Ask Working Girl (and Awards!)

Today I bring you another installment of (insert trumpets blaring) Ask Working Girl! But before we get to my oh-so-experience answers to your lovely questions, WG1 and I would like to say thank you for a few awards we've received recently. 

Symphonic Discord, Dreamweaver and She's Got the Gift of Gab awarded us with the The Lemonade Award (which makes me want to drink lemonade out on my porch even though it is currently 12 degrees outside). Thank you! 

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Little Woman, Little Home awarded us with the Proximidade Award. Her 101 Things in 1,001 days list makes me want to get off my ass and do it too, so read her blog for inspiration! 

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These Are the Days of One Gemini and Relish gave us the Honest Scrap award. Thank you very, very, very much! We honestly love our award!

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And last but not least, Sunny gave us the Premio Dardos award. And I just read that Sunny can speak in four languages and write in six. To which all I can say is damnnnn. 

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And now on with the show, which includes me answering questions to the best of my abilities (while simultaneously watching a bad Lifetime movie). 

Melly asked: I'm a therapist, but I'm sure there's quite a few of us who have to set-up/decorate an office to meet with prospective clients. Can you give us a DO and DON'T list? 

WG2 answered: I cannot boast of my styling skills. Some of you might remember my recent post where I admitted I would like to use PB Teen to style an office if I ever get one. 

But if I were going to give some do's and don'ts, I would say "less is more" is always a good styling go-to especially when styling an office. You don't want minimalist, but you do want simplistic. Plants and flowers always make an impression on clients and also make you feel like you're in a homey environment (I'm a big fan of orchids myself). Works of art can also spice up the work place and can even get be a conversation starter. I would check out etsy for some good finds or even hit up an art fair - just don't get too crazy on this one, you don't want anything that is NSFW. 

Anonymous asked: How do you manage to juggle between personal and professional life? Has your personal life ever suffered? 

WG2 answered: Juggling between the two has always been a hardship of mine...which is funny because I'm only 23 (almost 24!) and I don't have children or a husband (or even a boyfriend), so it really shouldn't be that hard, but for me it has been. See once I leave work, I usually hit a dead zone where all I want to do is order in Chinese food and veg in front of my favorite TV shows. I am also poor, so going out after work usually takes a toll on my bank account. 

Since I moved to Chicago, I have definitely seen a difference in myself though. I really think it's just a matter of pushing yourself beyond that limit of tired and frustrated. What works for me is making a schedule of what I plan on doing each day after work. Like this week, I went to the gym on Monday, had dinner with my dad on Tuesday, vegged out tonight, and tomorrow is the gym again. You're more likely to do something if you have a set plan. 

Luckily, my work has never really prevented me from plans in my personal life. I've worked a few weekends and late nights here and there, but I usually compensate somehow by leaving work early one Friday or taking a day off. It's all about finding a perfect balance. 

Diaries of an Insomniac asked: I just started a blog and am wondering, what are some good ways for me to get my blog noticed? I'd really like some feedback, and to know someone is reading it. Do you have any advice? 

WG2 answered: One great way to get feedback on your blog is by joining 20sb's. It's a great forum for 20-something's to post discussions, participate in forums, and get feedback on what they are writing and put out on the web. 

Another great way to get feedback is just to ask for it! Sometimes some of our favorite bloggers can be intimidating. I mean there are some bloggers out there who I think of as celebrities! But it never hurts to ask what they think. So just be blunt and ask. 

MY asked: How about getting a job you love in your field? Regardless of how much effort you put into your college career it seems as if none of it has paid off when it comes to finding the first job. Any of us who have graduated last year could not have picked a better time in history to graduate! 

WG2 answered: It's true that the economy is horrible right now. And I can't be anything more than thankful that I found a job during these tough times, but I think my finding a job is living proof that it is possible. 

The only piece of advice I can give anyone looking for a job right now is perseverance. You just have to keep going. I think I probably applied for about 30-50 jobs a week when I was looking for a new job last year. And to be honest I started looking for a job in the summer and didn't get any real interviews until November. The problem with this economy is that finding a job in our dream field might be hard, so taking something that we like (instead of love) might be the best bet. But never stop looking. You never know when the perfect opportunity might pop up. 

Have a work-related question? Blog-related question? Or want to know something random about one of us? Ask! Send your questions to WorkingGirlOne@gmail.com or WorkingGirlTwo@gmail.com or just post a comment here. 

20-Something Bloggers Love Us! They Really Love Us!

I am very behind in my blogging life - I should have posted meeting notes yesterday but instead I was gallivanting around Irish pubs in Chicago with two of my former study abroad roommates. Yes, you guessed it - we went to Ireland. Anyway, while it was fun taking Baby Guinness shots, almost getting into a fist fight, and ending the night with a #3 meal and a heart-to-heart at Rock 'N Roll McDonald's, I should have probably been at home working on my uncompleted Excel sheets and answering e-mails about flights from those employees who can't read e-mails. 

