Choose Your Career Before Choosing A Major

The first four letters of the word “career” – purely coincidentally, I’m sure – are “c-a-r-e”. 

Care.

Many of the new college entrants say; 

• “Choosing my major is hard…”
•  “I hate my major…”
• “There are no jobs in my major…”

Screw the major. It doesn’t matter.

Oh, it matters to your college – which will force you to pick a major even before you’ve figured out what you want to be when you grow up. And it matters to those high school guidance counselors still dishing out advice from the 1990s. And, perhaps most obvious, your major matters to some parents who wear their child’s chosen major like a badge of parenthood honor.

For you, however, a major is not an indicator of where you will end up in your career, how much money you’ll make or how far you’ll go as an entrepreneur. It will not affect how happy or proud your parents will ultimately be of you. Or how happy or fulfilled you will be as you navigate life.

There are a number of studies examining this topic:

• Studies that show how often students change their majors
• Studies that show someone with a history major can make as much money as someone with a business degree – in a business-related role
• Studies that show what employers really want are employees with excellent communication and transferable skills
• Studies that show your practical experience (gained through internships and mentorship relationship) and your ability to add value to the company – outweigh what you chose to study
• Studies that show how few of us workforce veterans actually work in careers directly related to our undergraduate majors

And yet, even before you enter college or have experienced the real world to any significant degree, you are expected to choose a major. And you choose based on high school academics, online strengths and aptitude tests, your parents’ agendas, the notion that you must be “practical” in your decisions and maybe even the latest press tidbit that lists the “Top 10 Majors” for right now.

Insane.

Unless you’re destined to work in academia or in a STEM-related career path (where a degree in Liberal Arts will obviously not help you), choose a course of study that will get your butt out of bed every morning. Choose a major where you can see yourself engaging in the classroom, being passionate about projects and courses – and developing leadership skills. Choose something that keeps you interested, even when you’re surrounded by distractions.

Ever see anyone that was absent of passion or disengaged – that didn’t care – serve as an effective communicator? Leader? Motivator?

Maybe you just entered college and are undecided on your major? Perhaps you are unhappy with your major choice… or are worried about the lack of jobs available that cater to your major? Relax. Avoid the drama. Stop watching the news, and reading doomsday blogs. Spend your energy doing something productive, or even challenging.

Realize that most employers look for those who possess an exceptional work ethic, exhibit character and passion, communicate well, think like an entrepreneur, lead others and fit within their existing culture.

Ultimately, employers want to know two things:

1)      Can you do the job well?
2)      Do you CARE?

Nothing else – including your major – matters.

5 Personal Branding Resume Techniques You Must Try

There are aspects of your background that make you incredibly unique and highly qualified and your job is to highlight those aspects so that hiring managers don’t have to guess whether you’re perfect for the job.  To help you get started, here are five personal branding techniques to try when working on your resume.

1. Develop a Strong Title/Job Target

Your title/job target is the first impression a hiring manager will have when reading your resume.  This short phrase provides a quick summary of what you’ve accomplished and why you are the right person for the job.  It helps to set the tone for who you are as a candidate.  This tone should remain consistent throughout the resume and any other information the manager receives about you.

2. Add Links to Your Professional Profiles

Another great technique for building your personal brand is to link to your professional profiles.  Keep in mind that, most times, your resume is submitted online and can easily be linked to Web sites.  If you link to your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles, as well as one or two other professional sites you have, you give the employer a chance to learn more about the contributions you’ve made in your field.

3. Summarize Your Career Highlights

You can also develop your personal brand by creating a career summary section.  You want the most important moments of your career to stand out in this section.  These moments might include your winning salesperson of the year five times, or your efforts as a team leader that resulted in record revenues.  It’s good to list at least four highlights, but make sure they’re tailored to the job for which you’re applying.

4. Turn Your Duties into Initiatives

Instead of listing the duties you were given on any job you’ve worked, it’s great to brand yourself by listing your initiatives.  So if you were in charge of taking phone messages and created a new system that made message delivery more effective, don’t just write, “Answered calls and delivered messages”.  Write a couple of sentences starting with “Developed” or “Initiated”, then talk about what you created and how it helped the message-taking process flow more smoothly throughout the office.

