Sunday, May 26, 2013

planning ahead/ Rahmit Sethi/ good job sites

May 6 Planning Ahead: I mentioned I was reading the Albertan magazine called Legacy that I got back in 2007.  It was when I was in the Professional Writing program.  There was an article "Planning Ahead- this time" by Paula Simons.  She writes for the Edmonton Journal.

There was a bumper sticker slogan that was popular in Alberta in the early 1980s: "Please God, let there be another oil boom.  I promise not to piss it all away next time."

The article was basically about how booms never last.  You should live within your means and save your money.

"One evening, my family went for dinner at a restaurant at a brand-new hotel on Edmonton's south side.  Our server, an older gentleman with a German accent, seemed unusually friendly and attentive.  After he left our table, my mother quietly mentioned that the waiter had once owned the whole hotel.  But the bank had foreclosed, leaving him to wait tables in the restaurant that had once been his.

It was a sobering morality tale- a home-grown parable about wealth, fate, and reversal of fortunes."

At the end of the article: "When this boom goes bust- as it inevitably will- what will Alberta have to show for it?  How much are we saving?  Where are we investing?  What are we building as legacies for the future?" 

Rahmit Sethi: I've been reading his book I Will Teach You to be Rich.  It talked about how friends influence you to spend your money.  There was a part of the book about how a person is told by a friend to buy this new phone, regardless if he needs a new one or not.

I don't tell my friends to buy things.  I tell them to save their money.  Remember my weekly email/ blog post that said this:

"In the Drake music video 'Find Your Love', at the end in big, capital, bold letters it says: 'FIND.  YOUR.  LOVE.'  I would say: 'SAVE.  YOUR. MONEY.'"  lol.

The other things I tell you to do is: "Watch this TV show, listen to this song, check out this website" which isn't about spending money at all.  Just time.

Job advice: I like reading advice columns like then I would know what to do if I or one of my friends, family, or co-worker was in this situation.  I usually read life and dating advice columns like Ann Landers.  I do like reading job advice columns.

Bad boss: I have this article "My 'Teflon' boss blames me for his unpopular decisions."  It was in the Globe and Mail business section column called 'Nine to Five.'  This Worker #1 writes in saying his boss creates this decisions and changes, and the worker who wrote in, he has to implement them.  Then when workers complain, the boss blames it on the Worker #1 who wrote in.  This was on Jul. 30, 2012.

Doug Nathanson, senior VP and chief human resources officer, Canadian Tire, Toronto says:

"...Include meeting with your manager's boss, engaging your HR department or using a whistle-blower or code-of-conduct reporting mechanism.  Whichever option you choose, you should arm yourself with all the facts and as much supporting documentation as possible.  I suspect you will be surprised to learn how many others are aware of your manager's behaviour once it is more openly discussed.

There is a degree of risk associated with standing up to your boss, but if it's done tactfully it is your best option."

Billy Anderson, Founder, Made You Think Coaching, Toronto:

"You could ask your boss' boss if it's possible for everyone to get a review because you think the department would benefit.  In so doing you'll hopefully get the chance to air your frustrations."

Another tip was to diplomatically stand up to your boss in front of a group of people when he's being unfair.   "Sometimes such people are only tough until someone calls them out.  There is a risk he'll hold it against after that, but do you have anything to lose at this point?"

He also said the same thing above about a paper trail like keeping inappropriate or contradictory emails from the boss.

Also work on your resume: "Simply starting the search is empowering- you feel like you're driving your own bus instead of being thrown under his."

Good job sites: In the Globe and Mail business section there are these tips. 

Addictive Tips:
There is usually a tech tip from addictivetips.com.  These are all tech tips from computers like Mac, Windows, Android, etc.  Check it out: 

http://www.addictivetips.com/


Artpetty.com: They have this website that gave a tip.  Ask this question in a job interview:

“What are you doing to get better at what you do?” –Artpetty.com

I thought that was a good question that I put it in my inspirational quotes. 

Strategy+ business: It also mentioned this website.  There are some really good job articles.  It lead me to this "6 Secrets to Doing Less."

1. What isn't there can often trump what is.
2. The simplest rules create the most effective experience.
3. Limiting information engages the imagination.
4. Creativity thrives under intelligent constraints.
5. Break is the important part of breakthrough.
6. Doing something isn't always better than doing nothing.
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00156?pg=all
The Womack Report: This site is run by Jason Womack.  There are lots of blog posts, videos, seminars, executive coaching to improve your job.

http://womackcompany.com/blog/
May 11 Linked In: Did you know that Linked In is now 10 yrs old?  I got an email from them in my inbox.  I then read it in the Edmonton Journal about how Linked In was in an office by the other social networking site Friendster.  Of course, no one uses that anymore.

I remember last year I was at a wedding, and the MC was talking about how the married couple met.  They knew each other when they were kids and lost touch, then reconnected through Friendster back in 2005.  Now they're married....awww.

May 15 Newspapers: Last month my dad cancelled our National Post newspaper subscription which we had for years.  We're trying to save our money and we subscribe to 2 other newspapers already like the Edmonton Journal and the Globe and Mail.

I remember the days since 2010, the Year of Unemployment where I was unemployed and read all the business sections of the 3 newspapers to be up on the business news.  I didn't want to miss a thing about it because how the economy was going, was having some sort of an effect on my job search.

From 2010-2013 I was reading all 3 business sections of the newspapers.  Now I'm down to 2.  That's fine.

Widows and widowers: Ginny Grimsley sends me these articles and I decided to publish one of them.  I asked if I could and she said yes.   Here it is:

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2013/05/article-tips-for-widows-and-widowers.html

I know for most of my friends, it's a long ways away to be thinking about death, but I thought this was a really important article.  It mentions finances in it.  I always read business articles about retirement, and what happens when you or your spouse dies, inheritances, etc.  This article will apply to everybody at one time or another.

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