "Excuse me, what are you doing?" The man paused and replied that the young girl had forgotten her digital camera (false.) and he wanted to get it to her.

This may have been just a coincidental, isolated incident. However, if you were to look up the young girl's Facebook profile, you'll notice that her privacy settings are low, her profile pictures are somewhat provocative and her status for that evening was something along the lines of "Out for dinner with (boyfriend's name) at (the pub)!"

I'm not suggesting that helicopter parents are in order for all of the pre-teens/teenagers who are online. However, I believe that moving forward from the days of AIM, parents need to be more proactive in "gently reminding" their loved ones - and perhaps even themselves - that the Internet isn't the place to share their most intimate details. They might even remind them that once it is on the Internet, it is there for good.

Happy New Year!

Oh. em. gee. I cannot believe it has been nearly a year since I last posted on my beloved. You may understand the hiatus if I explain what I've done over the past year.

a. Interned with a fab PR firm in downtown Chicago.
b. Moved into a suburban apartment with the manfriend.
c. Landed my 1st big girl job.
d. Ran a half-marathon.

a. In February of 2010, I started my internship with one of the big boys in downtown Chicago. It was intense, not only because of the opportunities I came across, but also because of the 1.5+ hour commute. If you'd like to know more about the internship, I'll be posting/updating theprhopeful soon. Overall, it was a great experience and I met a lot of fabulous people.

b. Not a lot to say about the apartment. Moved out of the manfriend's mother's abode and into a two bedroom, two bathroom in April 2010.

c. In July 2010, I landed my first, and current, big girl job. I am a marketing coordinator with an architectural firm in Oak Brook. I know I'm theprhopeful, but marketing is another great field for creative minds. It took a while to get used to the new field and schedule, but I really enjoy it.

d. On November 6, 2010, I ran the Monumental Half-Marathon in Indianapolis, IN. I have family in Indy, and the entry fee proceeds went to the Indianapolis Public Schools, so I saw this race as a great opportunity. I began training in early August and ran the race in roughly 2:35 - not bad for a first timer. It took a lot of work and discipline, but I believe it was great practice if I want to run the Chicago Marathon this year (which I do).

So, there you have it. Between those four milestones, my brother's wedding in late August and the holidays, I haven't had a lot of time to blog. But I am going to make a conscious effort to move forward in the next year.

Hope you all had a fabulous new year!