Here are five tools to get started:

1. Pocket

Have you ever had an idea you know is great, but you forget it 15 seconds later? Great content is like that, too. With so much happening online, it can be hard to grasp the right insights and keep them around for quick reference.

Pocket solves that problem by allowing you to save anything and go back to it when you have time. You can save articles and videos, with specific tags, and send them to colleagues from inside the app. Never lose another great idea (or post) again.

2. Noowit

Sending a link to an article isn’t the most efficient way to share information anymore. Your inbox gets filled immediately, and coworkers have the same issue. That’s what makes Noowit incredible.

It takes articles and other media and creates a smart, shareable and mobile-ready magazine. You can view it on any device, and with their bookmarklet, you can always update it. It also allows you to view the article inline, so you can go back to the magazine and never have to open a new tab. Create content people love, and they’ll thank you for it. (Click here to tweet this thought.)

3. Buffer

Your time matters. How you spend it and what you do with it can determine your success in and outside of the office. Buffer acts as your social media concierge, giving you the ability to schedule all your posts throughout the day.

Choose your favorite networks and schedule your posts ahead of time. It even allows you to check the analytics of your posts, so you can see what’s working in your networks and how it gets shared. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and Buffer helps you manage and scale your impact online.

4. Scoop.it

Being an expert in one thing can transform you from an employee to a thought leader. Scoop.it empowers you to be a publisher by letting you turn topics you’re passionate about into a collection you can share and build.

Slideshows, articles, videos and anything else you find gets placed into a beautiful layout and is easily accessible from any platform. Thousands of topics are already on the site, so you’ll have no shortage of ideas to build from.

5. Kippt

When it comes to beating the competition, you’re only as good as the information you have. Kippt lets you create an online library of cool things to share and curate. You can save any type of media and share it publicly or privately.

This can be a great resource for gathering information on a new product launch, market research or seeing how your company is perceived. You can create private groups for your team or send the entire bundle of relevant articles to people who need it. Let your bookmarks tell a story.

Test and iterate with these tools and choose the ones that work best for you and your schedule. With the right tools and some effort, you can make this the year you expand your brand and elevate your career to new heights.

Jonathan Jackson is a writer, thinker and digital media enthusiast. He just finished a resource guide for Millennials called Push: An Insider Guide to Building Your Brand, Managing Your Wallet, & Starting Your Career. You can find him on Twitter, Google+ and his website, where he blogs about life and other things.

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The post Build Your Personal Brand: 5 Tools That Will Help You Get Noticed appeared first on Brazen Life.

But something isn’t right. You have a nagging feeling about what you’re about to do. Pangs of fear and nervousness are everywhere. Tomorrow you start your first day at THE JOB.

Here are seven common fears you may have and how to conquer them:

1. You’re not qualified

This is commonly referred to as imposter syndrome, and it plagues millions of people every day. It’s that incessant fear that they — your colleagues, your boss, the CEO — will find out you aren’t talented as they thought. And when they discover this, you’ll be excommunicated.

But for what? You are qualified. You resume says so. Your interviewers believed it. The HR department wrote you a formal offer letter saying they wanted you to come work for them. Remember how bad the job market is? That means it’s likely you competed against a slew of candidates. They picked you from all of them for a reason.

Of course you won’t know anything on day one. That’s expected. But if you’re inquisitive, you’ll learn what you need to.

2. Everyone at the office will hate you

You have no statistical or physical evidence to support this claim. When you interviewed, you were vetted not only for your skills, but also for your ability to fit into the company culture and adapt to its nuances. Making friends is hard, but convincing yourself you aren’t likeable will make it virtually impossible.

You’re going to have to do a little legwork.

Don’t eat lunch at your desk every day. Go to company outings, even if they’re not your thing. Meet people for a drink after work. Schedule coffee with an executive. Join an intramural league with coworkers. Get out of your comfort zone, and watch what happens.

3. You might making mistakes

You most likely will make mistakes. Scratch that. You definitely will make mistakes. You will fail. You will have a project that may get the best of you.

But failure is not the worst thing. In fact, learning from failure is important for cultivating your personal and professional success. Instead of fearing mistakes, accept that they will happen and look for opportunities to learn from them.

4. You’ll hate this job and be stuck there forever

Sometimes getting a job may feel like putting on shackles instead of finding freedom. The 40-hour week many of our parents subscribed too doesn’t quite do it for many of us anymore. Before you get too wrapped up in feeling stuck in any job, remember these two simple truths:

1. Every job is temporary.
2. Your career is a marathon, not a sprint.

You’ll be working for a long time, but what you define as work — and what makes you come alive — is up to you. If your day job doesn’t do it for you, start a side hustle. Volunteer. Travel. Do your best with what you have to leverage the opportunities around you. Someone will definitely take notice.

