Career Strategies for College Graduates

Develop yourself into an expert – are you great at digging out hidden facts? Do you have a natural gift for socializing? Build on these strengths no matter what your job description is, and you’ll find people turning to you. And you’ll create the job you’re best suited to.
Study those whom the leaders in your company and your field rely on – Read biographies of great achievers, paying attention to how they learned to recognize opportunities. Learn from them. Make them your mentors by trying out their advice.
Join a professional association – And do more than just attend monthly meetings. Volunteer for a committee. Find out whose working style you admire, and work with that person. Take time to meet not only the invited speakers but those at your table. Use them in the best sense of the word: Ask their opinion and advice; then report back and thank them. Practice your leadership skills here, where you can’t be fired.
Make yourself visible on the job – Build relationships not just with your peers but your bosses too. Write memos that demonstrate your knowledge and your work. Volunteer for task forces or special committees. Speak up at meetings in a positive way.

Start Small – initiate informal conversation with your boss, even your boss’s boss whom you meet casually (in the elevator or parking lot); ask a question, and make comments. At the next question-answer period of a conference, stand up, introduce yourself, compliment the speaker, then ask a question or make a comment. Become a player, a real member of the team.

Make your bosses look good – Provide your bosses with what they need to thrive – new markets or products and researched ideas. Find out what they need to be successful: Learn to contribute all you can. Let your ideas flow. You won’t be disappointed.

Practice feeling confident, and self confidence will become yours – If you want to take action but feel nervous, imagine that you are the most successful and courageous person you admire and do what he or she would do. Faking courage leads to action which, in turn, builds courage.

Do the work assigned to you as well as you can – Get feedback and learn to improve.

Look around inside for leads to richer opportunities – more interesting projects, and higher ranking and better paying jobs. Meet with those who have these jobs and find out more about what they do, and if it interests you, ask what you have to do to work for them; Or, after a few years, jump over the fence and work for the other side if you’re dissatisfied. For example, switch from being a private C.P.A to IRS specialist or vice versa. In this leap, you’ll use some of the same skills you’ve already acquired, but you’ll have a new environment to explore.

Make lifelong learning your personal motto – If you’re alive, you’re not done learning. Ask your professors for advice. Send for graduate school catalogs. Apply to a variety of programs. Ask about fellowships, grants, and specialized programs. Consider night or weekend programs for pursuing your graduate studies. Don’t limit yourself to daytime programs.

Tips For Balancing Work Life

Do you question whether you’re living life on your terms? Have you ever been called a workaholic? Do you often get that sinking feeling that you should be at the gym, or spending more time with your friends and family? You’re not alone. For today’s job seekers, work/life balance is “in,” and 80 hour work weeks are “out.” According to a Price Waterhouse study, 57% of college students name “attaining a balance between personal life and Career” as their primary career goal, up from 45% in 2006.

Consider the “rocking chair theory” on life. Picture yourself 80 years old, sitting in a rocking chair, and reflecting. What can you do now so you look back on a balanced and fulfilled life? Here are some ideas to get you started.

BALANCING WORK LIFE TIP 1

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR TIME - No one, not even your dream boss, will ever worry about your personal time – it’s in your court to make this a priority. Take some time every Sunday night to plan out your week, and schedule in family, friend and “me” time. Spend at least one hour each day doing something you enjoy. You’ll be more efficient in the office, and you’ll feel more in control of your life.

BALANCING WORK LIFE TIP 2

WRITE IT DOWN! – Let’s face it – our priorities tend to get lost in the shuffle of everyday life. This is not a subject you want on your back burner. Write a personal statement about what matters most to you in life, and read it once a day. Make a list of your top ten priorities and post it on your refrigerator. Keep a copy in your day planner. Constantly ask yourself, “Does my life match my priorities?” if it doesn’t, write down weekly action steps for change.

BALANCING WORK LIFE TIP 3

DISTRESS AT WORK – when you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed at work, take a breather. Fresh air is a powerful remedy for clearing your head. Try to walk out of the office every day, even for a few minutes. Take 10 long, deep breaths several times a day. Set up a routine for stretching out your arms, shoulders and neck at the same time each day. You’ll reduce stress, keep your priorities straight, and feel more balanced.


BALANCING WORK LIFE TIP 4

ADD FLEXIBILITY TO YOUR LIFE – Telecommuting, flex – time, part time…more and more companies are offering flexible arrangements for moms, dads and everyone else. Make your company need you – if you’re a superstar worker, they just might be willing to go for a nontraditional arrangement. Don’t be afraid to propose alternative set – ups if your corporate culture allows it – just be prepared to work even harder. Prove that you’re more productive and even saving your company money.

