This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
In our Spring semester survival kit from Her Campus, we received an #ActuallySheCan booklet, which is a mini magazine with life tips for collegiettes. ActuallySheCan is an awesome campaign that is starting the converstation about the goals and successes of women to empower women worldwide! This issue focused on how to kickstart your career and be successful in your field. There were a total of 7 articles, all packed with helpful advice on what you should be doing before and after you graduate. Here, I examine a few that stood out to me.
Networking is the main skill you need in order to achieve success in your field. The first article was all about how networking is not as scary as you may think. It’s understandable that you may not have a lot of contacts in your field right out of college, and that’s okay. Start small with family and friends. You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to help you grow. One quote I found particularly helpful is “Be a farmer, not a miner.” This means instead of digging and hoping for gold, go out and plant some seeds yourself. Reaching out to people in your industry never hurts. Send the e-mail; approach the person you want to connect with no matter how successful they are. Usually, if someone sees that you’re motivated enough to reach out to them, then they will give you a chance.
The next article talks about the importance of finding a mentor. A mentor should be someone that possesses a special characteristic that you admire. This does not always have to be someone in your field. For example, a mentor could be your parent because you want to be able to multitask as well as them. It could even be a fellow classmate because you admire their focus. Have as many mentors as possible in order to bring out the best in yourself. Following someone that you respect on social media can also be a form of mentorship. Chances are, they will post lots of tips and tricks for you to try. Her Campus has a great section titled “How She Got There” that allows you to see how successful women got to be so successful. A few women interviewed are Rebecca Minkoff, Lauren Berger, and Amanda Bucci.
Breaking out into the real world can be super stressful. The easiest way to cope with stress is through meditation. Meditation can be done anywhere at any time, and it doesn’t always have to be in a quiet setting (although this helps). Take a few minutes to close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Try not to worry about if you’re doing it right or all of the things you have to do afterwards. Take one minute to reset and then be on your way.
Another thing in this booklet that I found to be interesting is the article on retirement, because I knew absolutely nothing about this subject. A small step like opening a retirement account can save you a lot of headaches down the road if you start now. A few sources to help you launch a retirement fund are opening an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), which is an account you put money into that develops interest over time. Another way to save is by MyRa. This is a free national retirement plan that invests your retirement funds into a Treasury savings bond. A few simpler steps are to watch your spending. Don’t spend more than you make, and talk to a money mentor. This could be on your campus or at your bank. They will explain the pros and cons of each plan and together, you can find out what will work best for you.
Lastly, there were some tips on how to achieve any goal you may have. First is to get excited about your goal. Picture yourself after you achieve it and how proud you will feel. Next, help others to achieve their goals. It will likely come back around. Third, don’t doubt yourself. Remove words like “can’t” and “won’t” from your vocabulary immediately and turn them into positive statements. Fourth, surround yourself with positive people and remove any negativity from your life. And lastly, celebrate every step you take in achieving this goal. Give yourself credit and don’t stop!
For more information about ActuallySheCan and the wonderful things the campaign is doing to empower women everywhere, please visit the site ActuallySheCan.com or ActuallySheCan.com/Mentorship. Additioanlly, ActuallySheCan encourages the use of the hashtag #ActaullySheCan to allow women from all over to voice their goals and sucess stories. Be sure to use the hashtag and checkout their mutliple social media accounts that are listed below!
Instagram: @ActuallySheCan
Facebook: facebook.com/ActuallySheCan
Twitter: @ActuallySheCan