Free Money Finance

Gift Giving at Work

Here's a piece from the Wall Street Journal that suggests we all need to give gifts wisely at work during the holiday season. Two examples of what they say does not work are:

• A Victoria's Secret gift card for the cute gal who works in the neighboring cubicle.

• A dictionary for the new co-worker whose misspellings on email you've had to correct.

They also go on to tell what you should/shouldn't give your boss, co-workers, and subordinates.

You can get their thoughts by clicking through on the above link, but for now, here's what I do:

• Our company (small) gives a group gift to the owners of the company.

• I give a small gift (usually a loaf of homemade bread) as well as a nice note to everyone in the office.

• No one else gives out gifts. Update: My boss gave us all gift baskets. 

• In the past when I've worked at larger companies, I've usually given a card to everyone with presents only going to one or two close friends. I might take my staff out for lunch, but that's the only "present" I give them.

What do you do? Do you give to your boss, co-workers, and those that report to you? Do they give to you?

Great Thoughts on Thank You Notes

Here are what I consider to be some great thoughts on post-interview thank you notes from the Personal Branding Blog:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve never hired a candidate who didn’t send a thank you note after our interview. As a hiring manager, it’s just one simple way to compare my top candidates. If I have an open position and two of the candidates are evenly matched skill-wise but only one sent a thank you note, the latter is likely to receive the offer.

If you aren’t following up every interview—and by that I mean each individual person with whom you meet or speak—with a thank you note, you are likely costing yourself the position.

But, the simple act of saying “thank you” is not enough. To really put yourself ahead of your competitors, consider the following elements.

• Send your note within 24 hours.
• Reference your conversation.
• Emphasize your strengths.
• Reaffirm your interest in the position.
• Keep it short.

I always tell candidates that three qualities can really help sell a hiring manager: passion, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn more. And a thank you note is an excellent opportunity to showcase all three.

A few thoughts on this from me:

1. Maybe I need to rethink my opinion on thank you notes. I've always valued them and sent one, but I usually reserve it for the main person interviewing me (usually the person arranging the interview -- if there are more than one interviewers.) According to this, that falls way short of the mark.

2. Are email thank yous just as effective?

3. Yes, passion, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn more are key traits most employers want in a new hire. Then again, delivering results trump all of these in my book.

4. I've never hired someone because they sent me a thank you note and I've never not hired someone because they didn't. Then again, what can it hurt to send a note? If nothing else, it's a kind and thoughtful gesture, right?

5. Is there any way a thank you note can derail your job hunt (like spelling the recipient's name incorrectly)? If so, maybe it's best to NOT send one.

What do you think about this issue?

Did/Will You Get a Bonus This Year?

With the economy in the dumper, it's likely that there will be fewer bonuses this year than in most years in the past. That said, I'm sure some of you out there will be receiving one, so it's not a wasted post to talk about them. So, let me ask all of you the following:

• Did (or will) you get a bonus this year?
• If so, what will you do with it?
• If not, why not (bad company performance, new on the job, etc.)?

Our company had a great year this past year, partially because of the poor economy (we make a product that sells well in good times and even better in bad times.) In addition, I had several key accomplishments for the company the past year, so I received a nice bonus this year. Of course it was a lot nicer before Uncle Sam got his greedy little hands on it, but the net amount was good as well.

Here's what we're going to do with it:

1. Most of it will get saved/invested. At the start of next year I'll put some of the money in our 529's and Education Savings Accounts. Then once our taxes are done, we'll use some to fund our SEP IRA.

2. Some will be spent. We're still working on our list of stuff to buy (FYI, I'll give you an update on how we're doing on the list in January.)

3. Some will be given away. We'll give our tithe on the gross amount and will also support some charities we're fond of. (FYI, I'll list the FMF supported charities in a post sometime in January.)

Pretty boring, huh? ;-)

So, what are your answers to the questions above?

Have You Ever Taken Risks to Try and Improve Your Career?

If you've been a reader of Free Money Finance for more than 15 seconds you've heard me talk about the importance of managing your career. I've offered lots of thoughts on the subject of how you can build/grow/maximize your career, but I haven't dealt a lot with taking risks to boost your career (as highlighted in this piece from the Wall Street Journal.) I did mention taking risks a few times (mostly in passing) when I detailed all the jobs I've ever held, but I thought I'd add a few more comments/thoughts to the times mentioned in that series.

First of all, taking risks can definitely be a way to boost your career. Just like with investments, the higher the risk, higher the reward (usually.) So if you want to propel yourself and your career ahead by a leap or two, taking a big risk and being successful at it is certainly one way of doing so.

Of course, there's the downside to that option as well -- it's risky. And while you can try and select "risks" that you think you can control/deal with, events are often not controllable (especially when the situation is volatile.) In these cases, you can actually fail in your efforts and your career will take a hit (or two.) And thus the dilemma -- is it worth it or not to take risks to propel your career?

I've taken a few big risks (I think we all probably take minor risks here and there over time, but that's not the subject of this post -- I'm referring here to big risks that carry the chance for big success or crash-and-burn failure.) A few of the ones I've taken:

• I moved to a new division that was in tough shape and the business I managed was in danger of going bye-bye. This was an instance where taking a risk paid off since I was able to turn the business around and was rewarded with more responsibility and managing a huge portion of our company's portfolio.

• I changed industries and got a bit off the track that I had worked to develop the first several years of my career. I'm going to give this risk a semi-thumbs-up. The upside was that I enjoyed the company, the people, and the industry much more. It also set the path for my career that continued to lead to success. The downside is that I probably could have made more money staying where I was  Oh, and that the job turned into a nightmare over time.

• I joined a start-up during the dot com boom. I think we all know how that turned out. Luckily for me I landed on my feet, but this was certainly a risk that didn't turn out anywhere what I hoped for or expected. And to make matters worse, I invested in the company as well. Ugh.

• I went to work for a very small, relatively obscure company. It's been a great place (good compensation too) to work for five years and I can actually see myself retiring from this place one day. On the downside, it's in an industry I'm not that familiar with and my old network has been lost as a result of the move. I'm not sure where my career would take me if I left this position. That's one reason I'm focused on building up my network.

How about you? Have you ever taken a risk to try and grow your career? What happened?

Have You Ever Had a Boss That's Hated You?

This piece from MSNBC about bosses that hate employees made me want to ask this question:

Have you ever had a boss that's hated you?

I've detailed my entire work history, so you all know a lot about my work life. But the one thing I didn't cover is the boss who hated me. Unfortunately, I ran into this boss in my first job out of business school.

I detailed in that post the reasons she had for hating me -- I was dating a woman the boss hated, I made a few mistakes in managing projects, I tried to do some new things in new ways in an old, this-is-how-we-do-it company, and so on. Add to these that our personalities just didn't click. Not at all. Not one little bit.

So what did I do? I bailed and moved. After determining that I had zero future at the company (I had a friend go to my bosses' boss and ask what the future held for me and got a "not much" response), I found a great job at a great company and moved on.

How about you? Have you ever had a boss that's hated you? What did you do about it?

How Much Vacation Time Do You Get?

This piece on vacation days made me want to ask all of you:

How much vacation time do you get?

The numbers in the article above include both vacation days as well as holidays. Workers in Lithuania and Brazil led the pack with an average of 41 days off per year. The US averaged 25 days -- 15 days of vacation plus 10 holidays a year.

Vacation is one thing that I've always guarded and negotiated as I've changed jobs, and I've never gone backwards as a result. I've had a couple employers want to drop me back to their "standard policy" (like one week) when I've switched positions, but I've held firm. I see vacation time as time with my family and I'm not going to give that up.

As such, here's what I currently have as vacation time each year:

• 20 vacation days
• 7 personal days (can be taken in one-hour chunks for things like dentist visits or full days for sickness, etc.)
• 6 holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day)
• 33 days total

We actually convert the vacation and personal days into hours and then take off what we need, when we need.

BTW, I hardly ever take all my vacation. I take what I need/want and the rest is banked. I carried over some days last year and as of this writing I still have 24 days coming to me for 2009. I may use some of those in December, but no matter what I do, I will carry over a big amount into 2010. I can choose to get paid for them if I like, but I prefer having banked vacation in case we decide we want to take an unexpected vacation.

Now that I think about it, I should make it a goal to take more vacation next year. I'll put that on my resolution list.

So how about you? How much vacation time do you get?

Ten Ways to Make Your Boss Love You (Or Two If You Prefer)

Smart Money lists ten ways to make your boss love you as follows:

1. Put in the Hours -- When It Counts
2. Empathize
3. Defuse a Bad Situation
4. Be a Conduit
5. Ask for Help
6. Connect the Boss's Way
7. Show Initiative
8. Be Positive
9. Make Like Mini-Me
10. Get Your Face Time

This is a decent list IMO and if you really want to do all 10 steps, have at it. But my list is much shorter and will also ensure your boss will love you. Here it is:

1. Deliver results.

2. Have a good attitude.

Yep, it's that simple.

And for those of you who need a bit more information:

1. Results. Results. Results.

2. Good attitude. Good attitude. Good attitude.

Pretty clear, huh?

Why Your Resume Gets Trashed

Yahoo lists the following reasons your resume may get trashed by potential employers:

• Numbers Don't Add Up -- If accomplishments can be quantified, do it -- but use discretion. Brandishing borderline performance numbers signals a lack of experience and bad judgment.
• Formality Takes a Vacation -- Don't succumb to the informality of email.
• Keywords Are Overused -- Resumes appear contrived when candidates consciously try to include [key words].
• Things Get Too Personal -- "If you mention your age, we have to trash your resume."
• It Looks Too Fancy -- A recruiter who receives resumes in pretty plastic folders will likely toss them. Also, don't try to differentiate your resume with boxes or ornate lettering. When recruiters see a resume that's designed differently, they think the person's trying to hide something. Instead, focus on content. Your resume will rise to the top of the pile.

Here's my take on these:

1. You HAVE TO have tons of results/accomplishments on your resume. Otherwise, how is a potential employer going to know that you can do the job he wants you to do (in the case of hiring, most people assume past performance is an indicator of future success.) But, of course, you have to write the accomplishments in the right way. What's the right way? They need to jive with the other information on your resume (conflicting info is a big no-no) and they need to be impressive (saving your company 1% on a $2,000 project is probably not impressive.) And if you have a hard time finding accomplishments, here's my advice on what to do.

2. Treat everyone you meet in the entire employment process like you would a distinguished work colleague. Use "Mr.", "sir", and so on. Be respectful. Be courteous. Be polite. Do not be informal, casual, or flippant -- unless you're POSITIVELY sure that's what the employer wants (which will happen very rarely -- even in a "loose" working culture.) BTW, this doesn't mean you should be stuffy. Just be on your best behavior.

3. I try not to use the same word twice. Use synonyms to convey the same meaning without sounding like your vocabulary is limited to 250 words.

