Sunday, May 31, 2020

2019 Theme of the Year Income Streams

2019 Theme of the Year Income Streams If youve followed my blog for the last few weeks you know I recently lost my dream job. You also know that when I was told your last day will be November 30th, I was sad really sad. But I was also thinking about my other income streams. 13 years ago, when I got laid off and catapulted towards a new career direction, I had no other income streams. A small committee at the company I worked at voted to lay me off. No big deal, just a business decision. But they took away 100% of my income. I vowed to not allow any one person to take away 100% of my income ever again. My plan became to create JibberJobber, and hope to earn $100 a month. Thats not much money, but at least they wouldnt be able to take away 100%, right? And so there I was, sitting across the table from my boss, getting laid off. Weeks before Thanksgiving. Shortly before Christmas. Happy holidays to me!   But, I had accomplished what I had set out to do. This person, who left that meeting with her title and salary and benefits and ownership intact, could not, did not, take 100% of my income away. And for that I was deeply grateful that all the work Id put in these almost-thirteen years paid off. What Ive been thinking about all weekend is that I want YOU to be as empowered as I was. I want YOU to be as prepared as I was. I want YOU to have multiple income streams. I dont know what is right for YOU, and I warn you that it might take thirteen (or more) years for YOU to create even one decent income stream (which might come after a number of failed attempts). Maybe youve heard this one: Q: When is the best time to plant a tree in my yard? A: 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW. Lets shift that to income streams: Q:    When is the best time to create another income stream? A: 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW. How does a job fit into this? I want you to get to the point where, instead of saying I got a new job! you say I got a new income stream! Yes, jobs are (can be) great. Yes, most everyone should have a job. But I want you to get to a point in your career where you see your job as an income stream. Income streams are power. I want you to have that power. And that is why income streams is 2019s theme of the year. 2019 Theme of the Year Income Streams If youve followed my blog for the last few weeks you know I recently lost my dream job. You also know that when I was told your last day will be November 30th, I was sad really sad. But I was also thinking about my other income streams. 13 years ago, when I got laid off and catapulted towards a new career direction, I had no other income streams. A small committee at the company I worked at voted to lay me off. No big deal, just a business decision. But they took away 100% of my income. I vowed to not allow any one person to take away 100% of my income ever again. My plan became to create JibberJobber, and hope to earn $100 a month. Thats not much money, but at least they wouldnt be able to take away 100%, right? And so there I was, sitting across the table from my boss, getting laid off. Weeks before Thanksgiving. Shortly before Christmas. Happy holidays to me!   But, I had accomplished what I had set out to do. This person, who left that meeting with her title and salary and benefits and ownership intact, could not, did not, take 100% of my income away. And for that I was deeply grateful that all the work Id put in these almost-thirteen years paid off. What Ive been thinking about all weekend is that I want YOU to be as empowered as I was. I want YOU to be as prepared as I was. I want YOU to have multiple income streams. I dont know what is right for YOU, and I warn you that it might take thirteen (or more) years for YOU to create even one decent income stream (which might come after a number of failed attempts). Maybe youve heard this one: Q: When is the best time to plant a tree in my yard? A: 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW. Lets shift that to income streams: Q:    When is the best time to create another income stream? A: 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW. How does a job fit into this? I want you to get to the point where, instead of saying I got a new job! you say I got a new income stream! Yes, jobs are (can be) great. Yes, most everyone should have a job. But I want you to get to a point in your career where you see your job as an income stream. Income streams are power. I want you to have that power. And that is why income streams is 2019s theme of the year.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

All About PDF Maker Online

All About PDF Maker OnlineA PDF maker online is becoming the best and most convenient way to create your digital documents. It is a type of software that can help you produce unlimited documents with your own software. What you need to do is to download the PDF maker and you can make the documents on your computer.This is like the pen drive in that it is an automatic or manual device, which allows for storage of various office supplies and documents. It is also known as the memory card. These digital cards can hold a variety of files that are used for sharing and distribution. These cards can also store office supplies that are needed for the business.This new technology allows users to print your documents without using the printer. You can print your documents and save them on the card or create PDF files on your computer. You can then use this file anywhere that you want.There are several advantages to using a PDF maker online. For example, it allows you to generate huge files. Th ey can be easily stored in the memory card for long-term usage. Once the document is created, it can be edited on your PC to enhance the file, while retaining its original qualities.This is the same as the software used by those who work in other fields, but they would not have the right tools to edit the document. In addition, it allows for security on your documents. You do not have to worry about the documents being accessed.It also has page size options. This is important to ensure that the content is readable even at different sizes. It allows for easy transfer of information and data. This is because you can choose to save the file locally or to email the file.The advantage of PDF maker online is that it is very user friendly. Users can convert documents and print them out easily, thanks to its online capabilities. The whole process is simple and easy to use.However, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files online. It is important to have this for the process to work. You can download the free reader from the Adobe website. Then, you can convert the documents that you want to print, and have them printed out at home.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Discount Your Diploma With These 7 Money-Saving Tips

