QA with Alison Doyle and CM Russell

QA with Alison Doyle and CM Russell Two of my favorite career people provide an interesting read over the last (almost) 10 years, as it relates to the job search. CM Russell has one of the industry-leading blogs, Secrets of the Job Hunt, where he interviewed Alison Doyle, job search expert at about.com. Take a few minutes to read their interview (click here), I found it interesting to hear her advice and perspective QA with Alison Doyle and CM Russell Two of my favorite career people provide an interesting read over the last (almost) 10 years, as it relates to the job search. CM Russell has one of the industry-leading blogs, Secrets of the Job Hunt, where he interviewed Alison Doyle, job search expert at about.com. Take a few minutes to read their interview (click here), I found it interesting to hear her advice and perspective

Studying The Trampoline for Future Jobs

Studying The Trampoline for Future Jobs The way education is perceived has changed over the past few years. The main purpose of education today is to equip students with the practical skills needed to cope with the new work trends, or fields of activity. Everything Starts with the Right Type of Education! The decision on the subjects that make up your A-levels is not to be made in haste or just for the sake of doing the A-levels. Higher matters are at stake. Time is also very important, as you never get it back â€" so plan your education as carefully and as early as possible! Luckily, hasty decisions can still be amended thanks to foundation courses. These are available to both home and international students and are the links that connect graduates to either their future employer or their future university. They are a recognised higher education degree and will allow students to gain both academic knowledge and technical or communication skills that many employers require. While foundation courses are one of the main links that connect graduates to their future employers, so are universities. So, first the college â€" then the university â€" then the job. However, students must bear in mind that the rules of the game have started to change recently and being a student is no longer enough a criterion to get a well-paid job. It’s All about Being an “Active” Student! According to a BBC piece, top employers plan to hire 18,306 graduates in 2013, some 2.7% more than last year. In addition, employers will provide paid work experience places for 11,387 students and new graduates. The most important part of the report is the warning that graduates without work experience will struggle to get jobs, no matter how good their grades. Having work experience is the most important factor in securing a job interview According to the same BBC article, the top employer for new graduates in 2013 is Teach First with 1,260 vacancies, followed by the consultancy firms Deloitte and PwC, planning to hire 1,200 new graduates each. How can you gain work experience? There are three main ways that work experience can be gained: Industrial placements Vacation jobs Internships Many of these end with the students being offered a permanent position at the company. While the three routes mentioned above may be the preferred ones, any work experience will be treasured, as the employer will see the student as one who has already learnt the lesson of responsibility. Part-time jobs students could take up and what skills employers can see: 1. After-school help â€" many families need a helping hand with picking the children up from school, helping them with homework, or simply staying with them until the parents return from work. It teaches students responsibility â€" as children are a great responsibility and show that you are a committed individual (once you decide to work as an after-school help, you need to be aware that it’s not something you can give up after 2 days). 2. Part-time home helper or cleaner â€" students will benefit from a schedule that fits their studies and employers will “read” you as a person who is far from being fussy, ready to “muck in”. 3. Restaurant, pub work â€" several hours in the evening, after studies, will equip students with all the communication and interpersonal skills needed. Employers will most likely “read” you as a great communicator with a bubbly personality. 4. Volunteer care for the elderly, do some shopping for them, get involved in the local community, read a book to some children. Not only will you meet some extraordinary people, but employers will value your enthusiasm to get involved and take up a  challenge. Despite the work involved, “active students” will benefit more in the long term. Choosing a course or a degree is no longer done solely for the sake of academic merits; it is now done for the sake of getting a job also. This is the latest trend, and like it or not, we all have to accept it.

