Summer is just around the corner, and our heads are filled with daydreams of sunny beaches, glowing tans, and a wardrobe of only sundresses. Sigh.

So, while we’re waiting for those 85-degree days to get here and stay here for good, we’ve pulled together some amazing summer style tips from around the web. Go on—you can drool.

Warm-Weather Fashion

• 10 Best Weekender Bags (FabSugar)
• How To Wear It: White on White (Ecosalon)
• 10 Summer Wedges Under $50 (The Frisky)
• 5 Outfits to Take You From Brunch to Beach (Refinery 29)

Beachy Beauty

• 52 Beauty Statements to Try This Summer (Glamour)
• 9 Ways to Get a Summer Glow (Lucky)
• How To Get Beachy “Gossip Girl” Style Waves (Birchbox)
• Summer Makeup: Hot Hues to Brighten Up Your Makeup Bag (DailyCandy)

Photo courtesy of Maegan Tintari.

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Whether you’re making a proposal to a client or pitching your business plan to an investor, if you’re presenting a big idea, you want people to listen. But unfortunately, creating a memorable talk rather than just another yawn-inducing presentation can be difficult.

Communications expert Nancy Duarte was determined to find out why—why people tend to listen intently to stories, but quickly lose interest when they’re being presented to. Through her research of the most compelling speeches of our time (think Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs), she’s discovered that there’s a very specific pattern—a “shape”—for great presentations.

Of course, it’s not as simple as just plugging your idea into a formula—it still takes the right material and the right delivery to grab your audience. But, if you’re getting ready for a big presentation, this is a great place to start.

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It’s your last day on the job—just one final 8-hour stint, and then you’re off to start your fab new position, go back to grad school, or venture into a gig of your own.

So how should you spend this glorious day? Moonwalking down the hallways? Telling everyone who’s ever pissed you off what you really think? Sipping Baileys in your coffee cup and muttering “suckers” anytime your cube-mates walk by?

Tempting—but no. While counting down those final hours might seem tortuous, there’s actually a lot you need to accomplish to make a graceful exit before you leave your cubicle for good. Check out our hour-by-hour guide to your last day in the office.

8 AM

Wrap Up Your Work

Ideally, you’ll wrap up all of your actual work to-dos before your final day, but you still should plan to spend a couple of hours in the morning tying up any loose ends (and there will be loose ends). Most importantly, if you’re transitioning projects or duties to your other team members, check in with each of them, make sure they’re completely up to speed on their assignments, and answer any final questions they have.

This will not only help your department to continue running smoothly in your absence, it will prevent people from calling you in a panic next week (yes, it happens).

10 AM

Collect Your Contacts

Your co-workers, clients, vendors, anyone you’ve done business with—they’re all part of your professional network, and people you’ll likely want to stay in touch with in the future. So, if you aren’t already connected outside of work, spend time going through your contacts and reaching out to them on LinkedIn. You can also export your Outlook contacts to Excel so you’ll have them saved for the future.

11 AM

Wipe Your Computer

Once you’ve transitioned your projects, it’s time to clean house on your computer. First, put all of your work documents that would be useful to your team on a shared drive, and let your co-workers know where to find them. Then, make sure you save to a USB drive or email yourself any files that could be even remotely useful for your future—either to help you do your next job, or as work samples. (I know you don’t want to think about that 90-page annual report ever again, but trust me—when you’re interviewing again, you will.) Also save any important emails—like great feedback from your boss or colleagues—that you may want to reference again in the future.

Once you have what you need, do a clean sweep of everything else. Trash your personal documents (and then empty the Trash), clear your browsing history, and otherwise make sure your digital slate is wiped clean.

1 PM

Lunch

After a long morning, go to lunch with your office mates. Hey, you’re probably not going to see these guys for a while!

2 PM

Do an Exit Interview

Exit interviews are par for the course at many companies, but if you don’t get one, ask for it. This is usually the time that HR will give you any final paperwork, share information on continued health insurance, and solicit your feedback on what it was like to work for the organization.

