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"  The staff at Cosmopolitan shared the No. 1 piece of advice they&amp;#039;d give to young women starting their careers: 1. &amp;quot;My advice to young women is to NOT be overly obsessed with their career path when they start out, to try out different avenues to help them learn what is the best fit. They will know soon enough.&amp;quot; \u2014Lynn Goldstein-Garguilo, Executive Assistant to the Publishing Director 2. &amp;quot;If you&amp;#039;re working at a place you don&amp;#039;t see yourself being for a long time, think about your next move and how you can use where you are now to get you to your next job.&amp;quot; \u2014Dara Adeeyo, Associate Editor, Online 3. &amp;quot;Consider your &amp;#039;plan&amp;#039; a &amp;#039;flex plan.&amp;#039; March of my senior year, I had been accepted into a master&amp;#039;s program in psychology (my major). But I saw a job posting for an assistant beauty/fashion editor at Health magazine, and something in my gut told me I should apply, even without an ounce of experience in the industry. I got the job and decided to test it (and NYC) out for one year. Fast forward 14 years: I have a career as a beauty editor\u2014something I never would&amp;#039;ve been had I stuck to my original plan of being an organizational psychologist.&amp;amp;nbsp;Nothing should ever be written in stone. Give yourself six months to a year to try something different. You can always go back to some version of Plan A.&amp;quot; \u2014Leah Wyar, Beauty Director 4. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t be too sensitive or precious about your work. Learn to see criticism, comments and notes from your bosses as ways to grow and understand your field better. Even if something stings, move on from it tomorrow and come to work with a smile on your face. Having a thicker skin is for the best: No one has time to hold your hand and give you a cookie over every assignment that comes your way.&amp;quot; \u2014Michelle Ruiz, Senior Editor 5. &amp;quot;I would say network, network, network, and in the process remember you&amp;#039;re always selling yourself.&amp;quot; \u2014Melissa Guy, Sales Development Manager 6. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t be a dick. But be assertive and make the connections you feel you need to make, and don&amp;#039;t be afraid to reach out to people who have careers you idolize \u2014 I wouldn&amp;#039;t be doing what I&amp;#039;m doing now if I had not sent one panicked email when I was 22 to three thirtysomething women who were killing it in the NYC journalism/blogging industry. But don&amp;#039;t push so hard that you forget to have fun with your job \u2014 when it&amp;#039;s something like writing, it&amp;#039;s so obvious when you&amp;#039;re phoning it in or worrying too much, and that&amp;#039;s not fun for readers.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;\u2014Anna Breslaw, Sex and Relationships Writer, Online 7. &amp;quot;Find the decision maker and never take a no from a person who doesn&amp;#039;t have the power to say yes. Try to see the big picture of an organization and be a team player. Stay positive and remove yourself from any office gossip. Rise above it and don&amp;#039;t get caught up in any negativity. Make yourself valuable every day. Don&amp;#039;t look to take credit. If you do your work well, credit will come to you. Leave your ego at the door. Learn to anticipate your bosses&amp;#039; needs and questions. If there is a problem, come to the table with a proposed solution.&amp;amp;nbsp;Just don&amp;#039;t ask your boss what to do. If your boss asks you to do it, just do it!&amp;amp;nbsp;Smile and laugh. It&amp;#039;s OK to have fun.&amp;quot; \u2014Karen Deutsch, Advertising Director 8. &amp;quot;When you&amp;#039;re going for a job, do your homework, be passionate, use any connections you have, do great follow-up and ask for the job. When you have the job, have the following attitude: set your sights high, be willing to work your hardest to succeed, stay out of office politics.&amp;quot; \u2014Donna Kalajian Lagani, SVP/Publishing Director and Chief Revenue Officer 9. &amp;quot;Be informed and be a fan. In today&amp;#039;s world there is no reason not to have Googled the company and know a fair amount about it, with a few key facts you can have up your sleeve \u2014 recent positive press, new products, milestones, etc. And be admiring of something about the company, even if you have to stretch it a little. I once was interviewing someone who told me she never read Cosmo, and I was like, &amp;#039;Really? Then why are we sitting here?