Money saving questions to ask yourself in the New Year

Money saving questions to ask yourself in the New Year by Tom Bunkham Hoping to save the pennies in 2015?If you plan to use the New Year as a chance to think about changes you want to make, then it’s well worth considering how sorting out your finances could help your money go further in 2015.We spoke to  the  Money Advice Service, who say these money saving questions will help get you startedDo you know the balance of your bank account?It’s really important to keep track of what money you have, and a budget will be able to help you do that. It will give you a snapshot of your finances by showing what money you have coming in, what money is going out, and most importantly, how much you have left at the end.You can use the budget planner on the MAS website to make an accurate budget in just 10 minutes which you can export to a spreadsheet, or print off to keep track at home.Do you have savings for emergencies?If you can save just £3 every day you’ll have a £1095 emergency fund by the end of the year. Money Advice Service r esearch showed that 70% of households face an unexpected cost in a year, so this will help you avoid getting caught out.Do you put money into savings rather than paying off debts?The interest rate you pay on debt, such as a credit card or loan, is likely to be higher than the money you could earm  in an ISA or other savings account.That means once you have some funds for emergencies, start paying off your most expensive debt first, and keep going until they’ve all gone.All information accurate at time of publication.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the Salaries

Dealing with the guilt of not giving enough

Dealing with the guilt of not giving enough Thanksgiving. The start of the season of good cheer: Parties, shortened workweeks, year-end bonuses. For me, though, this season is also one of guilt over what I actually give to the world. I know that if I flew to Somalia, I could keep a little girl from starving by personally feeding her each day. Likewise, if I spent every afternoon after school with an underprivileged nine-year-old on the brink of joining a gang, he would probably stick to his studies. I can do a lot of good in the world, but instead, I spend my time working at jobs that, lets face it, dont save anyone. I once tried to salve my guilt by way of my government surplus business. We planned to expand to a catalogue business, but the cost to organize the data was so astronomical that the idea didnt make sense. But then someone mentioned India. Data entry is cheap in India, and everyone speaks English, he said. I plugged Indian laborers into my PL, and even when I accounted for a few U.S. managers, profitability for the catalog business was 85 percent. Too high, actually. I knew my board wouldnt believe it. They would say my assumptions were wrong. So I spent evenings combing through the details of other catalog PLs searching for cost categories that I might have missed. Then I read an article in Marie Claire magazine about sex slaves. Did you know that Indian cities are full of child sex slaves? They can be bought for $300 apiece. Here was my big chance to save a group of girls from a despicable existence. I added another 20 people to the PL they would be young girls and then I included housing for them (above the rooms used for data-entry) and money for a school next to the cafeteria. I even increased staffing so that each data-entry clerk could spend an hour a day teaching the girls. One-on-one tutoring. Art classes. The Internet. My profit margins were 65 percent, the boards sweet spot. I felt good going into the next board meeting. We brought up the India idea gingerly, focusing not on the Marie Claire article but on the cost savings and the shrewd worldview of operations. We presented charts and graphs outlining the economics of data entry in India. The board loved the idea. Before I could mention my save-the-world scheme, one board member gave me the name of a friend who had a company in India and and said the friend would do everything for me. No flying to Mumbai. No rescue mission. No school. Instead I would be giving more business to the data-entry king of Mumbai who probably never thought about the sex trade in India. So I gave money to AFESIP, the charity the Marie Claire article said rescues the girls. I gave a bunch of money because, at the time, I was earning a bunch of money. I told myself that making a lot of money working in corporate America and giving it to charity was better than actually working for a charity. My money, I reasoned, was worth more than my time would be if I were on the streets rescuing young girls from evildoers. I did some quick math in my head and figured that my earnings could pay for two or three rescuers, as opposed to me going to India myself. I cant tell you that I gave a huge percentage of my income. I didnt. I kept some money to fund things like private yoga lessons and a new BMW. And I cant tell you that giving to charity made me feel 100% better. But I live with a person who does, actually, get paid to save lives. (My husband implements programs promoting social justice.) And I can assure you that he never feels like hes doing enough, either. So I have a hunch that very few people walk through their workday guilt free. But giving to charity does make you feel as though part of your workday, each day, contributes to helping someone who really needs help. Most people will not be able to turn a job selling widgets into a save-the-world gig, but you can feel like your job has more meaning if you give part of each paycheck to someone who needs it far more than you.

