Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Book Review: I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Ramit Sethi doesn’t need my help.  His new book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, hit #1 on Amazon when it launched last week.  But, because I’ve known Ramit for years and witnessed how much he sweat blood and tears over this terrific little volume, I’ll throw my two cents into the burgeoning pot.

The best thing about I Will Teach You to Be Rich, which is based on Ramit’s popular blog of the same name, is its target niche.  Finally, here is a book that talks about the personal finance needs of the 20-35 year-olds who are broke now and will be in scalding water when they’re ready for retirement and Social Security is a thing of the past.

The book presents a six week program focused around the basic pillars of personal finance – banking, saving, budgeting, and investing.  Ramit emphasizes the importance of getting started now, when you realize that you should manage your money, but aren’t sure how to navigate a bleak and confusing world.  It won't tell you not to spend money on lattes but instead focuses on spending extravagantly on the things you love and cutting costs mercilessly on the things you don't.

Ramit’s use of self-deprecating humor (gotta love those Indian jokes) while delivering practical, step-by-step advice makes the book an easy page-turner.  The San Francisco Chronicle had it right when it said that Ramit’s style is intriguing – part frat boy and part Silicon Valley geek, with a little bit of SF hipster thrown in.  His voice is full of attitude, and his ideas are uncommonly sound and refreshingly hype-free.  And don’t forget the fact that he’s super-smart.  After watching him single-handedly launch his book to #1, I would personally take any advice from him I could get.

You’re Always Being Interviewed

My friend Alice is a tenured professor at an east coast university.  She was telling me about the lovely weekend she had planned for prospective graduate students who had come to town to interview with her.  She and her colleagues planned to meet with the students for the day, and then her department was hosting a casual cocktail party for them that evening.

Alice explained that one prospective student in particular really impressed her during the interview.  His credentials were exceptional, and his questions were intelligent and asked in an articulate manner.  When it came time for the informal party, however, the star interviewee didn’t show up.  He told one of Alice’s colleagues that his family had accompanied him east and that it was his sister’s birthday.

Alice was disappointed and even a touch offended that the student's priorities seemed to be out of whack.

In this case, there was clearly a misunderstanding between Alice and the student regarding what was part of the interview and what wasn’t, so here’s my lesson of the day.  When you’re interviewing for a job, everything you are invited to do with your potential employer counts, and you must be on your best behavior at every moment.  It’s dangerous and inaccurate to assume that the employer will cease her evaluation of you just because you’ve left the conference room and are now in a restaurant. 

 

Salary Data: Don’t Leave Home Without It

Don’t you find it irritating when job postings don’t include a salary range?  Don’t you hate feeling so in the dark about a position’s salary that you have no choice but to blindly accept the employer’s first offer?  Stanford MBA Julie Greenberg just launched a useful website called Jobnob.com that solves the dilemma faced by job hunters everywhere.  Jobnob.com provides information about the salary of particular jobs offered by companies all over the US.  By perusing the salary ranges and the current salaries being offered, job seekers have exactly what they need to negotiate the best price for a great salary with the company that they want to work for.

Jobnob.com can also be helpful when making the decision to adjust or change your career.  If you’re a run-of-the-mill accountant, for instance, Jobnob.com will tell you that your average salary is $46,092.  You could decide to become a tax accountant, who earns $50,301 on average, or an auditor, who earns $56,865 on average.  Even better, maybe a finance manager position is in your future.  These guys have similar skills and education as basic accountants, yet they get paid $72,376.

Knowledge is power, folks.  If you're job hunting or job negotiating, check out the data at Jobnob.com.

Got Conflict? Check out the 30/20 Vision Radio Show Tomorrow

Great news!  A brand new new episode of my radio show and podcast, 30/20 Vision, is taping tomorrow, March 20th, at 2PM ET.  As a reminder, this series is for 20-something professionals who wish they had a couple of big sisters to clue them in on the ins and outs of life after college. This month, my co-hosts Christine Hassler (20 Something Manifesto) and Lindsey Pollak (Getting From College to Career) and I will talk about how to to proactively address conflict - and how to cope when a reconciliation isn't possible. 

