This post originally appeared on Harvard Business Review.

Mark Zuckerberg reinvigorated an entire generation when he added nine zeroes to the end of his bank account before he was 30 years old. He made start-ups great again. He showed the world that youth is not a preventative factor of success and that work can actually be fun. This theme of wealth creation while doing something you love is why an increasingly large percentage of graduates are turning to start-ups over more traditional jobs. It might also be why people are quitting their consulting gigs and investment banking positions to pursue a career in start-up land. Just yesterday I ran into a recent Harvard Business School graduate who quit her consulting gig in order to follow her dream at a new start-up.

Unlike big, established corporations or what we might classify as a “steady job,” start-ups present more inherent … Read More »

So is Jamie Varon…

“My name is Jamie Varon and I’m living in Danville, CA (if you haven’t heard of it, no worries) right now, hoping to move into San Francisco soonish, rather than laterish. The sole purpose of this site is simple: I want to get hired at Twitter and the only way to stand out in this competitive job market is to do something unique.”

I’ve heard many stories lately from people my age that have either lost their job, are about to lose their job, or haven’t found a job in the first place.

According to Forbes and their layoff tracker (as of this writing), there have been 511,925 layoffs since Nov. 1 2008 at America’s 500 largest public companies.

Something tells me that simply submitting resumes online and wearing a suit to interviews (if your lucky) isn’t going to cut … Read More »

You want to make a lot of money. Who doesn’t? 

You scope out industries, look at the highest paying jobs, somewhat consider the associated quality of life. Ultimately, you want a job that will make you a lot of money.

If you did this sort of exercise a year ago, or if you are still doing this exercise now. STOP!

The world is completely different now than it was a year ago. 

Ty this exercise instead:

Scope out emerging or exciting industries, look at the most rewarding jobs, completely consider the associated quality of life. In the end, you will find a job that you are much happier with, and ultimately, you stand to make a whole lot more money because you will be doing something you are passionate about.

The saying goes, “It’s not about what you know, but who you know”.

While I do not completely agree, there is some truth to this saying. Connectedness and networking matters. It matters a lot. The internet has made it easier than ever to enhance your current network of friends, colleagues, or like-minded individuals. Networking can and will increase your chances of success.

The business card, phone number, or email, just doesn’t cut it anymore. As a worker in the knowledge era, you should be leveraging the social internet to the fullest extent. Your personal brand or image is no longer reflected by just your in-person image. It now extends across the web. How are you developing your personal brand or identity?

Consider the following web services and ideas. How could they help increase your networking potential?

WordPress
Typepad
Blogger
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Flickr
Ning
Digg
Sharethis
Disqus

Of course, in-person networking matters, and will always … Read More »

Fred Wilson recently wrote a post about one of his portfolio companies and its search for interns in the NYC area.

In the Post…

Greg Yardley, founder/CEO of our portfolio company Pinch Media tells the following story about graduating from college and facing the career question:

When I finished school, I had a MA in Russian history and absolutely no idea what to do with myself – I started working as a customer support rep at an Internet startup because they were the first ones to offer me a job.  (If the startup was a week later with the job offer, I’d probably be a 911 emergency operator today.  Sometimes life can lead you to unexpected places.)  I was surprised to stumble across a field that I loved – soon I became a product manager, and now I’m the co-founder of a … Read More »

Is it happiness? Is it financial security? Is it location? Is it independence? How do we inevitably select a career path? This May, I will be graduating from the University of Wisconsin (Electrical Engineering) and will be working for Lotame, a relatively new online media company. If I were to guess where or what I would be doing a year ago, I would most likely tell you I would be attending some form of graduate school.

But this is not the case.

Where will you be a week from today? A year? 

What industry will you be in? More importantly WHY?

My first encounter with blogging started off as a place to post anything and everything myself and my friends thought was worth looking at. Whatever it was. Just a place to share cool and interesting articles, pictures, etc. Originally, the blog consisted of two authors, myself, and a buddy of mine who is all about music and new media. Since then, we have both realized what is important to us, and what we would like to share. This blog represents that new commitment to myself and to you.

My eyes, ears, and mind are always open to new thoughts and ideas. Time for a conversation. I am Dan Reich, and this is my blog.