At first glance, this seems crazy because Gen Y is job hopping every couple of years and employers can’t figure out how to get us to stick around. But as I thought about it a little more and I discussed the topic with other retreat attendees, it made total sense. We grew up watching our parents get laid off, then we went to college and saw the collapse of Enron, Arthur Andersen and others, and even now, we’re watching Wall Street completely screw up the economy. Couple that with the rapid pace of change we’ve seen throughout our lives, and a little security sounds pretty comforting.

But here’s the thing. We shouldn’t be looking for job security. And companies shouldn’t promise it. Promising job security means promising employment. And when everything changes at the blink of an eye, no company can promise employment. But what they should be able to promise is employability.

Promising employability means that a company is promising to provide you with the right mix of training, skills, experience, and mentoring, which will ultimately leave you employable no matter what happens with your current job. The best security you can have is the security of having the skills that employers need—the skills that make you employable.

So, when you go on your next job interview or when you talk to your boss about your career plans, ask him what the company is doing to make you employable. If he can quickly give you a list of five things, congratulations, you’re secure. If he’s stumped, it’s time to rethink the job you’re in.

Many companies have no idea how to provide Generation Y with the skills we need to be employable. So, they need our help. Jeanne Meister is researching and writing a book to help companies understand what Gen Y really wants. She has the ear of corporate America, but she’s asking for a little help and insight from us – Gen Y.

CLICK HERE to take the Four Generations @ Work survey and do your part in helping Corporate America understand what changes they need to make. And hey, if for no other reason, there are some pretty cool prizes you could win if you take the survey by October 15.

The Prizes:
1. Ipod Touch
2. Flip Camera
3. $50 gift certificate to Amazon

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And at first, saying that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Frat guys get a bad rap, because a lot of us flat-out suck. But many of us are actually pretty good guys … promise.

But here’s the deal. I learned a lot from my years as a greek. Sure, I partied hard, got up late and skipped a bunch of classes. But I spent a lot of that time building community right outside my door, in my frat.

Here are few things I took away from the fuzzy, fun-filled days and nights I spent with my fraternity in college.

You can get a lot by doing a little.

The worst part about joining a fraternity is the pledge process. But after it’s all over, the rewards you’ll reap over the next four years (and beyond) are immeasurable.

I try to think about blogging the same way. During the first few months of your blog, you’re pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. Hardly anyone wants to talk to you and you’re putting a lot of time into something when time is pretty scarce.

Some days you want to quit—and lots of people do—but for those who stay, you get to enjoy a community experience that other people miss out on.

Just like pledging, once you’re initiated, the blogosphere becomes your playground. It’s effortless to make connections. And if that’s all you’re looking for, you’re in great shape.

But going above and beyond is better.

A lot of people pledge frats, “pay their dues” and coast their way through college with all the perks of fraternity life. But others take a leadership role. They strive to make a difference within their community. These people gain the most out of fraternity life.

Being a part of the blogosphere is very similar. The more you put in, the more you get out.

The Brazen Careerist community has leaders in every niche. They’re not just blogging; they’re making their niche better or even the entire sphere better.

A telltale sign of a community leader is someone who takes it beyond the blog. They connect via email, on the phone or in person. They’re finding ways for bloggers to work together and they’re actually creating a movement for change in some cases.

I like to think about it in terms of the people in the frat who would stay in their rooms during a party versus the ones who left that sanctity to be more social. Sure, you can lure people back to your room to party, but you’re a lot more likely to experience something fun if you throw yourself amongst the masses and let loose.

Mixing it up is a good thing.

My favorite thing about frat life was our diversity. We weren’t the homogeneous crew of greeks you see in movies. We had lots of differences. And it’s what made our house so distinctive.

And what would any good community be without a little diversity? What I love most about being Brazen is all the perspectives and passions we share. We are all quite different, but at the same time, united by the common desire to build relationships with fascinating people.