5. Consider Testimonials

Adding testimonials to resumes is still a unique concept to many job seekers, so taking this route could automatically make you stand out.  Find two or three reputable references in your field to vouch for your greatness in a one- or two-sentence quote.  This could really help to back you up as a strong candidate.

Smart things to know : Loan against mutual fund units

1. Banks and non-banking financial companies provide loans against mutual fund units. An application has to be filed by all joint holders of the mutual fund folio to seek such a loan.

2. Loans are provided at rates lower than those for unsecured personal loans. The lender will ask for a lien to be marked on the units, which will be lifted when the loan is repaid.

3. A lien is marked by the lender when he notifies the registrar or the asset management company. A lien can be marked on all or part of the units held in a folio.

4. The amount of loan that is sanctioned is a percentage of the value of units held in the folio on the date of giving the loan. In the case of equity funds, the margin can be higher (50%).

5. The dividends can continue to be paid to the holder of units even during the period of the lien. However, no units can be redeemed before the loan is repaid.

6. If there is a default on the loan, the lender can invoke the lien and ask for the units to be redeemed. The proceeds will be paid to the lender.

Financial planning for the Self-Employed

We encounter that many people who think financial planning is only for salaried people & not of businessmen & self-employed professionals.  But nothing could be further to the truth than that. Financial planning is a must for everyone, including the self-employed.  Financial planning is not a one size fit all service, but rather the advice changes from person to person.

Sharing below few points, self-employed professionals & businessmen should keep in mind with regards to their personal finance.

Contingency fund is a must!

Though a contingency fund is a must for everyone, it is even more important for the self-employed as unlike salaried people they may not have a constant monthly inflow in the form of a salary. They may have a huge cash inflow whenever there is a major sale or deal cracked as in the case of real estate agents, chartered accountants, etc. Many professionals like photographers, software programmers, website designers, etc work on project basis & may receive their dues once project is over.

But sadly expenses don’t wait accordingly. Food, grocery, rent & all such essential expenses need to be paid regularly. EMI’s don’t wait a day also. So to take care of these, it is essential that you keep atleast 6 month’s expenses & EMI payments as reserve in liquid instruments to utilize in case of such contingencies.

Insurance to take care of the unexpected!

When we talk about insurance, we are not just talking about life insurance, but also general. If you have financial dependents, you may need life insurance. However as a self-employed it is general insurance which is mandatory. A medicaim & critical illness policy is essential as falling ill does not only have medical cost attached to it for you, but also cost of business lost due to ill health!

A personal accident policy too is a must if your work involves a lot of travelling & physical strain. This works as income replacement insurance in case of temporary injury & a lumpsum payment incase of permanent disablement.

If you are a professional like doctor, engineer, accountant, stock broker, etc you may need to buy a professional indemnity to take care of any litigation against you related to allegation of negligent service. This is internationally the norm & soon will be very important in India too. Insurance of your office, shop or warehouse is a must incase of loss due to theft, fire, etc.

Disguised Retirement!

Disguised retirement is what I call the retirement of businessmen & self employed. Usually they think retirement planning is not something they need. They say they will work till they can as they have no stipulated retirement age as salaried employees. That all is true but the fact is that they too face a form of retirement.

Many professionals, who are past their prime, go to office everyday but business is not the same. A man of 70 years will not have the same energy & enthusiasm to get more & more clients like a 30 year old. So though you are going to work, work is not paying the same as earlier.

Previously we had joint family systems taking care of the patriarch who was still head of the family & business. But now children have their own dreams & your business may not figure in those dreams. 

The solution to this is to plan your retirement as if you are not going to have any income past a certain age. Your investments made should take care of your retirement.  That does not mean you won’t work, it just means now you will have funds to take care of you if your business is not paying you as well as when you were younger.

Investments !

Investments need to be made for achievement of goals as well as wealth creation. But whereas the SIP mode is the best method for most, many self-employed persons find it difficult to set aside a certain amount every month. This is especially true for professionals who get lumpsum payments few times a year.