4. Do NOT include personal information on a resume. Age, marital status, hobbies, the church you attend, clubs you belong to and so forth look like amateur hour IMO and they don't serve any useful purpose (unless the hobby pertains EXACTLY to the position you're applying for.) And, in fact, these hold the potential of hurting you -- think listing that you belong to the local chapter of some militant group will benefit your chances? Probably not.

5. I dislike creative resumes for just the reasons stated above. You'll be best-served by just sticking with the basics.

A Great Way to Get a Degree Without Paying For It

Here's a piece from Yahoo that talks about getting an employer-paid degree. It's a great idea if you can hack zero free time for several years (working full-time and going to school at night can be a real time sucker) -- you get a degree (usually an advanced degree like an MBA) and don't have to pay for it. Then, if all works out in the end, you either get promoted, get paid more, or cash the degree in and head for another company (where you either get paid more, get promoted, or both.) What's not to love?

Well, there are a couple things not to love. First, as I mentioned, is the time commitment. Every person I've ever known that's gotten a degree while also working has struggled big-time managing work, school, and the rest of their life (which often has to take a backseat to school for several years.) Second, you have to go to the right school or the degree is virtually worthless. Just like any college degree, you need to make sure it's a valued degree by many employers. For example, a night MBA at Harvard is worth a whole lot more than a night MBA from University of Nowhere. Believe me, this is VERY important. I've had a few friends/co-workers that spent several years getting their degree so they could improve their career. Only they got it from a college that no one cared about -- even the current employer. They got no raise, no promotion, and their MBA from Po-Dunk U couldn't get them a job elsewhere. yeah, they didn't have to pay for the degree, but they wasted a good portion of their lives (several years) to get a worthless piece of paper.

On the upside, an advanced degree from the right school can be a huge boost to your career. It can move you up quickly to more pay and responsibility -- either within your current company or with a new one. And if you're willing to put in the time and effort, it's yours for nothing (assuming your employer reimburses you for all expenses.) It's a HUGE employee benefit when you look at the increase in earning potential you can reap over the course of a career (for example -- see what my MBA did for me, though I got mine right out of school and paid for it myself.)

I'm sure that some of you reading this have either gotten an advanced degree paid for by your employer, are thinking about it, or are in the midst of the process. Or maybe you've had friends do this. Please share your thoughts with us -- what went right, what went wrong, what would you change, and so on.

Is Hiring a Career Coach Worth It?

What if something costs you $10,000 but earns you $100,000 in return? Is it a good deal? The answer is -- maybe.

CNN Money asks if hiring a career coach is worth it or not. Here's a summary of their answer:

A good coach can be helpful if your job search is lagging or you're getting discouraged, Metzler says. Part of his or her job, after all, is to keep you on task. A coach may also make sense if you're transitioning to a new career, returning to the workforce, or trying to advance within a company, he says. In such cases, an outsider may help you focus your efforts and identify necessary skills.

But sessions average $161 an hour, according to the International Coach Federation trade group, and clients typically use three to six visits. So explore free options first. Most colleges offer their alumni gratis meetings, by phone or in-person, with the trained staffers in their career offices. Professional organizations also sometimes offer seminars to members.

So, their thinking is:

1. If you can get it for free and get the same result, that's better (of course.)

2. But if you can't get it for free or if you get a better result with a career coach, then it may be worth it.

Personally, I've never used a career coach and have had a good career. But could I have benefited from one? As you've all heard me say a million times, your career is your biggest financial asset. The difference between even a "good" career and a "great" one can be millions of dollars over a lifetime. In fact, if a career coach could simply help you gain an additional 1% in income every year, the total amount would be massive and it would be a no-brainer to hire one. But that's the rub -- can a career coach really get you an extra bump or is it an expense you don't need to incur.

What's your take on the issue -- worth it or not?

BTW, another option is to become a career coach and make money at it yourself. I've always thought I could do this and make a decent income at it.

How College Students Can Manage Their Future Career

This is a guest post from the Studenomist of Studenomics, a place for college students to prepare for the life ahead when it comes to money and career, without any of the boring stuff.

It happens to almost all 20 somethings. You graduate from college and immediately begin to stress about getting your career off the ground.
Luckily today all college students can get a head start and begin managing their future career in college.

One of the main points I have learned here at Free Money Finance is that your career is your greatest asset. At first I didn't put much thought into that theory. Have a few posts and a great series on all of the jobs that FMF held, I became convinced that your career is in fact your greatest asset.

Today I want to show all college students how to begin managing your future career while still in college. Here's how:

• Watch your online reputation. Posting pictures of yourself drunk laying on the ground may be funny to your friends on your Facebook list. However, if they become public then future employers will not find those pictures funny.

Most college students do not even think twice about what they do online. We tend to put up pictures of ourselves drunk from the weekend without putting much thought into the privacy issues surrounding the images. Sure you can send your friend a picture of yourself from the weekend but just make sure it is a public image that is not posted.

• Get your name out there. Make sure people in your industry know your name or at least meet you once. Don't delete the emails your school sends you about networking events or information dinners. Do whatever it takes to attend these events. Find out who the guest speakers are. Find out who will be there. Do your research. Come prepared. Get your name out there. If nothing comes out of it right now then don't worry it could pay dividends in the future. Your goal is to make sure that people in your industry are at least aware of you. These are potentially the same people that will be interviewing you one day.

• Make your own business cards. You don't need to be an accomplished business man to have your own business card. Create a simple business card that has your important information (contact details and field of study at least).

• Take relevant courses. Don't just fill up your schedule with easy courses to boost your GPA. It's alright to take a few easier courses but a full schedule of easy courses will grant you an easy degree followed by a HARD job hunt. Take public speaking courses to improve your interview and meeting skills. Take writing courses for all of the reports you may have to write in the future. Take networking courses to help you with your job hunt. You are paying for your courses already so you may as well make the best out of them.

What advice would you share with college students that are looking to grow their career at an early age?

How to Earn Six Figures

For those of you interested, my most recent guest post is now availabe at Get Rich Slowly. It's titled Five Steps to Six Figures in Seven Years. Check it out if you're interested in learning how to make six figures. :-)

The Top Ten Turnoffs About Networking

The following is adapted from Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-how for Business And Career Success by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon (AMACOM Books, March 2007).

Do some of the expressions that people use when they are talking about networking make you cringe? Here is a list of the Top Ten Turnoffs complied by networking experts Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon:

1. Schmoozing: This word makes networking seem so slimy and insincere! Networking is about teaching your contacts to believe in your character and competence so they want to work with you, send business your way or hire you.

2. 30-Second Commercial: Sure you want to "sell yourself" to your contact, but this phrase implies too much of a hard sell and demeans the very important interaction that takes place when you answer, “What do you do?”

3. Pick Your Brains: It makes us think of vultures coming in for the kill. We wish people would say, "I'd like to get your thoughts about something."

4. Work a Room: So depersonalizing and one-sided, this phrase sounds as if you intend to work people over and take all you can. Instead, focus on listening and showing others what they can count on you for and what kinds of opportunities to send your way.

5. Information Interview: You don’t have to make specific appointments to gather valuable information. Using state-of-the-art networking skills, you can make networking a way of life – at professional meetings, backyard barbeques, and all kinds of professional and social venues.

6. Tricks of the Trade: Let's not imply anything that smacks of manipulation. There should be no "tricks" when you network; only up-front, clear offers to be helpful to each other.

7. Favor Bank: Doing things for others is the right thing; just so they'll "owe" you one is the wrong reason. Give without strings, without expectations of getting -- that's the way to create a network that works.

8. Power Lunch: Yes, invite a powerful contact to lunch, but don't call it that. It sounds too much as if you value people just for their positions.

9. Business Card Exchange: Exchanging cards without building trust is non-productive. When you leave a networking event with 20 or 30 cards, what do you do with them? Toss 'em into the trash! Instead, listen for reasons to exchange cards. Be alert for ways to move your relationship beyond the networking event. Broadcasting your business cards makes only "cardboard connections," not real connections.

10. Important People:  Don't you hate it when you are talking with someone and that person is looking over your shoulder trying to find someone better to talk with? Give your whole attention to the person you are with. Anyone can turn out to be a valuable contact!

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What are your networking turnoffs?

How Networking in Your Office Can Help Your Career (And Help the Company's Bottomline!)

The following is adapted from Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-how for Business And Career Success by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon (AMACOM Books, March 2007). If you're interested, here's what I've already said about networking inside your own office.

Professors from the nation’s top business schools (Harvard, Wharton, and Kellogg) have written articles touting the benefits – and the necessity – of networking at work. Their research substantiates what authors Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon have discovered in the last 20 years they’ve worked with organizations teaching their employees how to network.  Relationship building has become a corporate priority, as executives have recognized that networking is vital to the health of their companies. Here’s a list of the main benefits of networking at work:

• Keep getting the big picture. Things change fast. Use your network to keep up with what’s going on. What percent of sales in your organization are from products or services that didn’t exist five years ago? Employees have to stay on their toes, just to know what products their company makes.

• Bolster the bottom line. Understand that your job depends on the success of the organization. Look around for ways to link up efforts to produce income.

• Venture into the white spaces. Look at the organization chart. What do you see? Boxes linked by some vertical lines that indicate the chain of command? Now, look between the boxes. What do you see? White space? In most organizations, that white space is unexplored territory for networking. That's where you'll find the unmet needs, the undiscovered problems, the opportunities, and the connections that will enhance your career and allow you to contribute more to the organization's success.

• Uncork bureaucratic bottlenecks. If you create temporary project teams to tackle problems and launch initiatives, you’ll make a name for yourself. Increase collaboration with other departments.

• Expand your knowledge base. Figure out what resources you need and put together a network made up of people representing many different interests and areas of expertise. If you introduce your contacts to each other, you can encourage information and skill sharing among all the members of the group. As you network, you expose yourself to new ideas and ways of doing things. This “cross pollination” almost always benefits the organization.

• Create your safety net. Take responsibility for your own career self-management. Network to increase your visibility within your organization so that opportunities find you! Explore options in case your job goes away. In these days of rightsizing and re-structuring, it's smart to keep your ears open. Ask yourself, “What skills do I have that could be used in other areas of the organization?” Figure out how to showcase those skills. What can you do so that others become aware of your capabilities?

• Access inside information. Through networking you can get information before it is public. And that information comes with the evaluation and insight your contact adds – something you’ll never get from an official announcement.

• Develop a power base. In organizations, power comes from being an information broker – someone who can stimulate collaboration among many different groups and make things happen. This power has nothing to do with your place on the organization chart.

• Marshall the right skills. Put together a circle of contacts with diverse skills that broaden your ability to get things done and insure the success of your projects and initiatives.

Results, Results, Results

I didn't know whether to name this post "It's the Results, Stupid" after the old Bill Clinton campaign focus or go with the take-off on the real estate adage of "location, location, location." I went with the latter since I don't like calling anyone stupid. But I digress...

