Much of my career has also focused on storytelling: telling employees’ stories to talent across many industries, companies’ and experts’ stories in the HR space, and even a few podcasts’ stories to engage their listeners. Past areas of focus have included diversity, equity and inclusion, careers, recruitment, personal development, social justice and entertainment

I’ve been with Disney since 2012, when I did the Disney College Program as an attractions host. Then, I spent the following school year promoting the program as a campus representative, before returning to a seasonal role in attractions. During college, I gained communications and marketing experience at Come Recommended, Penn State Career Services and Partyspace.com. I was also actively involved on the executive board of PRSSA.

After graduating from Penn State with a degree in Communications, I worked as an intern in Account Management for Disney Talent Acquisition Marketing. After my internship, I worked as a coordinator on the recruiting side of the business, where I supported Technology Talent Acquisition. I soon rejoined the TA Marketing team once more and worked my way from Account Coordinator, to Account Associate, to Account Manager, before finally joining the DEI team.

During my time in DEI, I’ve had a few different roles. First, I led the the strategic communications efforts for our DEI People & Culture team and oversaw day-to-day communication for our Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs). Then, I was promoted to a role where I co-led strategic integration and planning in service of unifying the DEI function across The Walt Disney Company. This role included elements of project management, cross-business collaboration, team operations, building tools and resources, financial optimization, and more. It was after this that I was promoted to my current position.

In addition to my day job, I also led a team of 30 women as part of Women@Disney, a grassroots, employee-led community of nearly 5,000 women, nonbinary, and allies, committed to amplifying the unique value of every woman’s impact.

Outside of my career at Disney, I have also worked on and off as a freelance content marketer. I’ve helped brands boost their business by reaching their target audience wherever they spend time online. With more than a decade of experience, I have well-rounded expertise in marketing, communications, and social media.

I’ve supported a number of industries through freelance and full-time work, specializing in diversity and inclusion, careers, recruitment, and personal development.

• I have ghost-written more than 400 articles and blogs, published in various outlets including company blogs, Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, RecruitmentMarketing.com, Glassdoor, Huffington Post, Mashable, Monster, Parade, Personal Branding Blog and Tech Cocktail.
• I was the first social media manager for MuggleCast and #Millennial podcasts, which combined had more than 160K followers at the time.

My diverse experiences have made me a strong communicator, team player, and project manager. I am detail-oriented, organized, and excited about the work I do every day. Please connect with me; I’d love to work together!

Another note about me: I love exploring, reading, writing, gaming, and learning.

Follow me on Threads @julegamache or connect with me on LinkedIn.

I guess I’ve always had a fascination with the moon. As a kid, I painted my bedroom to look like the night sky, complete with sponge stamped stars and a crescent moon wall lamp. In college, despite my communications major, I picked two astronomy courses to fulfill my science requirements. And I can’t wait to go camping next month so I can stare up at the moon from the side of mountain, away from city lights.

So it shouldn’t be too surprising to hear that back in April, I signed up for a monthly subscription box called Lunarly, or as I’ve affectionately dubbed it, “my moon box.”

What I think is wild, though, is that this box has actually changed the way I think about my goals. Every month, right before the New Moon, my box arrives filled with self-care and personal growth goodies. And by growth, I mean each box has a real-life plant inside!

All of the items are tailored to that month’s moon (for example, August is the Corn Moon!), but more importantly, they’re designed to help achieve your goals for that month.

On the night of the New Moon, the Lunarly journal asks you to set your intentions for the month, big or small. Then, during the First Quarter Moon, you think about actionable steps to make your intentions a reality. For the Full Moon, you evaluate and release that which is no longer serving you; let it go! And for the Third Quarter Moon, you celebrate your accomplishments and take note of your gratitude.

This might sound a bit “woo-woo,” but I’ve honestly come to really value my Lunarly journal and the habits it instilled in me.

As someone who is constantly looking up to at moon, I’ve started to see more meaning in each phase. No matter when I look up, I have a visual symbol motivating me toward my goals. Plus, the box is lovely because while I’m stuck inside, I also have a growing collection of house plants to remind me of my intentions.

A final thing I really value from my moon-based routine is that I’ve let go of the constraints of my calendar when it comes to my personal growth. The moon’s cycle is not on the same schedule as the calendar year, so I don’t feel myself thinking, “I’ll start over on Monday,” or “I’ll fix my habits on the 1st of the month.”

Instead, I feel like every day is a new day to start fresh. And that is a huge win for me.

How do you keep track of your long-term personal goals?

One of the biggest ways I expanded my professional network was by joining Women@Disney, a grassroots and employee-led resource group, focused on career development and empowerment for women across our company.

In a post back in 2018, I shared that I started out by attending events, then volunteering, and eventually I joined the leadership team. This community is one of the things I miss the most during my furlough from Disney.

I miss the sisterhood of the leadership team.

The leadership team of Women@Disney is made up of a dozen women from different roles and segments across the company. In my two years on the team, these women became my go-to people at Disney. We support each other in good times and bad, and we make each other better.

We work every day to bring development opportunities to our community of thousands of women across the company, and I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished together.

In these last 100+ days of furlough, I have sorely missed this group of women and our shared mission. Being on that team truly changed the way I think about work and my overall purpose in life. They’ve shown me the power of lifting the voices of others, and I am so grateful for it.

I miss meeting women in areas of the company I didn’t even know about.

Whether at networking events, panels, small sessions, or in our Slack channel, Women@Disney is also an opportunity to meet members at all levels of the company and learn from each other. Beyond the leadership team, I have been able to chat with and learn from so many women.

We come together to discuss the experiences that are unique to women in the workplace. Whether it’s advocating for yourself, accepting feedback, or navigating times of change, there are hundreds of other women going through similar experiences and we get to help each other grow.

It’s comforting to know that many of the women in our group are in a similar situation to mine, right now. But that also just makes me miss them even more.

I miss collaborating with other resource groups.

In addition to the thousands of women in my own employee resource group, we also get to collaborate with the other resource groups from time to time. We have groups for all dimensions of diversity, and some of the best experiences we create are when we join forces.

