While the comfort of my bed and the coziness of my pajamas normally have a hold on me, I do enjoy the opportunity to get dolled up every now and then. Dressing up is even better when I have an amazing party to attend, awesome people to share it with, and delicious food. (Y'all really thought I wasn't going to mention the food? Pshh.) Last weekend, I not only had the opportunity to attend a amazing function, but to actually be a part in executing it!

After 4 years of annoying homework problems, exhausting all-nighters, and constant visits to the career center to improve our resume, graduation forces us to leave that comfort zone that we've been dwelling in for more exciting opportunities. While my "exciting opportunity" only brought me about twenty minutes away from campus, it still feels great to have a fresh start in a new apartment with only one roommate. (There were four of us in my last apartment!) But, new apartments also mean having to move...which is the devil. Since this is the fourth time I've had to move over the past five years, I'd like to think that I'd have some insight on how to make the process easier.

In the past three months, two of my sorority sisters and one of my best friends have gotten engaged. ENGAGED. In less than a month, one of my friends from college is getting married. MARRIED. Are we seriously at "that" age? You guys know which age I'm talking about: the one where we spend more time buying gifts from Bed Bath & Beyond than we do actually in bed. The age where everybody decides that they all want to get married at the same time. Since so many people that I love have been getting engaged and starting their brand new lives, I've decided to use my talents to help them out a little bit.

In this day and age, more students are graduating from college than there are jobs available. We all know what that means: more supply = less demand = more competition. So in this annoying time of competition galore, how does one stand out in the crowd? You guessed it: by branding yourself.

Fortunately, I have some awesome friends who do super cool stuff, like branding! Last week, I had a chat my friend and branding aficionado, Liana Miller to talk about personal branding and why it's so important. She even threw in some tips for creating a personal brand. Everything from conception to visual implementation!

Kayla (KA): What is a personal brand?
Liana Miller (LM): A personal brand is how you see yourself. It's how you're perceived and what you stand for. That can go for a company and what they stand for or what they value. Your personal brand is what makes you unique and defines you and the skills and personalities that you have. Also, a personal brand can be your reputation: how do people know you? How do they view you?

KA: Why is having a personal brand so important?
LM: It's so important because of the competition right now. It's like supply and demand: so many students are graduating with the same degree and similar experiences but there aren't any jobs. You need to present yourself as a product that your employer needs. You need to differentiate yourself  because when you're able to define yourself, you are learning more about yourself and what you have to offer. It's super important to separate from the pack because a lot of people aren't doing that and that puts you a step ahead of everyone else. When thinking about your brand, think about how people think of you.

Okay here's an example: think about an employer shuffling through a bunch of resumes that all have similar experiences. If one candidate has a great website with a portfolio, the employer is gonna say "oh wow, look at this person whose got a great website" rather than go with one of the candidates who doesn't, ya know? Like think about all the people that don't have websites: employers have no way of distinguishing them from the other thirty candidates.

KA: I completely understand, that's a great point. So now we know why having a personal brand is so important. How do we get started? What are the first steps?

LM: Your first step is to do some soul searching - what do you bring to the table? Not the dumb bullet points that you put on a resume (everybody has great communication skills). Think about diversity and life experiences: what makes you special? What do you specifically bring to the table? Your brand is essentially your perspective. For example, Whole Foods has a different perspective on healthy food than Target does. But Target's perspective on food is price, thus their products are more inexpensive.

People think that their brand has to be professional but it's just defining what makes you different. It's not just about the skills you have. People aren't worried solely about your skills, they care about working with real people and the stories you have to tell.

KA: So how does one visually express their brand?
LM: There's a lot of ways for you to express your brand. You just have to make sure that it's relevant to your field. I'm in marketing so it makes sense that I have a website but an English major would probably start writing a blog to showcase their work. Whatever it is, it has to be career specific. No matter what you do, you should represent yourself online and know your audience.

Now, a logo is a visual representation of your brand so take that into account when designing your logo. Logos are the most effective representation of your personal brand. The style and colors that you choose reflect who you are. It's font, it's color, it's shape. If you're a more straight and narrow person, use more geometric shapes. If you're more outgoing, use polka dots or something more creative. Logos can be very symbolic because they say "what's important to you?"

Sometimes, people try to get a logo done for them that's got some pink swirly font but in real life, they're just blah. An employer is going to notice that your personality doesn't match your logo or visual brand instantly. Make sure that your logo is a representation of you, not just some cool design.

KA: Since you just told us what to do, let's talk about what NOT to do. What are some bad logo examples?
LM: Well...it's hard. It's like telling someone that has bad style that they have bad style. I will say that, if you're not good graphically, to hand it over to the professionals & let someone create it for you. It doesn't matter who or what you are, whether you're super outgoing, introverted, over or understated, just make sure it represents you. However, remember that you're going for a professional look. There's no need for curly, over the top fonts because, even though that might be how you are, it's not professional and the whole idea is to separate from the pack positively. You may be over the top and eccentric, but know the audience that's gonna be looking at your resume.

Liana Miller is a Hispanic Marketing Intern at General Mills. Need a logo, website or just some personal branding help? Head over to her website at www.lianatmiller.com to check out her portfolio and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

It's been over one month since I walked across the stage and took on a new starting role: the real world. I can't lie - life is pretty good right now. Aside from the fact that I still live in my crappy student housing apartment and have to look forward to loans kicking in soon, I'm extremely happy. I was fortunate enough to graduate with a job already lined up for me (networking is KEY!) and I can honestly say that I have learned a lot in this past month and a half. Below are eight things that you'll learn, if you haven't already at your first "grown up" job.