The key here is to be honest, but also to be as positive as possible. If the place resembled Office Space, no, you don’t have to pretend it was all rainbows and butterflies, but do position anything you say as constructive feedback that you wouldn’t mind getting back to your boss. (Because it probably will.)

3 PM

Prepare for Takeoff

If you want to keep your professional reputation in tact, you’ll want to make sure that none of your co-workers or clients are ever left hanging. So, change your voice mail to let any callers know that you’re no longer with the company, and who to contact in your absence. Also set up an auto-response on your email that does the same.

Then, send your good-bye emails. If you haven’t already, send a mass email to everyone you work (BCC, of course) announcing your departure and letting them know the best point of contact moving forward. Follow that up with more personal emails to your immediate team, to your work friends, and to each of your supervisors or subordinates, thanking them for the opportunity and letting them know that you enjoyed working with them.

4 PM

Pack Your Bags

It’s best to wait to start packing your literal bags until the end of the day (unless you have a large office full of belongings). Grab your work samples, picture frames, and personal belongings, and get them ready to go. Then return your keys, ID card, computer, and any other company-provided items you still have to your boss. (I know giving back your brand new BlackBerry is painful. Do it anyway.)

5 PM

Celebrate!

Yes, you should stay until closing time (they are paying you for a full day, after all). But once you’ve wrapped everything up, said your good-byes, and finalized your transition, you’re done! If you’re leaving a job or co-workers you love, this can definitely be an emotional time, but your last day is also cause for celebration—it’s the beginning of your next step. Congrats!

Photo courtesy of Richard Moross.

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As any job hunter knows all too well, there’s a lot of competition out there. In today’s job market, employers are inundated with dozens—even hundreds—of resumes for almost any position they post.

And as a result, job seekers have started getting creative, ditching the traditional white linen paper and trying trends like artistically designed resumes or video submissions to help their applications stand out from the pack.

But before you jump on the bandwagon, consider this: Not all these resume fads will make the impression you want them to. “I don’t like gimmicks,” says Beth Sightler, the assistant director of a Vermont-based non-profit organization. And her sentiment was one shared by several recruiters and hiring managers I spoke with. Here’s a closer look at some of the current resume trends—and what to think about before giving them a try.

The Functional Resume

Job seekers are told to focus on their skills and accomplishments in their application, and the increasingly popular functional (or skills-based) resume takes this advice to the extreme. This format differs from a traditional resume in that the information is organized to focus on your skill set and abilities, rather than your work history or education.

A functional resume can be a good option if you don’t have a lot of experience or if you have gaps in employment, as it directs the hiring manager’s attention to your skills. The problem, though, is that it doesn’t provide any context to the information you’re sharing. Because your work experience is listed separately (and generally limited to your title and dates of employment), potential employers don’t get a sense of how your skills relate to your work experience. What’s more, recruiters will usually view functional resumes with a skeptical eye, because they know that applicants often use the format to hide flaws.

In general, these sorts of resumes should be used sparingly. Check out this guide to skills-based resumes and the types of candidates who should use them. If you don’t fall in those categories, skip this trend and stick with a traditional format.

Video Resumes

You’ve probably heard that video resumes are a great way to give recruiters a real-life idea of your personality and “meet” you face to face. And yes, doing so can be extremely valuable, particularly if you’re applying for a highly public-facing role (as an actor or on-air reporter, for example).

But just as the benefits are great, so are the potential drawbacks. First, in order for a video resume to work for you, it has to be brilliant—including the concept, writing, and production value. A typo on a paper resume will bring into question your attention to detail, but a less-than-perfect video resume will sink your prospects of employment even faster.

Secondly, employers often balk at video resumes from a purely practical standpoint. Consider that companies often install firewalls or block YouTube to prevent employees from watching videos in the office, or the fact that videos are large and take a long time to download. Videos created on a Mac may not play on a PC, or vice versa, or the recruiter may not have the software needed to view it.

That said, these are obstacles you can overcome. If you create a video, treat the production of it as though it were an actual job interview—your performance and presentation can and will be judged. Dress professionally and select a setting that’s clean and organized. Write a script, practice it, record it using a high quality camera, and don’t settle for anything but the best lighting and audio quality. And redo it as many times as you need to in order to ensure that your final product is absolutely perfect.