We network together, lift each other’s voices, and support one another. In a company with hundreds of thousands of employees, it’s amazing to have allies who are all trying to make a difference for our peers.

I don’t know how long it will be before I get to enjoy the magic of this community again, but until then, I want to say thank you to all of the people I have in my life thanks to these groups. Knowing we have each other’s backs is what gets me through!

On the day that this assumption was confirmed, I again, didn’t feel very strongly about it. Social distancing and “safer at home” had been underway for almost a month, so I thought, “OK, this will last a few months, and I’ll be back to work.”

Now that it’s been nearly 100 days since my furlough began, apathy has been replaced by an array of emotions that changes day to day. I never know what I’ll feel when I wake up.

• Monday – Sad. I miss work.
• Tuesday – Bored. Time to play a video game.
• Wednesday – Frustrated. What am I even contributing to the world right now?
• Thursday – Bored again. Let’s find a book or documentary to learn something new.
• Friday – Angry. Why aren’t people wearing masks?
• Saturday – Fear. The federal unemployment stimulus is going to end really soon. Will I be able to survive without it?
• Sunday – Peaceful. That early morning hike really helped my mental state.

And repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

While I can’t control the way I feel when I first wake up, there are a few ways I’ve been spending my time that have actually helped:

Learning something new.

Reading books about anti-racism. Watching documentaries about police brutality. Listening to podcasts about diversity & inclusion. Watching YouTube videos about world history.

Feeding my brain with new lessons has been a great way to feel productive. There is SO MUCH content available, and most of it is free or part of a service to which I already subscribe. This has been one of my default ways to spend my time lately. (And I’d love some recommendations in the comments!)

Volunteering my time.

I am not able to go out and join the Black Lives Matter protests on the streets, but I have found a number of local organizations who have online volunteer opportunities, which have been such a productive use of my time.

JusticeLA sends action alert texts every Monday/Wednesday/Friday with 1-2 small things to do each day to support the community. This is one of my favorite ways to get involved. I also usually send each action to a few of my friends in LA who also want to contribute. Click here to learn more!

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is another local organization which is dedicated to raising the voices of everyday Californians to fight for the policies and programs we need to improve our communities. I volunteer with ACCE as part of their texting bank. Click here to learn more!

Lastly, RepresentUS is a national, non-partisan organization that aims to fix our broken elections and stop political bribery. I’ve also joined their texting team. Click here to learn more!

Beating video games.

Video games are the perfect combo of stress-relief and productivity for me. During my furlough, I’ve replayed both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Spider-Man, which are two of my favorite games ever. I also fell in love with Animal Crossing.

These games all work so well for quarantine fatigue because they give me goals to accomplish. Animal Crossing does this in a relaxing way. Zelda and Spidey do it too, but they challenge my brain more by providing puzzles to solve.

I am also planning to play The Witcher 3 and Batman: Arkham Knight. Let me know if you have any favorite games to recommend!

Meditating and exercising.

I never thought I’d be a person who meditates, but I am a now a major fan. Every morning that I start with 10 minutes of Headspace and 30 minutes of yoga has led to a better mood throughout the rest of the day. Without fail.

If you’re unemployed or furloughed, you can get Headspace free for a year by visiting this link: http://headspace.com/unemployed

I’ve also gone on a few early-morning hikes with my sister before most people wake up, and those have really helped me clear my head and connect with nature.

If you’re unemployed or furloughed, like me, let me know what you’re doing to feed your soul!

If you read my previous post, you’ll know my goals for the year were: more exploration, more confidence, and more stability. Let’s see how I’ve done so far…

1. EXPLORATION

My plan was to visit at least one museum per month, go camping once or twice, and maybe take another long-distance road trip.

My roommates and I failed at keeping up with the museums, BUT I have still maintained momentum with visiting somewhere new in California every month:

• January – I previously shared that I visited the California Science Museum.
• February – One of my best friends came to visit me, and we went to the Getty Villa, Salvation Mountain, and Salton Sea!
• March – We went to Diamond Valley Lake to see the superbloom of wildflowers.
• April – My first visit to the local Renaissance Faire was magical!
• May – My mom, sister and I took the Warner Brothers Studio Tour and got to visit the exclusive Magic Castle in Hollywood.
• June – Under the wire, I visited the Hollywood Bowl for the first time to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with a live orchestra.

2. CONFIDENCE

I am still working on my confidence every day, and I feel like I’ve definitely improved since January. Only time will tell!

3. STABILITY

My most important goal this year was to get myself out of credit card debt and establish some financial stability. I am happy to report that thanks to some side hustles and restrictions on my spending, I am free of that credit card debt and now on my way to building up my savings!

Hitting these milestones won’t stop me from keeping focused on these goals. I plan to keep pushing myself in all three areas for the rest of the year. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. Stay tuned!

What steps are you taking to achieve your goals?

So, here’s what I’m committing to in 2019:

1. EXPLORATION

My fun goal for the year, which somewhat carries over from last year is to explore. In the literal sense, I want to continue exploring more of California. I plan to visit at least one museum per month, go camping once or twice, and maybe take another long-distance road trip. All of the exploration I did last year made me feel excited about life and the world around me, so I want to keep that going as long as I can.

In January, I kicked off the exploration list by visiting the King Tut exhibit at the California Science Center. I’ve always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt since learning about it in elementary school, so it was remarkable to see so many artifacts that have lasted more than 3,000 years. The exhibit told the story of the Egyptians, their gods, and their relationships to magic, all tied together through spells from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead: “Magic was as essential to Egyptian life as air, water, or food.” I’d love to read a copy of this book while the exhibit is fresh in my mind, as the history of magic truly fascinates me.

2. CONFIDENCE

Theme number two for the year is primarily related to my job, but should ideally carry over into all facets of my life. One of my biggest struggles in my job has always been the ability to project my confidence in my own expertise. I am great at what I do, but I don’t always do a great job of letting others see it. I’ve listened to podcasts and read books and asked for advice, but I know that the only way to get better is practice, so I am working a lot harder this year on demonstrating confidence.

