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Congratulations! You begin a new job soon and that first day at the office is soon approaching. But it’s not like the first day of school when you were younger, with no important expectations to prepare for in advance. Starting a new job can be exciting, nerve-wrecking and exhausting all in one day. From forming relationships with new colleagues, feeling out your boss and his or her managerial style and learning the ropes of the company’s culture, your first day at a new company or new position could seem more overwhelming then exciting at times.

Relax and make a great first impression with these tips on how to prepare ahead of time for that first day on the job.

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From little girls, most of us fantasized about what we would be doing with our lives once we “got big.” Some of us have always known what we wanted to do, some of us were discouraged from our plans and others of us changed our dreams along the way. We asked our Facebook and Twitter followers this question. See what they had to say. 

Shaunty: I always wanted to be a medical doctor as a child. I am just about near finished with medical school. Thank you Lord for fulfillment o my dreams.

Angelia: A Solid Gold Dancer… my dreams changed, just a bit…

Alicia: A teacher…and that’s who I am!

Susanne: A pediatrician; my fear/dislike of blood ended that dream ;o)

Yolanda: Ironically, a teacher but then faith stepped in a I became a professor!

Mizzus: A fashion designer…I became school behavior specialist…close enough. lol.

Carmen: Always wanted to be a singer and I am.

Lynnette: I wanted yo be a wife and mother. Stay at home and take care of my family. That’s what i am today. Three beautiful children and married 20 years. God is good!

Mimi: Singer and still trying to reach that dream!

Jeanne: An actress, a dancer, a performer…didn’t do it thanks to my parents who thought that was stereotypical of black people to always ‘entertain’. I should’ve followed my dreams…

Lifeis: A singer.. I am a IT specialist.. I knew my parents should have sent me to performing arts.

Veronica: I wanted to be a vampire, lol! Then it changed to fashion designer. Now I own my own business and work from home to be with my daughters. Everything worked out.

Jocelyn: A pediatrician…nope, I got my PhD in Cell and Molecular though so I did stay in the science/biomedical research realm.

Ruthe: I wanted to be a writer. And that’s exactly what I do. I am living my passion, as an author and journalist.

Shayla: Wanted to be in the military!!! I did that and I’m a veteran as well!!! And doing very well for myself!!

Kristen: I wanted to become a lawyer. My dream changed drastically after seeing so much nepotism and injustice within my city.

Jessica: All i wanted was to be happy and i am

Sandra: Well, I wanted to be an airplane. (Shame face). I thought they were beautiful and was fascinated with the fact that they could fly. Needless to say I was horribly disappointed. But hey, I’m an accountant now

@TrgdyAnn: I wanted to be a Nun when I was a little girl, yes, my dreams definitely took a detour, LoL

Jacqueline: Actress, dancer, or performer. I’m currently getting a PhD in biomedical science. Life is funny

Lillian: I wanted to be a horse, fortunately I changed my mind.

Kelly: Sad to say I wanted to be a drug dealers Itchbay as a little girl. My dreams changed and I am now a college graduate working in Corporate America making a decent living for myself. Parents should be careful about what they subject their kids to. Children are easily influenced and can sometimes be misdirected….I was!

I think it was late 2011 that a Hip-Hop blog called Herfection put me on to Azealia Banks. For me, I was reeled in by a song called “L8R” and “The Chill$,” but like many others, it wasn’t until I heard the track “212″ that I knew homegirl was going to be a star. The song was infectious and raw at the same time, as the chick who called her self “Young Rapunxel” due to the long weaves sent out a warning to other women in the game: “What you gon’ do when I appear?/W-when-when I premiere/B***h, the end of your lives are near/This s**t been mine, mine!” To think back on my first experience listening to that track, letting the pulsating beat and lyrics give me goosebumps, it was all so refreshing, especially at a time when I was a bit over the whole Nicki Minaj adoration, wasn’t buying into the Iggy Azalea hype  and felt as though the whole female Hip-Hop game was flatlining as a whole, especially when Lil Kim came back to do auto-tune. She could change things, I thought. After “212″ came the whole 1991 EP, and more memorable joints. I was impressed because she was bold and different and could fit in with those who were all about gritty lyricism, and the white folks who live for that dance, techno ish. Oh yeah, she was different.

But in reality, she’s not as different as I once thought. In fact, as the buzz surrounding her name becomes more centered around negativity and beef every other week, I’ve learned that Azealia Banks is like any other rapper, if not one very famous rapper in particular. 50 Cent. They both have an undeniable love for drama that goes so far that after a while, it seems they only do it for attention and not principle, and at this point, it’s pretty tired. Especially when aside from those under 25, European kids and New York fans, when you bring up her name most people can only think of her mouth and not her music. And we see where being known for your mouth and not your craft got 50 after a while…in the land of irrelevancy (and yes, you can still be rich and irrelevant, fyi).

