Whether you’re a college freshman or a junior, the holiday break is an important time to start planning for your summer internship. Banks and consulting firms do their internship hiring in January and February, but even if you’re interested in non-profit, government, start-ups or something non-traditional, now’s the time to get started. Here’s how:

I heard negotiation expert Katie Donovan interviewed for an 85 Broads webinar and thought my readers would benefit from her advice. Katie’s company, Equal Pay Negotiations, LLC, specializes in helping women negotiate for equal pay, benefits and promotions and Katie frequently addresses the topic of flexible schedules. Following is my Q&A with Katie on this important topic.

There is an argument raging in this country right now about whether it is the duty of colleges and universities to make young people job-ready. Traditionalists argue that colleges should teach students how to think and help them develop a strong knowledge base, and that career preparation is the purview of career centers and employers. Many others, including President Obama, feel that colleges should take more responsibility for their graduates’ ability to get jobs. They argue that an ivory tower attitude doesn’t work anymore, given the cost of a college education today.

Each week I’ll feature three posts offering particularly good counsel for those early in their careers. Send along your favorites for consideration.

I love to get good questions from readers and share my answers in a post. Here’s one that addresses a few important issues:

Hi Allison,

I just read one of your articles on Forbes about how to job search on LinkedIn. I’m a twenty-something currently looking for an entry level job in NYC in the TV business.

Each week I’ll feature three posts offering particularly good counsel for those early in their careers. Send along your favorites for consideration.

Each week I’ll feature three posts offering particularly good counsel for those early in their careers. Send along your favorites for consideration.

Millenials are not good about responding to email and that is bad news for their careers. While email doesn’t have the immediacy associated with texting, IM, or Google Chat, there are some important rules associated with email that should not be ignored.

Job search is a lot like dating—the more work you do at the front end to understand both yourself and your fit in the marketplace, the better the opportunities that will come your way.