Finally, be certain that it works (on several computers) before sending it out. There’s no better way to make a bad impression than sending a video resume that won’t play.

Multimedia or Infographic Resumes

The recruiting world is split on the use of resumes that step outside the traditional black-ink-on-white-paper format. On one hand, multi-media resumes (like this one using SlideShare) or infographic resumes (like these) can showcase your creative skills, your experience and accomplishments, and your personality all at once. Lisa Andrew, owner of Red Sapphire Consulting, still remembers an origami resume she received from an applicant 12 years ago. The applicant included “instructions on how to configure her resume. I followed the directions, which were 100% accurate, and it turned the resume into one of those folded paper games from the 80s. Each square of the fold had the pieces of her resume. She was hired.”

According to Sightler, however, these kinds of resumes can also lead a recruiter to question how seriously you’re taking the opportunity. “The business of hiring is hard, and you don’t always feel like taking a risk,” she says. “You want someone credible and serious.”

My advice: Take some time to think about how a creative resume will be received, either by the hiring manager or the industry to which you’re applying. If you’re a designer or artist, this can be a fantastic—even necessary—way for you to showcase your talents. Or, if you’re applying to a cutting-edge start-up, it can show a hiring manager that you understand what type of person she’s looking for.

On the other hand, if you’re applying for a job as an accountant, or moving into an industry that’s more conservative, thinking too far outside the box may not be your best bet.

Tailoring Your Resume

Recruiters agree: The one trend that’s here to stay (and that they love) is tailoring your resume for each position that you apply for. Your resume should be a living document, one that can be molded depending on the needs on each individual employer and position.

In each resume you send out, highlight the accomplishments and skills that are most relevant to the job at hand. This means that you may end up not including all your experience on your resume—but that’s OK, because you’ll know that the recruiter is only considering the experiences and skills that matter to them.

Yes, this means more work for you and makes the business of applying for jobs more difficult. But hiring managers are looking specifically for this kind of attention to detail and personalization. If it results in a job interview, it’s worth the extra effort, isn’t it?

When it comes to any resume trend, the bottom line is this: Don’t follow blindly—put some thought into what you’re presenting. Think about the best way to highlight your skills for the position, and don’t hide a lack of experience behind a cool, outside-of-the-box format. “Stay away from the gimmicks,” advises Andrew. “Usually, it’s apparent when the candidate put more time and effort into the look of his or her resume rather than the content.”

A solid resume is one that shows you understand not only the job that you’re applying for, but also how your skills and experience can benefit the employer. If you can do that, your resume will be effective, regardless of the format.

Photo courtesy of carter t.

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Photo courtesy of Tulane Public Relations.

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You finally did it: You found your passion. You quit your stable job or declared an artsy major and chose to climb the untamed trail of Robert Frost instead of driving the corporate freeway to success.

Now what?

Unlike the attorneys and accountants you know, your trajectory isn’t neatly outlined in an employee handbook. Instead, you’ll have to create your own roadmap. You’ll draw on all of your resources, employ a bit of trial and error, doubt yourself (then learn to trust yourself), and do it all while the people around you tell you, “you can’t.”

If you’re taking a non-traditional career path, you’ll probably hear from friends, family, colleagues, and maybe even your own head that you’ll never make money or find a job. But, take it from me: It’s all worth it to make your crazy dream a reality. I know, because I, too, chose to climb this bruising yet beautiful trail.

From Finance to Freelance

Upon leaving college, I followed the path of least resistance to Finance. It was a good job, a stable job. It made my mother, the biggest proponent of the corporate highway, proud.

I spent seven years battling the boys’ club where superiors blew off harassment with a wink and nudge and my only function was to charm our clients, then make them richer. At the end of the day, I came home depleted, depressed, and uninspired.

So I started a blog.