7 Tips From a Tax Attorney

7 Tips From a Tax Attorney Im so excited and honored to have Kelly Phillips Erb guest post for careergirls today!   Kelly is Tax Attorney and the author of taxgirl.com.   She is brilliant and a   fabulous writer too!   Enjoy! By, Kelly Phillips Erb, PC When I accepted my first “real job” after graduation, I did what any career girl in her 20s would do:   I updated my look.   I bought a new bag (somehow my canvas school bag seemed inappropriate), some real shoes (my Docs wouldn’t fit in at the office) and I ditched my jeans for a nice outfit or two. What I didn’t do?   Update my finances. Despite being a tax attorney, I was somehow under the impression that the transition from my job at the Gap to my job at the law office wouldn’t affect my bottom line.   I didn’t own a house, I had no investment portfolio and I was spending almost everything that I took in to pay expenses, including student loans.   Come tax time, I quickly filled out a form 1040-EZ and moved on.   I figured, as a young career woman, that my taxes were simple and the money would work itself out later.   I was wrong on both counts. One of the biggest mistakes you can make early in your career is assuming that your finances are too simple to focus on.   It’s never too early to start making sense of your finances.   Here are a few tips to speed you along: 1, Understand your organizational style. The thing to keep in mind is that no matter how great an organizational tip is, it’s not great if it won’t work for you. I will never successfully use a Franklin Covey binder my husband swears by his. I like post it notes stuck all over my computer “experts” say this is a terrible idea. You have to find what works for you. And no web site, no expert, and no blog, no matter how fantastic, can figure that out for you.   Experiment. Play. Don’t be afraid to throw things away. Don’t be intimidated into buying new products if they’re not for you. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re doing the “wrong” thing when it comes to organizing. I tell my clients to keep their receipts and important papers together but I don’t tell them how.   Some folks are great at organizing from scanning receipts into their computer to entering expense reports into their Blackberry.   But if you’re not like that, don’t make the mistake of doing absolutely nothing, which tends to be the default when folks get overwhelmed.   Do something.   Keep a list of expenses in a spiral notebook if that works for you and always keep receipts, even if that means piling them into a drawer.   Yes, it’s better to be super organized.   But know your limits and work around them. 2, Be picky about your records. Once you’ve mastered your style of organizing, keep it up.   Divide your records into things you can easily get your hands on for the current tax year and “old records.” Here’s a handy list for what you might need to access quickly for the current tax year:   http://www.taxgirl.com/ask-the-taxgirl-first-time-filer/ With respect to “old records”, it’s important to understand what to keep and what to toss. You don’t need to save everything. I suggest that you hold onto your tax returns for 3-7 years, depending on your circumstances; absent fraud, failure to file or serious/gross understatements, the statute of limitations is 3 years after the latest of the filing date or the due date for most federal returns. Supporting documents for those returns should be held onto for as long. Supporting documents would include canceled checks, old bills and bank statements. But other financial records? That parking ticket from 2 years ago? Throw it out. 3, Know where to look for information. You don’t have to know everything about finance and tax but you should know enough to make smart decisions.   Choose one or two solid sources for finance and tax information and make a commitment to browse the headlines at least once every day (subscribing via email is very helpful).   Alongside mainstream sites like CNN Money and WSJ.com, there are a number of terrific financial and tax blogs that offer tips, information and more. You can find instructions and tax forms for all federal tax returns on the IRS website.   Also consider bookmarking your state tax department web site for easy access to forms, instructions and FAQs (just Google the name of your state + the word “tax” to find the site). Don’t get sucked in by the “sky is falling” hysteria with new administrations and new laws.   Find out the facts yourself and how they might affect you. 4, Surround yourself with smart people. Nobody said you have to do everything on your own.   You could do your books and your taxes yourself. But consider the time value of money. How long do you think it will take you to do your own taxes? What is your hourly rate? Consider that a CPA will usually be able to prepare your return for between $200 and $500, depending on the complexity and your geographic location.   If you can do it on your own and you want to for the equivalent of $200-$500 of your own time, then do it. If you can’t, hire someone. There’s no shame in hiring someone to help. It’s not waving a white flag. It’s being smart. Do you really think that Oprah is hunched over a computer with TurboTax trying to make sense of it all? 5, Understand that things change. I had my life all mapped out when I entered college.   But life happened.   I moved to a different city, fell in love, bought a house, got an additional graduate degree, quit my job, started a business and got married in that order.   Practically nothing happened like I had planned.   And it all happened so quickly. Since life isn’t going to slow down for you (and c’mon, you don’t really want it to), take the time each year to do a quick self assessment.   One year, your income may be too high to allow you to take a student loan interest deduction but the next year, you may qualify.   Laws change and circumstances change.   Regroup each year and think about what’s different and what you hope will be different in the new year and plan accordingly. When to plan an assessment is the tricky part.   I think mid-January is a much better time than the often-recommended end of the year.   Why?   For one, your spending patterns in December tend to not be representative of your regular behavior.   Plus, with all of the social and family obligations that have at the end of the year, you may not have the time to make a proper, honest assessment.   To do it right, wait until things slow down, then take a deep breath and look at last year’s books.   Make a mental note about what you could have done better and what you plan to do differently next year. 6, Plan ahead. While you can’t plan for everything (see #5), you can take steps now to maximize tax and financial benefits. Worrying about deductions in April isn’t as smart as thinking about them in December. Check out this list of year end savings strategies and make a note to reconsider them next year. Instead of dumping a year end bonus into your regular bank account, consider putting a few dollars into a deferred tax savings plan, such as an IRA.   You can make a contribution to an IRA through April 15 and still get credit as if you had made the contribution in the prior tax year. Considering a major medical expense this year?   If it’s something you can plan around, such as braces, major dental work or corrective vision surgery, fund a medical savings account (MSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) early in the year, depending on what your employer allows. There are also tax credits and deductions available if you’re shopping around for a new job, buying a new car, buying a new house or improving an existing house.   Plan ahead and get the facts first. 7, Never be afraid to ask questions. One of the things that I see most often and I’ve been there is that many finance and tax professionals assume that they know what’s best for you, especially if you happen to be a young woman.   They don’t.   You do.   You just need to arm yourselves with the facts.   Ask why your financial advisor thinks a Roth IRA is a good idea.   Question whether investing in tech companies is a good idea.   Request a copy of the types of accounts a bank offers, complete with a fee schedule.   Insist that your tax professional walk you through your tax deductions.   It’s your money.   And people who are working for you should take the time to make sure that you understand everything.   If your finance and tax professional isn’t willing to take the time to give you thoughtful answers, it’s time to move on. Taking control of your finances is an important step for all career women, but that doesn’t mean that your finances have to control your life.   By making a few key changes now, you can stop worrying about your money and start focusing on the future. This article was brought to you by Kelly Phillips Erb, a founding shareholder of The Erb Law Firm, PC, in Philadelphia, PA, where she focuses on tax law.   Kelly authors the popular tax blog, taxgirl.com, recently cited as one of the top 100 legal blogs by the ABA Journal.   She also used to be a little something of a diva.

