Heather Hyatt of Epic Fighting is looking for beautiful girls. Tell me how you got involved with Epic. I started working as a promotional model/ring girl with a company that was sponsoring Epic Fighting called …

Jake Holmes, owner of Pilates United, could be your next boss. First, tell me about your company. I established Pilates United with Moji Austell in 1993. It’s a fitness studio. Our objective was to give …

An outsider is permitted to experience a variety of San Diego social clubs from the inside.

Teresa Arreola says there may come a time when you have to set your pride aside to make the kind of changes that last. Tell me what you do for a living. I’m a pharmacy …

Amaroq Weiss and Erin Hunt of the California Wolf Center say it’s possible to volunteer your way to the job of your dreams. Let’s start with some specific examples of people who have begun as …

Pamela M. Christian, Ph.D., of Azusa Pacific University, says yes, college is worth it. In your article “Is College Worth It?” you mention the three most obvious advantages that a college degree can provide. Can …

Students graduate feeling ready for their new careers, and they hit the ground running once they’re employed.

William Setterlund, president and director of the Accounting Academy, puts you on the road to becoming an accounting professional. First, please give me some information about your background. I’ve been in accounting for my entire …

In March 2005, Darnell Johnson bought a one-bedroom condominium on a quiet, dead-end street in City Heights. He never imagined he’d be forced to fork out $50,000 to keep his home from falling into the …

Avon Representative, Harold Cooks, wants you on his team. First, please tell me how you came to be an Avon salesman. Actually, I grew up with my mother using Avon products. So, I’ve always known …

The first time I try to meet up with Makeda “Dread” Cheatom, she doesn’t show. I leave her a note. An hour later, she calls to apologize, and we arrange a new time for later …

Don’t ask Scott Lewis about the layoffs at Voice of San Diego. It’s not something the chief executive cares to discuss. Back in early December, the nonprofit news organization let go reporters Emily Alpert and …

On October 12, 2011, my husband and I signed two hours’ worth of paperwork and forked over a $2450 earnest-money deposit on a four-bedroom, four-bath townhome in Chula Vista. For years, we’d fantasized about escaping …

Lieutenant Commander Jon Bartel explains what it takes to work for the Coast Guard. First, tell me how and when you got involved with the Coast Guard. It’s kind of funny because I grew up …

Thuba Nguyen, senior employment specialist at the International Rescue Committee, explains why school doesn’t have to be out of reach. Please explain to me your role at the organization. I help newly arrived refugees find …

Benjamin Tobias has ridden mass transit in major cities all over the world. In most of those places — London, Paris, New York — commuting in an urban area means riding underground in a dark, …

You know that commercial where a man and a woman sit across the table from each other, engaged in what appears to be an intimate conversation, but the guy keeps sneaking looks at the football …

Michele Nash-Hoff, author of Can American Manufacturing be Saved? Why we should and how we can, explains why you should seek work with San Diego’s manufacturing companies. Please start by telling me a little bit …

Robert Dorsey is not Chinese, but he drives 25 miles from El Cajon to Point Loma every morning so his two daughters can learn to speak, read, and write in Mandarin. “In my culture, it’s …

Tony McCoy found his bookie through a friend of a friend. It was October 2011, four weeks into football season. He’d spent all of last season testing a new betting system he’d created, and it …

If you’ve got the right set of skills and attributes, Roxanne and Kristyne of Walk-N-Roll Doggie might want to hire you. First tell me about Walk N Roll Doggie. Walk N Roll Doggie is a …

My introduction to Elizabeth Cooper-Schultz comes by way of a text message in which she refers to Mary Birch as “that hospital that claims to be mother and baby friendly.” When I arrive at the …

Last Sunday, while jogging up Wightman Street through City Heights, I had to avoid five piles of dog crap, seven fecal smears, and one brown lumpy puddle — all on city sidewalks. These numbers do …

The waiting area at Headlinerz Barbershop on El Cajon Boulevard looks like a swank doctor’s office. In one corner of the spacious room, five men wait on a leather-cushioned, L-shaped bench. The black, laquered floors …

My husband doesn’t care for anything too fancy or too hip, especially not a hotel. Give him a Residence Inn, and he’s happy. So when a friend of mine recommended we stay at the Modern …

Daniel Romero of San Diego Futures Foundation says you may be eligible for IT training and job assistance. Please start by telling me about your program. The N.E.O. program (Network of Emerging Opportunities) was created …

