Archive for April, 2009
Written on April 29, 2009 by Jimmy Irvin
Filed Under: Working To Live
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a self-employed person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any particular employer. The term “freelance” was first coined by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) in his well-known historical romance Ivanhoe to describe a “medieval mercenary warrior” (or “free-lance”). The phrase later transitioned to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was then officially recognized as a verb in 1903 by various authorities in etymology such as the Oxford English Dictionary. Only in modern times has the term morphed from a noun (a freelance) into an adjective (a freelance journalist), various verb forms (a journalist who freelances) and an adverb (she worked freelance), and then from the verb into the derived, now commonly-used, noun form “freelancer”.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Jimmy Irvin
Filed Under: Job Hunting
Let’s face it: finding a job is difficult, and it can be mentally and physically exhausting. In fact, it may be more difficult to find a job than to actually have a job. Among other things, you have to sort through a flood of possibilities, leads, and advertised positions, which can eat up your job search resources in a hurry, and to little effect. Recruiters and other career path experts have told me that the vast majority of job openings are never advertised or publicly announced, but are filled through personal contacts, or networking. This is especially true of mid-level and senior-level technical and management positions. I have heard that as few as 20% of jobs are ever listed in the newspapers, and I have seen one estimate that as few as 7% of jobs are listed on the online job boards. These numbers seem to be going down as the job market has tightened. Networking is going to be your “inside track” to improving the focus of and to shortening your job search.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Working To Live
What is “working to live” as opposed to “living to work”? The concept is not original to me. It was in fact inspired by the book Your Money of Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. The basic concept is that our job is supposed to be a means of income that supports our lifestyle, and not our life, supported by family and friends.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Working To Live
First of all, you do not make your gross salary. You make some amount less than that, after taxes and other deductions are taking out. What you “make” is the amount you bring home on each paycheck, your “net income”. But that’s not what this section is about. I’m talking about how much you’re really making after all the time and money you spend just to have and keep your job.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Job Hunting
In my Top 5 Interviewing Tips article, I touched on the topic of how to “Dress for Success”. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and the way you dress is the first thing potential employers see of you. There’s also the fact that if you look good, you feel good, meaning you will be more confident, and that will come through during your interview.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Job Hunting
If you haven’t already read my Top 5 Interview Tips, go and read it before reading this article. As I was writing that article, I realized that there are other tips that will help you project the best possible image of yourself, thus giving you your best possible chance at landing the job.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Job Hunting
The very first impression an employer gets of you is the resume that you send them. I’ve heard it said that the resume is to get the first interview, the first interview is to get second interview, and the second interview is to get the offer, so you can see how important a well-written resume can be. Some tips for creating a good, effective resume are to make it clean and readable, to make it concise yet thorough, and to be honest. Another tip for writing an effective resume is the layout of the resume, which will bring the eyes of the reader to the most important information in the most effective way possible. Lastly, it is often necessary to custom-tailor your resume for a specific job, particularly if that job has very specific requirements.
Read More
Written on April 29, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Job Hunting
It’s perfectly natural be nervous during a job interview. It always feels like their examining you under a microscope with no clothes on. With the exception of having no clothes on (hopefully), that’s pretty much what they’re doing. They are trying to find out what they can to determine if you’re the right fit for the job. It can be a very stressful situation, but there are a few things that you can do to make it less stressful, and increase your chances of getting the job.
Read More
Written on April 17, 2009 by Will Irvin
Filed Under: Job Hunting
Losing your job is a big deal. I know, because I’ve been there, more than once. If you’re like most people, you live paycheck-to-paycheck, so losing that regular income is a very stressful event, to say the least. It doesn’t matter if you were fired, laid off, offered early retirement, etc. It is a very stressful situation. I’m going to give you a few tips that can help you retain your sanity, and also help you turn this bad situation into an opportunity for something better. I’ll walk you through what you should do in the days (and God forbid, weeks) after losing your job. When I refer to “days”, I’m referring to business days. You shouldn’t be doing anything regarding your employment on the weekends anyway.
Read More