And sure, you may think frat guys are far from fascinating. But the good frats aim to be. Mine was. We had the meatheads, but we also had philosophers and some-day corporate execs. We were far from dull, and that’s what most communities should strive to be.

There are tons of different people with different agendas in the blogosphere. Some are writing, some are commenting and some are just reading with little-to-no visibility at all. But they’re all fulfilling a role that’s important to any community’s existence.

Inter-fraternal relations are vital.

It only takes a moment for a good party to go bad. One second you’re drinking a beer, the next, you’re getting jostled around in the midst of a frat-on-frat brawl. Lame.

Community leaders try so hard to build relationships with similar organizations. Then, out of nowhere, beer muscles get the best of someone and all goes sour.

It’s understandable. Everyone wants to be at the best. And in a way, you are, of course, competitors. But like anyone who understands community knows, it’s better to have an alliance with the competition than a vendetta against one another.

When building online community, establish good relations with your competition and try not to talk trash too much. The party is a lot more fun when you don’t have to worry about bad blood over spilt beer

Because in the end, it’s all about throwing a great party.

That’s the biggest similarity between my frat-guy years and my new adventure building an online community. Every day Brazen is working to bring the most thought-provoking mix of readers and writers together.

Our goal: To be the most stellar group of thought-provoking young professionals online. The community everyone wants to party with—the big name on campus.

And maybe that sounds too greek for you … and if that’s the case, don’t get turned off. I’m far beyond those years (for the most part). I’m just happy to (right now) have my dream job. A job that bonds my party-boy years with the (quasi)-professional I’ve become today. And I’m loving it.

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I didn’t say it. The New York Times did. And this was before the disaster that took place on Capitol Hill yesterday.

The article, written by Alessandra Stanley, goes on to say that the pending economic crisis, which has since become not so pending, “is confirming the worst fears of Gen-Y, namely that our baby boomer parents are leaving us a world convulsed by war, drowning in debt and melting down under global warming.”

She’s got a point. The world, and more specifically, The United States, is screwed up right now. The House just rejected a $700 Billion rescue plan, effectively causing the largest drop in the stock market since 1987. And the word is that House members pending reelections played a major role in the rejection. You’ve got to be kidding me.

But way before the most recent “Black Monday,” for years, us 20-somethings have been graduating into a world where we are buried in debt before stepping foot into our first job, and dealing with living expenses that are often more than average starting salaries. Our generation has inherited a world that needs some serious fixing.

And yesterday was just the final straw in what’s been a disastrous 8 years for America. But, as bad as yesterday was, it may be a blessing in disguise.

When we look back on Monday, September 29, 2008, will we say that it was the beginning of the end, or will we say that it was the day America took a long hard look in the mirror and decided to make a change?

I’ll choose the latter.

I’ll choose it, because I see a group of 20 and 30-something’s prepared to clean up the mess. Blaming our parents, or Congress, or the baby boomers, or even the President, won’t get us anywhere. But recycling, going green, being fiscally responsible, starting non-profits, starting for-profits, and actively involving ourselves in the presidential election is a good start.

Despite our youth, and despite the fact that we aren’t in traditional positions of authority, I see Generation Y, or as I recently saw us referred to as, Generation We, pushing change and making progress in every area.

In Washington D.C., the Progressive Happy Hour group is hosting debate parties and constantly trekking over to Virginia, vowing to knock on 100,000 doors in hopes of turning the battleground state blue before November 4.

Yesterday, I spoke with Jordan Goldman, a recent college grad who decided he’d had enough of universities providing high school seniors with inaccurate, boring and often misleading descriptions about their outrageously priced schools. So, he gathered a team and started Unigo, a company that puts the message back in the hands of the people who really know what the school is all about–the students.

In a couple of hours I have a meeting with Rich Littlehale, a Yale student and budding social entrepreneur, who recently started Twigtek, a company that helps organizations raise money by collecting old cell phones and helping the environment.