So You Want to Have a Career as a Graphics Designer - Here are Some Tips

So You Want to Have a Career as a Graphics Designer - Here are Some Tips The graphic design industry is growing fast and the competition among those who are aiming to pursue a career in this field is getting stiffer. One of the reasons for this is that people are starting to realize that it is a very profitable job and a highly flexible career. As a graphic designer, you can work full-time in a huge agency or in a small studio, while earning extra by getting projects from companies which outsource their needs. Alternatively, you can be a freelance graphic designer and work at home. If you have decided to take on this career path, you might want to consider the following tips to reach your dream as a graphic designer. Obtain a degree in graphic design. It is pretty obvious that if you went to college and got a degree in graphic design, you have a better chance of landing a job in big companies or agencies. You can argue that you have heard about some people who do not have a formal degree, but still succeeded in becoming a clipping path specialist, an image manipulation expert, or a multi-talented graphic designer. However, you should also realize that most employers still weigh the educational attainment factor heavily. With this, it is always recommended to go for a college degree if you can. Choose your area of specialization. You probably already know that graphic design is a broad field. If you want to have a career as a graphic designer, it is advisable to choose an area of specialization. For example, you can focus on photo editing and become a clipping path specialist. If you have no idea on how to choose your specialization, just figure out what you enjoy most or perhaps become a well-rounded graphic designer. Get an internship. Your school can help you find an internship or you can also find one on your own. By getting an internship, you will be trained even more and might also get a hands-on experience on the actual job. However, if they do not let you do much of the design work, having the chance to work with an experienced graphic designer, a clipping path specialist, or an expert image editor would still be a great experience. Not only will you learn some important tips from them and will learn through observation, but you will also get to experience working in a corporate setting and interact with others. Master the different software applications that are related to graphic design. Working as a graphic designer involves operating several software programs, including Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Mastering the different tools included in these graphic design applications will not only let you work with speed, but will also enable you to deliver great outputs. Furthermore, when employers found out that you are well accustomed to using these programs, you might have a higher chance of getting considered for the position. The main reason for this is that some companies work in a fast pace and they do not have the time to teach their new employees the basics of these software applications. Top tip: Memorize the keyboard shortcuts as well. Final Thoughts Getting a job as a graphic designer is perfect for people who wanted to express their creativity, while earning a decent amount of money to live comfortably. If you really want to keep up with the other professionals in this field or become one of the best, you need to do everything you can and start early. By following the above mentioned tips for aspiring graphic designers, you can somehow be assured that you are going on the right track.