I was desperate to find my passion, so I took one-week challenges from my friends and family and spent my days in some of the strangest and most uncomfortable situations I could dream up. I have a severe case of stage fright and yet performed five minutes of stand-up comedy and sang karaoke. I have issues with body image (including a brief tour of duty as an anorexic) and I posed nude for a figure drawing class. I’m not an affectionate person, and I gave away free hugs in San Francisco and Dublin, Ireland.

And in the process of experiencing, observing, recording, and writing, I found my passion: writing. It was all I wanted to do.

I tried to cultivate this skill while maintaining my job, but the trajectory of my career was coming to a head, and I had to make a decision. Was I going to stay on my current path and invest more time and energy into a profession that left me empty, or was I going to pursue a dream that made me whole?

So, six months after starting the blog, I quit my finance job, and announced that I was going to become “a writer,” even though I had no idea what that meant. I wrote for practically free, and I moved home to save money and cried more than once on my parents couch.

But you know what? It all worked out. Two years later, I’m a successful freelance writer who lives in her own apartment and can claim The Atlantic on her resume. I’m also turning my blog into a book.

Negative Nancy and Her Two Sisters

That said, it wasn’t exactly easy. I quickly learned that, when choosing to bushwhack your way to a more fulfilling life, you’ll likely encounter boulders and fallen trees. I fought bitterly with my mother, who favors obligations and paid bills over creative pursuits, and I met with writers who told me the trail was fraught with potholes, ditches, and dead-ends. I was constantly stressed about my non-income, and I dealt with crippling self-doubt.

But, in the process of following my dreams, I learned to climb over those roadblocks. Now, looking back, here’s advice I’d give to anyone considering a similar path.

Roadblock 1: Detractors

You will always have people who tell you, “You can,” and people who tell you, “You can’t.” My advice: Keep the “cans” on speed dial. In the beginning, my self-confidence was fragile, and it was important to surround myself with the people who supported my decision and keep my contact with those who didn’t to a minimum.

But, I also learned to stop arguing with the “can’ts.” When I was first confronted by people who had concerns about my path, my knee-jerk reaction was to stomp my foot and throw a tantrum. Obviously, this got me nowhere. And eventually, I realized that my detractors had some valid points, so I shut my mouth and started listening. I picked up the advice I needed, left the rest on the table, and moved on.

It also helped to develop an elevator pitch. Many people wanted to know, “How are you going to be successful?” And once I had a five-minute spiel that provided the vague idea of a plan, my conversations got a lot easier.

Roadblock 2: Financial Stresses

Unfortunately, most grocery stores won’t take IOU’s, but it is possible to survive on a low-paying (or no-paying) salary if you’re willing to make sacrifices.

For starters, I worked part-time. For the first four months of my new endeavor, I worked three days a week at my former firm and dedicated the rest of my time to freelancing. This gave me a little guaranteed income to smooth the transition from stable job to not-so-stable career.

I also moved home. Yes, I left a vibrant city for the monotony of suburbia and gave up a deep support network for barbed questions at my mother’s dinner table. It was rough, but I was able to focus on my writing as opposed to worrying about rent.

This won’t work for everyone, but if you’re really considering taking a major pay cut, you’ll need to think about the changes and the sacrifices you can—and are willing to—make in order to make your dream happen.

Roadblock 3: Crippling Self-Doubt

For some, the biggest hurdle you’ll have to overcome is your own head—especially at the beginning, when your successes are few and far between. So, it’s crucial to stay in touch with the inner voice that ignited your passion in the first place. For example, whenever I struggle with the choices I’ve made, I go back and re-read a favorite piece I’ve written. It’s an ego-stroke that reminds me, “Oh yeah, I’m good at this. I’ll be fine.”

I also learned to get comfortable with the phrase, “I don’t know.” You don’t have to have everything figured out—and you definitely don’t have to have it figured out today. Over the last two years, I’ve had a lot of “plans.” I’ve thought that I had all the answers, then realized I had none of the answers, then thought I had them all again. After the third iteration of this cycle, I realized that I might not ever know how it’s all going to “work out.” But, you know what? I’m OK with that.

