Make Sure You Are "Keeping Up With the Joneses"

As a Houston chick, I must admit that I "jones" for all great and positive things that come out of my hometown. One of those things is Jones Magazine.

Jones Magazine, founded by the FABULOUS Tracy Ferguson, is headquartered in Houston, Texas and is the first of its kind to be the "IT" guide of the biggest city in the state.

Jones Magazine is a lifestyle magazine and brand that focuses on upscale African Americans detailing the very best fashion, hair, makeup, and parties Houston has to offer.

Keeping Up with the Joneses will focus on Tracy being a single mother of two comical teenagers all while launching her other "baby" Jones Magazine.

The show premieres tonight, April 8th on Centric at 8 pm EST, which is under the BET umbrella.

Fabulous Brown Girls, we know you will be watching with us, so let us know what you think!

And special shoutout to our friend and FAB BROWN GIRL Ashley Minor, who will be featured in the show working for Tracy Ferguson and doing big things!

Make sure you follow @jonesmag and @ashley_minor to "keep up with the joneses" in every way possible!

What Happened to Desiree Rogers?

So currently there is BIG buzz around Desiree Roger's, Social Secretary to the Obama administration, announcement of resignation.

Rogers made the announcement last Friday after much scrutiny and backlash from the couple who successfully crashed the State Dinner back in November of last year.

We are shocked and disappointed at the news of her resignation because she was one of the women along with First Lady, Michelle Obama, in the White House that exemplified what a Fabulous Brown Girl is..

Many have criticized her saying that because she was brought in only because she was a close friend to the Obama's and that she got caught up in the instant fame she received and didn't take the president's safety as serious as she should have.

Even though the president's safety is of utmost concern, we don't think that the dinner party crashing warranted Roger's early departure.

Politics, as we know is a nasty game and we know that there is always more to a story when someone resigns prematurely from an awesome position. People are always ready to bring you down and watch you fall, but never let that deter you from your dreams. And make sure you use everything major that happens to you as a lesson learned.

We are sad to see her leave, but we know Ms. Rogers is a very smart and determined woman and she will have offers coming from several other places, and we still plan on following her career.


What do you all think about Desiree Rogers resignation?

Tips for Making Better Career Moves for the New Year!

In 2009 I knew many Fabulous Brown Girls who were just going through the motions with their careers.. You were not really happy with where you were at work or how you were being treated. So in 2010 you said you wanted a CHANGE!! Well 2010 is here and nothing has happened. Its okay FBGs if you know you want to change, but don't necessarily know where to start. Just make sure you READ on for tips on how to go about it the right way..

• Self-Evaluation: Have you started a personal evaluation or self reflection of yourself career wise? Did you meet your professional goals over the last year or at least started making significant headway on them?

• Share Your Goals: Have you told your boss the goals you have? It is important to let your boss know where you see yourself professionally. Their job is not only to meet the company's goals, but also to help develop your career goals as well. A good boss will be impressed by your willingness to share your goals as well as be excited to help you progress. If you have let the new year come and haven't sat down to talk to your boss do that ASAP!

• Update Your Resume: If you achieved your goals for the year, make sure your boss knows this and your resume has your most current accomplishments on them with the results that back them up. And keep your eyes open for new opportunities within your company if you intend on staying.

• Professional Development: Use this year to expand on new skills that can be developed. Attend professional organization meetings, go to seminars, or listen to webinars for a few hours a month, purchase a few books on your industry to learn new and exciting techniques.

Corporate America is a hard game to play. We want to see all of our Fabulous Brown Girls succeed in this world, so if you have any more tips or stories you can share or pass along.. please by all means do not be afraid of leaving us a comment!

Visualize Your Dreams and Never Give Up On Them!

I just want to share something that has been on my mind with all of you Fabulous Brown Girls. It is something you hear so many times, that you sometimes become numb to it . The adage

NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!

Yes, I know it is said all the time, but I just feel like I should reiterate it because it is the plain and simple TRUTH!

I have seen many of my friends and family reach goals that were merely ideas years ago! A lot of us now have our degrees, are obtaining masters and PhD's, are in medical schools, law schools, working for various Fortune 500 companies, launching our own businesses, and buying homes and real estate! All because we had a VISION for our lives and set goals to reach them!

I am a HUGE proponent of writing down your goals and making them HIGHLY visual. An example of this is through a vision board, which is simply a poster that has visual images and phrases of the goals you wish to obtain. Because I am a PowerPoint connoisseur I made a PowerPoint slide show as my vision board instead of a poster board when I came up with the idea of FABULOUS BROWN GIRL, and when I recently looked back over it not too long ago, I can honestly say, and i mean HONESTLY, that all of the goals surrounding my blog FBG have been met or are currently underway!!

I had an idea that came to my mind, which then turned into a goal, as well as a passion. I took the time to craft out specific details about this goal and made a visually appealing map of sorts to look at and remind myself of where I want to be and how I want to get there! I definitely intend on doing the same thing for the other passions and future goals that I have in my life!

Don't let anyone deter you or tell you when and how your goal needs to happen because everyone is different and what they may not have the ability to do, you may very well be able to succeed at the highest level.

So Fabulous Brown Girls, whatever your passion is, what ever you see your self in a certain amount of time doing.. write it down and visualize the process it will take to get there and don't neglect to ask for help or a mentor (which I strongly believe all of us should have at least one at this stage) Don't let go of your dream and I promise you will be FABULOUS!

"YOU'RE HIRED!": Ways to Make Sure They Love You During an Interview!

Hello FBGs! Happy Monday! I was reading an article about careers and interviewing and I ran across a pretty interesting one.

If you are on an interview and you want to make sure they like you and see how FABULOUS you are, try doing these four things and you should feel pretty confident about hearing those magic words -- "You're Hired!"

• Find a way to make them like you! -- This is great advice to those who are naturally not shy person and if you are an introverted person try to break out of that shell! Give them a reason to smile! Make a funny joke, tell a heart warming story, find a common interest/hobby to discuss, or give them a straight up compliment! Getting them to like you before your interview is over is a key way to keep your name at the top!
• Show that you have done you homework! -- When you show them that you have researched the company and care about their mission then you show yourself as a valuable asset ans a strong piece of the business' pie.
• Convey that you care! -- Nobody wants to hire someone who just wants a check. Be genuine in your interview. If you have researched the company don't just list generic facts. Show them that you are really excited about the opportunity because you LOVE the company!
• Talk about your past experience in story form! -- Instead of just spitting facts and statistics (which are great to know, but may sound boring ), share what you have done for your past employer in a story. It becomes more intriguing if your potential employer gets to know you through painting a descriptive story about how you handled a marketing campaign or how you redesigned a website!

So if you follow these tips, not only will you most likely get hired, your interview will seem more like a conversation with positive vibes, and all that nervous edge will go out of the window!

Share your interview tips with us too! We would love to hear them!

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