The list goes on and on. Young people have looked at the disastrous situation this country is in and decided to do something about it –way before “Black Monday” caused mass panic.

As Progressive Happy Hour organizer Brian Komar eloquently explains, we are in the midst of the NEXT Progressive Movement. He says, “Change doesn’t come from parties. It comes from movements. This movement will bring the change America needs. Young people are always the early adopters, and this time younger people are paving the way. . . . My sincere hope is that this movement becomes multigenerational.”

This is the attitude that Generation Y has demonstrated, and must continue to demonstrate. Because it’s not about being a hero; it’s about working together and making smart decisions for the greater good because we see the mess that we’ve been dealt. And when you see a mess, there’s only one thing left to do: clean it up.

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I hear it all the time. Nearly every time I speak, someone will chime in with this question. And I don’t blame them really. It’s a legitimate question. But in my opinion, it’s a bad assumption.

Why would I be upset that you are going above and beyond to meet the needs or requests of my fellow employees? I want my co-workers to be happy with their jobs. Of course, I’ll expect that you go above and beyond to make me happy as well. But, what’s wrong with that?

The secret is to forget about trying to make everyone equal at your company, and figure out how to make every group feel special. Whether it’s a particular demographic, a gender, a religious group, a generation or even a personality type, your organization should go beyond the paycheck and put in the extra time to find out what each small or large group wants, and give it to them.

Do something to make a particular group or individual feel special

The other day, I spoke with Susie Gorsline, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Au Bon Pain, and she told me how they are making a particular group feel special.

Au Bon Pain is hosting their Annual International Company meeting this week. They have managers and executives from 29 countries attending – so obviously all sorts of cultures and religions will be represented. Out of respect for Ramadan (the Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and calls for fasting from dawn to sunset), they decided to accommodate their practicing Muslim population of managers. Breakfast will be served before sunrise at 4:30 AM, a prayer room will be provided, special plates of food will be offered, and wine will not be offered to those who indicate they are observing the holiday.

Needless to say, Gorsline and her team received tremendous feedback from their Muslim employees – many indicating they were proud to be working for such a forward-thinking company. And get this, it cost them next to nothing – just a little time and effort from the conference organizers and the hotel staff.

Tell ALL your employees about your initiative

It’s great that all of the employees who were directly affected by the Ramadam accommodation felt proud to work for the company, but don’t think they’re the only ones who want to hear about it. If your company is creating special initiatives for young employees, employees who lose a family member, employees who have a baby or employees who are approaching retirement, don’t keep it a secret, tell everyone!

I would be thrilled to know that my employer cares about my fellow employees so much. When Susie sent out the email notifying everyone of their intentions for Ramadan, it wasn’t just the Muslim employees who responded positively, many others replied with emails commending the HR department, and it was the hot topic of conversation for the rest of the week.

It’s amazing how helping one small group can make every other group proud to work for your company.

Watch the Trickle down happen

American Express wanted to cater to their baby boomer employees, so they created a program promoting the new concept of phased retirement. The program allows soon to be retired baby boomers to transition from full time work to full time retirement and transfer the invaluable knowledge they’ve gained during their time at the company. It’s a great initiative for experienced workers who are almost ready to retire, but either need a little more money, tenure, or just aren’t quite ready to quit work cold turkey.

Well, the next thing you know, this initiative actually trickled down to benefit their Gen Y employees. The young employees ended up getting exactly what they wanted too – hands on training and mentoring from the people who were running the organization

No matter how hard you try, you’re not going to please everyone by treating everyone the same. We’ve all come from different backgrounds and we’re all at different points in our lives. So put in the extra effort and figure out how to give every group special treatment — not just Generation Y

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You can blame whomever you want, but that’s not the point. The point is that an undergraduate degree today is worth about as much as a high school degree was 30 years ago. College is a place to make friends, grow up, and learn how to get work done without someone watching over you.
College does not teach us the ins and outs of the industry where we land our first job, and it certainly doesn’t teach us other real-world lessons like how to play office politics, or how to handle being ridiculously busy one week and completely bored the next. Entry level workers are just not as prepared for the real world as they need to be.