The unruly trail of Robert Frost is a climb that often leaves us bruised, cut, and tired in spirit. But we choose it because something within us tells us we must. So, keep climbing. Though your map may be flawed and your methods unconventional, when you get to the top of our mountain, you’ll be thrilled—and grateful, too, for the journey.

Photo courtesy of Jack Batchelor.

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There’s a newer New Girl on Fox: Mindy Kaling. She’s been cracking us up on NBC’s The Office for years as a writer, executive producer, and cast member, and now she finally has her own show.

The trailer for The Mindy Project hit the Internet yesterday, and it looks delightfully chock-full of the mishaps and ditziness that made Kelly Kapoor so darn loveable. Kaling plays a woman who seems to be a lot like herself (named “Mindy,” no less) who’s an OB/GYN. But behind the kick-ass career lies a character with a few issues—being arrested for being a “rapist of peace and quiet,” for one.

Check out the trailer, including some great guest stars: SNL cast member Bill Haden and Kaling’s former Office-mate Ed Helms. We can’t wait for the 2012-2013 TV season!

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We know that the stock market can be intimidating.

It’s a language of numbers and probability, full of codes and symbols. Women in the United States especially are socialized to view numbers as unfriendly, which only exacerbates the problem.

But what if the stock market were more—personable? What if it had moods and feelings? Would we understand it better then?

In her book, Market Mind Games: A Radical Psychology of Investing, Trading, and Risk, Denise Shull bridges the gap between cold numbers and warm emotions. “It’s easy to think numbers are some mystical or mysterious math game, but in reality, the numbers only reflect what other human beings are thinking,” she says. “Generally, women have shied away from math, and the markets have been portrayed as a math game. The math is just a clue to reading the other players.”

We spoke with Shull to learn more about the link between emotions and investing, and why women might just make the best investors of all.

The Qualities of Great Investors

Simply being women does not make us any more or less suited to invest. But the traits that traditionally come along with being female make a difference: namely, familiarity with emotions. It’s well-documented that women are conditioned to consciously identify and manage their emotions, while men are taught to ignore or suppress them. So how does this affect our investing? Shull explains:

1. Mastery of Theory of Mind

Some investors do the exact opposite of what they need to do: They see a peak or drop in the market and react to those numbers, instead of taking the time to figure out why it’s happening. By neglecting to predict the human motivations causing the changes, they may buy stock when it’s expensive and sell when they won’t make a profit, a cardinal rule of how not to invest.

But Shull says investors who use what psychologists call the “theory of mind”—the ability to theorize what’s going on in someone else’s head and predict his actions—can look at stock prices and “read between the numbers,” as it were. In fact, research found a correlation between accurate predictions of market activity and theory of mind. “The big missing clue to buying and selling at advantageous times is to ask, ‘Why will others be buying or selling at higher or lower prices?’” Shull explains.

Women, with their natural tendency toward reading others, could use that to the benefit of their investments. “In short, reading the numbers is in fact reading other people, but no one talks about that!” Shull says.

2. Knowing That Emotions Influence Perception

Emotions like panic, fear, anxiety, or even elation (think natural disaster versus release of the new iPad) can lead an investor to make a trade to either offset or enhance her emotions. The problem is that many people who make these trades aren’t recognizing their decisions are based on emotion or logic—so they can lose a lot of money, says Shull. Because women are more in touch with their emotions, they know when they’re not in the right mental state, making them less likely to make a trade or decision when upset, as well as less likely to invest as a way of gaining control in other areas of their lives.

3. The Need to Get It Right

Competitive investors can hustle to earn more money than their colleagues or peers, making rash or ill-advised trades just to beat others. The work of Deborah Tannen, who popularized difference theory, says that men see the world as a competitive place, while women see it as a network of connections. In the investing sphere, that makes men more likely to make trades and decisions with the motivation of “one-upping” a colleague, while women are (generally speaking) less inclined to do so.

“Some research would say [the need to win] is literally testosterone,” Shull says, adding that women, on the other hand, prefer to make the right decision for them and their families over appearing as “the winner.”

Sure, not every woman has each of these qualities (and not every man lacks them), and many of those who do have them also have a limited interest in the market. But just imagine: Could women actually be better in a field dominated by men?