We hope you'll join us live or check out the replay.

Gap Years Aren’t Just for Europeans Anymore

Taking a gap year is common practice in Europe.  Rather than going straight to college, students take a year off (in reality, a year very much "on") to immerse themselves in other cultures, explore specific interests, or volunteer to help others. This trend is growing in the United States, not only among students, but also among those taking a career break or finding fulfilling activities upon retirement where a "gap year" can range anywhere from one week to many months.

Recently featured in the New York Times, organizations like the Center for Interim Programs work one-on-one with individuals of all ages to tailor a combination of program options that match interests, needs, and goals.  They guide people through the process of identifying reputable placements, securing those placements, and adjusting to the changes that inevitably take place as individuals take on new experiences.

 

The Center for Interim Programs itself traditionally focused on the needs of the student population, but then realized that the process of creative risk-taking and personal expansion is equally relevant to adults of any age. They have placed a steady stream of men and women casting about for new career opportunities or career breaks, senior executives and teachers looking for interesting sabbatical options, and retirees seeking fulfilling activities or programs to engage their interest.

 

If you’re looking for a break to reassess where you’re going in life, a gap program could be for you.  Check out CIP’s website for thousands of options and sample scenarios that you can customize to meet your needs.

7 Job Types of Gen Y-ers

Are you a Gen Y-er, or do you work with them?  This informative list is from my friend Bruce Tulgan’s new book, Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y:

#1: THE SAFE HARBOR JOB. Sometimes they just want to hide out and collect a paycheck. There are no upsides for the employer.

#2: THE WEIGH STATION JOB. Sometimes Gen Y-ers take a job while they are still taking stock and trying to figure out what they really want to do next. The key here is to get her to decide what she really wants next is to build a great career working for you. or at least convince them to work hard for you so they can trade up to that job she really wants.

#3: THE PEER GROUP JOB. This is when they take a job in order to spend time with friends. At least they may look forward to coming to work. The downside is that social relations will be their primary focus.

#4: THE PASSION JOB. This is when Gen Y-ers find work that aligns with their deep interests and priorities. The upside for the employers is that they will bring energy and enthusiasm to the work. The potential downside arises when the work part of work makes the passion seem more like a grind.

#5: THE BIG GAMBLE JOB. This is when Gen Y-ers see a job as an opportunity to work like crazy for some time with the chance of a giant payoff. They will often work like crazy for some time. until and unless they lose confidence in payoff.

#6: THE NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK JOB. Sometimes Gen Y-ers take a job to meet some idiosyncratic and hard to fulfill desire---maybe it's working the night-shift or working with books or working on a boat.  As long as you can provide what they really want, you can be pretty sure they won't leave.

#7: THE SELF-BUILDING JOB. The best case is when Gen Y-ers are looking at the job as a chance to make an impact at work while building themselves up with your resources. This is most likely to bring out their best for a sustained period.

Making Your Digital Footprint Work For You

I've  heard about a cool new service called VisualCV from a few different sources recently, so I thought I'd share what I learned here.  VisualCV helps job seekers put forward a consistent professional image online that can be linked to wherever they have a digital footprint - LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  And it's more than just for job seeking, as people currently use VisualCV for personal branding, business development, and networking.

VisualCV enables professionals to have complete control over their online representation and networking.At the most basic level, the professional can track his/her own, private one-degree community. Or, it allows them to take their personal brand to the Internet so that they can be found in a way they want to be represented professionally. You can embed images, charts, audio and video clips of your work, letters of recommendation, awards, qualifications and skills, and there are no content or quantity restrictions on portfolio items.

Of course, there are the ever-present privacy concerns.According to the VisualCV folks, you retain complete control over who sees your CV.  You can share different versions of your VisualCV with specific contacts, opt to have your VisualCV viewable within the VisualCV.com community, or make your VisualCV available on the Internet by opting for public display of your unique URL. And this is neat – you can register interest with a company or individual, and identify search settings and categories for which you’re interested in being “found.”