But there is a solution. It’s called training–lots and lots of training. In fact, if companies want to get real buy-in from their new hires, they should be prepared to provide so much training and mentoring that their entry level workers feel like their first job is really corporate grad school. I recently discovered a company who gets it, and amazingly, they’re in my backyard.

Epic Systems of Madison, Wisconsin has taken training to a whole new level. A friend of mine started working there a month ago. She’s basically still in college for the next six months - except, it’s college with a purpose.

She goes to work every day and takes classes with the other people in her on-boarding group. They have assigned mentors, they do training programs, they listen to experienced employees teach them about the “Epic way,” they do daily assignments, they watch funny You Tube clips after lunch, and they even have to pass tests.

The college atmosphere goes beyond office hours. The majority of new hires at Epic are young, and they almost always end up becoming friends with each other. They go to Epic parties; Epic events, and they hang out with each other on the weekends. Everyone I’ve talked to loves it because it’s the perfect transition from college to the real world.

It may sound silly to older employees, but Gen Y grads aren’t ready to graduate to a quick 3 days of basic job training, and then a 9 to 5 every day in front of a computer. We’re looking for a learning atmosphere at work and social opportunities outside of work. Epic has figured out a way to successfully engage Generation Y by understanding the major disconnect between our generation and corporate America – we’re not fully prepared for the real world.

And it’s not just me who thinks Epic knows what they are doing. The majority of its employees were hired directly out of college, and they now accept only 2% of the 40,000 to 50,000 applications they receive every year. They were founded with an investment of $70,000 in 1979 and are now a privately held company valued at $1.2 billion. Sure, those numbers are good, but when you consider this is a company located outside of a small Wisconsin city, and they heavily recruit from out of state; those numbers are amazing.

Epic knows that traditional schooling is no longer enough, and they’ve taken the responsibility to prepare their employees for life in the real world – both personally and professionally. Hopefully other companies will start taking notes.

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Social media has already changed the way people communicate and interact with each other and it’s changing the way business works – for the better. But still, a recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas study found that 20% of companies have banned social networking sites from employee computers! If your company is one of those 20%, you should seriously reconsider. Here’s why.

It’s called social NETWORKING for a reason

Network, network, network. It’s all you heard from your parents growing up, your professors in college, and every successful person you’ve talked to since. Companies inherently understand (I hope) that employees need to network both inside and outside the company because you never know where that next big sale, or new hire will come from. In a recent press release, Nick Ragone, Director of Ketchum’s Communications & Media Strategy Group says, “Banning these types of sites would be the equivalent of asking your boss, ‘Do you think I really need to make sales calls or network; can’t I just hang out in my office and wait for the phone to ring?’ ”

Of course not! Why then, would any company consider blocking a website that allows all of your employees to be in one giant virtual room with the best and brightest from inside and outside your industry? Sounds like a case of short-sighted management to me.

Social networks are the best place to recruit

Yes, I’m aware that “passive job seeker” is the big buzzword in recruiting these days, but there’s a reason for that. Passive job seekers are the people your company really wants to recruit. They are the ones who are perfectly happy in their situation. They make a good salary, they enjoy the people they work with, and their employers are happy with their performance. But they still hang out on social networks, they’re actively involved in online communities, and they read blogs. And they will listen to a more attractive job offer if your company can create the online presence you need to connect with these people.

Active job seekers on the other hand, are actively searching for a job for a reason. They’re on Monster, CareerBuilder, and JobFox because they really want to get out of their situation. But, chances are, they are in a less than perfect job because they couldn’t get anything better. You may find the occasional gem of a resume in your inbox, but you’d be much better served to connect with the people you really want through Linkedin, Twitter, or Brazen Careerist.

Social media can directly impact your bottom line

Social networks and blogs are very much about networking, connections and conversation, but if your company big whigs won’t go for anything that doesn’t directly impact the bottom line, show them that social media can do that too.

