At some point, every person has dreamt about being famous on Instagram, but Insta fame
is not for the weak. Influencers have to be on top of the game, constantly following the newest
trend so they are not left behind in the dust of more popular bloggers. Right now, there is huge
market for beauty and fashion bloggers on Instagram. There seems to be hundreds of thousands
of accounts that fall under this category, but it’s all about finding a niche to capitalize on and post
about. Blogging on Instagram isn’t just about the photo, it’s also about the captions, hashtags,
and interactions across the platform. Below are just some of this season’s newest trends that
beauty and fashion influencers are using to gain a bigger audience.

Gender-neutral clothing
While dainty, girly outfits were once widely coveted,
​fashion bloggers are headed towards a more gender-
neutral realm. This involves being draped in baggy sweaters and T-shirts, neutral
colored cargo pants, and not to mention the sneaker craze.
Unisex sneakers are gaining huge traction in popularity with some brands 
like Nike and Adidas being considered luxury sneaker brands.

Interactive captions
One way fashion and beauty bloggers are increasing their followers’ loyalty is interacting with
them through the comments. Some captions that simply state “comment your favorite beauty
brand” can make followers instantly feel more involved. An even better tactic is to respond to
comments, so that followers can connect on a more personal level rather than being a detached
audience member. It gets everyone involved in the conversation and has the potential to boost
likes and follower ratios.

Links to LIKEtoKNOW.it
Liketoknow.it is an app that lets users shop their favorite beauty and fashion blogger’s posts.
Influencers are utilizing this app to link each beauty and fashion product in their posts, so that
followers can buy the same product. It can be especially beneficial for bloggers to use when they
are promoting a certain brand.

Let’s face it, we as college students do not have a lot of time on our hands. According to
research done by Georgetown University, over 70 percent of college students in the United States
work on top of going to school. Not only that, but we shuffle around socializing, family and
more, and time tends to not be on our side. Below are some tips to help manage time:

Have your assignments written down and on display
Homework and projects can sneak up on you and you can find yourself scrambling the night
before to get it done. Having all of your upcoming due dates written down can definitely help
keep you on track and prepare your schedule accordingly. Keeping a day planner is great to
write down your assignments and other items that will take up your time. For me, I use the
“stickies” on my laptop and write all my assignments and due dates there. That way, I have a
constant reminder of what I have coming up.

Find your routine and stick to it
Between classes, work, social lives and sleep, there can be little time to fit anything anything else
in. It is important to organize your schedule and find the right routine for you. Consistency is
key, and once you’re able to set yourself to your routine, it’s easier to manage time and be able to
get stuff done.

Put your phone away. Just do it.
Our phones are a blessing and a curse. We have access to worlds of information, can talk to
anyone at anytime and just have fun on our phones. But, our phones are an addiction and it
distracts us from what we need to do. According to eMarketer, U.S adults spend on average
around 3 hours and 35 minutes per day on their phones. I am guilty of this as well as I find
myself consistently distracted when I have my phone nearby. But in all reality, they are not
helpful for when we need to get our stuff done. Put your phone in the other room, or tuck it
away in your backpack. It can wait. Instagram and Facebook will still be there when you get
your assignment done.

Make sleep a priority
Studies have shown that over 60 percent of college students are not getting enough sleep. That is
not good. Lack of sleep has detrimental impacts on a person, so we need to make sleep a
priority. Below are some of the negative effects that lack of sleep can do to your body:
• memory issues
• trouble with thinking and concentration
• mood changes
• weakened immunity
• weight gain
• high blood pressure
• risk for diabetes
• risk for heart disease
• poor balance

Sleep is so imperative and we need to make sure we get enough sleep so we can be our best and
succeed.

Accept sacrifices and value your rewards
If you’re friends are inviting you out for Taco Tuesday, but you have an exam you need to study
for, you know which one you need to choose. The FOMO (fear of missing out) definitely gets
real in college, but you need to accept that these sacrifices will make up for it in the future.
Giving yourself the time you need to pass your classes will be a greater reward than partying
every weekend. Now, there definitely is room for balance, so you don’t have to miss every
social gathering or time for yourself, but you need to know your limits. Education is so
important and it doesn’t last forever, so work hard now and you’ll value the reward so much
more.
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We work so hard as college students and sometimes it can be very overwhelming. Hopefully
these tips will be able to help you through some tough times and push you toward success!