I leave for Atlanta tomorrow morning at 6AM (kill me now)  for my first big event with my company. I am internally freaking out. Is a pack of 12 highlighters enough? Are we definitely sure that the chef at the hotel knows we have a vegan and a gluten-free in our party of 214? Will the projector screens be the right size? 

This is the problem with doing events for a job. They make you crazy. You worry, worry, worry and then worry some more. And ultimately everything ends up going well (if you planned it well that is), but of course there are some things that are beyond our control. Inevitably something will go wrong. But you just have to roll with the punches. Anyway, I will be a bag of nerves for the next five days.

So the point of this long, drawn-out post is that I have been neglectful of all things blog. I should have been writing better posts, keeping you updated in a better manner, commenting on blogs, reading the blogs in my Google Reader (it's past 100 now). And we should have said thank you already for nominating us for a 20-Something Blogger Bootleg Award! 

We are up for the award of Best Blog about Career/Occupation. I think that's the name (sorry if I massacred that one). Anyway, we are beyond thrilled that we have been nominated!!!!! This is insane!!!! We have barely hit our one-year anniversary, and I just feel so blessed/excited/out of my mind happy that we are being recognized by 20sb! 

So if  you are a member of 20sb (or if you want to sign up and become one), click here to vote for us! 

We hope we win, but really it's just an honor to be nominated (but really we'd love to win). 

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Why is Monday all of a sudden the greatest day of television EVER? Seriously, I wish I had a DVR that recorded more than two shows at a time because then I could tape The Big Bang Theory and Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill and Intervention and The Bachelor (which looks like it's going to be a fantastical season!). 

Anyway, on to my point. So today was a really, really hectic day. I leave on Sunday for Atlanta where I will be putting on my first event for my company. Can we say scary? So not only was today hectic, but I had to bring work home. In short, I'm tired and I really just want to veg and watch TV and eat red velvet cupcakes (thanks sis for baking for me!). 

And then I realized, 'Well, we have received a lot of awards lately. Maybe we should do the nice thing and say thanks.' 

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Back in September (yes, I told you we were behind), My Life in Scotland, cited us as her newest "Blog Crush". We're touched! I have to admit that I am a subscriber of this fantastic blog - I love hearing all about her adventures in Scotland. I'm jealous of her European lifestyle...so here I go...I'm taking the plunge and asking if I can move in? No...ok.

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In December, her name was ashley honored us with the Butterfly Award. So here's my next big confession, I'm a big lurker on a lot of blogs and Ashley's is one of them. Sorry I don't comment more - but it's one of my New Year's resolutions so look out for me! I love her outfit posts (I'm Gap obsessed too) and in general I feel like we'd really get along in real life (so I officially feel like a stalker!!!). 

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We also received some blogger love from *Just Jen* over at Because I Could Never Keep Up With a Diary! Thank you so much! We just found her blog and will definitely be checking back for more.

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Sex on the Beach was one of the first blogs I ever read. Seriously, I fell in love at first blog. J is hilarious, tells some of the most entertaining stories, and is one very honest blogger. So thank you from Working Girl for the recognition and honor of being one of your faves too! 

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And last but not least, one of our newer readers Jessica at Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls gave us the award below. I just started reading her blog today, but already I am sure we are gonna be bff (she also lurves The Bachelor!). So thank you for this generous accolade! 

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So a big thank you, thank you, thank you for all the awards! And now I must go back to stuffing my face with cupcakes, watching One Tree Hill (wtf is going on with this show!), and finishing up my (home)work for tomorrow. 

We Were Nominated!

With the 2008 Elections around the corner, we are all racing to figure out who to vote for. McCain? Obama? So much research to do, so many platforms to read up on, so many SNL skits to watch!

Well, when you want a break from thinking about who you want to the future of America to be in the hands of, mosey on over to the Blogger's Choice '09 Awards and vote Working Girl as "Best Blog of All Time"! Yes, we were nominated! 

We think this one is an easy choice. But then again, we might be a teensy bit bias. 

We Can't Say It Enough - Thank You!

We're not gonna lie, we are overwhelmed by the volume of response we have been getting about our blog. Would it be corny to break out the good ole line of, "You love us! You really love us!". No? Good, because we are flattered. And we just wanted to let you know that we love you too! Thank you for all your support and your comments. We love being able to share our Working Girl experiences with you all, so thank you for coming back day after day!

Now on to our more specific thanks and shout outs.  

This past week Just Lizabell nominated our blog for the "I Heart Your Blog" award and we couldn't be more thrilled. Her blog is da bomb (yep, I'm trying to bring back cheesy '90s jargon) so you should check her out. 


Also back in July we were awarded Shelby Nycole's coveted placement of "Blog of the Week" on her blog. Below is one of her fabulous photos which just screams Working Girl. A big 'gracias chica' from us!


And last but not least, this past August the South African magazine Chew featured Working Girl in the "Hot Blogs" section of their "Dream Issue". (Just in case you want to check us out, we're on page 7). 

So we are over the moon excited about all the buzzing that has been going on. So thank you for all our new awards, and thank you for all your comments, and thank you for all the blog love!