This article has been republished with permission from our partner, LearnVest. For more financial and life advice that’s sound, savvy, and actually fun to read, check out:

• Quiz: How much do you know about short-selling?
• The most effective form of philanthropy is giving to women. Find out why.
• Get your finances in order (finally!) with our Take Control Bootcamp.

Photo courtesy of World Economic Forum.

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She seemed nice enough in the interview. It all started out great—but now it’s week 2 on the job, and you’re quickly realizing you might have a boss-from-you-know-where situation on your hands.

Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who could write a tell-all work memoir that would make The Devil Wears Prada seem like a bedtime story. Bad bosses are out there—in every industry, at every level, at every organization.

The good news? They usually come in one of a few identifi­able varieties. And by recognizing what kind of monster (er, manager) you have on your hands, you can come up with the right tactics for dealing (until you move on to the next job, that is).

Check out our guide to the four common types of bad bosses, plus tips for managing the crazy.

1. The Slacker

The slacker spends Monday through Thursday online shopping, taking long lunches, and “networking” on her smartphone (a.k.a. brushing up on Words with Friends). Then comes Friday, and she’s panicking about deadlines and projects that haven’t gotten done—and calling on you to help pick up the pieces.

Try This

One of my high school teachers had a sign on her desk that said, “A lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” Unfortunately, you probably shouldn’t repeat this to the person who signs your paycheck. Instead, try looking at your boss’s laziness as a way to advance your own career. Ask her if you can take the lead on a few projects that interest you. Chances are that your boss won’t mind relinquishing the extra work, and you’ll be fattening up your resume for future job opportunities.

2. The Land Mine

It’s mid-afternoon, and you’ve been a model of productivity. Emails have been answered, projects are being completed ahead of schedule, and you’re just getting ready to grab some well-deserved lunch, when—wham! Out of nowhere, your boss is at your desk yelling at you (in front of the entire office) for forgetting to submit your timesheet.

Try This

What’s the best way to diffuse this bundle of human dynamite (short of anonymously leaving an anger-management flyer on her desk)? The key is to not set it off in the first place. Yes, there will always be unanticipated freak-out sessions, but do your best to control them by understanding what triggers a meltdown, and avoiding those things. For example, if your editor flips when you misspell a source’s name, be sure to double and triple-check your notes. And if your boss starts foaming at the mouth if you arrive a moment after 8 AM, plan to get there at 7:45—Every. Single. Day.

3. The Egomaniac

She seems to think that the rules apply to everyone but her. She acts like everyone else (including you) exists only to confirm her awesomeness or make her life more convenient. She regularly takes all the credit for team projects, and passes blame for anything that goes wrong onto everyone else.

Think the boss equivalent of Kanye West: You’ve got an egomaniac on your hands.

Try This

Short of changing jobs, the best way to deal with egomaniacs is to ignore their calls for validation as much as possible. You certainly don’t want to disregard your boss, but feeding the ego monster with unnecessary compliments and attention will only reinforce bad behavior.

Then, work on cultivating relationships with other people in the office. Look for someone else to act as a mentor, give you solid career advice, and serve as a reliable reference. And make sure to keep a paper trail of your accomplishments and projects so that you don’t have to rely on your boss for recognition.

4. The Michael Scott

Arrogant yet incompetent. Desperate for friendship but unintentionally offensive. Finishes other people’s sentences with “That’s what she said.” Okay, so the last one might be a (slight) exaggeration, but the point is that the Michael Scotts of the world do exist outside of prime time television. These are the bosses who can’t decide if they want to be your supervisor or your friend, and who, quite frankly, aren’t very good at either.

Try This

The good news is that Michael Scott-type bosses tend to be pretty harmless. Usually, they’re just lacking in confidence and social ability, and want nothing more than to be considered one of the guys—or girls.

If you’re stuck with a Michael Scott, take pity on him. Include him in office chit-chat or visit with him over lunch. And then, get back to work. Seeing good social skills in action can help your boss learn to act in a more “office-appropriate” manner.

Photo courtesy of MacKinnon Photography.

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