The list of people she has been at odds with is extremely long for no reason. It includes the aforementioned Iggy Azalea, T.I., Jim Jones, female rapper Kreayshawn, female rapper Angel Haze, Perez Hilton, producer Diplo, producer Baauer (behind that damn “Harlem Shake” craze), rock band Stone Roses, Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim (though both never jumped at her bait), her ex-boyfriend and manager, rapper Young Unique and as of late, Rita Ora of course. Most of the time, when I would watch Banks try to make a fool out of a colleague turned frenemy, or rant about something, I would just think to myself, “That’s just how Azealia is! She’s a firestarter!” However, after Sunday night’s drama with Ora, and Banks exposing a private conversation between the two on her social media, I couldn’t help but sit back and think, “Wow…what an a**hole.” And I only say that because just a week or so ago, Banks posted a picture of herself all hugged up with Ora, all while throwing shade her way by captioning the pic, “Me With The Third Lady Of Roc Nation.” I couldn’t help but let the “PHONY” bells ring out in my ears…

While her beefs have often made people laugh, and the one with Hilton allegedly even helped her sell more of her singles, I couldn’t help but feel that her antics with Ora crossed a line. She looked less like the talented Harlem-ite with the slick knack for words that I had come to be a fan of, and more of a big a** bully playing into some high school s**t who needed to be knocked down a few notches. In all honesty, for all the talent she has, she hasn’t come SO far that she can start burning bridges and pissing off people in the industry over the pettiest of things. For that reason alone, I’m starting to fear that Banks’ career could come to a screeching halt before it even gets started. If she’s not coming crazy at people for claiming New York, she’s arguing with others for their use of the word “vamp,” trying to tear down artists who are way more established than her (see her one-sided beef with Lil Kim) or publicly embarrassing producers who helped her put out some of her biggest hits. Bad idea. While it’s all good to “keep it real” on folks every once in a while, you never know who the people you cut off are connected to and what opportunities they can make or break for a sista in the future because of the negative reputation someone like her relishes in having (wonder if that alleged feature she did for the new Beyoncé album is really going to come to fruition now…). And if you don’t think being labeled as “difficult” can hold you back to the fullest, just ask ya boy Terrence Howard, who has been whining about people trying to “blacklist” him for years for being hardheaded on the set and behind-the-scenes of Iron Man.

While I’ve been riding for Banks for a minute now, I can say that a part of me wanted to throw in the towel this past weekend. I’m so tired of watching women in the music industry act as though there can only be one diva and feed into extra negative a** stereotypes of black women (as she does the angry one pretty well) and women as a whole. If she used all the energy she does trying to expose people’s emails and texts via Instagram and Twitter to finish an actual studio album, she would be on the top of the Hip-Hop game. However, she’s still putting together mixtapes, calling people all sorts of b***hes on social media and scaring away some she could use in her corner. Like rapper Eve, who might have said it best when it comes to Azealia Banks as a whole: “I like her wordplay. I think she actually can rhyme, I just don’t like the drama. That bothers me.” She might be making money, but she’s not making enough to keep on this negative path and thinking the mainstream will let her in. Most musicians are two steps away from living back with their mothers, jumping on reality TV as a safety net and ending up on our Where Are They Now? lists. By all means, I get that she doesn’t give a f**k, but it might be time that she starts before she sabotages her own greatness.

Soledad O’Brien on the catwalk for the Red Dress Collection 2013 Fashion Show. Photo by John Minchillo/Invision/AP

With changes coming to CNN and her Starting Point job gone, Soledad O’Brien announced that she would be starting her own production company, Starfish Media Group. Now she opens up to Bloomberg BusinessWeek about that decision.

“We struck an unusual deal. I’ll get to leave CNN with my catalog and documentaries,” she says. “To have ownership of Black in America and Latino in America is hugely important.”

Not only is O’Brien leaving CNN to pursue something she will truly enjoy, she’s leaving with the intellectual property she created. It serves as a lesson to anyone who works for a company and has to negotiate a departure. If you’re leaving your post, try to walk away with some right to the work you’ve created.

In the article, O’Brien said she “really pushed for that.” Meaning she negotiated with her now former bosses over these items.

Not everyone has the leverage that Soledad O’Brien does. And there are some things that you can’t take with you. But there have been tons of stories written about the things, like pay, that women don’t get because they don’t fight for what they’re entitled to. This isn’t reserved just for dollars and cents. Employees should also negotiate for perks, for status within the company, and for the right to call the work they’ve done for a company their own.

O’Brien says that Black in America and Latino in America are brands she built at CNN and now she’s closely tied to them. If there are things that you’ve accomplished that are now tied closely to your name and professional reputation, be sure to take ownership of them as soon as you can. Discuss with your managers ways that you can share the rights to things that you think may become important parts of your career in the long-term. And don’t be afraid to stay strong in the face of some push-back. If what you’re doing is valuable to the company, they will try to work with you so both sides are happy.

Three things you can do to help yourself during the negotiating process:

-Be reasonable. You want to be firm, but don’t overplay your hand. The company is holding some of the cards, so you have to be willing to compromise.