The Washington Post reports that Marriott made more than $5 million in bookings from people who clicked through to the reservation page from Marriott’s corporate blog. I don’t know the exact traffic numbers for Marriott’s blog, but I do know that the longer blogs are around, and the more you write the more direct traffic you get. And in this case, an increase in direct traffic will no doubt lead to an increase in revenue.

If you hired right, your employees will not waste work time on social media

Ketchum’s press release pretty much sums it up when they say, “Yes, there are a few bad apples that may waste time on these tools, but they will find ways to waste time even if they don’t have social networking sites – they will find something else to distract them.”

Top employees, the employees you should hire, will spend time on social networking sites, but they will not do it at the expense of getting their work done. There are only two possible reasons that your employees are wasting time on these sites. One reason is that you hired the wrong people, and you should get rid of them ASAP. The other option is maybe your company needs to provide more work to employees or re-think how you define employee engagement.

Some companies are so obsessed with controlling employees, they’ve failed to see that banning social networking at work is no different than controlling the number of employees who received a PC in the ‘80s and limiting the number of employees with internet access in the ‘90s. And we all know what a great idea that was. So go ahead, ban social networking at your company. But do so at your own peril.

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I can’t think of a more important goal to be able to meet as an online community manager. Because while we all know the Internet can be a powerful vessel for cultivating relationships, nothing beats the personal touch of face-to-face interaction.

So while I just wrote a post giving advice to would-be community managers, I don’t mind reiterating one of my most important points. If bringing your online community offline is not one of your principal objectives you’re missing a big part of the equation.

Social media use has a short shelf life for many users.

This is true for blogs especially. Most won’t last more than 2-3 months. Even within a strong community good bloggers can lose focus or get bored.

I think it’s because online just isn’t enough. You can spend all day connecting with people all over the world–no boundaries–by the click of the mouse, but you’ll be missing out on a whole lot of life. Sometimes a few boundaries are exactly what people need.

Bringing people together on a local level is exactly what some people need to stay engaged on a global level. While talking to some of our Brazen bloggers, it was great to hear people say the meet up gave them motivation to go home and write. It got me motivated too. And we all need that little boost of encouragement sometimes.

Global communities lack local appeal.

When you have a community of like-minded people online, and there are enough of them in proximity to each other to bring them together offline, don’t miss out on that opportunity. It’s a great way to strengthen the group in a way you normally can’t accomplish via the web.

What was really cool about the D.C. meet up was that it won’t end after the initial night. A few of our D.C. bloggers are in the process of making Brazen Careerist meet ups more regular. And you know when people don’t need an open bar to get together that you must be doing something right.

Tim Ferro put it best. While he was thrilled that we came up and put together the event, he wouldn’t mind doing it on a regular basis, with just our local D.C. crew.

“I’d pay for my own drinks just to get this group back together,” he said.

A great way to connect your community with other organizations.

CORT Business Services, the official sponsor of Brazen Careerist, D.C., is a perfect example. Not only were they absolutely amazing hosts, but they also knew how to connect with a Gen-Y audience without trying to hard sell us on anything.

Brian Keating, CORT Account Executive, spent the entire evening chatting with community members who could totally relate to what their company does: Help young people like ourselves deal with the stress of job relocation by making the process more seamless and worry-free.

It was great to see a Gen-Y friendly company like CORT come to the meet up. Not only did they benefit from a night with an engaging group of young professionals, but we all enjoyed engaging with a company that’s creating solutions to make twentysomething life a little easier.

So for all of you online community managers out there, don’t get too lost online. Always look for ways to bring your community together in the real world. It will not only strengthen what you’ve created, but give you a gauge for where your community can go.

I for one can’t wait for our next Brazen Careerist event. It gives me goose bumps thinking about where we can take things next. In my head, the wheels are always turning. But I’d love to hear what you think too.