Here's a piece from Yahoo that talks about the problems with buzzwords on a resume and in an interview. They make some fair points, but I couldn't help glossing over the buzzword thoughts and focusing on how many times they noted that highlighting past results (or accomplishments if you prefer). It's a short article, but look how many times they highlight that results are the key part of a strong resume (especially considering it's not their main point):

Hiring managers typically don't look favorably on materials filled with terms such as "enhanced," "familiar with," "responsible for," and "solutions-oriented" that don't also include details on actual achievements.

Job seekers need to focus on quantifying the results of their previous work history as much as possible. For example, "reduced the quarter-end reporting process by three days" will have a greater impact than "streamlined a reporting process."

When you're crafting your resume and speaking with hiring managers, convey how you could contribute in the position you're applying for and back up your assertions with strong examples. In particular, detail how you've positively impacted previous employers' performance and bottom line, including specific ways you helped reduce costs or increase profits.

During an interview and of course on a resume, I would recommend that ALL candidates attempt to quantify their accomplishments rather than use phrases like "managed" and "strong communication skills." What do these mean? Instead, clearly demonstrate the results of your work. Provide real examples and figures -- i.e. "improved operations by 30% by... ."

Told ya. Told ya. Told ya. Both your resume and your interview must SCREAM results. Otherwise, what do you have to offer the potential employer?

Sure, a pleasant personality/good attitude helps, but if you really want the job, you need to demonstrate that you can do it better than anyone else. And in most cases employers assume that past performance and success is the best indicator of future performance and success -- so you have to show them you have great accomplishments in your work history. If you don't, you'll be passed over in a heartbeat.

How Much is a Good Commute Worth?

The Brazen Careerist talks about dealing with an insane commute and it got me to thinking -- just what is a "good" work commute worth? In other words, would you take a $10,000 a year pay cut if it meant you only had a 10-minute commute versus a 45-minute one? It's an interesting question.

I had a friend who used to live in New Jersey and commute to New York City every day for work. It took him two hours each way -- four hours a day. And since he wanted to minimize his time on the road, he would leave early and come home late to avoid the rush hours. The result was that he got up at 4 am and was home around 8 pm. Not much time for family life during the week and he was exhausted on the weekends. What a nightmare.

This friend then moved to a much smaller city. He took a $20,000 pay cut (I think -- it's been awhile now and I'm not sure this number is 100% accurate, but it's been in that range.) But his commute was now 15 minutes each way. He had a life. He got to see his family. The world was a much more enjoyable place. It was well worth it for him to take the cut to get the time (especially since he made $150k after the cut and the cost-of-living in the new city was well below that of Jersey/NYC.)

I've shared with you all the cities I've worked in and I've never had a long commute (longest was 30 minutes one way, shortest was 15 minutes one way -- which is what I have now.) For me, an obscene commute (45 minutes or more) is a deal breaker for a new job. In fact, 30 minutes is stretching it for me. Unless there was some compensation (like working from home a day a week), I wouldn't take a much-longer commute for a huge pay increase (assuming I had a choice of course. If I was unemployed, I'd most likely take anything.) But then again, I already have a good income and I keep my spending low, so I have that option.

But how much is a short commute worth, really. There are a lot of factors to consider, of course, but let's consider these options:

• You can make $50,000 a year and have a 15-minute each way commute.
• You can make $75,000 a year and have a one-hour each way commute.
• You can make $150,000 a year and have a two-hour each way commute.

Maybe you're not near any of the pay ranges or commute times listed above, but you get the idea -- what's the travel time/pay trade-off for you?

How to Get Your Resume Read

We've talked a bit in the past about how to make your resume stand out so it's at least read by a human being -- not relegated to the slush pile where it will never see the light of day. In those posts, two readers left especially useful comments that I wanted to share with you all. Here's the first -- from my post titled The Best Way to Make Your Resume Stand Out:

I used to work in HR as a HR Assistant for a large company. It was my job to open the resumes and scan them into a computer. Bulky packages do get noticed, as annoying.

Even if a resume was sent FedEx it would end up with me to log and process. We had to track them for legal purposes. As the hiring decision was not up to me, the effort to stand out with special mailings was wasted. The resumes with keywords that matched the job requirements were the resumes that got passed along.

Networking, on the other hand, worked well. We would often get resumes from managers that someone had passed them and they would more often than not get put on the interview list.

If you don't have a contact in the company, match your resume to the position, making sure that you are what they are looking for. That will get your resume past the first hurdle. Then make sure your resume is well written, with a good cover letter. If you have a hard time with this, invest in a resume service. I did and they took my blah resume to rock star. It is a good investment in yourself.

So the suggestions are:

1. Use your network to get the resume hand-delivered to a decision maker (as I suggested)

2. Be sure your resume is well written -- full of key words and, of course, accomplishments.

The second comment was left on my post titled The Best Way to Produce Your Resume and talked about the value of sending in a hard copy resume versus simply emailing it:

I agree completely! I just hired four new staff members. We put ads online to advertise. I only got one resume in the mail. You better know that I read it completely.

I think people depend on email but don't realize that in the electronic age, USPS could actually distinguish them from the competition.

Unfortunately the person that mailed the application wasn't qualified for the job, but I did think it was an excellent way to get her resume read!

It should be on nice coordinated paper. The crest is a way the paper company shows quality. I think it's nice but certainly not required. As long as it's on nice paper, no typos and the envelope matches, it will say that the applicant has some attention to detail.

As usual, the basics apply too -- well written, nice paper and NO typos.

How to Ace an Interview

Parade Magazine lists six steps to acing an interview as follows:

• Prepare, prepare, prepare.

• Keep your answers short.

• When in doubt, overdress.

• Be positive.

• Say to the interviewer, “I really want this job.”

• Follow up promptly.

This is a great list IMO. My thoughts on each of these suggestions:

1. Of course you need to prepare. Study the company, sure, but preparing your responses to key interview questions is the KEY to interview preparation.

2. Preparing your answers in advance can help you keep them short and to the point. You'll be able to communicate a lot in a minimum of words if you plan/practice/rehearse your answers. And, it will make you look smarter.

3. It's better to overdress and be a bit "stuffy" than to underdress and be a "slob" (or at least look like you don't value the interview opportunity.) If I'm unsure of what to wear, I go with a suit and tie. But generally I simply ask my contact what the company's dress policy is since I want to be appropriately attired.

4. Seems like "being positive" just keeps popping up again and again. Must be something to it, huh?

5. I don't say, “I really want this job,” but I communicate it in other ways. For example, "I'm really excited about this opportunity", "Of all the positions I've interviewed for, this one is special" or "I like this job so much because I know I'll be able to help the company" (or something like this. Notice how I worked a selling point in the last one too?)

6. ALWAYS send a thank you note within a day of the interview. Nice touch that can't hurt but can help.

From the interview, you'll either get the job or not get it (unless they reschedule you for another round of interviews). Here's what you should do if you get a job offer and what to do if you don't get it.

You Must Take Control of Your Career

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This article from US News says to take control of your career. The piece is actually coming at "taking control" from a different angle, but it is something I agree with 100% and wanted to say so here. Here's why:

1. Your career is your most valuable financial asset. Regular readers are probably tired of me saying this but 1. I have new readers for every post so I need to repeat some things and 2. even the most basic tips are worth repeating so the rest of us don't forget them or forget to take action on them.

2. In order to maximize your pay from and enjoyment of your career, you need take action. In other words, you need to take control of your career.

3. What does this mean? It means you need to work to deliver solid results for your employer. It means you need to have a pleasant attitude while doing so. You need to show that you deserve a raise/promotion/etc. and you need to ask for a raise once you demonstrate this.

4. If you don't manage your career, your career will be on auto-pilot. You'll get auto-pilot raises, auto-pilot promotions, and be considered an auto-pilot employee (not a good thing.) The difference between getting paid as an auto-pilot employee and an accomplishment-oriented employee can be millions of dollars throughout the course of a career. (And for those of you who think those upper end numbers can't be reached, yes they can.)

By taking control of your career and managing it actively you'll be both financially rewarded as well as find that you'll enjoy your job much more. Or you can go the auto-pilot route and let life deliver to you what it may. But my experience shows that life often isn't a friend to those who simply take what it offers, and that's why I recommend you take control.

11 Ingredients of Career Success

Here are some thoughts from the great personal finance book Grow Your Money!: 101 Easy Tips to Plan, Save, and Invest. They list the 11 ingredients of career success as follows:

• Prepare a plan.
• Do your professional reading.
• Take classes.
• Do more than is expected.
• Welcome additional tasks.
• Find a mentor.
• Be a mentor.
• When the time is right, cultivate specialization.
• Focus and follow-through.
• Develop strong speaking and writing skills.
• Don't be afraid to take risks.

Here's my take on each of these:

1. If you don't have a plan and work the plan, your career is on auto-pilot and you'll get auto-pilot raises, promotions, etc. You do NOT want this! You want above average raises, promotions, etc. That's why you need to actively manage your career.

2. Yes, reading is a great way to grow your career.

3. Be sure if you take a class that it's worthwhile. I've had a ton of "sounded good on the brochure but ended up being a waste of time" seminars. That said, a good class/seminar is worth its weight in gold. My preferred method of finding good ones is to ask those in my network for recommendations.

4. I'd change "do more than expected" to "deliver more than expected".

5. A key part of "welcoming extra tasks" is the can-do, positive attitude you display when doing it.

6. My best mentoring relationships (both being mentored and being one) have developed naturally. That said, don't wait forever if one isn't developing for you. Find someone you trust and respect and ask them to guide you. Most people will be honored that you asked.

7. Look for those "bright stars" that are a level or two below you and try and help them develop their careers. By helping them, you'll learn a ton too.

8. My career worked the opposite -- I started out very focused and as I progressed higher and higher I got more general in the skills I developed/was asked to develop.

9. Another way to say "deliver results."

10. I was talking to my wife the other night about how all those school plays, debate events, and speech competitions in high school have paid dividends for me throughout my career. They taught me to be relaxed in front of an audience, how to speak extemporaneously, and the basic steps to making a good speech/presentation. These skills have benefited me BIG TIME during my entire career.

11. Take calculated risks. I did a few times (for example, see My Jobs, Working for a Maniac and My Jobs, The Dot Com Bubble Bursts for details). Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't. But if you select them carefully and have a well-thought-out Plan B in case they go south, then many of these will pan out by super-charging your career.

Where to Invest Your Time to Get the Best Pay-Off

I've been reading Grow Your Money!: 101 Easy Tips to Plan, Save, and Invest, a great personal finance book IMO. Over the next week or two I thought I'd share parts of it with you and add my 
comments to what the author says. Today, I want to highlight what he says about the value of your career. He also gives an interesting comparison to your investments as follows:

Your career is your single best investment. Keeping up-to-date in your field and striving to be a dedicated and hardworking employee will translate into a higher income, more satisfying work life, and better job security. When you decide to change careers, the skills you possess will make the transition into a new career a lot smoother. As a skilled and valued employee, you will also have more opportunity for meaningful work later in life and will be able to retire on your timetable, rather than your employer's.

