Page:The Girl Who Earns Her Own Living (1909).djvu/259

 Women often ask: "But how do I know that I can secure a position after I graduate?"

In learning any trade, there comes to you gradually the knowledge of how to secure work. It is part of your training. The modern school is a veritable clearing-house of energies, and in this process the girl who has graduated from a school with credit to herself and her alma mater generally steps directly into a position. But you must bear in mind that there are some women who, with a diploma in one hand and a bunch of influential letters in the other, would fail to secure a position because they lack personality. Diplomas must have the backing of patience, personality, enthusiasm and an earnest desire to "make good" in the first opening that comes your way.

If you lack the ability to make friends, and the gift of organization, do not study domestic science even to become a matron. The matron must organize a staff of servants and maintain discipline. She must know that others are doing their work properly, rather than drop into small routine duties herself. She must be dignified yet show by her instructions that she could do every stroke of the work herself.

"What will the complete course in domestic science, including board, cost?" inquire many correspondents.

That depends entirely upon the girl, her tastes