Hi everyone! Today has probably been one of the most boring days in existence. Even though I spent most of the day counting down til 5 o'clock, I did get some time to play with Photoshop. I guess my boredom might have worked in your favor if you like calendars as much as I do!

Like many of my millennials, working during college wasn't optional. In order to pay for my rent, groceries, utilities and every college girl's favorite accessories (i.e. textbooks), I had to get a job. Even though I kinda learned how to keep track of my money, budgeting has always been hard for me. I would pay my rent, give my roommate my utility money and just blow the rest. As long as I had something left over to eat (mostly Ramen noodles and Chef Boyardee ravioli), it didn't seem like budgeting was that important. Until I got a real job.
After joining the "real world," I learned that this life isn't everything MTV made it out to be. In fact, it kinda sucks. Fun facts: a 401k is the real deal and even normal people like me need to start an investment portfolio. If your face looks anything like what mine looked like when I talked to my financial advisor, don't worry: I'll get you the details on all that stuff soon enough. Right now, however, I've decided to work on an in-depth guide to budgeting with a primary focus on the people that really need it: my recent grad family.

Read Your Bank Statement
Yes, it sucks. No, you don't wanna see all of the times you visited McAllister's or Panera Bread last month. Oh well. Open it up and take a serious look at everything you spend your money on. My bank statement makes me very sad but it was probably the most important thing I could have done. Sure, I check my bank account on my phone through an app but opening up your statement online & printing it out makes it ten times more real.

Write It Down
Income
Your income is just as important in budgeting as your expenses. I break down my budget by paycheck so I wrote down exactly (down to the cent) how much I would get paid every two weeks. That way, I can decide how much I need to spend per pay period, rather than the entire month. *Remember to include all income* I have a very lackadaisical part time job that pays me about $150 every month. That doesn't amount to too much but it's definitely something that I can put into my savings or splurge with to buy some new clothes for work. Do you blog? If your blog brings in income, however sporadic it may be, write that down as well.
Expenses: The Necessities
What do you have to pay for? Not getting your hair or nails done every month or the weekly happy hour dates with your friends. Rent, water bill, light bill, phone bill, car insurance/taxes and, yes, groceries. (Obviously - you gotta eat to live.) My water and light bill tend to fluctuate but never more than a couple of dollars so estimate the highest possible rate for those two. The last time you went to the grocery store did you get what you needed or were you feeling fancy and sprung for the expensive ice cream sandwiches? Make a serious estimate about how much you spend monthly on your groceries using your bank statement (see why that was important?).

Expenses: Kinda Important
Now, think of everything that's kinda important to you. I'm not the type of girl to get my nails done every two weeks but I'll have a panic attack if I don't go to my hairdresser at least once every two months. So, "hair" goes right into the budget. If going out to dinner once a week with your college friends is important, put that in there! When I started my grown-up job? I had two pairs of work pants and three dresses. Work appropriate tops were in short supply for me but I made due with what I had. In the beginning, I had to add a section to my budget for clothing, but only the stuff I really needed. Did I love that dress I saw in Charlotte Russe last week? Of course. But unless it's work appropriate, it ain't in the budget.
Also, a lot of my friends and sorority sisters have been getting engaged or buying houses which calls for housewarming parties and showers galore. Spending 30 bucks on presents for all of these parties isn't plausible for me right now, but making sure that I have a little bit allotted to at least get a $10 or $15 gift card can be.

Create Your Spreadsheet
If I didn't have someone to help me create this spreadsheet, I probably would have failed myself. Soooooo here's a couple of templates! I found one on Financegirl's website and attempted to use it when I was in college but seeing as how I was living paycheck to paycheck and stacking up on Ramen noodles, budgeting wasn't my first priority. When I sat down with my financial advisor, she was able to make me a spreadsheet that wasn't as pretty but still very helpful! I've provided that document here: Free Spending Plan Download 

Inputting the Info
For Paycheck 1 and 2 (and possible 3), put in the actual dates that you get paid
Change the titles in A3 & A4 to your actual employers
In E3 and E4, put the total monthly amount (after taxes) that you make for each (That balance will show up in E5)
In F3 and F4, put the amount that you will make for each pay period. In other words, when you check your direct deposit that morning, what will you see? Do the same thing for G3 and G4
*If you do not have more than one employer (i.e. more than one job), don't worry about row 4*

Once you've got all of your income taken care of, start inputting all of your expenses in the corresponding categories. First, input how much you spend on a monthly basis in column D, then break that up by paycheck. (For example: if you pay $100 per month on gas, allot $50 for your first paycheck and the other 50 for your second. Put those amounts in the correct row in columns F & G).

After filling in your expenses, fill in their corresponding due date in column B. (Ex. My rent is due on the 1st and my car insurance is due on the 15th) In Row 34, you'll see all of your expenses per pay period and in row 36, you'll see how much you have left over after all of your previously stated expenses are paid.

Putting It To Work
That's it! now that you've actually made the budget, STICK TO IT. Track your spending by holding onto receipts or using the envelope system. I personally like holding onto my receipts and adding another row to my spreadsheet for each purchase so I see how much money I really have left. Sticking to your plan after you've started it is really the most difficult part but with a little discipline, I promise it'll make a huge different! Trust me, after actually seeing the funds leave your account, you'll be very careful where you spend your money.