What to Do When You Stop Loving Your Career Path

What to Do When You Stop Loving Your Career Path You may reach a point in your career where you become  stagnant. This might pertain to the actual position you occupy, or it could be more of an emotional feeling of being stuck. The tasks and responsibilities you used to love, you might now dread. This is a scary feeling, especially when you feel trapped in a path or a company. Here are some great tips to cope and work with the situation at hand. It is never too late to change your career path On average people change jobs 10-15 times over the course of their lives. And that number is on the rise, with millennial employees cited as the most likely to “job hop.”  Of course, this is easier to do if you have a new career in mind. In an extreme example, maybe you work in a bank but dream about becoming a painter. In this instance, a first step,might be to start an Instagram with your art, along with a website in addition to befriending people who work at art galleries. This creates the opportunity to do what you love while getting feedback about the viability of this pursuit and learning more about what it takes to make a living as an artist. You might find that a switch to your dream career path requires training. With the rise in instructional technology and informational videos, many online programs are available for people looking to get training in other fields. .. Otherwise, researching graduate or certificate programs that will accept undergraduate degrees in different fields of study could also be an option. Therapy can help you find the root of the problem Your job could be bringing you down for reasons that you aren’t fully realizing. This is especially true if you happen to be living in a big city. Maybe you still love your career but are going through a hard time elsewhere in your life. These challenges could be seeping into your work life and decreasing your motivation levels. This is why career counseling in NYC is a great option to consider. Career counseling is especially useful in big cities where a lot of pressure is put on workers and much is expected of people to perform at a high level. There you can find the support that could save your career and increase your motivation. Sometimes it takes an expert helping you get to the root of the problem so that you can then better understand yourself and move towards higher achievement. Therapy is also great when you are feeling overwhelmed about work and life in general. A good therapist can assist you in exploring and organizing your thoughts in a healthy way that can help you excel at work and throughout your entire career. Career counselors are also experienced in guiding their clients through the career change process. Focus on things that make you happy about your job Sometimes a quick fix is to just think about the things that you like about your job. Think about your values and why you chose your career path. Sometimes you might be at the wrong company or be ready for a new challenge. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to entirely change careers. This might just mean you need to take on more responsibility or apply for a position at a higher level. Overall, remind yourself at work that you are in charge of your own happiness and seek out opportunities big and small to regain a sense of autonomy and control over your career path. It also helps if you enjoy the people you work with. If you’re extroverted, maybe start organizing work events at your company to build relationships. Or consider exploring options to support a charitable event with your work colleagues. The basic idea is that there are likely opportunities to make seemingly minor, but meaningful shifts in your relationship to where you work and the people you work with. Don’t forget that you are in charge of your own life. It is up to you to take these essential steps to explore yourself and your career. Although you may feel locked in, it is never too late to make a changeâ€"big or small.