Discount Your Diploma With These 7 Money-Saving Tips It’s a big decision to go back to school as an adult. Whether you’re pursuing your first degree or your sixth, you’ve put a lot of time and consideration into the choice, and you’re taking the plunge. Once you accept your place at a college or university, though, the feeling of excitement and pride can very quickly turn toward one of trepidation: How will I manage to afford this degree? As an adult, you probably have many more real-world financial concerns than your teenaged co-ed counterparts. Don’t let your status deter you from pursuing your education, though. There are plenty of ways to save on your degree â€"  here are seven of them. 1. Formulate a Plan ASAP If you have children, you might have already started saving for them to attend college. You should finance your own education with the same careful planning. As soon as you have the inkling to return to school, start setting aside money to make it a reality. Putting away $250 each month, for example, will fatten your savings account by $3,000 per year. Do that for more than three years, and you’ll have more than $10,000 to spend on your schooling. 2. See If Your Age Qualifies You for a Discount There’s no age limit when it comes to learning, and universities have begun to realize this and incentivize older students’ return to school. Check with your state’s department of education to see if there are any discounts for students your age. This can be an especially fruitful tactic if you’re aged 60 or older. In California, for example, all state universities have free tuition for students over 60. In Texas, the cost of tuition is discounted for those 55 and older. Again, every state’s policies vary, so find out if your age qualifies you for a cheaper return to education. 3. Ask Your Employer The benefits package that comes with your current position may just include educational discounts. Ask your company’s HR department if there’s a program for employees who want to return to school. Some will pay for your continued education without question, while others will if you maintain a particular GPA or study something related to your current position. Make sure you read the fine print when accepting this type of offer from your current position, though. If you hope to leave your job once you have a new degree, you may have to pay your tuition back, as some educational assistance funding requires you to stay with your company for a certain number of years after they pay for your classes. 4. Understand Your Loan Options We already mentioned saving money and setting that aside for your education. However, for some students, that won’t be enough to cover all of their tuition, and you might not currently be in a position to start building up your savings. Not to worry, though: Student loans are a great way to make up the difference. It’s up to you to figure out how much money you need before comparing your saving and student-loan options. If you find you’ll need assistance to pay for all or part of your tuition, the government can provide scholarships, grants and loans. If you own property, you can also take out a home equity loan, which uses your dwelling as collateral for your funding. There’s no one-size-fits-all loan option, though, so do your research and speak to a financial adviser if necessary. 5. Explore Scholarship Options, Too Going back to school as an adult is a pretty extraordinary undertaking. As such, many organizations offer scholarships to exceptional students-to-be. You’ll definitely have to do some searching, but you will be able to find some nonprofits, groups and institutions that want to reward adults for returning to school. Some universities offer their own scholarships, too, so be sure to investigate your potential schools for those rewards before you apply. 6. Fast-Track Your Training If you’re returning to higher education, chances are you’ve been working since the last time you were in class. You may not have the traditional prerequisite courses on your transcripts, but some universities will accept your real-world experience instead. It’s up to you to advocate for your skills, which can toe a fine line between impressing university staff and bragging to them. Learn the art of self-promotion, whether it means listing the accomplishments that distinguish you from other applicants or having someone write a recommendation for you to vouch for the skills you possess. 7. Consider Community College Finally, if you’re looking to slash costs, community college could be the answer to your continuing education-based prayers. Tuition is usually much more cost-effective, and class schedules include both daytime and evening classes to cater to students of all ages. Even if you want a university diploma, a community college training can help you make things more affordable: Get your prerequisites done for a cheaper price, then transfer to a more expensive institution to finish. By putting the above seven tips into practice, you can assuage your educational spending fears. In other words, you’ll only have your classes and your grades to worry about and, considering the fact you’re here planning your return to school so carefully, we know it’s just the beginning of a successful educational career for you.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Your Best Ideas Come During Vacations - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Your Best Ideas Come During Vacations - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Ive been in the Caribbean the entire week and have noticed that when Im not at home, confined to my room, my ideas are more creative.   When you trap yourself in a single location, you really lose the ideas that you could gather by watching, talking and just being around other people.   When it comes to vacation, your mind will pick up on new ideas that you have never thought of.   Aside from people, scenery can also help stimulate something brand new.   Sometimes you just need to let your batteries charge and mine are just about set for when I get back. When you deal with the same people and situations all the time, you are really  doing a diservice to your personal brand.   By attending new events, meeting new people and connecting on new levels, you are able to foster innovative thinking.   Innovative thinking creates opportunities and money for you.   I dont take too many vacations each year, but this one came at the perfect time, when Im about to release issue 3 of Personal Branding Magazine, writing a book and of course more blog entries.   I have to think of new ideas so I can leverage them for all the media/content Im creating.   Ive probably filled up 6 sheets of paper with thoughts over this past week, which is going to be very helpful for when I get home on Saturday.    We just left Labadee Haiti and Im about to go up for cocktails and to dinner.   They have a few crazy games tonight and then a party near the pool, which Im looking forward to.     Ask the expert series I wanted to start a new series of posts called ask the expert, where you ask questions in the comments or through my email (dan.schawbel@gmail.com) and I find the expert that can best answer your question and then post on it.   I think this will be very helpful to everyone, as we build our personal brands in 2008.   The various categories that are touched on in this blog can be found here.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Where Can I Get Help Writing a Resume?