Success Story Historian Discovers Personal Branding is a Reality - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Success Story Historian Discovers Personal Branding is a Reality - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Who is Katherine Banning? Currently living in the US, Katherine is a member of the National Trust (UK), as well as English Heritage, the Royal Oak Society, Friends of Kew, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (US). An energetic and enthusiastic professional, she plans to graduate from Eckerd College with a degree in Museum Studies in 2008, and hopes to return to Washington DC to attend graduate school with a concentration in Museum Studies and Historic Preservation. Katherine Banning’s Story Museums are my passion. In college, I majored in Museum Studies and took all the courses I could find in Cultural Heritage Conservation and Historic Preservation. I took honors classes, volunteered for extra research assignments, stayed on the Deans List, and worked very hard to learn everything I could about my favorite subjects. But as is often the case, I had guidance only on fulfilling my majors, not advice on establishing a career. Id never heard of Branding. It was by happy accident that I took an Arts Marketing class taught by Marshall Rousseau, Director Emeritus of the Salvador Dali Museum. Professor Rousseau assigned a book called Museum Branding, by Margot A. Wallace, and I read it voraciously. It was fascinating to think of museums as just like people, with identities of their own, often in need of image consultants. With that idea in mind, I googled Personal Branding and found Dan Schawbels site. I followed his advice and bought my own names website, before anyone else. Then I jotted down some fundamental ideas from his blog: have the same photo on all social networking sites, create a tagline, and get busy building a Brand. Despite my schedule, (I work two full-time jobs while going to school and volunteering) my online Brand quickly and easily became a reality. Although I still have a lot to learn, and my site could do with more content and some polishing, its a start. With each blog I read from Dans Personal Branding RSS feed, I feel better informed, and Im grateful for the head start. I have Professor Rousseau to thank for opening my mind, and Dan Schawbel to credit for helping me focus my efforts. Personal Branding isnt just online marketing it is our duty to ourselves, these days. Frankly, it should be taught at every college.

Tips to Write a Resume When You Have a Disability in Your Work

Tips to Write a Resume When You Have a Disability in Your WorkTo begin with, do you realize that you need to write a resume when you have a disability in your work? Well, I will tell you that it is something that you should know and be aware of. Dissable status can affect your employment prospects as a lot of companies and organizations prefer people who have a regular job. You need to know the things that are going to affect your employment prospects so that you can prepare a resume when you have a disability in your work.In the first place, you need to prepare a resume that has your own skill and experience. And this is because an employer will judge you on your achievements and skills. He or she will not care what kind of salary you have got but only your capability and competency. So when you have a disability in your work then your employer will evaluate you from the things that you do.You should prepare a resume that will help you in making your resume appear to be in a good st ate. This is because employers are not going to look at the resume. They are going to look at the skills and qualifications of the person. So you should make sure that you have got these two things right.The next thing that you need to think about is the time that you spent as a student and this is because a potential employer will see your resume in the present tense. They will not see the years of experience that you have got. So you should take care of this issue so that your resume will be easy to read.You should also make sure that you have made your resume in present tense so that you will be able to easily get access to the years of experience that you have got in the past. So this is one way of preparing a resume when you have a disability in your work.Another thing that you need to consider when you have a disability in your work is that you should make sure that you have written down your work history in chronological order. The reason for this is that the employer will no tice if you have written things in a random manner.Also, the employer is going to check out the skills and competencies that you have got in the past so you should make sure that you have included these things in your work history. You should not include things that you have learnt during the recent past. It is better if you have listed down all the jobs and educational courses that you have got in the past.This is because the present and the past are going to change over a period of time. In the present, you should add in some jobs and courses that you have got in the past so that the present and the past would not be mentioned in the same sentence. This will make your resume look better and you will get a better chance of getting a job in the future.

I Used to Love My Job. How to Find a Job You Love.