“College is stupid,” thought every college student ever at least once.

It interrupts your day, companies will use it as an excuse not to pay you, nothing makes sense,
and no one knows where the administration office is. But most importantly, it eats up your time
and often leaves students with the difficult choice of choosing to be a full time student with no
job, a part time student with a job, or (occasionally when a crazy specimen comes along) a full
time student with a job. Time constraints make resume building hard and you can’t just put you
went to school on your resume and get a job anymore.

Businesses want experience.

I’ve noticed around me that my college brethren can sometimes be particularly picky when it
comes to choosing their first or second jobs, saying they were offered a position here or there
that they weren’t sure if they should take or not because it wasn’t in their field. That’s an
outrageous concept to me, that someone would demand their first job in their area of study and
deny any other offering they had.

It is hard to get to where you want, it is a process, and it is something no one tells you about.

I have taken every job I’ve been offered; I’ve worked graveyard shift at a fair, as a roller skating
waitress, at a rabbit shelter, for ghost hunters, for food critics -- because I understand
experience is experience regardless of what field it’s in. I admit I mostly took these jobs simply
for having things to put on my resume, but I still learned a lot of useful things (like how long I
can stay awake, hint: it’s three days).
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I’ve also been rejected a lot though, I apply to random jobs, but I also apply to big companies
like Warner Bros and Disney. It can be frustrating to get a big ‘NO’ from places where you
actually want to work, but that can’t stop you. I let it drive me to do more and help fill in the blank
spaces where they saw reasons not to hire me.

The point is, you should always take the jobs your given, you shouldn’t be picky about it,
because anything and everything will help you. The perfect position will not fall into your lap,
employers want experience and they want to see that you put yourself out there.

    Holly Wade is the founder and editor of “Club Crafted,” a DIY, food and lifestyle blog and content creation company. However, her initial career path after college was very different.
     She had a variety of jobs before working full time on Club Crafted. After graduating from CSULB in 2013, with a journalism/PR major and marketing minor, Wade had a marketing internship, which she enjoyed even though it was not very exciting. By fall, she had an internship with a small PR firm specializing in healthcare. It was easy, but again was not very exciting.
    In 2014, Wade continued her internship while searching for a full-time job. She discovered PR was not for her and looked for marketing positions, but found it to be difficult.  
    “I went on at least a dozen interviews and ran into the usual problem of not having five years of experience even though it was an entry-level job and I had done internships,” Wade said.
    Finally, in May 2014, she landed her first job doing marketing communications for an IT solutions provider. Wade was thrilled the job required a lot of writing, which was actually the part she liked about her major.
    In 2015, she took blogging more seriously and bought a DSLR camera, resulting in better photography. After being forced to take on a more demanding role, she searched for a new job.
    “I really wanted to start a craft subscription box company, Club Crafted, and I thought starting fresh with a new blog would help me build up interest in the brand before launching. I focused the new brand around color and goofy ideas,” Wade said.
    In 2016, she secured a marketing manager position at an HR technology company. The job was flexible and independent, but she was isolated so it was hard to stay interested.
    In 2017, Club Crafted grew steadily, and since work was slow, Wade spent most of her time working on the blog. After leaving the company, she put herself out there with new brands and on social media, and relied on word of mouth from her first client to help her acquire new business.             
    “September [2018] marked one year of freelancing full time. My income fluctuates dramatically month to month, with no benefits, no vacation, no sick days, no excuses and I’m so much happier than I’ve ever been in a job,” Wade said.
    Although she did not “like” her previous jobs out of college, they taught her what she liked and what she did not like. Wade was able to apply everything she learned from those jobs to her current business. She realized that whether or not you know what you want to do after graduation, those first years out of college will help guide you to what you actually want.   
    “School and career teach you different things, so you don’t really need to leave school with a plan. Getting the first job will tell you a lot about what you want to do next,” Wade said.

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