-Show the company why it’s beneficial for them to negotiate. If something is as closely tied to your name as you say, then it’s good for the company to keep you involved. Make them see the upside to preserving a good relationship with you.

-Go into the negotiation as a partner, not an underling. Part of the negotiation process is knowing your value. If you go into the conversation from a position of weakness, the opposing side will exploit it.

For more from Soledad, click here.

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With an economy that has more job seekers then jobs, Americans are bound to run into competition with each other for an available opportunity. Job seekers come from various employment backgrounds,have different experiences, and are at different ages. But there’s one thing all seekers have in common? The resume.

Depending on who you ask, a resume is highlights your job experience or hides what you can truly do as an employee. Either way, hiring managers take the resume seriously, and can help or hinder your efforts to score the job they have available.

Still, your resume only gets a couple of seconds of a hiring manager’s time. Make sure to avoid these common mistakes, and you might get a second look-over for the job!

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And another baby makes four!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, comedienne Maya Rudolph, 40, of Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids, and Up All Night fame is expecting her fourth child with her longtime boyfriend, director and writer Paul Thomas Anderson, 42 (who is behind epic movies like There Will Be Blood, The Master, Boogie Nights and Magnolia.) They already have three beautiful children together, including Pearl Minnie, 7, Lucille, 3, and Jack, who is 17 months old. Rudolph informed NBC that she is preggers once again, since she was most recently working on Up All Night for the network. However, the future of that show is kind of up in the air at the moment, as its star, Christina Applegate, decided to part ways after just two seasons on air due to creative differences, and so far, plans for a third season have been scrapped. But either way, Rudolph’s new addition proves that her future is bright show or no show.

It wasn’t too long ago (okay, it was last April) that Rudolph spoke on NPR’s Fresh Air about the years she spent working at Saturday Night Live and contemplating whether or not she was going to have kids. Such a busy schedule at the time made that almost impossible.

“Before I had children, everything about my life was devoted to Saturday Night Live. You’re there sometimes on Tuesday nights until 6 or 8 in the morning. You’re exhausted, you’re loopy … and you’ve had three shows in a row, and you haven’t done any of your laundry, and you have no food in the fridge. It’s really difficult to be there for anyone else in your life when you’re doing the show because of the hours it demands.”

And it probably wasn’t easy with Anderson’s busy schedule as well. But somehow, they’ve managed to make it work, and because of that, Rudolph stays pregnant (Seriously, I feel like every time I see her out for a big event or happening she’s with child–but I love it!). Congratulations are in order once again for one of our favorite funny ladies!

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After months of waiting, Beyoncé’s documentary, Beyoncé: Life Is But A Dream, is finally premiering tonight on HBO. Oh, and Oprah threw the fans and stans an even bigger bone when she revealed last weekend that she would be interviewing Bey and it would also air tonight, an hour before the documentary. That’s pretty much Bey overload, right? Well, here’s the thing: because we know that “Beyoncé” is a brand and a bit of a machine, there have been some things that she’s managed to avoid talking about. But tonight, we want answers! Even if you aren’t a big fan, you’ve probably heard some things about her that have piqued your interest and you’d like to hear what she has to say too. So check out some of the things we’re hoping Bey addresses – if the interview and documentary are no holds barred.

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Your first entree into  the workforce can help set not only the pace for your professional career but also help develop your own work philosophy and ethic. We asked ten successful women about their first job and the most important lesson they took away from the experience.

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From Essence

When looking for a new opportunity in the workplace, the natural tendency is to buckle down, work hard and hope that everything will work out for the best. In today’s environment that formula doesn’t automatically equal a raise, a promotion or a top spot on a leadership team. Professionals with dazzling credentials, but dim prospects, need to think differently about how to get up the ladder, whether you are a service or manufacturing worker or middle management rock star looking for the next move. I took the case to our experts and they all agree that opportunities still exist for women who are alert and assertive enough to make the right moves.

Read more at Essence.com.

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From ESSENCE

In December 2012, the internet began buzzing that Mary Mary was breaking up. Since then, there’s been much speculation about their future and if they would be ending a 12-year career. ESSENCE.com caught up with the ladies to find out what their plans are.

“I will say this, we are not breaking up,” said Erica Atkins-Campbell. “But we’re taking a break. I’m going to do some solo music. Tina’s going to vacation and travel the world. We’ve been joined at the hip the last 12 years and I think in order for us both to be our healthiest selves, just as women, in the group, [we will] take some time to think and re-assess. We’ve been going constantly year after year, baby after baby, tour after tour and now season after season on TV.”

They will do more than rest during their time off — the ladies say they are also planning to reconnect with God. “We’re singing about Christ, we’re singing about God. I can’t sing about God and I’m not taking the time to talk to God,” said Erica.

Well, that’s that. Check out ESSENCE for more, including Tina’s point of view and what they will be doing together while on hiatus.

Do you think this the sugarcoated way of Mary Mary saying this is the end?