In short, if you have a choice between spending an hour a day studying the stock market or spending that hour becoming a more skilled employee, the latter will be your more lucrative investment by a long shot.

A few comments to these thoughts:

1. Yes, your career is your single biggest investment/asset.

2. The factors he names are certainly important to growing your career, but the best thing you can do to make the most of it is deliver results. Hard work and being up-to-date will get you very little if you can't perform.

3. Furthermore, a good attitude will help out your career as well.

4. I LOVE the comparison between an hour invested in your career versus an hour spent on your investments! Very true, IMO.

5. That said, you don't need to spend a boatload of time on your investments to make sure they do well. Just check out index funds.

6. What else can you do to grow your career? Some ideas: read, develop your brand, have a blog, and network.

Always Check the Cost-of-Living Before Taking a New Job

Most people look at compensation (of course!) before taking a new job -- comparing what they make at their current job versus what they would make in the new one. Some simply compare base salary versus base salary -- big mistake! You need to compare total compensation versus total compensation (base salary, bonus, likelihood on making bonus, 401k match, other benefits, intangibles like commute time, etc.) But that's for another post. What I want to talk about today is something everyone should do and very few, in my experience, actually think about -- comparing the cost-of-living of the new city versus the current one (assuming you're moving to a new area.)

For example, here are some scenarios you might face:

• Total compensation goes up 7%
• Cost-of-living in new city is 7% higher

• Total compensation goes up 3%
• Cost-of-living in new city is 5% lower

• Total compensation goes up 7%
• Cost-of-living in new city is 30% higher

Assuming everything else is equal, which of these makes the most financial sense?

We've talked time and again about how the cost-of-living in a city can make a HUGE difference in your finances, so you MUST check the cost of the new versus the current city. How can you do this? I like the cost-of-living calculator at Sperling's Best Places. It gives you a great feel cost differences.

Now once you have the information, what do you do with it? Here's how I manage the data:

1. I start with wanting to know if the city is at least close to or less than the cost to live in most other places. If it scores 100 or less in the calculator then I know that I'm at least doing better than average compared to the entire population.

2. I then look at the cost of my current city versus the new one. Will my living expenses be going up or down? If going down, I rejoice at the information. If going up, I take the information into consideration and make it part of my response to the potential employer.

For instance, my move from Pittsburgh to Nashville involved a conversation about my need for a higher bump in compensation than normal since it was more expensive to live in Nashville than in Pittsburgh (FYI, I got an additional bump, but not the full amount). When I moved to lower cost-of-living Grand Rapids, the issue was never brought up. :-)

One final tip: check several cost-of-living calculators (you can Google them) to see the differences between them. Sometimes one will give a different result -- potentially in your favor. You can then use this information in your negotiation for additional salary/compensation. My experience is that if the issue is brought up, employers will rarely question either it's source or accuracy (as long as they are at least somewhat valid.)

How to Make Up for Being Ugly

I've posted previously that attractive people make more money (as do tall, "wise", and appropriately dressed people.) Kiplinger recognizes this fact as well and suggests how to compensate if you're less than pleasing to the eye. Their suggestions:

Don't skimp on self-development. If you have mediocre skills, that’s strike two. Add a mediocre personality, and it’s usually strike three and you’re out. So self-development, while important for everyone, is crucial for you. Instead of watching TV on the treadmill, read a professional magazine. Instead of loafing around on Saturday morning, go to that seminar on executive deportment. And ask for 360-degree feedback from bosses, co-workers, supervisees and customers.

Make an effort to look sharp. There are some physical attributes we can control and some we can’t. If you ignore the features that you could enhance, it sends the message that you don’t care—a message that may even give the wrong impression of your work. Dress well—at your boss's level of dressiness. Wear a moderate amount of subtle makeup (women only!). Not sure whether yours brings out the best in you? Major department stores have an army of cosmeticians willing to make you over for free.

Don't smoke. If avoiding cancer isn't a good-enough reason, smoking also makes you uglier: It yellows your teeth, wrinkles your skin and makes your breath stink.

Manage your weight as well as you can. Stand up straight. Helen Gurley Brown said, only half joking, “After 40, it all comes down to posture.”

I'd like to add my two cents to these suggestions/this issue:

1. It's a fact of life that attractive people generally get ahead, get the breaks, etc. Don't yell at me -- I didn't set the rules, I'm just recognizing them.

2. That said, it's a shame that it's this way.

3. No matter who you are -- attractive or non-attractive -- you MUST deliver results and have a good attitude. If you don't have these, you're doomed (sure, a good-looking person without these will do better than an unattractive person without them, but he'll still do much worse than most people.)

4. Do whatever you can to make yourself better in all categories -- performance, attitude, AND looks. You need to do everything you can anyway to manage and grow your biggest financial asset (your career).

5. Most people are neither stunning nor ugly, they're in the middle of the pack. As such, most people can simply focus on the basics of looking better (noted above) and this will be good enough.

6. Personally, I cover the basics that make me look at good as possible (proper hygiene, dress appropriately, etc.), but spend the most time on delivering results for my employer as well as being a "yes, I can do that" sort of employee. So far, it's working. :-)

Seven Tips for Job Hunters

US News lists 17 rules for job seekers. I especially like these:

3. On the resume and in the interview, don’t talk about how hard you worked. Stress what was achieved.

4. Don’t forget to give credit to others. Employers are suspicious of "solo" performances.

8. Project an attitude of Interested. That’s in contrast to Abnormally Interested and Desperate.

9. Be nice to everyone. The receptionist may be more influential than an oral board member.

11. Craft answers for the simple interview questions (“Why should we hire you?”) before preparing for the complicated ones. Why? You won’t be embarrassed if you flub a complicated one.

16. Always send a thank-you note after an interview.

17. If it is made at all, the offer for the job you want usually arrives a week after the offer for the job you don’t want.

Here are my thoughts on these:

1. Yes! Yes! Yes! Accomplishments! Accomplishments! Accomplishments!

2. I usually include "we" several times in an interview. If you say something like "the time I led my team to save our company $250,000" and "one of my team members came up with such-and-such, we worked to modify it a bit, and our sales went up 10%", it shows that you're not only a team player but that you're also a leader and someone who gets things done.

3. You need to show some interest/excitement in the opportunity. Otherwise, why would they want to hire you? Remember, attitude matters a ton (and this is part of having a good/upbeat attitude.)

4. Reminder: you're always on and the little things matter.

5. I'd say craft answers to as many answers as you can think of. Then rehearse.

6. I ALWAYS send a thank you note.

7. Ha! Tell me about it!!! :-)

Is Speaking More the Way to Grow Your Career?

US News says that one way to look smarter than you are (and thus grow your career) is to talk more. Yep, that's what they recommend. The rationale:

Research shows that people who speak up more often in groups are viewed as more competent and more instrumental to a group’s overall success. Maybe they aren’t the smartest people in the room, and maybe what they have to say isn’t always 100 percent right on, but talkative people are perceived as more dominant. And, for better or for worse, dominant people are perceived as competent people.

They then go on to warn about all the negatives associated with talking too much -- looking stupid because you don't know what you're talking about, talking over others, falling in love with the sound of your own voice, etc. -- all the reasons you may not want to talk more. ;-)

But they offer some ideas on how to talk more without making these mistakes:

Ask questions! Invite dialogue! Admit ignorance! Demonstrate that your objective is the success of your organization and that you want to help. Just the very act of contributing is enough to establish yourself as a key player.

And here's what US News says will happen as a result:

People will come to look to you for ideas. You will begin to be perceived as a leader. You’ll be viewed as more indispensable to the organization, and your position at work will be more secure.

Not only will your position be more secure, but it's likely that your career will advance if those things happen. And if your career advances, you'll earn more money.

Now what about the old saying as follows (I know some of these quotes are likely not from who they are attributed to, but you'll get the meaning of the thought anyway):

• It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt . -- George Eliot

• Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.-- Abraham Lincoln (also attr. Confucius)

• It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.-- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

• Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. -- Proverbs 17:28

My take is that if you speak more, speak knowledgeably, and doe the things advised above (like ask questions and bring others into the conversation), then speaking more probably will make you more of a leader (or at least perceived that way) and as a result help out your career. Then again, every time you speak, you run the risk of looking like a fool. So my advice is to be careful, be sure you know what you're talking about, and communicate so that your manner, tone, non-verbal signals, etc. complement your words.

What's your take on the issue? Talk more or not?

Proofread Your Resume

The Washington Post gives us these startling figures from hiring executives:

In interviews with 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies, 40 percent of the respondents said that just one typo on a résumé would kick a job candidate out of the queue for consideration. Thirty percent said it would take just two mistakes before the résumé was discarded.

Let this serve as a reminder -- you need to proofread your resume. In fact, here's what I'd suggest you do with it once you have your resume written:

1. Run it through spellcheck.

2. Print it out and read it yourself.

3. Read it again.

4. Send it to a few friends/co-workers and have them proofread it for you.

Remember, two small, simple errors will eliminate you from consideration from 70% of the potential employers out there. And especially in today's tough job market, this is a problem you simply can not afford to let happen.

8 Questions to Determine the Health of Your Network

I've talked a lot about growing and developing your network as part of managing your career, but I had never seen anything that helped determine whether or not your networking efforts were doing any good. Then I ran into this piece from Yahoo that lists eight questions that determine the health of your network. They are:

1. How many former co-workers' contact information do you have?
2. Does your network include a handful of people who could serve as references?
3. How many of your contacts have you communicated with in the past six months?
4. Have you had lunch or coffee with someone from your network in the past month?
5. Have you attended a professional event recently?
6. Have you added any professional contacts in the past month?
7. Are you networking "outside the box" -- that is, making connections beyond your former colleagues and friends?
8. When your professional contacts get in touch with you, do you answer?

Here are my responses to each of these:

1. Yes. I don't delete contact info from my Blackberry, and I update it whenever I know of a change.

2. Of course. More than a handful actually.

3. Probably 15 to 20. Not sure if this is good or not though.

4. Having regular lunches with people is part of my networking plan.

5. Uh, no. I find that many of these are a waste of time (often they simply want to sell you something.) Maybe I'm just getting the wrong invites?

6. I add one or two per month. Is that good or bad?

7. I'm not sure exactly what they mean here. I do have contacts outside my industry -- does that count?

8. Yes, I make it a policy to respond quickly and I always try and help with requests. It's these helpful "deposits" that you can "withdraw" if and when you come to a time of need in your own life.

What do you think of this list? How do you perform compared to it?

The Best Way to Make Your Resume Stand Out

In response to my post titled Which is Best for a Resume?, one reader asked this question:

The bigger question to me is this: how to get your resume noticed, and how to keep it from ending up on the "resume pile of death" with the other 500 resumes the company has just received.

I think you can make a big impact by how you deliver or package your resume. Get creative. Send it via Priority Mail or FedEx. Or send it in a package that is unique to the industry or company.