I plan to attend a Toastmasters group this year, to practice speaking off the cuff, since this is the format where I struggle the most. I’ll also rehearse presentations more than I used to, so I can convey my thoughts with conviction. Along the way, I’ll continue to check in with my mentors and peers for specific feedback to help ensure I’m progressing.

I want 2019 to be the year that confidence starts to feel like a natural part of me.

3. STABILITY

Lastly, in 2019 I plan to seek the financial stability I’ve been lacking since moving across the country last year. Moving was incredibly expensive, but what was even more difficult was adjusting to the cost of living in Los Angeles. I was very aware that the increase in rent and other expenses would impact the way I live my life, but it was much harder than I expected to adjust my lifestyle accordingly. As a result, I have racked up some credit card debt that has hindered my ability to put much into my savings.

I hesitated about sharing this struggle on my blog, but I think it’s important to talk about money. While money is often such a taboo subject, we can’t become more responsible about our finances if we don’t discuss money more openly.

I spent some time in December reevaluating my budget and I created an aggressive plan of action to get out of debt in the first half of this year. To ensure I stay committed to the plan, I’m writing down all of my spending each week in a journal. The journal forces me to be more honest with myself about where my money goes. I’ve got a small weekly budget to keep me on track, and if I over-spend, I’ve got to write it down so I know to work harder the following week.

In addition to the journal, I’ve got a few other changes to keep the goal manageable:

• I’m compiling a list of inexpensive things to do locally, so I can still explore LA while not blowing my budget.
• I’m finally committed to packing a lunch every day for work instead of going to the commissary.
• And I’m cooking dinner for myself, instead of ordering delivery. I’m only allowed to order delivery once per month (because let’s face it, I can’t cut out pizza completely). And as a bonus, it’s forced me to learn to cook.

With these three themes in mind, I believe they will naturally lead to me achieving my goals in 2019. I am looking forward to another year of exciting adventures and lasting memories, as well as bettering my lifestyle so that I can keep up the adventure for years to come.

What are your goals for 2019? 

2018 was my first full year of living in Los Angeles and I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone.

I wrote in September about some of the amazing experiences I checked off up until then, and I am proud to say that I was true to my goal in doing something new every month of the year.

• Universal Hollywood’s version of Halloween Horror Nights was very different from Orlando’s, so I am totally counting it.
• Then, in October we road-tripped to Portland, Oregon, traveling through the California Redwoods along the way. It was the most amazing trip I’ve had in a long time, so I will write more on that one later.
• In November, I drove down to San Diego for Thanksgiving with my family and visited Old Town, the U.S.S. Midway and took a boat around Mission Bay.
• Finally, at the end of December, my sister and I visited The Getty Museum, which was so much cooler than I expected and I plan to return ASAP.

Click to view slideshow.

For 2019, I want to continue finding new local experiences every month. Additionally, my sister asked if we can go to a new museum each month, so I am very excited for that mission.

Living in California and going on these adventures has really put a new sense of adventure into my life that had been stagnant for a while. Of course, I loved to travel, but doing all of these things on a regular basis has keep me motivated and challenged. Who knew I’d have fun camping? I feel so energized for to keep up the momentum this year, even if I have a smaller budget to work with (my move and my traveling has finally caught up to me… credit card debt, be gone!).

In addition to exploring the west coast, I had an incredible year of professional growth.

In February, I was promoted to Account Manager! In July, I joined the Women@Disney Leadership Team! And then, in October, I took on two interns who report directly to me, as well as two additional clients and new responsibilities for the Communications strategies of all of my client groups. Through all of this, I’ve been pushing myself and can really see the growth in my abilities and confidence at work. I am so proud of all of the responsibilities I’ve taken on at work and excited to see myself continue to thrive in 2019.

So, cheers to the end of 2018! You treated me kindly!

What was your proudest moment or fondest memory of last year?

I’ve accomplished a number of things I never anticipated in the last seven months (and some that I did):

• Promotion! Very shortly after my last blog entry, I was promoted at work from Account Associate to Account Manager. This had been my goal for more than a year and now it is my reality. As an Account Manager on my team, I became the point person on many more projects and took ownership into my own hands. It’s been an incredibly rewarding time and I feel so much more empowered in my work. Now, I also get to take on more clients and lead other team members. I’m excited to continue pushing myself and my creativity and to break down my own barriers.
• GIRLPOWER! After moving to Los Angeles last year, one of the ways I found that helped me meet new people on this coast was through an internal resource group called Women@Disney. It’s an employee-led grassroots organization focused on career development and empowerment for women. I started out by networking with members and attending events. Then, I volunteered over the summer to help with programming. And then, having enjoyed what I’d experienced so far, I applied to be on the leadership team. Now I am one of the Communications Leads for Women@Disney! In addition to my day job, I get to share this organization with other women across the company to help them feel as motivated as I do.
• Adventure! I’ve also been on a mission to explore new parts of Southern California at least once per month. In February, I found a venue where I love to see live comedy shows. In March, I visited The Forum where some of the biggest artists perform when they visit LA. In April, I visited Malibu and Santa Monica to celebrate my birthday. In May, my family came to visit and we went to see the La Brea Tar Pits, the Urban Light display at LACMA, and rounded it out with a baseball game at Dodgers Stadium. In June, I got an annual pass to Universal Studios Hollywood. In July, my friends visited for a week, so we went to The Broad Museum, Griffith Observatory, the Last Bookstore, and Broad Beach. In August, I went camping and hiking on Mount Pinos in Los Padres National Forest. And I still have a day and a half to come up with something for September! (Does Halloween Horror Nights count, if I’ve never been on this coast before? I’m going tomorrow night!)

The transition from September to October always feels like a new chapter for me, since it’s the end of our fiscal year at work. Time to refresh, set goals, and make moves. I’m excited to see where this fall takes me.

What do they want from me? What do they really mean when they say this? Why aren’t these two people understanding each other? Where is the disconnect?

But as those gears are turning, on the surface, I am silent. I let opportunities to speak up pass me by. I miss the chance to prove I have these listening and decoding skills at all. I miss the chance to influence those in the room.