How can online communities bring more to their members’ offline lives?

Click here to check out more photos from Brazen Careerist, D.C.

UPDATE: Brazen Careerist, New York City is underway! Click here for more information.

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Five months later, the work has become the reason I get up in the morning. And the reason I keep working late at night. I also feel confident explaining what I can do for a startup in one word—bridge.

When companies, especially startups, get caught up in the hustle of post-funding mayhem, a sturdy bridge is what will keep you aligned with your loyal, pre-funding customers. And those loyal customers are important when you’re community building. It’s a messy and erratic job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

And while some companies think that community managers are pointless, there’s enough buzz about the position to make a few tips for success worth reading about.

1. Be a social media ninja.

Last week at SummerMash Austin, Dan Healy, our new sales guy, got a first-hand look at why being up on social media is so important. People don’t just wear nametags with their name on them anymore. They sport their Twitter I.D. as well.

While Twitter may be the hottest new thing among social media elite, young and old, the rest are just as important to know and understand if you want to be a great online community manager. Equip yourself on a variety of fronts and you’ll optimize how connected you and your community can be.

So LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace are just as important … okay, not MySpace.

2. Never turn down a cup of coffee.

Spending an hour of your day at a coffee shop with one person may be a waste of time for some people, but community managers need to learn to embrace it. I’ve gained some of my most valuable connections this way.

As a community manager, it’s your job to learn to embrace the individual because there’s not just one kind of customer in most online communities. Spend time with 1-2 people individually every week and you’ll see what I mean.

3. Don’t wait for people to come to you.

Some of your most valuable community members can easily go unnoticed if you let them keep quiet. Statistically speaking, about 25% of your community is going to be naturally introverted and slower to join the conversation, even virtually. It takes a little push to get some people engaged, but then they can’t stop engaging.

It’s your job to identify these members and find a way to get them more involved. Offer them help, or just encourage them from the sidelines. Don’t be pushy, but don’t be afraid to push either. There’s a difference, and it’s likely different for different people, too.

4. Know your community’s goals.

While you’re busy “embracing the individual,” start embracing their goals too. Find out what they’re looking to get out of branding themselves online, and use that information to help them achieve it.

Goals can range from starting a successful business to just expressing themselves as individuals. However lofty their goals may be, there’s always something you can do to help them out.

5. Have an eye for potential.

It’s quite likely that there will be members of your community without a clear goal or direction in mind, but with obvious potential for something bigger. And it’s your job to figure out what that something is.

Recognizing potential is almost natural if you’re accustomed to seeing the best in people right away. And if you have lots of A-team players in your life, you can probably identify high potential even in the youngest members of your community. Regardless it takes a little work, but the rewards can be unexpectedly huge.

6. Find a way to personally connect.

Maybe you both have a dog, or maybe you share similar alma maters, or maybe you just both enjoy watching some hit T.V. show.

Whatever the case, it’s your job to find these commonalities. They’re a golden opportunity to connect on a personal level. And it shows people that you don’t see them as just another member of the community.

7. Display your genuine personality.

The problem with working in a business environment is that we all tend to act a little synthetic from time to time. But the one thing your community doesn’t need is more corporate jargon. Show them your authentic, softer side instead.

Whether it’s for a personal or professional purpose, communities are supposed to be fun, first. And community leaders are responsible for setting the tone so that goal is met for everyone.

8. Speak up for the community.

You’re the spokesperson for your community. You’re responsible for speaking up to the business side of your company on their behalf, even if you end up feeling like the lone wolf, or just the boy crying wolf.

Don’t be afraid to bang heads and stir things up. At the end of the day, it’s what you’re being paid to do. And being the lone wolf is kind of cool anyway.

9. Take it offline.

Tonight we’re hosting our first, fully-sponsored Brazen Careerist event in Washington D.C. and we’re all extremely excited. Having the opportunity to meet a room full of people that you’ve been working with online for months gives me goose bumps.