Where Can I Get Help Writing a Resume?The number one question I get asked when people visit my website is where can I get help writing a resume. I get asked this question every day from students, as well as seniors who may be feeling the pressures of employment. While there are many individuals who write their own resumes, it's not the most efficient way to do it.You should never be using Microsoft Word, or some other type of word processing program to write a term paper. Word does not have the ability to handle complex formatting and you run the risk of making the resume look amateurish. When you are able to communicate with a professional writer who has been trained to create a resume that is effective and will impress a prospective employer, you will see a significant improvement in your own resume.Now, as a student, you may be out of work for several months while you are completing your current job. This means that you are likely going to experience a 'dry spell' when it comes to finding a new job. You don't want to end up wasting time at a time when you really need the resume to be back on track.Instead of just giving up, consider an alternate solution to the resume problem. You can find professional resume writers online who specialize in what you need. You can find these writers through sites that are geared towards assisting you with your resume.After you have determined that your resume was written by an amateur, you can move on to the next step - how to make the resume look professional. This is where you will find some of the best resources on the web. These professionals know how to properly format resumes for an improved appearance.You can find a lot of information online about how to make a resume that will help you land the job you want. With a little extra help, you can learn how to do things the right way. What this means is that you will see an increase in your chances of getting the position you are seeking.The best thing to do when you do no t know how to go about writing a resume yourself is to find a company that offers assistance. You can find many of these. The advantage of working with a professional is that they will provide you with assistance with grammar and punctuation, as well as all of the information necessary to have a professional looking resume.One of the best ways to find out where can I get help writing a resume is to find a professional in your area that offers assistance. In today's economy, you can find a lot of candidates that are not even aware that a professional is offering assistance. Once you start searching, you will find that there are many sites that will help you write a resume that will get you the attention of a prospective employer.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer CareerMetis.com