5. You don’t have a mentor to help guide you

Mentors and advocates are crucial to success in any field. Even CEOs have coaches. The trick is to find someone who will advocate on your behalf and with who you’ll form a meaningful and mutually beneficial bond.

Be proactive. You have just as much power in choosing a mentor as you do in being picked as a mentee. Where are you trying to go? How can a mentor help you get there? What do you want to ask them?

6. You won’t stand out among all the other new hires

Being exceptional at your job takes work, but it also takes strategy. Take time to reflect on your quirks, differences and personality. You need a plan to maximize your first six months in your job and prove your ability to leverage your resources.

Figure out what you’re evaluated on and find a way to demolish those metrics. Then go help others beat theirs. Leaders are not simply marked by personal achievement, but also by their ability to elevate everyone around them. Do that, and you’re sure to get recognized.

7. You’ll have no life outside of work

Fortunately, you haven’t been working long enough to declare yourself lifeless. Take a step back. What does your ideal “life” look like? Do you truly want balance, or simply time to do all the things you want in one day?

Most of us want to create actionable and measurable change that affects something. Getting to that point is not an easy journey. You can have a life, but you have to be willing to work to craft it. (Click here to Tweet this thought.)

Now shake out those doubts and walk into the office with your head held high. Your future is waiting.

Jonathan Jackson is a 20-something social strategist, writer and thinker. You can find him neck-deep in his Twitter feed or matching top talent to opportunity.

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The post How to Conquer Self-Doubt at Your First Job appeared first on Brazen Life.

Debt affects your personal finances, confidence and overall happiness. But it doesn’t have to rule your life! With a solid plan and budget, you can attack your loans and get closer to living the life you want, free of debt.

Use one of these five services to help you battle debt and get on track to financial freedom sooner:

1. Tuition.io

What Mint is to budgeting, Tuition.io is to debt. Using an interactive graph, it shows you exactly how long it will take you to pay off your current debt. This is a great resource if you’re recently out of school and still have some time to figure out how you want to actually begin your repayment. It synchronizes with federal and private loans and updates your balances automatically.

You’ll also receive recommendations on what your optimal loan situation is and see how much you will actually pay over the life of your loan. If you need a way to clearly align your loans with a plan to erase them, Tuition.io is your best bet.

2. Campus Slice

Crowdfunding has become one of the best ways for anyone to raise money to accomplish a goal or support a charity. Campus Slice uses the same model, except you raise money for your tuition. By tapping into your network of friends and family, the platform allows you to raise money for your tuition during each semester. It offers you a personal page where you can describe your goals, accomplishments and future plans.

One you raise your required funds, you request a payout and the money is disbursed directly to your financial aid office. Easy, simple and fast. If you need to start saving for college and want a simple way to get ahead, Campus Slice is a great option.

3. StudentLoanHero

StudentLoanHero is built to “empower student loan borrowers with the tools to repay their student loans more intelligently.” The site lets you enter in your current balances, then gives you the best options for repayment. It features a unique loan breakdown with a sliding scale that forecasts different monthly payments.

It also has a great overview of different payment options so you can stay informed and make the best decision with your money. If you’re unsure where to go or how to start paying back your debt, StudentLoanHero was made for you.

4. ReadyforZero

Part of the key to eliminating debt is creating a solid plan. ReadyforZero lets you do that by giving you a streamlined platform to collect all your debt and customized recommendations about how to pay it off. They have helped their users pay down over $50 million in debt and make better financial decisions.

ReadyforZero is focused on helping you pay down debt and build wealth at the same time. They have tools to check your progress, payments and next steps to take control of your debt. Their blog offers great information on personal finances and money insights that can help you make better decisions. If you need a plan and free resources to get you on track to beat debt, ReadyforZero can help.

5. Pave

If you have a dream, Pave is there to help you make it a reality—without debt. Pave lets students set up an “innovative social-financial agreement.” What does that mean? A team of backers gives you money to fund your idea, dream or educational goals and, in exchange, you pay back a small percentage of your income over the next 10 years.

As a prospect, you choose the amount you want to share, and it can be no more than 10 percent of your income. If you need help to finance your education and pursue your own path to career freedom without incurring tremendous debt, Pave is a great choice.

Each of these sites offers different opportunities to help you beat student loan debt and achieve your financial goals.

What strategies do you use to attack your debt? Share your experiences in the comments!

Jonathan Jackson is a writer, young professional and freelancer about to move to California. You can catch him musing about life as a 20-something and connect with him on Twitter or Google+.

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The post Crush College Debt: 5 Tools to Help You Find Financial Freedom appeared first on Brazen Life.