Can Leadership Skills Be Learned Or Taught Or Is It Just Inborn

Can Leadership Skills Be Learned Or Taught Or Is It Just Inborn Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comThere is always a debate on whether leadership skills are intrinsic “A great leader…” ”He was born with leadership skills…” We often hear these phrases and how someone seemed destined to do great things. They are admired by all for their leadership skills and their ability to finish projects with ease.There is way too much responsibility, pressure and willingness to lead and set an example for others. The ability to lead depends on scores of key skills, which are popular among employees because they involve dealing with individuals in such a way to inspire, build respect and show enthusiasm.Leadership skills are implemented not only in workplace but also everywhere. They can be applied in any situation where you need to take the lead, socially, professionally and even in family occasions. After all, leaders are leaders as they have a lot of integrity and people follow them for their qualities.Often the question is asked: Leadership can be learne d or taught or is it inborn?Some says it can’t be taught as it is not a subject but a quality nor it is moral science like good etiquettes, which can be taught to children. On the other hand, it is possible to learn leadership skills. Though it comes naturally, a few people just learn it easily. Some people say with right motivation and guidance, anyone can be an effective leader.The good news is leadership skills can be gotten better if someone is willing to carry out and ready to put 100 percent effort.Research shows that, through training and job experience, people can become great leaders. I have seen this all throughout my career and I think you too may have witnessed an employee develop with proper training given by management. Those who are self confident, social and open may be inclined to lead, whereas who are skilled, hushed and attentive can be taught to become strategic business leaders.Top questions which are generally asked:1. What qualities do leaders have?evalA uni que idea that pulls a team together can lead to successful business venture. New leaders are persuaded to focus on communication, commitment, creativity and relationships. It is also vital to frame the new roles as you hone the leadership skills and head towards a superb career.Besides this, self assessment is important in the initial stages of leadership development. The bottom line is, start showing the willingness to adapt and enrich your knowledge and skills.2. How to improve the leadership qualities?Research demonstrates that aspirants who are motivational, positive and are popular prove to be excellent leaders. Implement these strategies in your daily life and get the most out of your career life in your field.Scores of successful leaders never taken any training, for them it is their behaviors, traits and performances that make them good leaders.evalThe most significant aspect of leadership is that every leader has different style of leadership attitudes and skills. So think strategically, all you need is a vision of where you want to be and nurture that dream.No one can stop learning â€" it is important to scout the personalities of leaders and how their inherent inspirations best fit for diverse leadership roles.

Holding Yourself Accountable

Holding Yourself Accountable Building structure in and around your job search is a major challenge for most job seekers, especially if you are employed and looking.   The bigger challenge is holding yourself accountable to do what you know you should do, yet find difficult to do.   Whether youve gotten the name of someone to call or whether you are following up after youve sent your resume, these activities tend to make us feel uncomfortable, maybe even vulnerable.   We may face rejection.   This underlying fear often prevents us from doing what we need to do (I face this fear as well!) I was lucky enough to work with Carol White Llewellyn on this video project, Employment INsights, as a way of getting information into the hands of more job seekers.   This episode features Kathleen Pringle of Predictive Insights and Lynn Dessert of Leadership Breakthrough.   These women work with individuals to arm them with the tools, resources and focus to drive their careers forward. I hope you can take a way a gem or two to help you focus and manage your search. Employment INsights, Job Transition, Part 2 from CAROL WHITE LLEWELLYN on Vimeo.

Tips For Writing a Resume and Letter Writing Service

Tips For Writing a Resume and Letter Writing ServiceYou have seen many types of jobs listed on your resume, but you need to know that this is not the only one that will be available. However, a lot of these jobs are administrative tasks. It is therefore very important that you have a resume written which is informative and sharp. Here are some tips that will help you to get more jobs.The first thing that you should remember is that the office needs an administrator. Now, if you are a college graduate, you can have the job. If you have the license, it will also be very helpful for you. But, if you have only an associate's degree, you are not eligible for the post. What else can you do? The next step in making a resume is to decide on the post that you want to apply for.Once you know what type of department you want to work in, you have to write a personal statement. This is an important part of the job, since it will explain why you are the right person for the job. It is one of the f irst things that people see in a resume, so it has to be done well.The next thing that you have to include in your resume is the job title. This is very important since the employer needs to know who you are. Many employers only see a resume after they have hired the person, so they need to know who the person is. If you don't have a title, it can become really difficult to give them the needed information. Therefore, you have to make sure that you have the job title just right.As soon as you start applying for the job, you have to think about the type of skills that you will need. You can't just copy other applicants' skills from their resume, because the employer needs to see the particular skill that they are looking for. This means that you have to think of the skills that you have developed during your career. If you have good communication skills, it will be useful for you to be an administrative assistant, a receptionist or a secretary.When you are writing the letter, you hav e to pay attention to the content of the letter. Make sure that the letter is not too short, since the employer will not read everything. The body of the letter also has to be impressive, because you will be the one being interviewed for the job.When you are writing the letter, you have to think about the format. The employer wants to see what the letter looks like. So, you can include some graphics or pictures, if it is possible. You can also include the telephone number of the company where you will be working. After that, you have to summarize the best attributes of you and how they will be beneficial for the company.You can get a good executive resume and letter writing service if you search the internet. If you are serious about getting more jobs, this is a service that you should consider. Many companies will only look at the resume if it is professionally written, which makes it important that it is written well.