What I should have said out loud was, “Is this what you mean, when you say…?” “I hear what you’re saying here. Have you thought about it this way?”

But instead, I am silent.

For what seems like forever, I’ve heard this feedback from my mentors. What I should have said was something, anything, to make myself seen. To make others trust me, rely on me.

On a daily basis, I fight my natural instincts and many times I lose. But, I will keep fighting until one day, “What I should have said,” will be a phrase I delete from my vocabulary. In its place: “I’m glad I said it.”

Do you ever have trouble speaking up? What do you do to combat your instincts when they’re holding you back?

But I am not just one thing. I am passionate about a number of things that don’t seamlessly fit into a box. How do I pick just one? How do I incorporate them all?

As I dwelled on finding a focus, I am plagued with doubt about the point creating any content: How do I find an audience that cares about my unique combination of passions? An audience that cares about my perspective on these things? What will make my project special enough to make an impact in an ever-growing sea of content?

What occurred to me is that I don’t need to fit into a box. If the project is truly about my passions, the focus should just be what makes me, me. Again, I was reminded that what I say matters, even if in this instance, it only matters to me at first.

So, I’ve determined that my blog will feature my take on two main ideas: career and culture. For the first piece, I’ll write about my own career growth and observations of women I admire. On culture, I’ll share my experiences exploring Los Angeles, traveling around the U.S. and beyond, as well as my time spent consuming pop culture.

I’m excited to continue sharing my journey and my passions, and I hope you enjoy following along!

I’m always working towards new professional goals, but this year I decided I miss the more personal writing that came with this blog. I’ve spent three years writing in someone else’s voice and this year I want to rediscover my own.

A year ago I made a huge decision to move from Orlando to Los Angeles, and in September 2017 I did just that. Now, I’m living with my sister and our friend in a townhouse in the Valley and I feel a new sense of possibilities ahead of me. Possibilities for getting better at my job, for exploring my new city, and for focusing on things that truly matter to me personally.

2018 is going to be a year of pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I’m not always the most outgoing person in the room or the most outspoken, but I am going to strive to speak up and speak proudly. If I can learn to do that, then I can accelerate towards that personal and professional growth.

Someone recently told me the following words, which have really stuck with me this week: What you have to say is important and meaningful. It’s easy to lose confidence when you feel intimidated at work or in your social life, but when I feel that way, I am going to try to think of those words. I shouldn’t feel nervous to speak because what I am saying matters – otherwise, I wouldn’t be saying it. If I can remember in the moment, that what I have to say is meaningful, maybe I can convince myself to say it louder and prouder.

I’m going to use my blog to remind myself that my voice means something.

Towards the end of the year, I worked very hard to coordinate a series of photo and video shoots with our safety professionals. During the year, we realized that the content we already had was not very representative of what our professionals do, so we decided to create new content.

This project involved months of intake sessions, story boarding, and planning. And I got to be involved in all of it.

Now, two of the videos we created are finally complete and I am so proud of them. They show just a glimpse of what I learned about safety at Disney, as well as the hard work we put into the campaign.

Please check out the videos below!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bUKb3jRuVwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K46wmNP5n_I

That being said, I did not really do a great job of networking during my College Program. Sure, I attended Leadership and Marketing seminars, as well as a speaker series with alumni who work in Events, but I never actually formed any beneficial relationships.

Now that I’m more than halfway through my Professional Internship, I decided it was time to kick it into high gear and learn the wonders of a Meet & Greet!

Having quite a few Meet & Greets with recruiters and communications professionals under my belt now, I can say that you don’t need to be looking for a job immediately to benefit from this type of networking. Meet & Greets are just as much for you to learn as they are to build a relationship.

Whenever I have a Meet & Greet, I always ask these questions:

• Can you tell me about your department? What kind of roles are involved and what kind of work do you do?
• Can you talk about your own personal career progressions, and how you got to where you are today?
• If I wanted to follow a similar career path, what are some key things from your experiences that you would recommend I do?
• Based on my skills, if you had a job opening, what do I still need to do to be qualified for a role on your team?

These questions allow you to understand what the person is looking for and what you need to do to succeed in the future.

I always write down a few key take-aways during a Meet & Greet, so I can follow-up. Then, I send a thank-you note immediately after the meeting, mentioning specific things I learned from the conversation.

Finally, once I have completed the tasks suggested, I send another message to let the person know I took their advice. This is a great way to keep up the relationship I formed.

If I had known all of these things two years ago, I could have met many more people during my College Program. At the time, I didn’t see the point. When I was on my College Program, I was still two years away from graduating and didn’t need a job quite yet. Now, I know that Meet & Greets can benefit you at any stage of your career.

The networking I’ve done during these past few months has taught me a lot about a variety of work areas in the company I never knew existed. I now see many more possibilities for the next step in my Disney career!

At the end of October until after Thanksgiving, I was interviewing like crazy for jobs in Orlando. I had about 10 different phone interviews for quite a few roles, which was incredibly stressful because I just wanted to know if I’d have a job after graduation. I got to the final round of interviews for a professional internship at Disney, and I felt really good about it. During the first week of December, I finally got a call from my recruiter offering me a role on the Recruitment Marketing team for The Walt Disney Company!

This was such great news, and I was excited to graduate with a job. On December 20, I graduated from Penn State! I am the first one in my family to graduate college, so this was so exciting for everyone.

I spent the holidays at home, and they flew by. It was nice to see everyone because right after the new year, I packed up and moved to Orlando. I spent a week enjoying the parks with my best friend and then it was time to start my new job!

I’ve been in my new role for a month now. I am an account management intern for Recruitment Marketing, so we create marketing strategies for jobs for all of the businesses of The Walt Disney Company. This means Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney ABC Television Group, ESPN, Walt Disney Studios, Disney Interactive, Disney Consumer Products and more. It’s so exciting to have my hands in all of the different companies because they all operate so differently.

I am really looking forward to getting more comfortable in my role, gaining new experiences and even managing my own clients. This internship is a truly amazing starting point for my career with Disney and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Celebrating the new year is all looking forward to the future and the things to come in the next 365 days. We set new goals and dream about being better versions of ourselves. But before start to spend all your time focusing on the new year and your resolutions for the new year, you should take some time to reflect on your past.