Playwright Kirsten Greenidge does not use the restroom during intermission when her plays are performed. “I get so wary about what I’m going to overhear,” she admits. “You have no voice in that situation. You …

Sarah Burns, a 24-year-old doula, explains what it takes to get started, and stay in business, as a doula. First, please define “doula” for me. What does a doula do? A birth doula provides emotional …

On a hot Friday evening in late August, Jennifer Bernal and Jamila DeCarli sit at the kitchen table in their 998-square-foot home on the rim of Fox Canyon in City Heights. Their two small dogs …

Stacey Ross, of San Diego Bargain Mama, found her ideal job in the world of online marketing. First, give me an idea of your work history. I worked as a schoolteacher, counselor, and special projects …

In a recent Vanity Fair article, Groupon founder Andrew Mason is described as “the type of guy who comes up with wild ideas that often have no beginning or end, and then lets them rip.” …

Michael McCrerey wanted to die at home. In the four years since he’d been diagnosed with liver disease, he’d been hospitalized at least a dozen times (six in the past 12 months), his abdominal cavity …

Ben Romans shares his story of unemployment, frustration, and finally relief. First, tell me about your employment background. I worked for Knight Security in Escondido for 15 years. I had worked as an alarm response …

Say the name Lisa Fasulo in a San Diego tattoo shop and you may get blank stares from shop owners, employees, and hangers-around. Mention the Learning Channel’s one-hour reality-style television program about Fasulo’s tattoo school, …

At the kitchen table, Andrea Manroe pauses her reading from The Story of the World and asks her three children a question about what they’ve just heard. “How did Shamshi-Adad get the people to obey? …

In the next seven months, Panera Bread will open three stores in the San Diego area. Meghan Gates, regional training manager, talks management. Please tell me a little bit about your management-training program. It’s about …

An afternoon spent at Payette Lake can be relaxing and refreshing – as long as you refrain from dwelling on what lies beneath. The 5,330-acre lake, around which the resort town of McCall, Idaho, was …

Jason Ulsh, 33, explains how and why his job search led him out of sunny San Diego (and why he’s ok with it). Let’s start with your educational background. My degree is in cognitive science …

n November 2010, Bernard Smith (not his real name) of Tree.com Inc. asked Peggy Gartin, leader of SD Tweetup — a local socialnetworking group with over 1100 members — to help him assemble what he …

Bonnie Trown of United Truck Driving School explains how you can get your foot in the door as a truck driver. Let’s start with a brief rundown of your school. United Truck Driving School has …

At 9:00 p.m. on July 13, Steve Adler, founder of Friarhood.com, a website for Padres fans, posted a poll on the site’s Facebook page: Should the Padres bring back Dick Enberg for the 2012 season? …

Anne Wayman, of AboutFreelanceWriting.com, explains the basics of getting started as a freelance writer. First, let’s talk about you. What’s your background and your experience with freelance writing? I started writing sales letters and classified …

Maria Tomas went from unpaid intern to paid employee. Tell me about your schooling and other background information. I studied fine art at two community colleges before changing my major to interior design. I graduated …

Mike Elliott’s father disappeared when he was 13 years old. Not disappeared as in vanished mysteriously. Disappeared as in left and never came back. Some 27 years later, on a rainy afternoon, Mike drove through …

Judy Kaplan Baron, master career counselor, explains the idea of marketable skills. Talk to me about what the term ‘marketable skills’ means. Skills are those abilities that enable you to perform tasks. Some are innate …

Evelyn Irving-Jackson’s olive-green Hummer takes up two of the four pint-sized parking spaces in front of the 1100-square-foot Trinity House thrift shop. The ostentatious gas guzzler seems incongruous, not only with the size of the …

Kim Mohiuddin, president of both MovinOnUpRésumés.com and Authentic Executive Careers, offers networking tips for those intimidated by the idea of networking. Let’s start with the definition of networking. What exactly does it mean? The term …

South ParkWednesday, February 168:45 p.m. The sign painted on the building reads Delicious Food, Great Beer, Philanthropy, but I won’t notice this until I leave. For now, I dart from my car into South Park …

Melodie Tao, of MarketingMelodie.com, explains the importance of social media as tools for job seekers. Please tell me about your background and how you came to be involved with social media. I started out working …

Darrell Anderson steps out from behind an iron gate. Two dogs follow. One, a Maltese named Sugar, jumps up at me playfully. The other, Buddy, a muscular tan dog that Darrell refers to as a …