&amp;#039;&amp;quot; \u2014Nicole L. Mills, Associate Publisher, Marketing 10. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t fall prey to imposter syndrome. You were hired for your job because your boss thought you were smart and capable. You&amp;#039;re not just fooling everyone. It&amp;#039;s not just a matter of time before you&amp;#039;re found out. It&amp;#039;s normal to feel occasional self-doubts, but you have to also remind yourself that you do know what you&amp;#039;re doing, and if something goes beyond what you&amp;#039;ve done in the past, that&amp;#039;s OK too. Be confident in yourself.&amp;quot; \u2014Lori Fradkin, Executive Features Editor, Online  11. &amp;quot;A bad work environment is, in many ways, a self-fulfilling prophesy, so if a co-worker starts complaining about someone or something going on at work, politely change the topic or excuse yourself. Don&amp;#039;t even allow yourself to listen long enough to know if you agree with what he or she is saying. It doesn&amp;#039;t matter. You&amp;#039;ve got work to do, and the less time you spend complaining, the faster you&amp;#039;ll get it done and the happier you&amp;#039;ll be.&amp;quot; \u2014Charles Manning, Style Editor, Online 12. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s tempting to go where the money is early in your career, but focus on finding a job you find satisfying. You can accomplish so much more when you enjoy what you do, and if you&amp;#039;re passionate about your job, the success and money will follow. It&amp;#039;s difficult, if not impossible, to shoehorn your happiness into an unfulfilling career after the fact. Don&amp;#039;t be afraid to try and fail at things that are really important to you. I know that&amp;#039;s easier said than done, but I was able to get over that fear when I realized it was more satisfying to fail at something I loved than succeed at something I was ambivalent about. Try everything that interests you even if it doesn&amp;#039;t feel like the safe decision.&amp;quot; \u2014Frank Kobola, Sex and Relationships Writer, Online 13. &amp;quot;I was lucky enough to meet my mentor in my first major gig out of college. This was my boss at The Limited (the EVP of marketing), Wanda Gierhart, who is now the head of marketing at Neiman Marcus. She always told me: &amp;#039;Work outside your job description.&amp;#039; By doing that, I learned about finance, store operations, visual merchandising, etc., which gave me a more well-rounded perspective when developing and executing marketing plans. From knowing their challenges, I could better formulate a marketing plan and head off potential pitfalls.&amp;quot; \u2014Kiersten Geiger, Senior Director, Special Projects 14. &amp;quot;Best career advice I ever got: Always be the one to volunteer for anything asked! This will make you stand out in the team and you will be seen as the ultimate team player.&amp;quot; \u2014Jenifer Geller, Executive Beauty Director  15. &amp;quot;Be prepared to interview the interviewer. For most entry positions, there is rarely more than one or two interviews before a decision is made. Remember, it is not only the employer&amp;#039;s decision. It is yours too.&amp;amp;nbsp;Preparing for an interview is a two-part process \u2014&amp;amp;nbsp;researching the company and preparing to wow them and preparing your own questions so you are making the right decision for you. Also, if you are not asked a question that would reveal something critical to you landing the job, make sure you share that information.&amp;amp;nbsp;When the interviewer asks if you have any questions, say, &amp;quot;Well, this isn&amp;#039;t a question, but it may be helpful to know that\u2026&amp;#039;&amp;quot; \u2014Sue Katzen, Associate Publisher 16. &amp;quot;Take note of who shares your work ethic and values and who makes you think differently. Even if these people aren&amp;#039;t in your same field, you want to keep them close to you. Build your team of &amp;#039;good guys.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; \u2014Victoria Joyce, Senior Integrated Promotions Manager 17. &amp;quot;No job/task you&amp;#039;re asked to do is too small. Whether you&amp;#039;re grabbing coffee for your boss or opening his or her mail, you&amp;#039;re helping that person, so that he or she can get something else done \u2014 which, in turn, is contributing to the bigger picture. So don&amp;#039;t complain if someone asks you to do something you might not want to. Plus, like Santa, your boss is always taking notes on your behavior, so always act appropriately and professional (aka don&amp;#039;t complain). Also, always ask. If you don&amp;#039;t ask, you don&amp;#039;t get. If you want a raise, promotion, to be put on a project, sometimes you have to put yourself out there and not be afraid. Your superior isn&amp;#039;t just going to come to you and tell you they want to give you more money or give you an assignment \u2014 you have to be hungry, eager and a go-getter to get ahead.