Think all the way back to January 2013. What are you most proud of? Chances are, you’ve accomplished a lot since then. Now is your chance to look back at these moments and turn your proudest moments of 2013 into accomplishment stories.

Make a list. Open up a new document and start listing all the things you accomplished this year. Think about new jobs and internships you landed, projects you led, awards you won, and more. All of these moments, which may not have seemed that big at the time, are the moments of which you should be proud. They are the small things that add up to the larger picture.

Check it twice. After you write out an initial list, go back and make sure you’ve got it all. Pull out a calendar and take it month by month. Chances are, you’ll remember some pretty great things you did. There is no limit to the length of this list.

Tie in your skills. Next, go back to each item on the list and figure out what skills they involved. These can be hard skills specific to your industry, or soft skills like leadership and communication. Turn your initial list into a more comprehensive outline including these skills.

Write out the stories. Now that you’ve got a detailed outline of all of your proudest moments, it’s time to turn them into accomplishment stories. Write a paragraph detailing each moment and why you’re proud of it. Make sure the way you describe them includes the skills you listed.

Don’t forget the results. It’s also very important to remember to include the results of your story. Don’t just talk about the steps you took to accomplish a goal, make sure you talk about how successful you were. These stories will be much more impressive if you can show how you benefited your company or team.

Once you’ve got a document filled with accomplishment stories, you can use these stories for all of your future cover letters and interviews. When a job description asks for someone who is a team player, look for the story that best represents your teamwork skills and plop it into your cover letter. Commit the stories to memory and pull from them when you’re asked about your leadership experience during an interview.

If you take the time to reflect on your proudest moments, you can really use them to your advantage. Then, you can resolve to have even more career success in the new year.

What are some of your most important moments from 2013? How will you use them in the new year?

Holiday movies are the perfect way to get into the spirit of the season. From Home Alone to the Grinch to Elf, we all have our favorite holiday movies. While you’ve probably watched these movies hundreds of times, you may not have thought about them in terms of your professional life. As silly as it sounds, your favorite holiday movies can teach you valuable lessons, which you can absolutely apply to your career.

Here are eight holiday movies and the career lessons they teach us:

How The Grinch Stole Christmas. In the beginning of the story, the Grinch becomes a recluse and hates society because they reject him. By the end, however, he learns that not all people will reject you. If you keep trying, you will find somewhere you fit in and they will accept you. This lesson applies to all aspects of our lives, but is especially important in the job search. Don’t be discouraged by rejection. Pick yourself up, keep improving, and eventually you will land the perfect job.

A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge is horrible to all his peers. From coworkers and clients, to neighbors and family, he is incredibly cold, rude, and disrespectful. During the story, however, he learns the importance of treating everyone with respect and kindness. Throughout your career, it is essential to treat your employees, coworkers, and everyone else with equal respect. You are not more important than anyone else.

Image Credit: Mickey’s A Christmas Carol

Home Alone. In Home Alone, we discover Kevin McCallister is the most innovative and resourceful child in the history of ever. He outsmarts two burglars using the stuff he finds around the house, successfully defending himself and his home. We can all do with a little more creativity to enhance our careers. If we can learn to be as resourceful as Kevin, we will continuously impress people at work and advance our careers.

Image Credit: Home Alone

It’s A Wonderful Life. In this classic film, George Bailey finds out what the world would be like without him in it. He thinks everyone would be better off without him, but he is very much mistaken. When you feel upset with the way your career is headed, sit back and reflect on all the things you’ve accomplished. You have probably done a lot more than you give yourself credit for.

Image Credit: It’s A Wonderful Life

The Santa Clause. When Santa accidentally falls off the roof, Scott Calvin finds his business card, which tells him to put on the suit. However, he doesn’t read the fine print, which tells him that, in putting on the suit, he is accepting he will become the new Santa. The lesson here is clear: read every word of the contract before you accept a job. You don’t want to be roped into responsibilities you weren’t prepared for. While Scott ends up loving his job in the end, it takes him a long time to get there.

Image Credit: The Santa Clause

A Christmas Story. While there are plenty of memorable scenes from A Christmas Story, one that definitely sticks out is when Ralphie gets in a fight with the boy who has been bullying him. He may not have chosen the best tactic for standing up for himself, but he did decide to fight back and that’s what counts. In your career, you will undoubtedly face a bully or two. I do not recommend punching yours, but it is important to stand up for yourself. Stand up for your beliefs.

Image Credit: A Christmas Story

Christmas With The Kranks. Luther Krank and his wife decide to boycott the holidays after their daughter moves away. When Luther tells his employees about his plan, they are outraged. It doesn’t matter how you feel about the holidays, you need to keep your peers in mind, too. Just because you don’t want to celebrate doesn’t mean you can force your employees or anyone else to do the same. Holiday traditions are important to many people, so you need to allow your coworkers to participate.

Image Credit: Christmas With The Kranks

Elf. Buddy the Elf is one of the most genuine characters to ever exist. All he care about is spreading joy and holiday cheer. One of the ways he does this is complementing anyone and everyone he meets. This is a simple lesson everyone should implement into their own careers. Give complements to coworkers, clients, managers, and other people in your professional life. Little complements make a big difference in a person’s day, and will strengthen your professional relationships.

Image Credit: Elf

You can watch these holiday movies in a whole new light this season, and the lessons you learn will stick with you throughout your career. So enjoy the season of quality holiday movies and enhance your career along the way.

What are some other career lessons from your favorite holiday movies?

Between your family, friends, coworkers, and clients, it’s difficult to keep track of all the people you need to purchase gifts for this holiday season. Another group you might have considered are your media contacts. While you don’t have to give them literal gifts (nor should you), there are some things that all media professionals want from you. Now is as good a time as any to give them what they want.

If you pay attention to the needs of reporters, you’ll establish a much more solid relationship. Here are six items you can’t forget on this year’s media relations wish list:

1. Understand their audience. When you’re pitching to reporters, be sure your idea actually applies to their specific audience. Keep track of specific targets for each reporter so you can always send stories to the most appropriate outlets (and the people within them).

