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"Let&amp;amp;#8217;s get one thing straight: Finding a job these days is tough; as you&amp;amp;#8217;ll read in &amp;amp;#8220;The Assistant Diaries,&amp;amp;#8221; it can now take years to land the entry-level position of your dreams (and you might be doing it at 32, not just 22). At Glamour, I&amp;amp;#8217;m awed by the persistence required for even the best applicants to get in the door&amp;amp;#8212;certainly more than when I started as an assistant here years ago. That said, there are some basic rules I&amp;amp;#8217;ve learned along the way that make the process easier. Like&amp;amp;#133; When you&amp;amp;#8217;re trying to get the job, details matter. OK, class. Interviewing 101: Never wear a tank top. Never wear a tube top (true story&amp;amp;#8212;I&amp;amp;#8217;ve seen it). Always spend time on a company&amp;amp;#8217;s website beforehand so you&amp;amp;#8217;ll be able to answer (and ask!) specific questions. But if you don&amp;amp;#8217;t know an answer? Say &amp;amp;#8220;I don&amp;amp;#8217;t know&amp;amp;#8221;; never lie. And never, ever use these five words on a cover letter: To whom it may concern. &amp;amp;#8220;Do whatever you can to find out the hiring manager&amp;amp;#8217;s name, and use it,&amp;amp;#8221; advises Glamour senior editor Marina Khidekel, who runs our editorial internship program. &amp;amp;#8220;It is a real, live person&amp;amp;#8212;me!&amp;amp;#8212;who&amp;amp;#8217;s reading your letter.&amp;amp;#8221; Once you have the job, do even the small stuff well. In an entry-level position, no task is beneath you; in fact, every task is a shot at glory. &amp;amp;#8220;If someone asks you to xerox something, make photocopies that make them weep,&amp;amp;#8221; says Sarah Hurwitz, special assistant to President Obama. &amp;amp;#8220;If someone asks you to do a ten-dollar job, give them a thousand-dollar job.&amp;amp;#8221; The people who shine at the little things are the ones who get to do the big things. (I once spent an entire summer peering at microfilm to fact-check the names of Russian poets for a literary-journal internship. Not gonna lie, that was rough. But I nailed it and moved up; plus, look: M-A-R-I-N-A-T-S-V-E-T-A-E-V-A. I&amp;amp;#8217;ve still got it!) Raise your hand. Years ago, as a junior editor, I pitched a big, ambitious story that my bosses loved and immediately wanted to assign&amp;amp;#133;to a more experienced writer. I did what anyone would do: returned to my cube and sulked. But then it occurred to me that I had to make my case&amp;amp;#8212;and I did, in a detailed memo about what I would bring to the story. The editor-in-chief read it, walked back to my desk, and said, &amp;amp;#8220;Anyone who wants something this much should get it.&amp;amp;#8221; To this day, that piece is still one of my proudest achievements. The point? Asking for new responsibilities doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t necessarily mean you&amp;amp;#8217;ll get them, but not asking means you won&amp;amp;#8217;t. So go forth and ask. Good luck! And remember: No tube tops. What&amp;#x27;s the best advice you&amp;#x27;ve ever gotten for work? Plus, read &amp;quot;The Assistant Diaries&amp;quot; for more on mastering an entry-level job in a crazy-tough economy. P.S. Speaking of work: Thousands of women every year try to remake their lives after hard times. For those transitioning from poverty to professional life, dressing the part can be tricky&amp;amp;#8212;which is why our suggested act of generosity this month is to give to Dress for Success. I&amp;amp;#8217;ve been involved with this organization, which has clothed and supported more than 650,000 women, for years, and I&amp;amp;#8217;ve seen the profound difference its mentorship makes. To find out how to donate your clothing (or cash), go to dressforsuccess.org&amp;amp;#8212;one suit can literally change a life. Photo: Cathy Crawford"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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