Yolanda Owens has written for I Am Modern (http://www.iammodern.com/finding-a-job-can-feel-like-running-a-marathon.html). The following is an excerpt from her new book which has been chosen by Barnes & Noble as a Rising Star Special Collection. *******
There are a lot of similarities between looking for a job and dating, as you put yourself out there for someone to notice you, accept you, and ultimately date/interview/hire you. There’s a getting-to-know-you stage, a stage of evaluating whether you want a second date, and a stage of deciding whether you want a long-term relationship. And like dating, there are some rules of engagement. So before you’re released into the world of job seeking, I’m going to exercise my parental obligation to walk you through the birds and bees of employer dating.
Patience is a virtue. Good relationships take time to develop, so enjoy the dating process. You may experience long-distance relationships, employers who take their time in calling you back or in making decisions on where they want the relationship to go. A relationship with an employer may fizzle after months of dating, or you may find yourself involved with an all-talk and no-action player. In the midst of it all, build your network, learn from your mistakes, and use the stories for small talk at your next function. The right opportunity will come, and your patience will be virtuously rewarded.
"Who were you before someone else told you who to be?"
It was the very day we got home from our honeymoon. There I was, lying on the bathroom floor, naked and bleeding. He didn’t like the way I hung the towels in the bathroom. When he was done, I had been beaten and sexually assaulted and he was telling me that women should like that, and he asked what was the matter with me. I was nineteen. That was the beginning of my marriage. The abuse—physical, sexual, emotional, and financial—would continue for twenty years.
By implementing just a few simple practices, we can work towards living an overall healthier existence. Dr. Wayne Andersen founder of Take Shape for Life (
In my job as a writer for a successful magazine, I am used to interviewing famous people: from Grammy Award winners to Reality TV stars, I’ve been there and done that. So what was it about this best selling author that was sending me into alternating waves of cold and hot sweat? 