2. Personalize every pitch. Once you understand a reporter’s audience, you need to make sure you tailor each pitch specifically to them. Treat them like an actual person and show you understand their needs, not just your own. Never send a mass pitch out to a large list of media contacts.

3. Don’t be obnoxious. While it’s definitely encouraged to follow up after sending an initial story pitch, it is unacceptable to continue doing so over and over again. Reporters receive hundreds of emails every day. If they don’t respond or pick up your story, it’s because they don’t want or need it. Move on and try again next time.

4. Write effective press releases. The purpose of a press release is to inform your target audience about some sort of newsworthy occurrence in your business. Aside from that, though, you need to write a press release that will make reporters’ lives easier. Understand the basics and write something that will help them write the story.

5. Treat the media like people. Reporters are actual people who would like to be treated as such. It’s important to build relationships with them and not just reach out when you have a new pitch. You can do this by commenting on their articles online and conversing via social media. Plus, if you establish solid relationships, they’ll be much more likely to open your pitch emails.

6. Let them celebrate the holidays. Remember, the media are celebrating the holidays, too. Respect their time and make life easier for them. Get your pitches in early so they have one less thing they have to worry about.

While there are many people you need to keep in mind during the holidays, it’s important not to forget the people who turn your pitches and press releases into news stories. Keep this media wish list in mind through all of your interactions with reporters in the future. You will establish stronger relationships and see the personal and professional benefits to follow.

What are some other things to give your media contacts during the holidays and long after?

With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s important to think about how they will affect your pitching to the media. Between extra time off and classic holiday distractions, reporters need you to help them fill their content calendars. Some of the standard rules of pitching change this time of year since reporters want to be able to take a break and celebrate.

Normally, the 24-hour news cycle is a stressor in public relations, but during the holidays, we can use it to our advantage. Here are some tips for to pitching content and press releases to reporters during the busy holiday season:

Move up your time table. With Christmas and New Year’s Day being on Wednesdays this year, many people will take these entire weeks off or at least make long weekends out of them. This means you have to think ahead about when you will pitch content. Try to get your pitches out early in the week, preferably on Monday. Reporters can use your pitch for the rest of the week, and they’ll be more likely to because that’s one less thing they have to worry about once the holidays hit.

Tie it in when appropriate. If you can write content that ties into the holidays, great, but don’t go overboard. If you have to stretch yourself to connect your topic to the holidays, don’t bother. Only write holiday pieces if they will truly work well. Otherwise, regular news and evergreen pieces will work just fine.

Write evergreen pieces. Because reporters will want to lay out their news schedule before those days off, the timeliness of your story is not as important during the holidays. In fact, it might even work in your favor to pitch evergreen stories in the upcoming weeks because media outlets can fit these in whenever they have a space to fill.

Write about the new year. Another kind of piece that works really well this time of year is the prediction piece. Consider the trends and new issues in the industry and how they will change in 2014. For example, last week I said content marketing will rule 2014, and explained why. People want to know what to expect in the coming months, so wrapping up the year with predictions is a great pitch for the media.

From working ahead to writing timeless content, you can make the holidays easier on yourself and the media. You just need to make sure you plan your schedule well in advance. Plan out the rest of your year now, so you know what you can get accomplished. The media aren’t the only ones who want to have long weekends. By following these pieces of advice, you can make it so both you and those reporters get to enjoy the holidays.

What are some other important things to keep in mind when pitching during the holidays?

Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks is the story of how the classic film Mary Poppins came to be. Since the film comes out on Friday, I thought it would be a good idea to go back and watch Mary Poppins. 

Miss Mary Poppins is the perfect nanny, and the words of wisdom she shares with the Banks children are lessons we can carry with us even as adults. Who knew Mary Poppins gave us actual career advice? Here are five things we can learn about our careers from this magical nanny:

1. Strive to be practically perfect in every way. When Mary Poppins first meets the Banks children, she sizes them up with her magical measuring tape. Each kid has some room for improvement, but Mary Poppins is “practically perfect in every way.” She sets the bar very high for herself and strives to meet it. In your career, you should do the same. Always set new goals, both short- and long-term, and devise a way to reach them. Learn new skills, earn promotions, and never stop aiming for perfection. Sure, there will be some mistakes along the way, but the lessons you learn from those mistakes will help you perfect yourself in the future.

Image Credit: Tumblr

2. In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. This is the opening line in the song “A Spoonful Of Sugar” and it is very important to remember for the rest of your life. Even if you have a career in something you love, there are going to be tasks you don’t enjoy. You have to learn how to make the boring, tedious things more fun. “You find the fun,” she says, “And snap! The job’s a game!” Whether that means singing while you work or making a game out of it, you can make any task more fun. When you’re having fun, that happiness will spread through the rest of your work. A spoonful of sugar really does make the medicine go down.

Image Credit: Tumblr

3. Use your imagination. If you’ve seen Mary Poppins, you know a good portion of the film takes place in a fantasy world with a carousel horse race and dancing penguins. It seems silly, but Mary is trying to show the children the importance of imagination. Creativity can make you incredibly successful in your career. It can get you recognized or even land you a promotion. Always strive to be more creative throughout your career.

Image Credit: WeHeartIt

4. Learn how to express yourself. It is incredibly important to choose your words carefully when communicating with others if you want to express yourself properly. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is perhaps the most famous made-up word to ever exist, and it comes from Mary Poppins. The song goes, “You need to find a way to say, precisely what you mean.” Your words can have extreme consequences, so choose wisely. When in doubt, you can always use this one!

Image Credit: Kqed

5. It’s OK to move on. At the end of the film, Mary Poppins has succeeded in her goal of getting Mr. Banks to spend more time with his children. He is now much less focused on work and more appreciative of the joys in life. Since Mary has done all she can, she decides it’s time for her to leave the children behind. It can be scary to leave behind the comforts of a job you know you do well, but you need to evaluate it fully. If you believe you’ve accomplished all you can in a particular job, sometimes the best solution is to move on, and that’s OK. Have to courage to try new experiences and enter the unknown.