BALANCING WORK LIFE TIP 5

SET BOUNDARIES – With home computers, email and fax machines, it’s easier than ever to blur the lines between work and home. If you bring work home, set limits on your work time. Establish a time for turning off your computer, and stick to it. Leave time every evening for yourself and designate nights to have dinner with friends or family.

BALANCING WORK LIFE TIP 6

FIND THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU – Many of us discover too late that we won’t “have a life” at our jobs. Ask yourself now: “Which jobs and careers will allow me to live the kind of life I want to lead?” Research which companies offer flexible work arrangement and are “family friendly.” Check out books like The 100 Best Companies to Work For in America. Be honest with yourself about what you want and go find it.

Investing In Taiwan

Taiwan is home to some of the world’s largest semi conductor companies, manufactures who make pc’s as well as electronic component suppliers. TSMC for example which is the world’s largest semiconductor maker has just reached a landmark decision from the California courts to the tune of $200 million over the theft of trade secrets by its Mainland rival SMIC. In addition TSMC has an option of buying 10% of SMIC which gives it an important hold into the Mainland.

Taiwan is not just a story of tech; an important feature which has encouraged many of the analyst and fund managers is the election of Ma Ying-jiou. One of the first things Ma did was to allow direct flights between the Mainland and Taiwan ending a 6 decade ban on direct routes travel. He’s also reduced taxes on capital gains and inheritance and for the first time you are seeing a reversal of the Capital flying from Taiwan.

For U.S investors you could either stock pick most of the companies already mentioned or you can buy mutual funds offered by the likes of J.P Morgan. One word of warning is Taiwan is still an emerging market; retail investor’s account for 70-80% and the kind of swings you can see on this market are only from those with really strong stock.

Bank Policies Affecting You?

The Credit Card Act of 2009 was implemented last may to deal with the growing deceptive practices in the Credit Card industry. The changes are scheduled to for the February 2010, one might think during this time frame the banks are adjusting their policies but that is certainly not the case, reports confirm that they are simply adjusting their policies with the struggling economy.

The report which is titled Still Waiting: Unfair or deceptive Credit Card Practices Continue as Americans waits for new reforms to take effect. Amazingly 100% of the banks reviewed would fail to meet the requirements of the new Credit Card Act; in fact some of the practices which brought about the credit card legislation had become even more common. For instance in December 2008 92% of the banks reviewed raised interest rates on outstanding balances by changing their account agreements unilaterally, As of July 99.7 of the banks will raise their rates. The report also found that 95% of the banks apply payments in a manner that the Federal Reserve considers likely to cause “substantial monetary injury.” This means that the credit card issuer chooses how to apply your monthly payments, that’s possible because many accounts have multiple types of balances each with its own interest rate.
For instance the interest rate you may be charged for purchases could be 15%, while the interest rate for any cash advance could be 25%. Your credit card company decides where to apply the bulk of the payment and right now many apply payments to the portion of your balance with the lowest interest rate first.

Let us assume you had a total credit card balance of $1000.00, $600 of which were for purchases and the remaining $400 for cash advances; you then made a payment of $700, the bank would choose to apply the payment to the portion of the balance related to the purchases part with the lowest interest rate. The balance with the higher interest rate in this case the cash advance, would receive a smaller payment. The Credit Card Act abolishes this practice but until it takes effects banks continue to squeeze every dollar out of their accounts by applying payments this way. That’s why congress was considering moving the effective date of the act to December 1st.

From the bank’s perspective making the most out of the credit card side of the business before that happens makes make perfect sense, after all their real estate lending business has been hurting and it slow to turn around. At the same time the rising number of defaults a natural consequence of increasing unemployment among the banks clients means that banks have good reason to be anxious about the changes they will have to accommodate when the law takes effect. And there are still other changes you should be aware of.

Creditors are also making a departure from offering consumers fix interest rates, most contracts allow the lender to change the interest rate they offer to you for any reason; because of this the Credit Card Act requires that rates advertised as fixed must remain unchanged for a stated period of time. To avoid this some creditors are opting to convert their fixed rates to partially viable rates with fixed minimums. Partially viable rates are tied to an index like the prime rate and the minimum rate requirement would prevent card holders from enduring a low rate if the index fell below a predetermined limit. In December of 2008 10% of banks attach partially viable rates to their credit cards, however in July of 2009 38% of the banks studied now offer partially viable rates.