Community managers should make an offline community presence one of their top priorities. And don’t be afraid to think big either. Think Mashable big. The less you limit yourself, the more you’ll realize is possible as your community matures.

10. Preserve the belief that you are helping people every day.

I should have made this #1, because if you can’t believe that what you’re doing makes a difference in people’s lives, you shouldn’t be doing it.

Traditionally, how we’re valued in the workplace stems from quantifiable results. But a community manager’s results aren’t always quantifiable, and that’s frustrating.

Keep your self-esteem high by reminding yourself that there would be a lot more problems if you weren’t around. You help people with problems that can’t be anticipated always, or even predicted, and it makes a difference.

My best days are when I receive genuine thanks from a person in my community regarding something I did that they thought I didn’t have to. And even though I knew I did have to, it means a lot knowing that it made a difference.

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Take a good look at what you did this year and honestly ask yourself if you deserve a raise. I didn’t deserve one my first year out of school and I didn’t get one. But I was fine with it because I worked my ass off in other areas. Work wasn’t priority number one for me, so giving me a raise probably wasn’t priority number one for my old company.

You Deserve it, but you’re too young
Maybe you do deserve a raise. You tackled new projects, you started a company social committee, you made as many great contacts as you possibly could and you even asked for a raise, but you still didn’t get one. Don’t worry, the corporate world is a little behind the times. A couple of years with a company might seem like a lifetime to you, but to the old folks in the corner office, it’s just a blip on the radar. Sometimes, you have no chance of getting a raise when you’re 24–you’re basically chasing your own tail trying to do everything right for little payoff. If you determine that this really is the case, you may want to reevaluate your career and your current company.

You didn’t ask for one
This one is pretty obvious. Or so you would think. If you don’t ask for a raise, you’re not going to get one. As nice as it would be, there is no one sitting around watching out for you or your career. No one will tell the boss to give you an extra ten grand, you have to ask. Create a list ofeverything you accomplished this year, talk about the numbers you hit, the deliverables you produced and milestones you surpassed. When review time comes around, bring the list to your boss and tell him you want a raise.

If that doesn’t work, put your resume online, get a couple job offers, and bring the offers back to your boss. He won’t be so quick to brush off your request if he knows you have somewhere else to go.

You worked too hard
Working hard is not equal to working smart. Working hard is burying your head in a stack of papers and spending day after day pounding away on your keyboard. Working hard is coming to work an hour early and leaving an hour late, every day.

You can do these things. You can work really hard and still not get a raise because you got so lost in making sure your “work” was done that you forgot to do the right kind of work.

You didn’t do the right kind of work
The right kind of work may not always feel like work and it definitely won’t feel like the most “productive” thing you can do, but it pays off in the end. The right kind of work is putting aside your daily to-do list for an hour and strategizing with the boss after lunch instead. It’s blowing off a night with your friends or significant other to go to the quarterly get-together and network with company big shots. And it’s syncing your schedule with your boss’s, so you come in when he’s in and leave after he’s gone.

Doing the right kind of work makes you a visible and valued asset, and it puts you in the position where you can ask your boss for a raise because you have invested time and energy into forming a solid relationship with her.

You got comfortable
It’s easy to get comfortable at your job. When you do a certain job long enough, you learn the ins and outs. And more importantly you learn the shortcuts. What once took you half a day, now takes an hour.

When you get to that point, it’s very easy to get comfortable. But the people who make the real money and get the big raises, don’t settle for comfortable. Overachievers don’t feel comfortable feeling comfortable. You can only learn and grow when you challenge yourself, and you can only get a big raise after you learn and grow into the new position and higher salary you’re chasing. If you’re comfortable being comfortable, don’t bank on that big raise.

Your boss sucks (and you didn’t do anything about it)
To get a big raise you have to make people like and respect you, but you also have to produce great work. But it’s nearly impossible to produce great work if your supervisor doesn’t provide you with great direction.

