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If you’re in the Atlanta area, The Dish airs on 11 Alive during the 5 – 7 am broadcast. I hope you’ll tune in!

Yesterday I spoke with cbsatlanta.com about tips for standing out in the job hunt. We covered how you can use social media to find contacts at your dream company, and the all important use of “key words” to save your resume from the so-called black hole. Check out the video above!

My column will appear a few times a month, and I’ll be acting as their spokesperson on tv. Here are two of my latest segments, on Today Show, chatting about career change, and CNN, with tips for Creative Resolutions.

That said, the New Year is a great time to review your accomplishments of the past year, regroup from disappointments, and brainstorm bigger and better dreams for the coming year. If you want to find a creative way to renew this year and ditch the typical resolution fare (in case you haven’t heard, about 97% of New Year’s resolutions fail!), here are a few ideas:

• Have a family summit. This is more of a goal setting exercise, rather than resolutions (apparently, even the Kardashians do this each year!). My husband and I started doing this several years ago. Set aside a special time to review the family accomplishments of the past year, and think positively about the new one. Pick 3-4 big categories in your lives– career, family, health, money, etc.– and come up with a handful of yearly goals in each department. Choose attainable goals/projects (paint the house, ask for a promotion)– along with a few reach goals. The idea is that you’ll check in with your goals a couple times during the next year.
• Pick a theme. Another new year’s trend is to skip the traditional restrictive resolutions (i.e., quit smoking, lose weight) and instead pick a broad theme to inspire your actions during the upcoming year. This can literally be one word–  perhaps it’s “family” or “gratitude” or “relaxation”. This is a lower-stress way to encourage broader changes in your thinking and priorities throughout the year.
• Do a massive “edit”– from closets to Facebook. We hear so much about spring cleaning, but the new year is a great time to “prune” what’s weighing you down from the previous year. Go through, say, your bathroom cabinets, make up bag or closet and ruthlessly toss the items you haven’t used in months. I plan to finally purge the boxes and bags of makeup samples I’ve had for years (in fact, maybe I’ll do this today!). Also, consider pruning your Facebook friends and even your contacts in your phone. If you haven’t spoken or interacted with contacts (or, you just have people hanging in there that consistently annoy you), just press delete. You’ll instantly feel lighter.
• Think “wants” rather than “shoulds”. The top resolutions are consistently to stop smoking and lose weight–things we all should do to be healthy. Yet the #1 reason for failing to keep up the resolution is lack of motivation. Instead of saying what “should” I do or what do I need to do, ask yourself what do I really WANT to change about my life? To keep up that motivation, you really have to want to make a certain life change. This year, pick a small new year’s goal that sparks passion and fun in your life– maybe you always wanted to take a painting or photography class. Do it!

The highlight for me was keynote speaker Donna Brazile, who is not only beyond inspiring, but also hilariously funny off-the-cuff (who knew?!). During her address, she spoke about her experiences in politics and media; what it takes to be a leader; and how to nurture your ambition. “Everything you need to succeed is already packaged within you,” Donna said. She shared that what has sustained her through the ups and downs of her career is her core belief that she is doing good, meaningful work. “It’s always been my dream to make a difference– to make the world a better place,” she said. Donna, who hails from New Orleans, also spoke about her passion for cooking. She advised that at all times, all women need these three ingredients in their freezer: onions, garlic, and peppers. She called this the “holy trinity” that will enable you to cook anything. Well, looking at my freezer now, I of course have none of these ingredients

Spending an hour in the salon a few times a week is actually both time and opportunity cost efficient: Unless you’ve got major skills, all the right products and tools (and a healthy dose of patience), chances are a professional blow dry will look way better than you can do yourself. Plus, you’ll have more time to focus on more important things, like what outfit you’re going to wear, what you’re actually going to say during that big presentation.

• She routinely works 18-hour days writing for the show, starting at 10 a.m. and leaving after 7 p.m. On days when she acts in the show, too, she starts at 6 a.m. for hair & makeup, then jets back and forth all day between the writer’s room and set. She never volunteers to leave early.
• Her big break came just one year after college, when a goofy short play she wrote about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon became a surprise hit at a New York festival. The producer of The Office hired her as a writer two months later.

I think there’s a great lesson in this latter story: start doing your own thing (just do it!), and it could be the unexpected audition for your dream job.

Mindy has a memoir coming out in November called Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns). It will definitely be on my reading list!

Photo: Justin Stephens for The New York Times

Here’s to all the Hungarian Go-Getter Girls!

Hi Madison!

Well, it sounds like your major mistake is relying on job boards! Don’t get me wrong; job boards have a place in the hiring eco-system. It’s just usually not the best way to apply to and land open positions, especially in glamour-type professions such as publicity. Why not? First, if it’s a big job board (e.g., Monster), or the website of a large company, your resume is a needle in a haystack of literally tens of thousands of resumes gathered for the position. Even if it’s a smaller board, you’re leaving too much to chance that a “key word” search of the database will pull up your application, or that a recruiter’s quick glance of your resume will sufficiently grab his or her attention.

Second, most good jobs are either 1) already filled –or ‘slated’ with internal candidates– by the time they’re posted or 2) not ever listed on a job board. This is particularly true for highly-competitive industries in which the supply of candidates far exceeds the demand.  Before even looking through a stack of new resumes, managers usually have a handful of folks on their radar—such as people who have informational interviewed with them before, former employees, or other professional acquaintances—that they can pick up the phone and call about the opportunity.  Which is why you’re kind of wasting your time mindlessly dropping your resume into a job board black hole.

You’d be much better off spending zero (you read that right: zero!) time on job boards. Starting today, research a dozen medium-sized companies/firms that really inspire you.  Do some investigation on Google, Linked In and even Facebook and figure out how to get in touch with the company’s executives. Send ‘em a letter or email passionately expressing your interest in the company and any opportunities there. Include your resume. Ask for an informational call or meeting. No, you’re not being “too aggressive.” Think about it: What do you think you’ll be doing if you actually get hired to be a publicist? You’ll be cold calling people, trying to sell yourself and your client! The skills needed to be good at the job—e.g., confidence, fearlessness, resourcefulness—are exactly the skills you need to get the job.

Now, get after it!