&amp;quot; \u2014Carly Cardellino, Beauty Editor, Online 18. &amp;quot;When you apply for a job, include your cover letter in the body of the email. That old rule about attaching the cover letter dates back to the days when people were printing stuff out and filing it, but now it&amp;#039;s annoying to open attachments! Don&amp;#039;t run the risk that someone won&amp;#039;t bother to open it. Just impress them right away!&amp;quot; \u2014Elisa Benson, Senior Community Manager, Online   19. &amp;quot;Selling starts when you hear your first no. Take intelligent and bold risks to accomplish something great. Build a network of mentors and colleagues to help you be smarter, quicker, and more adaptable. Take risks on a breakout opportunity. Stay ever-curious \u2014&amp;amp;nbsp;complacency weighs you down. Hire people smarter than you, with specific experience, and lead to make your parts a cohesive whole. Listen. Know your audience and read them, be adaptable and sincere.&amp;quot; \u2014Lauren Finizio, Beauty Manager 20. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s okay to disagree or have a differing opinion about something with your boss, just express it privately, not in an e-mail with multiple recipients or an office-wide meeting.&amp;quot; \u2014Ann Wright, Copy Director 21. &amp;quot;My advice is to dress for the job you want, not the one you have. Also, always send handwritten thank-you notes after each interview and conclusion of an internship or job. That goes a long way.&amp;quot; \u2014Sarah Conly, Senior Market Editor 22. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t give up. If you don&amp;#039;t hear back from someone, follow up. If you don&amp;#039;t get a job, ask why not and keep applying. Do whatever you have to (within reason and normalcy) to make something happen. I applied to work at nymag.com three times and got it the third time because I took a break and spent six months commenting on everything on the site under my name, so they&amp;#039;d know I was smart, funny, and informed.&amp;quot; \u2014Alexandra Martell, Managing Editor, Online 23. &amp;quot;Ask questions and don&amp;#039;t think you&amp;#039;re being annoying by doing so. If you come across an assignment that you&amp;#039;re unclear about, ask questions to be 100 percent sure that you&amp;#039;re completing things in the proper manner. It will save you from potentially making a mistake, and your boss would much rather you be upfront about your confusion than complete something wrong and having to go back and redo it.&amp;quot; \u2014Courtney Connley, Editorial Production Assistant, Online 24. &amp;quot;Whether you&amp;#039;re an assistant or an exec, your primary job will ALWAYS be to make your boss&amp;#039;s life easier. If you make their life easier (whether that&amp;#039;s by innovating great things or anticipating when they want their coffee or simply being on top of deadlines and not making them chase you down), they&amp;#039;ll fight to keep you and help you succeed. You&amp;#039;re golden. If you make their life harder, you&amp;#039;re expendable (or worse, on the chopping block). And if you work for yourself, your main job is to make your clients&amp;#039; or consumers&amp;#039; lives easier. If you make their lives harder, they won&amp;#039;t be buying whatever it is you&amp;#039;re selling.&amp;quot; \u2014Marina Khidekel, Deputy Editor  25. &amp;quot;My advice would be to not be so linear about your career path. Being very linear may seem like you&amp;#039;re focused \u2014&amp;amp;nbsp;and that&amp;#039;s a good thing! \u2014&amp;amp;nbsp;but it keeps you narrow and can set you up for disappointment if things don&amp;#039;t go according to plan. If you&amp;#039;re flexible \u2014&amp;amp;nbsp;and you&amp;#039;re willing to zig and zag \u2014&amp;amp;nbsp;you&amp;#039;ll spot new opportunities and grow strengths and interests you didn&amp;#039;t even know you had. Plus, it&amp;#039;s just plain exciting.&amp;amp;nbsp;Another piece of advice: don&amp;#039;t confuse iciness for professionalism or talent. They&amp;#039;re not the same thing.