Let’s face it, a lot of bosses just aren’t good. It’s not necessarily their fault that they were promoted to manager without the skills to manage well. We’re all stuck in a system that often promotes based on “experience” rather than competence or managerial skills.

So, if your boss sucks, do something about it. Find the person in the office who is best at playing office politics. Take a look around at who can usually be found sitting at their desk, and who can be found hanging out just talking with others. The person who’s chatting the day away probably has the most influence outside of his direct reports, so he’s the guy to talk to.

What you’re after here is a mentor, someone who actually wants to help you grow. After you find the right one and develop a solid relationship, tell him why you deserve a raise and why you’d rather not go to your boss with the request. He can help you find all the reasons why you should, and shouldn’t, get that raise–and help you make real progress in your career.

If all else fails, there is always one final way to get a raise. Find a new job! If you’re young and you have the skills that employers are looking for, there’s a good chance you can get a significant raise by going to another company.

The trick is to start laying the groundwork for a potential exit before it’s too late. Put your resume on the right sites, start blogging about the field you love to work in, and connect with the right people. When you find yourself in a bad position, you’ll have the network in place to jump ship at the right time and start working for the right company, at the right price.

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“Susan! Sit down! Sit down!”

This was my lesson in leadership. First hand, in front of a group of 15 experienced managers, executives, artists and actors, my task was to command them to sit down. They weren’t allowed to sit until they believed me.

I was at TAI in New York City attending a course called Communicating with Power and Presence. Originally started as a training studio for actors, TAI now uses acting principles to train business people to be more visionary thinkers and more effective leaders.

My goals were a little different. I wanted to learn how to command a room. I needed this skill: I’d become a public speaker. My speeches were about managing, recruiting and retaining Generation Y, so the audiences I presented to were much older than me. It was totally rewarding, but it was also completely intimidating.

I was in an interesting position because my speeches consisted of me standing in front of an experienced audience, and more or less telling them how to do their jobs. The only way for an audience to take me seriously was for me to command their attention and respect, and actually connect with each audience member – not necessarily an easy thing for a 24 year old to do.

So, after listening to Penelope Trunk rave about the course for months, I finally took the plunge and found myself at TAI, learning how to command a room and connect–by standing in front of a room full of people at least ten years older than me and commanding them to sit down.

Nobody sat.

Elise, our instructor and a former actor, told me to follow her lead. She punched the air. She screamed at the top of her lungs. And she stomped her feet.

I laughed and shook my head. But eventually, I followed her lead. I punched, I screamed and I stomped.

Then something clicked.

I pointed at Bill.

“Bill, sit down!”

He sat.

I turned left. “Susan, sit down!”

She sat.

One by one, I went through the entire room, truly connecting with each person and forcefully, but politely asking everyone to sit, until no one was left standing. Then, I gathered myself and said,

“Stand up!”

The entire audience stood.

I thanked them, and returned to my seat.

My heart was beating out of my chest. I felt completely ridiculous. But I also felt powerful. I felt like I had finally come full circle. In many ways, I finally felt like I was an adult.

As the course went on, I learned a lot about myself and a lot about other people. I watched each person go to the front of the room hesitant and nervous, only to sit down 45 minutes later with satisfied grins on their faces.

I learned that anyone can overcome what once seemed impossible. As I watched Bill, a 50 year old man, nearly break down in tears of happiness, joy, or maybe just relief, after slowly reciting his speech and connecting with every person in the room, I learned that anyone, at any age, can overcome what stands in their way.

At this particular point in my career, connecting with an audience was what stood in my way. The Communicating with Power and Presence course was my first step toward developing myself as a public speaker and a leader. As my life and my career go forward there will be other roadblocks and setbacks. But now I know there is always some way to clear these obstacles. The trick is to be proactive about it.

Whether its by taking a course at TAI, finding a mentor, or going on an extended vacation, figure out what’s holding you back, and do something about it. Life’s too short and there are too many resources at your fingertips to let anything stand in your way.

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