Today's interview is with Stever Robbins, the voice behind the popular Get it Done Guy podcast and author of the new book Get-It-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More (Quick #38; Dirty Tips).

Catherine Hudon has worked in everything from music journalism to fashion. She co-founded Shorty Clothing, and she's now working on a new line called Kaahn. Catherine's story proves that it's all about hard work and creating valuable relationships.

"If you're really happy at work, you'll be 180% happier with life overall, have 180% more energy, and be nearly 50% more productive than your least happy colleagues." Jessica Pryce-Jones, author of Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success, is CEO and founder of the UK-based consultancy iOpener. She has been featured in the BBC series Making Slough Happy and CNNrsquo;s special on happiness at work. She teaches and coaches leaders at London Business School, Chicago Booth School of Business, Saiuml;d Business School in Oxford and Judge Business School in Cambridge. In this interview, Jessica Pryce-Jones discusses some of the major factors around happiness at work, as well as what people can do to start improving their own happiness.…

An interview with Sandy Jones-Kaminski, author of I'm at a Networking Event--Now What???: A Guide to Getting the Most Out of Any Networking Event. For more tips, visit Sandy's blog, Bella Domain. A few posts of interest include: - 7 Savvy Networking Tips for 2010 - Networking myths debunked

"Before you go to a foreign country, what do you do? You study the land. You study the heritage. You study the culture. Who are the tribal leaders? What do people wear? What do people do? And I think millennials need to study the workplace they're going into." We've all heard a lot about the "millennial" generation. In this interview with David Stillman, co-author of The M-Factor: How the Millennial Generation Is Rocking the Workplace, learn about the main drivers that shape this generation (based on extensive research), and how the workplace is changing. Main drivers generally include: The role of parents Entitlement The search for meaning Great expectations The need for speed Social networking Collaboration Learn more at generations.com.…

Elizabeth Wagele, co-author of The Career Within You: How to Find the Perfect Job for Your Personality, discusses the nine personality types based on differing personal motivationsmdash;and how discovering your own personality type can help you find the career that's right for you (or work with others in the career you already have). The nine personality types include: - The Perfectionist: motivated to make improvements - The Helper: motivated to meet other people's needs - The Achiever: motivated to attain a successful image - The Romantic: motivated to express individuality (I've decided that I fall into this camp) - The Observer: motivated to acquire knowledge - The Questioner: motivated to reduce risk - The Adventurer: motivated to explore possibilities - The Asserter: motivated to set clear boundaries - The Peace Seeker: motivated to maintain inner calm Check out The Career Within You: How to Find the Perfect Job for Your Personality to find out which career/personality type you fit into.…

Harvey Mackay is certainly a role model for those who are looking to create a successful, creative career for themselves. His business has 600 employees, andnbsp; it does 100 million dollars worth of sales out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He's a nationally syndicated columnistmdash;his writing appears in 60 newspapers. He's had three number one New York Times best sellers, 10 million books out around the world in 80 countries, and he's been speaking to fortune 1,000 companies once per week for the past 23 years. Not a bad list of accomplishments. Harvey Mackay has all kinds of practical advice for those who are facing the job market in this 15 minute podcast interview. Show Notes - There are 14.8 million Americans out of work; 6.3 million have been looking for jobs for more than seven months, up from one million five years ago - The average college graduate today will have 10-14 different job changes in his/her career by age 38, and 3-5 different career changes (federal bureau of labor statistics) - There are an average of 6-8 people lined up for every job Mackay's books include: - Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate Your Competition (New York Times #1 best seller for 54 weeks) - Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt: Do What You Love, Love What You Do, and Deliver More Than You Promise (New York Times #1 best seller) - Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You'll Ever Need (New York Times best seller list) - Pushing the Envelope: All The Way To The Top - We Got Fired!: . . . And It's the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us - Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You Learn more at harveymackay.com.…

By day, Christie Maliyackel works for anbsp; health care consulting firm. By night, she's writing a novel called Lucyland. Listen to Christie's perspective on balancing full time work and creative side projects. This is my first in-person interview in quite some time; pardon the background noise from the coffee shop we were in.…

"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is." - Isaac Asimov Josh Kaufman started The Personal MBA during his senior year in college as he was preparing to enter his career at P#38;G as an Assistant Brand Manager. He realized that many of his peers would be fresh recruits from top 15 MBA programs, and he wanted to make sure he had the knowledge, background and skills that his peers would have. In this case, Kaufman realized that an MBA certificate may not be necessarymdash;he already had the job, so why not just study on his own? He started his studies as a side projectmdash;reading, researching and eventually sharing what he had learned with others. The Personal MBA has now been featured in BusinessWeek, Fast Company, BNET and other popular sites and publications. "If you care about what you're learning about, you'll retain much more, you'll be able to use much more and what you learn is going to be thousands of time more valuable, because you'll actually be able to apply it." mdash;Josh Kaufman Josh Kaufman's recommended reading for those starting their careers: The Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways To Do Less And Accomplish More The Unwritten Laws of Business Read the full Personal MBA Recommended Reading List…

