October 15 is the final, final deadline for filing tax returns from the year before. As a newlywed couple, with two businesses, investments, and a house sale, we filed an extention and waited until September to pull the numbers together. (Bad idea! We won’t be doing that again.) On the morning of October 15, I called the CPA for the news. It was bad. The refund (which my husband was hoping would be huge) had evaporated. I got a sense that something must be wrong. Rather than leave our tax destiny in the hands of the accountant, I said, “Don’t file the return electronically until I have a chance to see it.” On the way to the CPA’s office, Read the rest of this entry »

The average job search takes 150 hours. You can stretch that out for a whole year if you just work now and then. I find that people who have lost their jobs, or have quit, or retired on schedule, require 3-6 months time to resolve hurt feelings and anger toward their employer. This time is usually spent watching daytime TV, doing home projects, eating too much, and sometimes, drinking too much. When the grieving time has past, it’s time to pick yourself up and treat your job search like a job.

Here are some tips to find a job FAST:

1. Get up each day at the same time. Have a regular Read the rest of this entry »

When jobs are scarce, Information Interviews (II’s) are THE BEST way to unearth job leads. The II is designed to get you in to talk to people who aren’t necessarily hiring, but who know about jobs, hiring policies, salaries, education requirements, managers, and lots of other off-the-record stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

You might be dreaming of a career change, but want to keep paying the bills and maintaining your standard of living. Workers have more freedom than ever before in creating a new career. Here are some commonly held myths that you need to reconsider: Read the rest of this entry »