&amp;quot; \u2014Jessica Matlin, Deputy Beauty Editor 26. &amp;quot;Treat every assignment as the biggest of your career. My reporting professor told me this my sophomore year of college, and ever since then, I&amp;#039;ve kept his words in mind \u2014 even when I was getting coffee for editors and making copies until 11 at night. Anyone can nail the major projects if she puts enough time and effort into them \u2014 but as in most things, it&amp;#039;s the little things that set you apart from everyone else. Besides, you never know who&amp;#039;s paying attention. Give everything your all, and you&amp;#039;ll get it all back.&amp;quot; \u2014Marissa Gainsburg, Copy Editor&amp;amp;nbsp; 27. &amp;quot;If I could give any career advice (at the ripe old age of 22), it would be to actually do your pre-interview research. I&amp;#039;d had it drilled into my head before graduating that this was one of the most important parts of interviewing and networking. Skimming a website or quickly Wiki-ing a company five minutes before an interview is not helpful. At four of the eight interviews I had before getting this wonderful job, I was grilled by my potential employer on how I felt about very specific programs/aspects/histories of the company. Also, ALWAYS HAVE QUESTIONS!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;\u2014Tess Koman, Editorial Assistant, Online 28. &amp;quot;The only type of advice I ever received was more or less that I should change my major in college and hope for another career because I could never have one as a photographer, especially in publishing. I was told this by a lot of people. I also didn&amp;#039;t go to a fancy school and didn&amp;#039;t do any internships until after college (all of my classes each semester were pretty much each five-hour studio classes). I didn&amp;#039;t listen to anyone&amp;#039;s non-advice, and that would be my advice. Go with your gut, make it happen and get what you want because you can do it if you work for it.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;\u2014Kathleen Kamphausen, Digital Photo Editor 29. &amp;quot;When I first moved to New York I met with Wendy Naugle, who&amp;#039;s the executive editor of Glamour and a Drake alum (which is how I got the meeting in the first place). She told me three things that really stuck with me: (1)&amp;amp;nbsp;If you&amp;#039;re the type of person who will move to New York without a job or a place to live, you&amp;#039;re the type of person who will be successful in New York. Whenever I doubt myself or feel overwhelmed, that always comforts me. (2)&amp;amp;nbsp;Copy your bosses. Copy their reading habits and their time management habits and \u2026 everything. Within reason. (3)&amp;amp;nbsp;Become the expert at something. This is especially good if you work in media, but I think it works anywhere. Her example was that when she was starting out she was an assistant who didn&amp;#039;t write at all but she wanted to write about health, so she subscribed to all the big medical journals and was on top of health news. She eventually became her boss&amp;#039;s go-to for health news and started blogging about it.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;\u2014Emma Barker, Sex and Relationships Editor, Online 30. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t act entitled. Entitled people start at a job and think they&amp;#039;re above doing menial things that need to get done in order for an organization&amp;#039;s wheels to spin. You should never go into a job with this attitude, and you should never be above doing any task. Even when you&amp;#039;re running your own company and ruling the world, if you need to make copies or send faxes or balance a budget or do anything else that is technically &amp;#039;not part of your job,&amp;#039; you should always be willing to do it. Successful people roll up their sleeves and do the grunt work after everyone else goes home. If you start at a job or an internship with the attitude that you&amp;#039;re too talented to do the grunt work and should be doing what your bosses are doing, it will show and your superiors won&amp;#039;t like you. A good attitude and a desire to please and earn next-level opportunities goes a long way.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;\u2014Amy Odell, Editor, Online Follow the Cosmo editors on Twitter. Photo Credits: HBO, Fox Searchlight, 20th Century Fox, ABC, Paramount Pictures, NBC "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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