Oversized mail, and "lumpy" mail (an envelope with something inside it besides paper), creates intrigue and gets opened first.

As you might imagine, I have an opinion on this issue. :-)

The best way to get your resume looked at is to have a contact with the hiring company that singles you out.

For instance, maybe you know someone at the company that can walk your resume down to the hiring manager and ask him to look at it. Or maybe you have a friend who knows someone that works at the company that can do the same. Or maybe you can establish email contact with someone who works at the company that is willing to forward the HR department your resume.

You get the idea -- if you can have someone from within the hiring company at least deliver (deliver and recommend would be even better), your resume will at least get looked at for more than 15 seconds (which is a lot more than what others get.)

So how do you get to someone in the company? This is where networking pays off! If you're regularly working and expanding your network, you'll have a much better chance of making some sort of contact within your target company. And these days, you can even network and make contacts with people in companies thousands of miles away from where you live (for example, use LinkedIn.)

Ok, so let's say you can't make a contact at the company for some reason -- what do you do to make your resume stand out? Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm not a big fan of unconventional job-hunting efforts since they often make the employee seem strange/quirky and a bit cheesy -- an image you definitely do NOT want to project. I'm ok with sending it in a unique fashion like by Priority Mail or FedEx or in a unique (not funny/wild/crazy, mind you, something unique but professional) envelope. I do not like any sort of gimmick-related items like an over-sized dollar bill with a note that says "I can make you money!" Sure, you'll get noticed, but in a bad way.

So I thought I'd open up this question for you all. If you can't make your resume stand out by networking, what can you do?

Are You a Money Risk Taker?

Here's a quiz from Yahoo that helps you determine whether or not you're a risk taker when it comes to managing your money and your career. The test is not really spot on IMO (a couple of the answer options seem a bit odd to me), but it was a fun way to pass five minutes so I thought I'd share it with you all. Stop by and take the test if you like -- and let me know how you scored.

FYI, I was in the middle group. It said that I "seem able to balance some risk with common sense. That's just what you'll need to succeed in your career." :-)

The Best Way to Produce Your Resume

WalletPop gives what I consider to be some good advice on the best way to produce your resume. Specifically, they suggest:

Resumes should be printed on heavy, quality paper with a crest watermark, and sent in envelopes with the same letter crest to distinguish your resume from anyone else's, he said. A follow-up letter should also be sent on the same stock.

A few thoughts on this from me:

1. I don't know if I agree that you need to send both an electronic version of your resume as well as a paper copy, but when paper is called for (mail, in person, etc.) I'd certainly agree 100% with what they are saying.

2. Personally, I get nice resume paper from an office supply store, get envelopes to match, and print them out on my laser printer at home. They look EXCELLENT -- very crisp, clean, and professional -- just the type of image I want to project.

3. Be sure the watermark doesn't interfere with some key information when you print out your resume. Sure, it's light, but it can still get in the way if it's in the wrong location. If there's any question whether or not it's a problem, I throw out the copy and print off a new one.

4. They didn't mention the color of paper. I prefer white. Light brown (tan) and light gray can work too, but I recommend going with the standard, classic, and ever-popular white. If the color of your resume is the only thing that will make you stand out, you've got problems bigger than what a tan piece of paper can solve.

Anything I missed?

Family Fortunes Going Up and Coming Down

There are two contrasting job/income changes that have hit our extended family recently and I thought I'd tell you a bit about them.

My sister-in-law recently went through a four-stage interview for a new job she wanted. While she said the process was long and she didn't know where she stood until the very end, she ended up with a HUGE pay increase -- 50% more than what she was making in her old job. Her combination of experience and good interview skills seems to have won her the job. As you might imagine, we are all very excited for her.

My sister-in-law's story illustrates the way most people usually grow their incomes, big increases surrounded by smaller ones, and how I've grown my income as well. In other words, if you're looking for a 10% increase in pay every single year, it will never happen. :-) There are good years and not-so-good years, but if you have as many of the former as possible, you'll do well managing your career.

On the other hand, my brother-in-law (not married to the sister-in-law noted above, but to another sister-in-law) has seen his pay go down, down, down. His company is having a tough time and everyone recently had to take a 15% pay cut (I believe this was on top of cuts he'd had in the previous few years). In addition, he just accepted a new position that is salaried, so he'll lose his overtime pay, hitting him with another 30% reduction in pay. He's in a tough spot -- he can't quit given that it could be hard to find another job (something I agree with). In addition, he's not really savvy in making the most of his career, marketing himself, and the other skills required to grow his income. Unfortunately, they live far away and he's not easily accessible (he travels a lot) or I could try and help him. Even so, I'm not sure it would work as his personality isn't really the "go-getter" type (I'm not really sure if he's upset by the change to be honest). It's a shame because he's such a talented and skilled person.

It's been interesting to me to see such contrasts hit at virtually the same time. One person is up by 50% and another is down by almost that much. It's a strange situation to be sure.

Hiring Tricks Used by Some Employers

Yahoo lists some hiring tricks used by employers as follows:

• They inspect your car. "The owner considered this a definition of the candidate's character."

• They watch while you wait. "If you are playing games on your phone instead of reading the Wall Street Journal on the table in front of you, you could be sabotaging yourself before you even meet the recruiter."

• They try to see your inner gossip. [The interviewer would] drop a sideways comment about someone on the hiring team and ask the candidate's opinion of the person. If the candidate agreed or added to the slam, or disagreed and defended the person, he or she wasn't hired. But if the candidate refused to acknowledge or discuss the inference, a job offer was usually made.

• They mind your manners. Many recruiters use meals as a screening tool. "I know a recruiter who passed over a candidate because of the way they cut their meat during a lunch interview."

This made me think of the following immediately:

• The little things matter in an interview. You never know what can and will be used against you.

• Seriously? Some of these suggestions are truly whacked out. Would I really want to work for any company that practiced these? I'd be afraid they'd be taping my trips to the copy machine or watching the way I hang up my coat in order to determine my next annual raise. No thanks!

I once had a company that wanted to hire me. I met with the CEO and he told me that they wanted me to come on board. But he suggested that I would need to change my vocabulary. I could no longer call retailers "the trade" (which is the generally accepted term in the industry, BTW.) I would have to call them "partners", "suppliers", or some other synonym -- I can't recall what it was exactly. But I remember thinking, "This is weird. If he's going to be such a stickler on something minor like this, what will he be like on the big issues?" This wasn't the only reason I passed on the job, but it sure was one of several warning signs that made me decline the opportunity.

Anyone out there ever used a hiring “trick” or had one used on you?

Which is Best for a Resume?

Here's a debate from Yahoo about which is the best start for a resume -- an objective (what job you're applying for or would like to have), a summary of your work experience/accomplishments, or simply plunging in with details of your work experience. They list pros and cons for each of these options, but don't say which they think is best, so I thought I'd weigh in on the subject. Here goes:

• I think an objective is useless and a waste of prime, attention-getting space. If you're sending in a resume for consideration, either they know what position you'd like or you can cover it in an email or cover letter. Putting an objective on a resume accomplishes nothing IMO other than makes you look like an amateur (who really does this anyway?) To me, this is by far the worst of the three options.

• I can see that a summary would be useful -- that it would state upfront what you've accomplished and let the reader know whether or not she should keep reading. However, I usually skip summaries when I read resumes. The main reason is that I've seen so many that are poorly written and full of meaningless terminology that they're useless. So I by-pass them and go straight for the meat. In addition, these take up valuable space that could be used to detail your past work experiences (After all, your resume can only be so long, right? If something is added, something needs to come out.) That said, a well-written summary COULD work -- I've just never used one nor seen anyone do so with success. Anyone done well with a summary on their resume?

• Personally, I prefer going straight for the work experience. I list jobs backward chronologically, with a short description (one or two sentences) of the position and then four to six accomplishment-laden bullet points that are backed up with facts (i.e. I don't say "I grew sales" but prefer "I grew sales 10%" -- not the exact words, but you get the picture. For more detailed examples, see How to Write a Winning Resume.) This is the style that has worked for me and the one I prefer when reviewing resumes. Then again, I haven't dusted off my resume for several years, so maybe I'm missing something.

What's your take on this issue? Which of these is the best choice? Or is there a best choice -- will any work? Or maybe different ones work in different situations? I'd love to hear your success stories (or even your failed attempts) using any of these as the start of your resume.

When Work and Money Collide

Ever had personal finance related issues seep their way into your work-life? I've had several, but three standout in my mind:

• We'll start with a story from my very first job out of college. I was given a company credit card and told to use it for business-related expenses. I still had to fill out an expense report, get reimbursed, and pay off the card, so I considered it my card. I not only charged business expenses on it but personal purchases as well (which I paid for myself, of course.) After the first bill, my boss called me into his office and said he'd received a report that I had charged personal purchases on the company card (scary, huh?). I said I had and that I was paying for them myself so I didn't think it was a big deal. It was. The credit card company only wanted business expenses on the card (for whatever reason), so I was to not charge anything personal on it. I remember this being a very strange conversation -- one I wanted to avoid in the future -- so I didn't charge on it again.

• The next was several years later when I was the boss and we had company issued credit cards. In this case, employees could charge company expenses and personal purchases on the card (the more, the better as far as our card company was concerned.) I received notice one day (not sure if it came from my boss, from the finance department (handlers of the cards), or from human resources) that one of my top managers was delinquent on his credit card bill. I needed to talk to him to get it current. AWKWARD!!!!!! Ugh. It was a short conversation, thank God. I mentioned that I had received a report, he knew the issue and promised to take care of it, and it was over. Everything was fine until it happened again a year later. I had another short talk about the issue and he took care of it, but I'll always remember how weird those conversations were.

• The last happened recently. One of the executives from our office went to Costco to get some office supplies. After he had driven 30 minutes to get there and shopped for another hour, he called back to the office and asked how he could pay for the $100 in supplies he had. Our accountant told him to simply charge them and we'd reimburse him. He said he didn't have an American Express card. The accountant told him to go ahead and write a check then. The executive said he couldn't because he might be over-drawn if he did. Over-drawn? For $100? This is a guy that made a decent salary and he's playing it that close to the vest? Yikes! Anyway, he had to put the stuff back and another one of us went the next day to get the supplies.

How about you? Any interesting collisions of personal finance and the work world out there?

Easy Career Growth Tip: Read

Productivity 501 talks about the benefits of reading. They go at it from a general "improve yourself" standpoint, but I believe it can also benefit your career in many of the same ways writing can. The site offers the following tips for making the most of doing so:

• Read books.
• Set aside a specific time for reading.
• Read outside your field. 
• Keep a book list.
• Buy used.
• Don’t be afraid to give up. 
• Take notes.
• Read for the interaction–not speed.

Here are my thoughts on these and other reading-related suggestions:

1. I don't think you have to read only books. Magazines, web articles, and blogs have their place as well and can help you cover a wide variety of topics in a short amount of time.