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer â€" CareerMetis.com Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comI’ve been fascinated by reading and writing ever since early childhood. I could do both long before I started school and read voraciously throughout my years in education, as well as writing numerous stories about adventures that my friends and I went on.Fast-forward a couple of decades, and I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last six years working as a freelance writer. It hasn’t always been easy evalMy writing workload today includes two press releases and two articles. The press releases are for a property public relations firm, so once I’ve written them and the companies that commissioned them have approved them, I’ll be pitching them out to various national and international publications.From a writing perspective, this is fun, as I not only get to craft the press releases, I also get to write pitches for each of them. This means writing in two very different styles, yet all with the same goal in mind â€" achieving media coverage.The two art icles that I have to write add plenty of variety to my day.One is for Tomedes, a translation agency that I’ve been writing for since almost the start of my freelance career. It will require some research on translation industry trends and latest news before writing, which I always enjoy, as it means an opportunity to learn something new.The other article on my list to write is this post!I also have to edit two articles written by someone else, as well as sourcing various images to accompany the press releases and the translation agency article. Then there’s the usual influx of emails Sometimes, I’ll start with the task I’m least looking forward to, to tick it off the list. On other days, I’ll fill the morning and early afternoon with the best jobs, so that I’m in a delightful mood and ready to tackle the less good ones towards the end of the day!Once I start writing an article, I try to avoid distractions and focus on the material at hand, so that the writing flows beaut ifully from start to finish. At least, that’s the theory. It rarely pans out that way in reality.While writing just this paragraph, for example, I’ve received three messages from a client who can be hard to get hold of â€" so while she’s online, I need to catch her while I can!Thankfully, the interruptions to workflow are something that I have come to expect after six years of writing for a living, and they don’t tend to phase me.Writing AdminevalThe other part of my working day is allocated to the admin associated with working as a freelance writer. Today that means suggesting titles and topic summaries for a handful of guest posts for one client.Additionally, it requires updating a few Trello cards, preparing a few social media posts, updating my records of what has been written for each client (which are invaluable when it comes to billing time at the end of the month!) and uploading an article to a website.These admin bits can be surprisingly time-consuming, and most of them aren’t things that I get paid to do. That means that it’s crucial for me to whizz through them as quickly as possible, as they’re detracting from the time I have available to do the thing that pays the bills â€" writing!Freelance LifestyleAs I work freelance, my day can be structured however I like. Generally, the mornings will see me making a fresh fruit smoothie whenever I feel so inclined. Lunchtime is usually a quick affair, eaten at my desk while still tapping away on my Mac.I also try to fit in a couple of random tasks that give me a break from the screen and that it makes sense to do while the children aren’t under my feet. As it’s unusually warm and sunny here today, I spent an hour weeding the garden, enjoying the fresh air while also letting the ideas for today’s articles percolate inside my brain.That’s another thing to bear in mind about working as a freelance writer â€" you rarely entirely switch off. At least, I don’t! There’s always an article t icking over in the back of my mind, or an idea for a new pitch, to make the best use of a press release that I’ve already written.This lack of division between work time and leisure time doesn’t sit well with everyone, but for me, it works. I think about writing when I’m not actively doing it, as it’s what I want to do.After 15 years or so of working in offices, albeit for some splendid charities that I was proud to work for, the freedom of working as a freelance writer is terrific.Even after six years â€" and even on invoicing day, which is probably my least favorite day of the month! â€" I feel incredibly lucky to be working as a writer to make my living.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Yay, books - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Yay, books - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog My latest order from Amazon just arrived. Some 15 titles from Margaret Wheatley, Peter Senge, Harrison Owen and many others. Were talking a combined 40 cm. of shelf-space on the soul and spirit at work, systems thinking, self-organization, physical thinking, learning and much, much more. Seeing all those books waiting to be read is exhilarating and intimidating. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Friday, May 8, 2020

Dont Rely on Job Sites as the Cure-All for Your Search -

Dont Rely on Job Sites as the Cure-All for Your Search - The Wall Street Journals Career Journal  reports that: Visits to job sites during the first four weeks of 2008 rose about 22% compared to the same period in 2007, according to a new report from Hitwise, a market-research firm. Beware of being sucked in to a false sense of security when you apply to jobs on these sites.   You may think that if you apply to 100 positions, you are bound to hear something! Job boards have a role in your job search, but only if you leverage your time and dont rely on them too much.   I suggest spending no more than 10-15% of your job search efforts seeking and applying to positions on mega-boards. Why? Be aware that not every posting on these job boards  actually represents a specific position.   For example, some recruiters post seeking a bank of resumes for a position they may (or  may not) recruit in the future.   Of course, every sought after job will receive a tremendous response.   Between sheer volume and job postings that dont represent actual jobs, its no wonder that many people feel as if they are sending their resume into the great black hole when they use these sites. Another problem with applying for jobs in great numbers is that resumes and applications are not targeted to the employer.   Why would someone want to hire you if you dont make a case explaining how you are perfect for their job?   A better use of your time?   NETWORKING!   Ive written so much about the value of networking and how to do itSee the Networking category at the right  for a full update! Keppie Careers will write your resume, teach you job search strategies and prepare you for your next big career step!