Money Crashers » Careers

Earn Extra Money By Getting A Job Over The Holidays

Erik Folgate — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:26:23 +0000

The past 14 months have been one of the hardest time period for Americans looking to find work. The recession will not be over until the unemployment rate stops rising and starts receding again. Our economy cannot flourish without people contributing to the workforce and making enough money to put it back into the economy. I came across this article on Career Builder the other day revealing 10 companies hiring for the holidays

AT&T
Industry: Communications
Number of openings: 1000+
Seasonal positions available: Retail sales associates; store managers; and sales support
Location: Nationwide

A Wireless
Industry: Telecommunications
Number of openings: 250+
Seasonal positions available: Store managers; sales consultants; district managers; information technology; customer service
Location: Nationwide

Blockbuster
Industry: Entertainment
Number of openings: 1000+
Seasonal positions available: Retail sales associates; store managers
Location: Nationwide

HHGregg
Industry: Appliance and electronics retail
Number of openings: 800+
Seasonal positions available: Appliance and electronics sales
Location: Indiana; Ohio; Kentucky; Alabama; Georgia; Florida; North Carolina; South Carolina; Tennessee

Hickory Farms
Industry: Specialty retail
Number of openings: 4,000
Seasonal positions available: Sales associate
Location: Nationwide, shopping malls

Macy’s
Industry: Retail
Number of openings: 1,000 +
Seasonal positions available: Part-time season retail help in gift wrap, sales associates, etc.
Location: Nationwide

Olan Mills Studio
Industry: Studio photography
Number of openings: 100+
Seasonal positions available: Photographers; portrait sales; customer service
Location: Ala., Ga., Pa., Ky., Tenn., N.C., Ind., Mich.

RadioShack
Industry: Electronics sales
Number of openings: 1000
Seasonal positions available: Retail sales associates
Location: 250 cities

Toys”R”Us
Industry: Specialty retail
Number of openings: 35,000
Seasonal positions available: Management positions; sales associates, including cashiers, shelf stockers and customer service roles; and back-of-house stock opportunities
Location: Nationwide

UPS
Industry: Shipping and distribution
Number of openings: 200+
Seasonal positions available: Package delivery drivers; tractor trailer driver
Location: Nationwide.

Holiday Work Can Turn Into Full-Time Work

If you are still struggling to find work, the holidays are a great time to get your foot in the door. Sometimes these companies only want seasonal work, but often times these seasonal positions turn into full-time positions. If you land a seasonal position with a company that you like, then you need to bring your “A” game. Stand out from the others, go the extra mile, be flexible and show leadership qualities that make you stand out from others.

Holiday Work To Earn Extra Income

Holiday work is also a great time to earn extra money. Whether you want to catch up on your bills, make money for holiday gifts, or simply build up a cash reserve, finding an extra job around the holidays is easy. The nice thing about holiday work is that the employer won’t take it personally if you leave after 2 months, and they may tell you to leave after 2 months. I know that UPS pays well for hourly work, and you can work in the warehouse and never have to drive the truck. Are you good at sales? AT&T and A Wireless will be looking for sales associates, and they often pay commission. I recommend looking for jobs with sales incentives and bonuses, because this will give you more motivation to work hard and make more money. Related Posts:

Earn Extra Money By Getting A Job Over The Holidays is a post from: Money Crashers

Leadership Lessons From Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A

Erik Folgate — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:36:49 +0000

Tonight I went with my wife to an event called “Live, Love, Lead” put on by Chick-fil-A and the entire Cathy family was there. It was a great event, and it was done very well. Like anything done by Chick-fil-A, it was done with class. I’m a big fan of the company, because I love their commitment to serving others and their out-of-ordinary business practices like closing on Sunday and choosing high-quality and high-character franchise owners and employees. The event focused on three main concepts: Your physical health, your marriage health, and your leadership skills. Here are some highlights and lessons that I took from the event.

2nd Mile is 2nd Nature

This is a customer service concept, but it applie to all of our professional lives. Many companies go the first mile to provide good customer service, but going the 2nd mile is doing something extra special. Going the second mile is pulling the chair out for a pregnant woman or refilling a customer’s drink at a quick-service restaurant. Chick-fil-A sought to make the second mile second nature, meaning they taught all of their employees that the extra special services should be automatic, not something they do every now and then. Apply this to your professional life. Do you only do what’s expected of you or do you go the extra mile to make things perfect or make your work better? Do you take pride in what you do and do you serve your clients/customers with everything you’ve got?