Image Credit: Tumblr

Though Mary Poppins teaches very young children how to live, she also teaches the same valuable lessons to their parents and to us. If we remember to use our imaginations, make our jobs a little more fun, and strive for perfection, we’ll be better for it.

What other things does Mary Poppins teach us?

Looking for some holiday cheer at work and can’t seem to find it? Do not fear. It’s on it’s way.

The annual holiday survey from CareerBuilder found employers are planning to boost your mood. Companies are giving back to their employees in the form of holiday perks such as bonuses, parties, and gifts, so get excited.

Bonuses

Forty-five percent of employers are planning on giving their employees holiday bonuses this year. That’s pretty consistent with last year’s 46 percent, but it gets better. Not only are they planning to grant bonuses, but 40 percent plan to provide the same size or larger bonus this year. That means a little extra cash for holiday gifts or some extra spending money for the vacation you’re planning!

Parties

Three in five (59 percent) employers are throwing company holiday parties for their workers in December and, just like with bonuses, they’re getting bigger and better. More than half (54 percent) expect them to be the size of last year’s party or slightly bigger. Two in five workers say they plan to attend their company party this holiday season, so make sure you’re one of them. There’s nothing like a celebration in the winter months to lift your spirits.

Gifts

Finally, 35 percent of employers plan to give their employees holiday gifts this year, and 22 percent of workers plan to exchange with coworkers. Exchanging gifts among coworkers is a great way to say thank you for all the hard work you’ve accomplished together during the year.

If you’re unsure what to spend, 78 percent of workers who plan to buy gifts for coworkers plan to spend $25 or less on each gift, 36 percent will spend $10 or less, and 10 percent will spend $5 or less.

Usually, coworkers will exchange simple gifts around the holidays, but the CareerBuilder survey uncovered some pretty unusual gifts as well. Here are the top 10 most unusual gifts people received from their coworkers:

1. 50 pounds of fresh Louisiana shrimp
2. A toothpaste squeezer
3. A hand-painted porcelain clown with silk clothes on it
4. A unicorn calendar
5. A painted concrete chicken
6. A plaster cast of a coworker’s hand
7. Camouflage toilet paper
8. Homemade laundry detergent
9. Stamps
10. A talking fly swatter

Those gifts are pretty silly, but there are plenty of other things you can get your coworkers to show you appreciate them.

No matter if you exchange gifts or not, there are lots of things to look forward to during the holiday season. Whether your boss gives bonuses, parties, gifts, or some combination of the three, you can look forward to ending the year with some excitement.

What are you most looking forward to about the holiday season?

Companies are trying their best to stand out from other employers to secure top talent. In order to attract job seekers, many of these companies have started offering unique and non-traditional employee benefits. According to a new poll by Monster.com, work schedule flexibility is the non-financial benefit most desirable to job seekers by a wide margin.

The next most popular benefit is personal time off/vacation carry over. Less attractive options include: childcare availability, education reimbursement, and employee parties/social activities.

Monster asked the following question to its U.S. visitors: “Which soft benefit (non-financial) is most important to you when looking for a new job?” The poll, which received more than 2,000 responses, resulted in the following findings:

• 69 percent of respondents selected: flexible work schedule/work life balance.
• 17 percent of respondents selected: personal time off/vacation carry over.
• 8 percent of respondents selected: education reimbursement.
• 4 percent of respondents selected: childcare availability.
• 2 percent of respondents selected: employee parties/social activities.

“Even the most dedicated employees value a healthy work/life balance,” said Mary Ellen Slayter, a career expert from Monster. “These findings show that flexibility and free time are more important than some of the other, often novel benefits.”

As a hiring manager, it’s a good idea to learn about the flexibility options in your company in order to snag top talent. In fact, 73 percent of workers said it’s important that a company offers flexible schedules when they are deciding whether to take a position. Some flexibility options include:

• Establishing a flextime policy where workers alter their work days or times.
• Giving workers some control over their work schedules.
• Allowing personal days to address family matters or sick children.
• Enabling workers to work some hours from home.
• Allowing for flexible breaks during the work day.

Flexibility does not work the same for every job and industry. Evaluate how you can make your workplace more flexible. Whether this means allowing employees to alter their schedules, work from home every so often, or something else.

“Every employee situation is different, but it appears most will appreciate this approach to their benefits package,” Slayter said.

Do you have flexibility in your workplace? What kind of perks do you value most?

The importance of content creation is being talked about more and more often among marketing and public relations pros, so it’s no surprise 2014 will be the year of the content marketer. Nearly 95 percent of B2B marketers in North America are using content marketing.

In October, the Content Marketing Institute released its annual B2B content marketing trends report for 2014. The report compares the state of content marketing to previous years and looks at the differences between marketers who rate themselves as most and least effective.

Here are some of the key findings:

Confidence

Of the 93 percent of marketers who use content marketing, 42 percent of them consider their efforts effective. This is up from 36 percent last year. Clearly, marketers are becoming more confident in their use of content.

Time and Money

With growing confidence comes increased budgets and time spent on content marketing. On average, B2B marketers devote 30 percent of their budgets to content marketing. This number only continues to grow as 58 percent of marketers plan to increase their spending on these tactics over the next year, which is up from 54 percent from 2013. Additionally, 73 percent of respondents are now producing more content than they were last year.

Strategies

According to the founder of CMI, marketers are most likely feeling more confident because they have documented content strategies. While only 44 percent of B2B marketers have a documented content strategy, 84 percent of those who have no strategy say they are ineffective at content marketing. The majority of marketers who do have a documented content strategy consider themselves effective.

Variety

Part of the way content marketing strategies have grown is an increased use of a variety of tactics. On average, marketers are using 13 tactics, most of which have stayed consistent over the last year. They say the most effective marketing tactic has remained the in-person event. The use of infographics, however, has increased significantly in the last year. More than half of content marketers will use infographics in 2014, up from 38 percent last year.