2. I like to read lots of stuff outside my field. It makes life much more interesting IMO. And you won't believe how often an idea from a non-related subject actually applies to my work/career -- it's a regular occurrence.

3. I don't buy used, I rent. The library allows me to check out so many books that I'd never otherwise buy and/or even try to read. If I like them, great. If not, I simply return them with no cost.

4. I take notes in books I look over, but these are mostly personal finance books that publishers send me. I write the notes on the inside of the front so they always remain with the book.

5. I actually disagree with the last point. I read for speed, skimming many books/portions of books, then read the parts that interest me at a much slower pace.

6. I'd add "go audio" to this list. But listening to audiobooks, I take otherwise non-productive time -- in the car, while cutting the grass, on the treadmill, etc. -- and turn them into learning times. Add podcasts to this list and I can cover a lot of material by listening.

Reading on a regular basis on a variety of subjects has been one of the best outside-of-work things I've done to help grow my career, not to mention making my life much more interesting.

How about you? I assume there are a lot of readers on this site -- true?

Does a Pleasant Attitude/Personality Help You Succeed?

I've said before that I think the two parts of a successful career are delivering results and having a good attitude. But how much does the latter really contribute to any success you have? Maybe more than I originally thought.

I just finished reading the book The Noticer: Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective. (good book, BTW.) A couple times it went through this sort of reasoning (I'm paraphrasing, but the ideas are correct):

• Opportunities for advancement and success are controlled by people. They're the ones that decide on the promotions, give the "secret" tips, give the "breaks", and so on.

• Given that people are the key to success, those that know and associate more with other people have more opportunities available to them.

• The key to knowing more people and having them in your life is being pleasant/having a positive attitude. People want to be around other people that are cheerful and positive.

• So if you're positive, more people will want to be around/associated with you and you'll automatically have more opportunities available to you. By having more opportunities, you'll become more successful since you can select from a wider array of potential options.

The book says it much better than this (much smoother -- I'm a bit choppy), but the idea is that if you have a positive attitude you'll have more friends/acquaintances that present you with more opportunities and you'll be more successful as a result.

Here's my question for you: true or false?

I always associated a good attitude with likeability and it was a tie-breaker (or maybe a bit more) in the work field. If I had two employees and they both delivered great results, I'd prefer promoting the one that was more pleasant to work with than the grumpy fellow I had to constantly cheer up. But the thoughts above take a positive attitude a step further and say that simply by being positive you'll be more successful. They're saying it's not a tie breaker, but a key attribute that can make or break your success.

What's your take on this issue?

Make More Money by Moving to a Cold Weather Climate

Ok, so the headline of this post is a bit over the top (what's new, huh?). But the concept discussed here is interesting and related to personal finance, so I'm going with it. :-)

Here's the summary:

New research suggests that higher temperatures can have a damaging effect on the economies of poor countries. The study, by economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that in years with higher temperatures, poor countries experienced significantly slower economic growth.

The research adds to an economic puzzle that dates back hundreds of years: Why do the poorer economies of the world tend to be in hot places, while the more successful economies are found in cooler climates?

There's much, much more to the idea than this, including lots of debate on whether or not it's true, so click through and read the details if you like.

For now, here are my thoughts on this piece:

1. I may have to revise my "move to a lower cost-of-living city" advice to "move to a lower cost-of-living city in a cold climate." :-)

2. If this is true, shouldn't my state of Michigan be a boom-state? After all, the temps here are as cold as anywhere in the US. Oh yeah, I forgot, we are thriving! We have 85% employment!!!! ;-)

3. Shouldn't Canada be dusting the US if this was true?

Ok, enough fun about this topic. Seriously, I don't know whether or not it's true, and I'm unsure about its application if it turns out to be factual. But it's an interesting hypothesis if nothing else and I thought I'd bring it to your attention.

Make Money As a Career Coach

Smart Money asks if a $1,000 resume can boost your career. What they're getting at is the fact that an ever-growing, expensive array of professional job-hunting services seems to be exploding these days. They'll give you all sorts of advice (for a fee, of course.) The "industry" is now up to $400 million in fees annually -- and showing no sign of declining soon.

On the other hand, maybe this is a money making opportunity for some of us. Just how much can be made? Check this out:

Fees range from just a few dollars for group seminars to $500-an-hour coaching or even—you guessed it—a cut of your salary.

Kinda like "agents" for executives, huh? :-)

Anyway, before I get to my comments, here are a few other facts I found interesting in this Smart Money piece:

• According to career coach Paul Bernard, people should plan for at least a month of searching for every $12,000 to $15,000 they want to earn.

• Some [job seekers] need help rehearsing for the rigorous, multistage interviews now standard in many screenings. Others aren’t sure how to leverage online resources like networking Web site LinkedIn.

• Liz Sumner, the group’s director, recommends that job seekers not just accept the alphabet soup of credentials but also check references and ask for samples of their coach’s work.

• Nothing provokes quite as much angst as creating the perfect résumé—Amazon.com lists over 268,000 titles on the subject—it’s not surprising that a résumé writer is many job seekers’ first hire. When it comes to qualifications, they often tout backgrounds in human resources or recruiting and, of course, those industry certifications. Some focus on senior executives and charge between $800 and $1,500 per résumé, but according to the Directory of Professional Résumé Writers, the majority work with a range of clients, charging an average of $350.

• ExecuNet found that 86 percent of job recruiters said they use search engines to find out more about prospects, while a whopping 44 percent said they’d actually eliminated a candidate based on information they turned up online.

• Like too many CVs, she explains, this [resume] reads like a laundry list of responsibilities rather than a bouquet of specific accomplishments. The document has no “headline” and is woefully short on style—no catchy graphics, shading or boxes setting off the key information. Even the font isn’t right. “Boring,” she says. First, she suggests, we should kick off with a summary of our profession and skills. To play up our accomplishments, we should add the number of “hits” tallied by our online articles, to show measurable results and play up our Web savviness.

• Our presenter is causing eyes to widen as she describes one job seeker who sends Monopoly money with his résumé, along with a cover letter describing how he’d make a company boatloads of the real stuff.

• Role playing. Videotaped practice sessions. Flash cards. All are part of the fun of interview coaching (typical range: $75 to $200 an hour), a key part of many career gurus’ bag of tricks.

• The ideal interview, he says, should be about 80 percent rehearsed responses and 20 percent ad-lib. “You can’t memorize all your lines or you’ll sound like a robot,” says Bernard.

• [How to handle the dreaded-but-popular “tell me about yourself” question]: [The answer] should run about 90 seconds. Start broad, with a quick summary of your professional experience, then drill down to three specific skills, then briefly highlight a few accomplishments.

My take on all of this:

1. If you're skilled, you could make a bundle handing out this sort of advice.

2. If you're not skilled, it may be worth it for you to pay for some of this. After all, if it costs you $1,000 to get a $50,000 a year job you wouldn't have gotten otherwise, it's certainly worth it. Even if it only helps you get hired sooner, it's worth it (if you get hired a month sooner than what you would by yourself, you’ve more than recouped your fees.) Then again, I dish out this sort of advice for free here, so why pay for it? ;-)

3. "Plan at least a month of searching for every $12,000 to $15,000 they want to earn." This means if you earn $50k per year, count on looking four months for a new job. At $100k per year, it's over seven months. I wonder if these stats are based on the past and if the expected times to be hired are longer now given the state of the economy. Then again, these are averages. If you market yourself correctly, you should do much better than average.

4. Rehearse for interviews? Who would have ever thought of that? ;-)

5. Just like you should when you hire any professional, ALWAYS check references. Better yet is getting the inside scoop from someone you know and trust who has used a specific professional.

6. "44 percent said they’d actually eliminated a candidate based on information they turned up online." Yikes! Says a lot about how you need to manage your online "brand."

7. I'm 100% there with the suggestions that your resume needs to be full of quantifiable accomplishments. I'm not so big on creative resumes or over-the-top ways to stand out when applying for a job.

8. "The ideal interview, he says, should be about 80 percent rehearsed responses and 20 percent ad-lib." Yep. I think this is pretty accurate. That said, there's no need to completely ad-lib. You should have at least a general sense of what you'll be saying.

9. Here's my personal take on the "tell me about yourself" question.

Math is a Valuable Skill

Want to earn more? Then sharpen your math skills and enter a field that requires you to use them. The details from CNN Money:

The top 15 highest-earning college degrees all have one thing in common -- math skills. That's according to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks college graduates' job offers.

"Math is at the crux of who gets paid," said Ed Koc, director of research at NACE. "If you have those skills, you are an extremely valuable asset. We don't generate enough people like that in this country."

There are far fewer people graduating with math-based majors, compared to their liberal-arts counterparts, which is why they are paid at such a premium. "It's a supply and demand issue," he added. "So few grads offer math skills, and those who can are rewarded."

I'm not in any of the fields detailed in the article (mostly engineering related), but I can vouch that decent math skills have been a big benefit to my career. In the business world, someone that can make a good argument and back it up with solid numerical analysis is going to get ahead -- way ahead -- of the pack.  And, of course, good math skills can help you write a winning resume -- one that is full of quantifiable accomplishments (just look at what a few numbers can do for your resume). In short, knowing how to use numbers can be a great aid in marketing yourself.

I always liked math and was good at it, though I'm not anywhere near the skills required to be an engineer or in a similar field. And really, like much of what we all learn in school, you only need to be good with the basics of numbers to get ahead (no calculus or advanced statistics required). For everything above that level, we have calculators and computers. :-)

Your Job, Your Investments, and Total Diversification

The following is a guest post from Vik Tantry, the voice behind Kanjoh, a directory of free videos explaining the fundamentals of asset allocation, personal finance, and banking. The thoughts below are interesting concepts, similar to what I've shared in This Seems Like a Bad Idea to Me and Ouch! Here's a Reason You Need to Be Very Conservative in Retirement Planning.

Diversification is important for most individual investors. We hope to reduce risk by investing in a wide variety of asset classes. However, in designing our portfolios, we often ignore one of our most important assets: our job and career.

For most people, their job is their primary source of income. Income potential in a job is largely driven by profit and growth within the industry. But what if things start going badly and it becomes harder to make ends meet? In this case, it would be great to have some investment gains to offset the loss in income. This will help smooth out an investor's cash flow over the long run.

How can this be achieved? Let's illustrate with an example. Phil is a real estate broker with more than twenty years of experience. He understands the ins and outs of the real estate market, and knows that real estate tends to move in cycles. When times are good, he will be able to generate significantly more income than when things get bad. Therefore, to smooth out his returns, Phil devotes a small percentage of his portfolio to short-selling a local real estate investment trust, a fund that actively buys and manages local properties.

In the boom years, Phil's income goes up due to an increased number of sales, while his short position will result in a loss. However, if the real estate market goes south, the short position will start increasing in value. This capital gain will help hedge away some of Phil's loss in income. As a result, Phil can sleep soundly knowing that he has at least some level of protection against a market collapse.