You cannot manage a business if you cannot manage your own household

Cathy has been married for 61 years. He is huge on always improving your marriage and never giving up on it. He believes that since no perfect people exist, no perfect marriages exist either. And if you have problems in your marriage or in your household, it will be a direct reflection on how you run a business. Your family should always come before your business. If they are not taken care of, your business will suffer, plain and simple. This also goes along with the reason he decided to stay closed on Sundays. He believes families need Sunday to spend time together, and his restaurants do better, because his employees work harder for him the rest of the week and they are refreshed for the new week.

Perseverance

Truett Cathy took a huge step in the restaurant business by opening his second restaurant, and it burned down. But, instead of filing for bankruptcy, because he didn’t have it properly insured, he put up tents with grills and continued to serve customers next to the burnt down building until he was able to pay to repair it. That’s perseverance, and that’s the will to never give up, even when the WORST happens.

He never forgot his roots

One comment that Cathy said that stuck out to me the most was when he said, “I feel blessed to have grown up in poverty”. How many people do you know that say something like that? What he meant was that growing up in poverty helped him become the man that he is today. He never takes his wealth for granted, he understands “small town America”, and it taught him life lessons that he would have never been taught if he was spoiled as a child or lived a comfortable childhood. I’m not glorifying poverty, but I thought that if more people who grew up in poverty would take that approach, we would see a true revolution in the war on poverty. Feeling sorry for ourselves will never get us anywhere. I also liked when Dan Cathy, his son and current president, said that their children must work for two years outside of the family business before they are allowed to work in the family business. The idea behind this was that the Cathy’s don’t want their kids assuming that they are automatically given a big-wig job with Chick-fil-A from a golden spoon. They want them to experience what every other college graduate experiences, finding a job on their own.

If you apply these four principles to your career and professional life, you’ll naturally succeed, because you’ll be putting yourself aside and others in front. This is how you get ahead in life, but many people think it’s the other way around. Many people still believe that they must only look out for themselves in order succeed and get ahead in their careers, but it’s a huge lie. Serve others and give back. The rewards will be three-fold.
Related Posts:

Leadership Lessons From Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A is a post from: Money Crashers

10 High Paying Jobs That Don’t Require An Undergraduate Degree

Erik Folgate — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:59:55 +0000

We’re going through one of the tougher recessions in the past few decades, and jobs are very hard to find. Going to school for four years and paying for four years of undergraduate schooling is not on the minds of very many people right now. Survival mode is more on your minds, and one of the biggest misconceptions about finding a career that pays a lot of money is that you MUST have at least a bachelor’s degree. This is simply not true. There are thousands of careers that pay very well and do require schooling or an apprenticeship, but this is more like one to two years, rather than four. Some jobs just require you to have a great sales personality, the determination to succeed, and a certification/license. This article from Yahoo Finance caught my eye about the top 10 high paying jobs that don’t require a degree., and I want to share it with you.

Air Traffic Controllers: $117,200
Industrial Production Managers: $77,670
First-Line Police and Detective Supervisors: $69,300
Funeral Director: $49,620
Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers: $47,460
Advertising Sales Agents: $42,750
Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents: $39,760
Occupational Therapist Assistants: $42,060
Occupational Therapist Aides: $25,000
Physical Therapist Assistants: $41,360

My Thoughts On This List

Air Traffic Controllers make great money, but it is consistently one of the most stressful jobs to have. If you are great at attention to detail and you thrive on high-pressure situations, then it’s definitely worth checking out. Real Estate Agents and Brokers are great professions for those without a four-year degree, but they are not for everyone. You must have an entrepreneurial spirit, because essentially you are running your own business. You have to go and get your own clients, do your own follow-up, pay for a lot of your own advertising, and you need to spend a lot of time developing the career, but it can be VERY rewarding once you establish a good foundation with a good pool of leads to clients. My favorite one on this list is the physical therapy assistant, because it pays well, it’s in the health care industry which always has shortages, and it doesn’t require a ton of schooling like many health care jobs do.

The Bottom Line

Don’t sit around and settle for waiting tables or being a secretary if you don’t have a four-year degree. It’s not the end of the world. There are plenty of great careers to be had, but you must put a lot of effort into them to make them work. Also, starting your own business is another career path that requires no college degree.