In that case the best way to proceed is to commit a certain part of your lumpsum cash inflow to invest. So instead of you investing in a regular monthly SIP, you are investing quarterly, semi-annually, etc. It works same as a regular SIP. The important thing is you are investing!

Tax Planning is your trump card!

It is here where self-employed professionals have a certain edge over salaried employees. A salaried employee first pays tax on his income & then can spend the rest. A businessman can first spend from his income & then pay tax on what is left. This is something which can be used as well as abused by some people.

The most important & ethical thing to do is ensure you show all expenses & income related to your business & draw your books of accounts. Self-employed professionals & sole proprietors come under slab rate category of Income tax act, so unlike a company or partnership which has to pay tax @30% of profits, you need to pay as per your slabs.

Sharing important financial information with your spouse!

Many businessmen do not find it important to inform their spouses about their various bank accounts, investment, important contacts, etc. This may due to various factors such as spouse also busy with his/her work, thinking that spouse being a housewife will not understand, etc. This is a very risky thing to do. In case of an unfortunate event, the spouse won’t know how to take things forward. Even finding investment details may prove difficult.

It is essential that you inform them about your work & financial details. Also it is essential to update nominations & make a will for smooth transition.

How to Save Money

Saving money is one of those tasks that are so much easier said than done. There's more to it than spending less money (although that part alone can be challenging). How much money will you save, where will you put it, and how can you make sure it stays there? Here's how to set realistic goals, keep your spending in check, and get the most for your money.

Kill your debt first - Simply calculating how much you spend each month on your debts will illustrate that eliminating debt is the fastest way to free up money. Once the money is freed from debt payment, it can easily be re-purposed to savings. Plus, the sooner you pay off debt, the less interest you'll pay, and that money can be saved instead.

Set savings goals- For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy a video game, find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a house, determine how much of a down payment you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop working), and you’ll also need to figure out how investments will help you achieve your goals.

Stop using credit cards - Pay for everything with cash or money orders. Don't even use checks. It's easier to overspend when you're pulling from a bank or credit account because you don't know exactly how much is in there. If you have cash, you can see your supply running low. You can even bundle up the predetermined amount of cash allocated for each expense with a label or keep separate jars for each expense (e.g. a bundle/jar for coffee, another for gas, another for miscellaneous). As you pull money from a jar for that particular expense, you'll see how much remains and you'll also be reminded of your limit.

Don't get discouraged and don't give up - You may not think you can become wealthy but to become a millionaire is possible if you set up a aggressive savings plan and stick to it. You may be surprised how much money you can put away for something far more enjoyable than what you could buy with short term savings. Good things often take time and the longer you save the more interest you will be making on your savings as well!

3 Important Investment Lessons from 2011

The year 2011 was among the most disappointing years with the high inflation, a depreciating rupee, low output and a failing global economy. Below are a few takeaways from the past year.

1. Suddenly many jobs are being lost: Remember slowing down, closing down are not words that happen only to somebody else! It happens to the best. Only your salary is certain, the variable salary is really variable.

Learning: When you commit to a life style, EMI, etc. Ignore a big portion of your salary. Assume it's only 50%, it helps.

2. SIP can go wrong: All SIPs started in the past 1-2 years are under water.. Equities will do what it does. Keep your cool. You have to do what you have to do!!

The returns between the period of 1979 to 2011 was at about 18% p.a. — if you add dividends reinvested the returns should be better. However no one year may have got you 18% — there have been years of -46% as well as super years like 242%. Be ready for volatility. A terrible 2008 (-40%) was followed by a fantastic 2009 (90%)….so BELIEVE in equity.

Learning: Accept that volatile assets will not give you linear returns. Have patience it is a test match, not a T 20 match.

3. Debt market is attractive ONLY in the short run: If you think SBI bonds at 9.95% p.a. is attractive, remember money should grow in REAL terms, not just NOMINAL terms. Nominal returns in SBI is 9.95%, but inflation is say 11.95% — in such a case YOUR money is not growing in real terms. It is SHRINKING; so you need to be invested in equities.

Learning: Being in debt funds  is a good tactical move for 12-14 months, at the end of that period you will have to come back to EQUITIES.