This strategy of "betting against your career" seems counterintuitive. Many of the most successful investment managers recommend "investing in what you know." After all, you are likely to make more informed decisions if you understand the context of an investment opportunity.  While this may be true for professional, full-time investors, the next example illustrates that this strategy can in fact lead to a dangerous level of overexposure.

Like Phil, Josh is an experienced real estate broker who understands the fundamentals of the industry. Josh decides to use his knowledge to speculate on the local real estate market. He starts by purchasing one house, then two, and then five. Because the market is going up, Josh can easily borrow the money to finance his investment decisions.

But all of a sudden, the local market experiences a sharp decline. In the course of a year, Josh's properties fall nearly 30% in value. He would incur large losses if he sold right away, so instead he chooses to continue making the monthly mortgage payments. However, the rough market makes it difficult for him to sell houses. The decrease in income, high monthly payments, and decline in housing value all lead to a cash crunch.

Hedging against loss of income is not limited to the real estate market. Software engineers should protect themselves against a tech bust, and financial analysts should hedge against banking collapses. After all, the last thing you want is to lose your job and savings in one fell swoop. Instead, a carefully constructed strategy of considering your job as part of the investment decision can help avoid such calamities and reduce your overall risk.

Do’s and Don’ts in Dealing with Your Boss

I've said before that I think the two keys to career success are having quantifiable accomplishments (or delivering results, if you prefer) and having a great, positive attitude. I write about the former a bunch, so I really liked the book highlighted below since it covers the latter.

That said, today's excerpt is somewhat about having a positive attitude and somewhat about simply doing what the author thinks is best when dealing with your boss. Look them over and let me know what you think of the list.

The following is excerpted with permission from The Power of a Positive Attitude: Discovering the Key to Success by Roger Fritz (AMACOM 2008).

-----------------------------------------

“I am not saying a Positive Attitude can make you successful. I am saying a Positive Attitude will make you successful.” — Norman Vincent Peale

Nobody, but nobody is more important to your job satisfaction and happiness, your progress and development on the job than your boss. Some people are lucky to be assigned to a boss who is a good leader, teacher, and mentor, while others may work for one who is the opposite.

No matter who the fates give you as a supervisor, you can make the most of it by studying your boss’s goals, style, and work habits and then tailoring your actions accordingly.

Linda learned very early in her assignment to the Purchasing Department that Carol, the purchasing manager, was the kind of person who was meticulous in her work and expected her people to be the same. She observed that Carol was always at her desk ten minutes before starting time, that she organized her work carefully, and that there was a place for everything and everything was in its place. Linda’s previous boss had been much more casual, and Linda’s work habits when working for him reflected that. She resolved to change her methods of operation. She came in a bit earlier than her boss, set up her desk in a very organized manner, and even dressed more conservatively. This immediately set the stage for a successful relationship with Carol and led to a long, happy employment and rapid advancement.

Do’s and Don’ts in Dealing with Your Boss

Here are some basic guidelines that will help you develop coping strategies for dealing with your supervisor.

The Do’s

• DO watch the example of the people who get along with your boss. They, after all, have learned how to cope. Try to learn from them and follow their example.

• DO consider that you may be partly responsible for your poor relationship with your supervisor if you have one. Remember it takes two to tango. And while you can’t change your boss, you can change how you behave, so take responsibility and take action to make positive change happen.

• DO try to make your employer’s job easier by offering to take responsibility for those tasks that he may dislike doing.

• DO keep track of your boss’s mood swings. Observe the times of day and the days of week when he is in the most receptive frame of mind.

• DO tell the boss how you feel about her treatment of you. Don’t hide your feelings. Wait until she has cooled down to discuss how you feel, and then talk calmly and, of course, in private.

• DO monitor your progress. If you are not having the success you desire, reevaluate the way you are dealing with your supervisor and take another tack if necessary. Be patient. Don’t expect it all to happen at once.

The Don’ts

• DON’T dispute your employer’s authority, even if you disagree with her judgment in a particular situation.

• DON’T take criticism as a personal attack. Even if your boss is out of line, it will help to distinguish between your job, which may be bearable, and your boss, who may not be.

• DON’T put yourself in a position to be criticized by seeking the boss’ approval when it isn’t required. Do some things, and tell him about them . . .later.

• DON’T malign your boss by gossiping behind her back. Be loyal!

• DON’T go over the boss’ head unless it’s absolutely critical such as an emergency or crisis situation. Violating the chain of command almost always causes more problems than it solves.

• And above all, DON’T lose your self-respect. If your coping strategies have failed and a transfer is impossible, do what you have to do to keep your self-esteem, even if it means finding a new job and a new boss.

“Final judgment about people must be based not on words or intentions, but evidence and results.”

The Good Life After Being Fired

Here's an interesting article from Parade magazine. It's written by Lee Child, a man who was fired from his job at 39 and had to deal with all the financial and emotional issues associated with it. The firing gave him the opportunity to change the course of his career and he's gone on to become a best-selling author. Here's his advice after going through what he did:

The point is, if you’re fired at 40, it’s not all about hurt and betrayal and fear. It’s about opportunity. By that time in your life, you’ve learned a few things. You’ve got skills and work habits. You’re in charge. I’m not suggesting you become a novelist. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t—I don’t need the competition. But try something. Anything. Sit back, take a breath, believe in yourself, identify your dream, and go for it 110%. Trust me, your motivation will never be as strong. And the chance might never come your way again.

I'm not Polly-Anna enough to think that everyone (or even most people) that are out of work can turn it into something as positive as this guy did. But I  know that there are many people out of work these days and I thought this piece would offer a couple things: hope and food for thought. If you're out of work (or maybe even stuck in a job you hate), you might want to consider his words, think them over, and take action accordingly. Who knows, your dream job may just be one (albeit gigantic) step away.

Grow Your Career and Find a Job at Church

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

We've talked quite a lot about how networking can help you both grow a career and find a job. I've even shared my personal networking plan with FMF readers. Now today we're going to take this usually non-Sunday topic and make it one by talking about how churches and faith-based groups can be part of a networking plan to grow your career and help you find a job.

This idea was brought to mind when I read "Asking God for peace, and help in job search" from MSNBC. They talk about the advantages of a church group designed specifically for the unemployed. Here are a few quotes from the article that highlight the advantages of such a group:

• "When a person loses his or her job it's not just the income that's lost, but it's a kind of sense of meaning, sense of fitting in, a sense of contribution," Hicks said. "And many of those things have spiritual dimensions."

• Baker offers group members resume reviews and mock interviews. He asks them to craft an "elevator speech" — a pitch of their qualifications they can deliver quickly. And he urges them to "draw close to God."

• Faith-based groups provide rich networking opportunities because members may trust each other more, and go the extra mile for them, because they share a church or a faith, he said.

In other words, they get:

• Emotional support during a tough time.

• Practical job-hunting advice.

• Networking opportunities that can lead to other contacts/jobs.

And not only is church a great place to seek employment when you have none, but it's a wonderful place to make contacts when you have a job -- to add to your list of networking opportunities. Doing so can drum up extra business for you/your company or simply provide you resources you may need if/when you need to make a job change. Like the piece says, the networking opportunities are great because members have a lot in common and want to help each other out.

Don't think this ever happens? It did for me. I'm living proof that this idea works.

Now let me add a couple qualifiers. I'm not saying that you should join a church or "work the room" in your current church simply to try and make more money for yourself and/or establish business connections. Of course you should go to a church because you believe in what they teach, are there for the spiritual aspects, etc. All I'm saying is that it's easy to connect with like-minded people and church presents a great opportunity.

Also, I'd warn you to be wary. There are some that have no interest in spiritual matters that frequent churches simply looking for "scores." These range in severity from people trying to sell something all the way to someone running a scam. It's common for others to fall into these traps because they trust people at church, so I'm giving you a heads up and suggested you simply use common sense. If a deal is too good to be true or if you really don't know someone that well, be careful. Also, networking is one thing, but giving someone you don't know that well money for an "investment" or a "business opportunity" is another.

So, what's your take on this idea? Anyone had any success in networking at their place of worship?

Building a New Brand YOU

The following is excerpted with permission from Managing Brand You: 7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self by Jerry S. Wilson and Ira Blumenthal (AMACOM 2008). I've written that you need to market yourself when you're looking for a new job, but you also need to market yourself to grow your career. And step #1 in doing this is deciding what "brand" for want to become (what you want to be known for.) This excerpt is being posted to get us started on the "marketing yourself in your career" discussion.

Yes, you can create your future. It’s in your hands. If you commit to the Brand YOU process, you can and will succeed. It will take work. It will take focus. It will take time. And in the end, it will all be worth it. In the words of the poet Spirella, “There’s no thrill in easy sailing . . . but there is satisfaction that’s mighty sweet to take, when you reach a destination that you thought you’d never make.”

Why is personal branding so important to you? You may be someone who doesn’t believe in “tooting your own horn”—or drawing attention to the things you’ve done, or do, or plan on doing. You may also believe that if you just do the best you can, good things will automatically come to you. Well, this may be the case for a few lucky individuals, but the majority of people are confused about how they can, in fact, stand out in a crowd, how they can succeed, how they can clearly stand for something, and how they can gain the respect of others. After all, there are times in all of our lives when we’d like to be noticed, to be appreciated for our personal strengths, competencies, good nature, and insight. Everybody wants to be special and receive respect, acknowledgment, and even admiration from others. The reality is that each of us, regardless of our position in life, wants to be special, hopes to be noticed, craves attention from others, desires respect, and regularly wants to feel important. Who doesn’t want to feel (and be) important? And who doesn’t want to make a mark on the world we live in, to truly make a difference to the people around us? It’s human nature to want to make a difference, whether it’s to your family, your significant other, your children, your friends, your business, your community, your house of worship.

Who doesn’t want to feel (and be) important? And who doesn’t want to leave a mark on the world we live in and truly make a difference to those around us?

Personal branding is relevant to anyone who wants to unleash his or her inner passions and proactively build a fulfilling future, as well as grow in importance, relevance, and reputation. Too many people are just floating down the river of life, expecting that everything will work out in the long run. But why settle for the possibility of life’s taking care of itself when you can draw the roadmap that captures the kind of life you envision for yourself? Why not create your own future? It’s cute, it’s funny, and certainly it’s an example that reinforces what we’ve all known throughout our lives. Too many times in our lives we seem to be waiting for something to just pour into our mouths or fall into our hands—or for challenges to just work themselves out in the nick of time. But life isn’t like that. When changes and challenges confront us, doing nothing will result in—nothing. Business guru and author Price Pritchett wrote, “More of the same gives you one thing . . . more of the same!”

We have to become more proactive, more energetic, more spirited, and more focused on making positive changes in our lives. After all, there are only three things a person can do when confronted with change. Ignore it. React to it. Make other changes. Now, ignoring it will lead to disaster. Did you ever have a toothache? What happens if you ignore that biological change in your mouth? It doesn’t get better; it gets worse. The second strategy, reacting to change, will keep a person at status quo and he or she will survive. But is just surviving enough? Of course not. You want to thrive. You want to succeed, to achieve.