Monica O'Brien blogs at Social Pollination, and she recently wrote a book by the same name. She currently does marketing consulting for small companies. Jun Loayza is thenbsp;cofounder and chief marketing officer or Viraology and president of socialmediamarketing.com. You can find him at junloayza.com. Untemlater started after Jun wrote a blog post called Tell me the truth: Can Gen Y Team Up? The post was a call to action to bring individually successful people together to see what they could do together. Untemplater is now a company with six founders covering topics around six basic areas: Entrepreneurship Career Travel Family Mind Team Listen to the interview to hear more about Untemplater, its mission and the people behind it.…

Alexandra Levit is back again to talk about her latest book, New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career. The book features stories from real people who have reinvented their own careers. Find out more about Alexandra Levit at alexandralevit.com, and read more about her new book at newjobnewyou.com. SHOW NOTES There are seven motivators that may lead you to seek a new career: Family Independence Learning Money Passion Setback Talent A few of the questions that we covered: How do I overcome the fear of making a big change? Where do I start? What are the major challenges of shifting to a new career? How should I structure my goals for the new year? What if I fail?…

"In many cases, and especially as you get up the ladder in the work world, you really often can't tell an introvert from an extrovert because many introverts who are far along in their careers have developed certain social skills, have developed public speaking skills, and you really can't tell us apart." mdash;Nancy Ancowitz Nancy Ancowitz is a business communications coach and author of Self-Promotion for Introverts: The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead. Shenbsp;spent twelve years on Wall Street as a marketing head for major financial firms. While there, she took a personality assessment, and she was surprised to learn that she's an introvert. What is an introvert? Introverts aren't loners or antisocial. They simply gain their energy from being alone. Solo activities such as reading, writing, researching and quietly thinking will recharge their energy. What can an introvert do to better prepare for career success? -Rest up and recharge your energy before big meetings -Prepare a few opening lines, questions, contributions or topics of conversations -If you're heading into a meeting, get on the agenda before it begins -Introverts tend to be better at writing, so email a few ideas in advance or follow up with ideas through email. -Lobby your ideas in one-one situations before the big meeting -Get speech or public speaking lessons to learn how to use your voice (introverts tend to speak more quietly) -Make eye contact, sit up straight and have a firm handshake -Practice Find out more about Nancy Ancowitz at selfpromotionforintroverts.com.…

Marcus Sakey started his career in advertising. Ten years later, after a combination of fateful events, he made the leap into the world of writing novels. He's now an award-winning novelist based out of Chicago, and he's about to release his fourth book, a crime thriller called The Amateurs (which will certainly end up on my book club list). Three of his novels are in development as films. Listen to the audio interview to learn more about Marcus Sakey and his adventures from the world of advertising to the world of writing novels. And while you're at it, check out a few of his favorite novels.…

M.J. Ryan, author of AdaptAbility: How to Survive Change You Didn't Ask For, is full of advice for new grads. Life after graduation, as she says, is one of the most challenging times a human being goes through. In this podcast interview, she has shared her thoughts on a few important points. What if I've lost interest in my major, but it's too late to change? Many young people agonize over what major to choose. Take comfort in the fact that this is a decision you're making for now, and the future will unfold in ways that you absolutely cannot predict or know now. We must become life-long learners and recognize that our lives will be continual process of education and growth. What are my thinking talents? These are your persistent ways of thinking that you've been doing your whole lifemdash;although you haven't necessarily been trained in them. To find out more, visit the ptp-partners.com and take an assessment to discover what yours are. A study of two million people shows that when we understand what these talents are, we create greater productivity and profitability. What if I'm having a hard time adjusting to life after college? This is a difficult stage in life. It won't always be like this, even though it feels like it now. Because it can be a challenging time in terms of your feelings, it's no time to go it alone. The question is not, "Do I need support?" but "What kind of support do I need?" Talk to people who have been through it and can offer perspective, or join a group to meet others in the same position as you. Should I create a 5 year plan? Harvard Business School did a study to find out if people who could answer this question did better than people who didn't have a plan in terms of money, success and happiness. Looking back at those who had a five year plan and those who didn't, there was no difference. "There is no such thing as a five year plan. There is no such thing, really, as a year plan. You can set intention, you can set goals#8212;but you then have to keep noticing what's actually happening and revising as you go... What we all need to do, rather than have a plan, is to keep enriching our environment with connections to other people and information." M.J. Ryan, inspired by Meg Wheatley…

Kathryn Marion has just published a new book filled with advice to help new grads venture into the next chapter of their lives. The book, Grads Take Charge, features advice from recent grads (including yours truly and other bloggers with great advice) on everything from finding the right job to handling money and life at home. The book is available at QwikSmarts.com, and The Creative Career readers can use the coupon code CC25 for 25% off. The Giveaway I have an extra copy of Grads Take Charge to give away to one lucky reader. To win, leave a comment with the phrase Take Charge, and if you want, tell me what you look forward to or fear about life beyond college (you don't have to be a senior to win#8212;this giveaway is available to anyone who can benefit from the advice in this book). I'll randomly select a winner next Monday, May 18.…