What's your lesson from 2011??

Financial planning this new year 2012

What can you do to ensure financial success in the coming year?

Five tips for planning and achieving your goals:

1. Check your credit reports every three months. Monitoring your credit can help you recognize bad financial habits, like making late payments, which can affect credit score. Regularly checking your credit report is also a way to protect yourself against identity theft.

2. Check for accuracy. Make sure the information on your credit reports is up-to-date and reflects your current credit history. Give yourself at least 30 days to resolve any issues.

3. Know your score. Your credit score helps determine your interest rates on credit purchases. A healthier credit score can help you receive the best interest rate, ultimately putting more money in your pocket as your work toward achieving your financial goals.

4. Create a monthly spending plan and stick to it. Breaking down your spending habits into smaller and more manageable increments can help you achieve your financial goals. Through breaking it down by month, you can also set aside a fixed amount each month to deal with unexpected financial emergencies that may come up later in the year. If you don't have to spend this reserve fund, you can treat it as a year-end bonus, or, even better - put it toward next year's goals.

5. Take additional measures to minimize your exposure to identity theft. In addition to frequently checking your credit, you can sign up for a credit monitoring service that will alert you whenever something changes in your report.

Setting yourself up for a successful financial year means developing plans now that you can execute as the year goes on.

Good ethics is also good business

In the first decade of the 21st century, many businesses learned firsthand the moral and financial risks of focusing exclusively on short-term financial gains. Consider the example of Lehman Brothers, which, after 158 years of successfully doing business, went bankrupt in the space of a single weekend. The causes: horrific mismanagement and a reckless disregard for moral hazard.

Good Ethics !!!

The results: the worst global recession in decades. The Lehman Brothers debacle is only one of a long and growing list of recent business-management scandals that now includes Arthur Andersen, Enron, Bernard Madoff and Parmalat.

In his latest book, ''Management Ethics: Placing Ethics at the Core of Good Management' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), Domenec Mele seeks to shift our gaze from short-term gains at any cost to a deeper, longer view of management. Mele argues that good management should take ethics into account because management is about people, and dealing with people requires ethics. A business is not a machine. It is first and foremost a human construct.

Those who run the firm are free individuals who cooperate within an organisation with common goals, and the decisions and actions a manager takes have the potential to benefit or hurt other people. Thus ethics is not an artificial add-on to business, but an intrinsic aspect of good management.

Companies should, therefore, resist seeing people as resources or as simply a means for profit. Ethical management is about recognising what people are, treating them accordingly and fostering their development.

Ethics are embedded in management - first through decision making, second through the ideas that drive the practice of management and third through the moral character of the manager him or herself. Making and acting on ethical decisions help to humanise a business, generating trust, fostering loyalty, encouraging responsibility and helping to develop a strong moral culture.

Respect for human dignity is a principle Mele proposes, along with the necessity to contribute to the common good of the communities to which one belongs, and to society. He holds up three basic values, and their corresponding virtues, as critical to ethical management: justice, truthfulness and intelligent love. Justice renders to all what is rightfully theirs. Truthfulness refers to the observance of truth in speech and behaviour, and a disposition to search for the truth.

Intelligent love, understood as love driven by knowledge of the needs of the other , goes beyond justice and entails care and benevolence. Having an ethical sense pushes one to act in the best way for the purpose of efficiency. In turn, a company's efficiency contributes to the common good.

Business managers always face a trade-off between generating profits and being responsible to their firm's many stakeholders. Shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the local community all have a stake in the success or failure, sustainability or loss of the firm. In a nutshell, while making a profit is necessary and important, it is not the sole purpose of business.

Moral competencies, including character and virtues, have a particular importance in leadership. Character shapes the leader's vision, goals, strategies and perception. As Peter Drucker said, "It is character through which leadership is exercised."

While ethics may not be a cure for all the ills affecting the economy, they are vital if we are one day to move beyond the current crisis to a sustainable recovery. As Mele contends, by helping managers choose the best possible alternative in each situation , ethics offer a sure path to better business practice and even to a better world.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/good-ethics-is-also-good-business/articleshow/11346507.cms