Then there’s the final strategy in dealing with change: making other changes. Yes, you want to be a catalyst for change—a change agent, as business consultant Peter Drucker has said—to create your future. One theme throughout this book is simply stated as “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” Being proactive, being committed to building your personal brand, will allow you to:

• Identify your inner passions and core essence.
• Stand up for what is important to you and stand out in the crowd.
• Focus your energy on meeting your top priorities.
• Stop spending time doing things that do not excite you.
• Execute your own personal Brand YOU plan.
• Achieve fulfillment, personal success, and, ultimately, happiness.

There are only three things you can do when confronted with change. You can ignore it. You can react to it. You can make other changes.

Ten Phrases that Kill Resumes

Yahoo lists ten phrases that kill resumes as follows:

• Results-oriented professional
• Cross-functional teams
• More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
• Superior (or excellent) communication skills
• Strong work ethic
• Met or exceeded expectations
• Proven track record of success
• Works well with all levels of staff
• Team player
• Bottom-line orientation

Why are these killers? Because they are stock phrases that don't really say anything. And to a trained resume reviewer, they make you look like a clown (not something you're shooting for as a job candidate.)

So what should you do instead? Abandon "corporate speak" phrases like these, write like a human, include action words (led, developed, created, etc.), and have as many of your resume bullet points backed up with facts and numbers. For examples of what I mean, see How to Write a Winning Resume.

Your Credit Can Impact Your Career

Credit reports and credit scores -- we've talked about them both a lot here at Free Money Finance. Mostly we focus on how they can save us money on interest, insurance, etc., but today we'll be looking at the impact they can have on our careers. Here's what Yahoo says about the work/credit relationship:

Forty-two percent of employers, including the U.S. government, run credit checks on job candidates, according to a 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. Most often credit checks are due diligence on potential employees who would have some contact with money, from CFO to clerk.

But there is anecdotal evidence that some companies use pre-employment credit screening to gauge a worker's judgment and character, regardless of job duties. A personnel management company recently told the Los Angeles Times that credit checks help companies hire "the highest-quality individuals."

42% is a huge number! It's getting close to where a majority of employers will be looking at credit reports before hiring. Just another reason you need to manage your personal finances correctly -- spend less than you earn, get out of debt, and so on. Otherwise, you bad credit may deny you that prize new job you'd love to have.

I'd be interested to get an "insider's perspective" on this issue. Are there any hiring managers out there that use credit reports when evaluating potential new hires? If so, can you give us some details such as when you use credit reports, what you look for, if they've ever caused you not to hire someone, etc.? Your insights would certainly be welcomed.

Make More Money by Being Tall

Ok, you can make more money if you:

• Are attractive

• Wear skirts and make-up (women)

• Have a touch of gray (men)

Now add this to the list: be taller.

Here's what Yahoo says on the subject of the height/pay relationship:

There's a growing body of research that finds taller people make more money.

The latest study, in Australia, found that being 6-foot tall brings raises annual income nearly $1,000 compared to men two inches shorter.

"Taller people are perceived to be more intelligent and powerful," according to the study, published recently in the Economic Record.

"Our estimates suggest that if the average man of about 178 centimeters [5 feet 10 inches] gains an additional five centimeters [2 inches] in height, he would be able to earn an extra $950 per year - which is approximately equal to the wage gain from one extra year of labor market experience," said study co-author Andrew Leigh, an economist at the Australian National University.

Other studies in the United States and Britain put the extra earnings at nearly that much per inch.

"The truth is, tall people do make more money. They make $789 more per inch per year," says Arianne Cohen, author of "The Tall Book".

Well if that doesn't beat all. All this time I thought I was earning a good salary because I was accomplishing things my employer wanted me to do. Now I find out that at least part of my success is due to the fact that I'm tall. Sheesh! (Then again, I'll take all the help I can get.) :-)

Not sure what we do with this information other than say "wear heels" for women. Guys are kinda stuck at the level they're at. Unless they want to wear those five-inch platform shoes that some 80's rockers wore. Then again, employers might frown on that a bit, huh?

Oh, and if being tall isn't controversial enough for you (after all, people generally hate physical-based criteria they can't impact), here's a study (linked to in the piece above) that says men who believe in traditional roles for women earn more money than their more forward-thinking counterparts. Ha! That one is sure to ruffle some feathers! ;-)

What Branding Can Do for You and Your Career

The following is excerpted with permission from Managing Brand You: 7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self by Jerry S. Wilson and Ira Blumenthal (AMACOM 2008). I've written that you need to market yourself when you're looking for a new job, but you also need to market yourself to grow your career. And step #1 in doing this is deciding what "brand" for want to become (what you want to be known for.) This post and its follow-up in a few days will get us started on the "marketing yourself in your career" discussion.

“If you want to predict the future, create it.”
—Peter F. Drucker

What do successful consumer-goods companies know that could help transform your life? And how can you use this knowledge to become a more fulfilled person? The answers to these questions lie in the discipline of building strong brands. What if you could take a page right out of the corporate book of business development and use it to craft and implement dramatic, important changes in yourself that are focused on development of your own life? Successful brands convey a consistent message and create an emotional bond with consumers. Don’t we all want to convey a consistent message and create a similar emotional bond with those important people around us? Absolutely! The process of building such brands is widely used in the commercial world, and now you, too, can use these techniques to build a brand-new you—a Brand YOU!

What if You Thought of Yourself as a Brand?

Who am I? What do I stand for? What do I want to stand for? These are questions that have been asked by people for ages. In our fast-paced, highly competitive, stressful, often chaotic world, it is even more difficult to know what you stand for—what uniqueness you have to offer. Don’t stress about this any longer. There is an answer to these deep questions, and the answer comes in the form of the threshold question, What if you thought of yourself as a brand?

What if you not only think of yourself as a brand but also actively analyze your personal brand assets and deficits, and you dedicate yourself to changing or refining Brand YOU? Yes, as strange as it seems, you can dramatically change and grow your life by studying the time-tested precepts, postulates, discipline, and processes of corporate and product branding, and applying them to your personal life. This step can lead to your living the life you’ve always imagined for yourself.

In the wonderful Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street, Kris Kringle tells a disbelieving child that dreaming of magical holiday moments and a better tomorrow is important. He says, “To me, the imagination is a place all by itself . . . a separate country. Now you’ve heard of the French nation, the British nation . . . well, this is the Imagi-nation. It’s a wonderful place.” It’s time for you to now book passage on a trip to the magical, mystical “land of imagination.” Building a Brand YOU requires that you dig deep into your imagination and visualize what you want to stand for and what spaces in life and business you want to occupy.

So, what if you thought of yourself as a brand? Just imagine, for a moment, that you are, in fact, a brand. Step outside yourself and look at you, your background, your lifestyle, your philosophy of life, and your views on right and wrong, as well as the expressions you use, the stores you frequent, the foods you eat, the clothes you wear. Think of your educational background, your experiences, your special areas of expertise. Consider the features that others respect about you, the features of people you respect and why. These are your personal brand attributes. And now you’ve made the first move toward establishing your Brand YOU.

When to Take Two Pages on Your Resume

While reading the Monster blog, I ran into this piece on bad job search advice. Point #2 stood out to me. It reads as follows:

Stick to a one-page resume. Another bit of advice after a somewhat helpful review of my resume was to shorten it to one page. This piece of input really had me flummoxed. Having had a logical and progressive 20-year work-life, suddenly squishing it all down to one page seemed to be a disservice to any firm considering employing me for my seasoned expertise. I promptly went out to 5 more (actively employed) friends and double-checked my resume style and approach by using two pages. I was reassured over and over that my experiences deserved two pages, and I had creatively already shortened it with special mentions. Additionally, I had received great guidance with rationale explained in writing up my resume by using Monster's Resume Writing Service.

Here's my take on the one-page versus two-page resume debate:

1. Include MEANINGFUL information in your resume -- the things that show you have proven (quantifiable) skills and accomplishments and thus help to convince potential employers that you're a great hire. Certainly all meaningful job experience and education should be included. That said, you should SUMMARIZE this information. Sure, you COULD write a two-page description of every job you've ever held, but instead you will be much better served by boiling your main accomplishments down to five bulletpoints per past job.

2. Do not include useless information that will not get you hired. This includes your hobbies, references, or anything else that simply adds "color" to your resume. Keep it bland (I know, people hate to do this), sticking only with your accomplishments. And certainly do not include your religious or political activities on a resume unless you know for certain that they will give you an advantage with an employer (in most cases, they can do nothing but hurt your chances.)

3. Given these suggestions, if you can fill up two pages, then do so. If you can't, then don't. This means that younger and less experienced candidates will generally have one-page resumes while more experienced workers (I'd say seven to ten years or more is the general rule) should go on to two pages. I've seen more pages than this in a resume, but only for the very highest levels (CEOs, Presidents) and these were usually written by executive search firms, not by the candidates themselves.

No matter what length, the key is to be sure the information is meaningful and helps convince the potential employer that you can deliver results (which is best demonstrated by showing you've done so in past positions.) This will give you the best shot at accomplishing what your resume is designed to do: get you the interview.

The Number One Question a Resume Should Answer

We've talked about what Yahoo considers the #1 question a resume should answer (what benefit do you bring the employer) and now here's US News' thoughts on the same question:

For each position, they answer the question: What did you accomplish in this job that someone else wouldn't have?

I agree with them both. I know that's hard to do since it's supposed to be the "number one" question a resume should answer and they give different opinions. But they don't really. It just seems they are giving different thoughts because what they're trying to say in one sentence is very complicated. Here's my take on both the issue and what they're trying to say:

1. A resume needs to stand out with accomplishments. Show what you've done in past positions that has been outstanding. Use numbers to support your successes where possible (i.e. "Grew sales 15%" is better than "Grew sales.") To me, this is the essence of a resume's job -- to show that you've been (very/hugely) successful in your past jobs. (Which will imply that you'll be hugely successful in future ones as well.)

2. In the interview, you have to connect the dots. Take what's on the resume and bring it to life. Tell stories of what you did to be a success and what results you delivered. Then bridge the gap and let them know you can do the same for them. THIS is what employers really want to know -- what you can do for them -- but it can't be answered fully on a resume, you have to do it in an interview. But a resume that meets the criteria of #1 will certainly give you a great shot at getting the interview. (BTW, check out Interview Lessons from a Video Contest for some great do's and don'ts.)

3. Most people do not do either of these things. They slop together a list of jobs held on certain dates, listing tasks performed without any sense of accomplishment. Then, if a miracle occurs and they get an interview, they wing it and do not market themselves correctly (or at all). Is it any wonder that it's hard to find a job these days? Many people are their own worst enemies when it comes to finding a new job!

As you can see, it's not an easy series of thoughts to fit into "one question", hence the "disagreement" in the two responses. But they are both on the right track IMO.