Social Media

Another tactic that is constantly changing is social media. All platforms are being used more frequently than ever before. Content marketers now use an average of six platforms. “The most popular social media platform for B2B marketers continues to be LinkedIn, which is also the platform they consider to be most effective,” according to Ann Handley, chief content officer of MarketingProfs.

The social media platforms that experienced the biggest surges in use during 2013 are SlideShare (up to 40 percent from 23 percent), Google+ (up to 55 percent from 39 percent), and Instagram (up to 22 percent from 7 percent). Although marketers are uncertain at their effectiveness, they continue to experiment with more platforms.

As a business owner or a marketer, it is important to join the other 93 percent of companies and start producing your own content. Early adopters have clearly demonstrated the importance of sharing creative content. Now it’s up to you to create your own. Start a company blog, write guest posts for others, and share it all on social media. These tactics are going to rule the marketing world in 2014, so it’s important to make sure you take advantage of them.

Do you have a content marketing strategy? Will you change it in 2014?

As the holiday season jumps into full-swing, it can be a little trying to stay productive at work. Who wants to be in the office when there are gifts to be wrapped, decorating to do, and family to visit? We’re all feeling it too, but you don’t have to let the holidays ruin your work day.

While you know you can’t leave work just yet, there are plenty of ways to make your workplace a little more fun during the holidays:

1. Decorations. One of the most obvious ways to amp up the holiday spirit in your office is to throw up some decorations. You can hold a cubical-decorating contest or do it all as a team. Make some snowflakes or hang some garland. However you do it, decorations can keep everyone’s spirits up throughout the season.

2. Festive scents. You also might consider bringing the smells of the holidays to your office. Scents like cinnamon, vanilla, and pine are all great reminders of the season. This one is tricky, though, because you don’t want to make your office smell so strong it gives people headaches. Make sure it’s OK with your coworkers before you bring poinsettias or a pine tree into the office.

3. Saying thank you. Around Thanksgiving, I talked about the importance of being thankful, and that idea should continue throughout the rest of the holiday season (really, the whole year). Make your coworkers feel appreciated during the holiday season to keep their spirits up. Send thank you notes to those who have worked closely with you. If you’re a manager, this is very strongly encouraged. Recognize your employees for the things they did well this year.

4. Exchange gifts. You might arrange a gift exchange where everyone has to pick names and give gifts to the person they picked. Then there’s gift games like White Elephant, where everyone brings one gift and you all pick from a pile. Find out what your workplace usually does about gifts among coworkers and your boss to decide how best to approach this.

5. Conduct a food or gift drive. Another way to feel good during the holidays is to make others feel good. A great way to do this is to organize a food drive or gift drive for families in need. Find an organization in your area, a shelter, or even a national organization like Toys For Tots to donate your collections. Helping others is a very important holiday tradition for many people, so your coworkers will probably jump at the chance to give something.

6. Adopt a family. Instead of conducting a collection for an organization, you also might try adopting a specific family. Some organizations take in families in need of help and ask the families for wish lists. Then you and your coworkers can make sure the kids in your family get gifts this year, giving them a memorable holiday.

7. Throw a party. Finally, wrap up the holidays with a festive office party. It doesn’t have to be big. Order pizzas or ask everyone to contribute to a pot luck. Dress up and celebrate the season. You can take a break from all the hard work to relax and have a little fun.

There are plenty of ways to bring some holiday cheer to your workplace. The little things all add up to make it easier for you to make it through to the new year.

What are your favorite holiday traditions at work?

Have you ever thought about how your job affects your personality? If you do something for enough time, it definitely has an impact. Your job doesn’t completely define you, but if you spend 40 hours a week working, some things are bound to rub off on you.

With this in mind, OneShift created the following infographic to illustrate some personality profiles of popular jobs in today’s workforce. The infographic looks at bartenders, waiters, babysitters, call centre operators, office assistants, hairdressers, couriers, retail assistants, housekeepers, and manual laborers.

Even if you don’t work in one of these professions, it’s an interesting concept to consider. How does your job impact your people skills? How about your mental aptitude and time management? Does it dictate your fitness level or ability with your hands? The infographic below examines each of these qualities and how they manifest in certain jobs.

Every career path carries with it certain traits that make you more successful. Consider how they play out in your everyday life.

What does your job say about you?

The informational interview is one of the most underrated networking techniques. You can meet someone new in your industry, at a company where you’d like to work, or someone higher up in your own company and learn some truly valuable insight for your own career. It’s all about building a relationship with the other person. If it goes well, you may even land a new career mentor.

Unlike a job interview, in an informational interview you will be asking all the questions. Once you decide your goals for the meeting, make a list of questions you’d like to ask. If you don’t know where to start, here are 25 examples of questions to ask when conducting an informational interview:

Ask questions about their career.

• How did you land your current job? How did you get to where you are?
• What do you do during a typical day/week? (If they say every day is different, ask them to describe any recent day they had.)
• What parts of your job do you find most challenging?
• What do find most enjoyable?
• What is the culture like at your company?
• What do you like most about your company?
• What do you like least?
• How has your job affected your lifestyle?
• How is your company different from similar ones?
• What is job growth like at your company?

Ask questions about the hiring process in their company.

• What entry-level positions are available in the industry?
• What kind of experience would you look for when hiring?
• If I were applying for a job with you, how would you assess my experience so far?
• What would make me stand out as an applicant?
• Do you recommend I join any professional organizations?
• What are some important keywords to include in my resume?
• What do you wish you knew when you were in my position?

Ask questions about sharpening your own skills.

• What hard skills are important for your job?
• What soft skills make someone excel in this industry?
• What courses would you have taken in college if you could have?
• How do you stay updated on industry trends?
• What industry blogs or publications do you read?
• Who do you follow on social media?

Wrapping up the interview.

• Is there anyone else you can refer me to talk with?
• Do you have any last advice as I enter the job search?

There are hundreds of questions you could ask in informational interviews. Find out how much time you will have with the person and write a list of questions with your most important ones first, so you have enough time to hit them all.

Whatever you decide to ask depends on what you want to get out of the experience. Think about your job search and career goals. Because an this interview is not the same as a job interview, you need to think about the long-term. Build a relationship.

What are some other good questions for informational interviews?