I Used to Love My Job. How to Find a Job You Love. Falling out of love with your job happens over time.  The key is to be actively managing your career. Yes, jobs change but more times than not, its the changes that you experience that cause you to fall out of love with your job. As time rolls on its important to assess how your life is changing on a number of fronts: Did my family dynamics change? Are my interests different? Do I want to be using different skills? Am I no longer inspired by my company? Lets take a look at each of these and discuss an objective approach to. Your lifestyle changed Big changes in your life include getting married or divorced, having kids or your kids moving out, becoming your familys primary provider and so on.   When you see these scenarios coming or if they happen suddenly its time to start observing your feelings and your performance at work.   Its hard to observe when you have a lot of other things on your mind.   If a life event changes your family dynamics rather suddenly, its even more important to observe your feelings before jumping to quick decisions.   Use your observations to determine what changes will help you enjoy your job again.   The best scenario may be to leave your job but that should be after you are clear on the reasons for your feelings rather than a sudden reaction you act on. Your interests changed Lifestyle changes are relatively obvious compared to subtle changes in your interests.   Its important to see if the reason for your feelings about your job are related to the type of work you are doing versus the environment.   Read some job postings for other companies that match your skills and note your reaction are you excited about the prospect of a new workplace or does it seem like the same old job, just at a new place? You want to use new skills Many times you become fascinated with using new skills by observing someone elses job.   Maybe you want to move from sales to marketing, use more analysis and reporting, perform more research instead of execution, or become a SME (subject matter expert) rather than project manager.   Thats fine but its important to make a clear distinction between the job and the skill.     Write down the skills you want to use but then go and find out more about the job that you liked.   What does the average day look like?   Are you just as excited but the other job responsibilities?   Is there a way to use the skills you want in your current job? You are no longer inspired Over time, we often become disenchanted with the mission of the company we work for.   The choices by executives, employees with poor attitudes, or the lack of connection between your work and the companys mission can strip you of the affinity you feel for the organization and pride you receive from working for it.   When you realize that you are no longer inspired, dont assume the grass is greener on the other side.   Seek out firms that inspire you and then try to connect with people there.   Find out how they are different and how people feel there.   You know the questions to ask to find out if youll be let down by working for this company.   The other route is to seek out the people or projects at your company that really do inspire you and strive to make a difference. Observation and investigation are the keys to noticing that you are changing and you need a career change.  This is a big part of actively managing your career.   When you see changes like these coming you have the ability to understand what career change you actually need.   Otherwise, you often wind up in a career crisis where you are trying to make big, sudden changes and hoping you somehow make the right choice.

Use a Checklist for Advertised Job Postings - Hire Imaging

Use a Checklist for Advertised Job Postings - Hire Imaging One of the challenges of analyzing posted job openings is to figure out what the employer really wants. Sometimes the information is vague (the employer isn’t quite sure), contradictory (the job ad was designed by a committee or group), or obscure (containing insider language or jargon). Most job ads will provide some information about selection criteria. Consider this the beginning, not the end, of your job ad analysis; and treat all information as if it is incomplete. That said, do look at the order of information (high priority wants tend to appear earlier), and do look at the language used. Then, go on to find a detailed picture of the organization from its website, particularly where strategy and organization structure are highlighted. Look at formal and informal reports, newsletters, press releases, and awards. Use LinkedIn to see the profile and background of key staff. Then, look at the job title and its function within the organization. Check online to see if you can find others holding the same or similar titles and use LinkedIn to see if you know people who do the same job at other organizations. Advertised Job Posting Checklist Read job advertisements carefully, several times. Use a highlighter pen to mark hints that may shape your response: Job title. How helpful is it? Use Google to check out the same job title in other organizations. Identity. Is it clear who the employer is? Is the role being handled by an outside recruiter or agency? Role.  Are clues given about what the job is really about? Are there indicators as to what success looks like? Language. Analyze the balance of strong, weak, and neutral language. Try to get a sense of how strongly the employer feels about those characteristics it says it wants. Mirror the language. Using a few more key phrases from job documents can sometimes add focus to your cover letter and resume. Ranking points. What hints are given (salary, role title, degree, experience sought) about the preferred experience and seniority of applicants? Style. What personality does the organization indicate it wants? Wants and needs. What are the “must have” and “nice to have” components? Level. Examine carefully the description about the level of responsibility and accountability, and then measure that against the size of the organization. Contact Point. Does the organization actively welcome conversations with prospective candidates about approaching before applying? Employer brand and culture. What does the organization choose to disclose about itself? Process. What do candidates have to do to move to the next stage? Problems or issues. Your research may uncover potential changes ahead that might possibly change the role you’re applying for. For example, the organization is just about to name a new CEO and COO. While these don’t impact your application, they are things to keep in mind during an interview and if you are given a job offer. In my next post, I’ll share some ideas for contacting organizations that advertise job openings. I always love to hear from you! Please comment below.