Supposedly, top companies like Amazon and Citrix are already on board with accepting VisualCVs, and hey, if Guy Kawasaki is using it, it must be good.   

Do You Have Friends at Work?

In the next couple of months, I’m going to be writing occasional posts about workplace relationships.  After all, if you want to enjoy your job, it’s downright necessary that you have at least a friend or two at the place where you spend the majority of your waking hours. Work friends will be there when you want to grab a bite at the restaurant down the block or take a quick turn on the treadmill at the gym. They’ll be there when you need to commiserate about a project or vent about a new company policy. They may even be around when your world changes forever, such as when my colleagues and I watched the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Work friendships make the corporate world bearable, and you shouldn’t try to make do without them.

Our first order of business is how to uncover potential work friendships.  I think that the ideal time is at the start of a new job. When your boss introduces you to the other members of your team, make a note of people your age who look friendly. Take them up on their offers to help you. Maybe you already know how to order business cards, but there’s no harm in finding an excuse to talk to your new coworkers. If someone asks you to get a cup of coffee, go gladly, but don’t jump at the chance for a friend so quickly that you end up spending all of your time with one particular person. Because you’re unfamiliar with people’s allegiances, you need to avoid aligning yourself with a single colleague or group of colleagues. In your first month, you should aim to know a little about a lot of people rather than the other way around.

In your experience, how important is it to have friends at work?  Is it something that’s helped you get through the day, or do you prefer to reserve any kind of socializing for people outside the office?   For those of you who are members of the Millennial generation, do you think that your view of workplace friendships is different than that of your predecessors? 

The Great Cover Letter Debate

Those of you who have been reading Water Cooler Wisdom for a while know how I feel about official cover letters.  Basically, I think they’re a waste, because if you aren’t submitting your resume to someone you know well enough to include a more informal e-mail instead, you’re probably just going to end up in the black hole that is the general HR inbox.  However, my new friend Charlotte Weeks, who runs Weeks Resume Service, has some alternative thoughts on the matter.  Says Charlotte:

“Although not the most effective way, some jobs are still found by responding to ads. Without a cover letter, an applicant can appear lazy, like she’s just submitting her resume everywhere there's an opening. If you take the time to write a cover letter and personalize it, it indicates that you are truly interested.  I've known recruiters and hiring managers who say they've never read a cover letter, but I've known others who say they find it more important than the resume. You just never know who will end up doing the hiring.

 A surprisingly effective way of job hunting is sending a resume cold to companies that haven't posted ads.  In this case, a letter of introduction (aka the cover letter), is vital. And even if you have a connection, a cover letter may still be necessary.  Why?  Often, the person who refers you isn't the decision maker.  Writing the letter and mentioning the contact is an added way of getting noticed.

 In all situations, the cover letter provides an opportunity to sell yourself.  It should compliment, but not replace the resume. The cover letter can be a good place to put information that doesn't necessarily fit on a resume (relocation issues, willingness to travel, immigration status, etc.).  It's also less business-like than a resume, and some people feel it's a way to know the candidate on a personal level."  HR pros, what do you think?

 

Is Facebook Rewiring Your Brain?

According to the UK's Daily Mail, social networking websites may be causing alarming changes in the brains of young users. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centered.

Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist and director of the Royal Institution, believes repeated exposure could effectively rewire the brain. 'We know how small babies need constant reassurance that they exist,' she told the Mail yesterday.  "My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who have a small attention span and who live for the moment."

Her comments echoed those she made during a House of Lords debate earlier this month. Then she argued that exposure to computer games, instant messaging, chat rooms and social networking sites could leave a generation with poor attention spans.  "I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf," she said.

Well gee, this is kind of scary.  I know it was true of video games, but social networking sites?  I always think it’s funny that younger people never have to ask themselves “whatever happened to…?”  I never considered that their brains are going to be different than mine as a result.  Call me skeptical, but I want to see some brain imaging comparisons before I pass judgment on this one.