Best Jobs In America in 2009 by CNN

Erik Folgate — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:53:45 +0000

CNN has come out with their 2009 list of best jobs in America. Jobs and career opportunities are at a premium in this economic recession, and the unemployment rate is 10% across the United States. It’s even higher than that in some parts of the country. Young people are getting hit the hardest, and they are being forced to take jobs that they don’t want. Many young people sail through college without direction, and they choose majors and career paths with no potential. This list will help you get some ideas of jobs and careers with high potential for future growth. Here are the top ten jobs:

Systems Engineer 45%
Physician Assistant: 27%
College Professor: 23%
Nurse Practitioner: 23%
Information Technology Project Manager: 16%
Certified Public Accountant: 18%
Physical Therapist: 27%
Computer/Network Security Consultant: 27%
Intelligence Analyst: 15%
Sales Director: 10%

Popular industries in the list:

Health Care

Even with all of the proposed legislation to push health care closer to socialized medicine, it will always be an industry in high demand. If you love science and helping people, then seriously consider a career in health care. My recommendation is to get the doctor thing out of your mind and look at physician assistant and nurse practitioner programs. My wife is a physician assistant, and she loves it. She gets to do many of the things a doctor does without the lfull responsibility on her shoulders.

Education

Education will continue to be on the forefront of job growth as college enrollments continue to rise. College professors and higher education professionals get to hang out on college campuses and work decent schedules. Plus, it pays well!

Information and Systems Technology

Do you love tinkering with computers and software? The internet and computer technology changes and grows exponentially, and job growth will continue to grow. Another emerging industry is interactive marketing and search engine optimization management, which requires marketing and technology skills.

Sales/Management

If you are good at selling and leading people, you will always be in high demand. These positions require you to pay your dues and work your way up. You need real world experience to be a sales manager or marketing manager, but if you’ve got what it takes, these jobs are always in demand.

Make sure you check out my article from yesterday on how to find a job using social media tools.

How To Find A Job Using Social Media Tools

Erik Folgate — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:36:34 +0000

Linked In

Create a profile. You need to create a robust profile. Take it as seriously as you would a resume. This IS your online resume. Don’t lie on it, because all of your contacts will be able to see it, and they might call you out on it publicly!
Build your contacts. The best way to get contacts right away is to allow Linked In to search your Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL accounts. The only way to invite someone to become a contact is to know their email address.
Ask For Recommendations. Once you have some contacts, look for some former or current colleagues, and ask them to recommend you as a professional in your field of work. These are great to have when a recruiter or HR manager stumbles across your profile. They’ll love reading these.
Join Groups. Look for location specific networking groups in your area. Also, join national groups in the industry you are looking for a job. But don’t just become a member of these groups and read. Contribute to the conversation going on. Answer questions. Get to know people.

Facebook

Stop being so stingy with who you add as a friend. Did you know that you can create custom groups that filter out certain people, so you don’t need to scan through everyone’s updates? Build a list of people you read the most, but expand your Facebook network by adding more people such as old high school friends, former colleagues, and friends of friends.
Chronicle your job search in your Facebook status. Don’t be annoying about it, but when something big happens like getting an interview or applying for a job you are excited about, write about it on your status. It will remind your Facebook network that you are looking for a job.
Join Groups and Pages. If a company you are interested in has a Facebook page, become a fan immediately and start contributing to it. Don’t look obvious like you’re trying to be noticed for a position, but show off when relevant.

Twitter

Build your following. The easiest way to do this is to follow other relevant Twitter profiles in the industry you want to be in and give to them constantly. Re-tweet their tweets, reply to their questions, and provide relevant links to articles.
Talk about your job search. Highlight the ups and downs. Be honest. Be descriptive.
Use hashtags. If you live in atlanta, there’s probaby a hashtag that people living in atlanta use like #ATL. If you tweet about your job search, make sure you include a location specific hashtag. There are also industry specific hashtags like #socialmedia.

The key to finding a job using social media tools is to give, give, and give some more. Participate in the conversation going on, provide fresh and relevant content, and be genuine. Act yourself online. Employers shouldn’t be surprised by your personality once they meet you in person. It should come out on your social networking presence.

If you have found a job or a lead using social media, please share with us your story in the comments section.

Help A Reader: Having A Baby And Looking For A Job Change

Erik Folgate — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:43:54 +0000

A question from one of our most loyal Money Crashers fans!

I have a question for you concerning searching for a job. I found out that I will not be able to keep my current job after we have the baby. I am not willing to work full time, and they are unwilling to let me work part-time. My question is two-fold. Do you have any recommendations for searching for a part-time job (preferably work from home)? Also, if I want to start the job in June, when is a good time to start looking?

I know there are many other women in your position, and while being a mother is definitely a full-time job, many families are having a hard time living on one income. The first thing you need to do is answer this question: “Do I want to work towards a career that I love, or do I want to make extra money while I am raising kids?”

How you answer that question determines how I would answer your original question. So, if you are looking for a career change, then this is the route that I would take:

Write down 5 to 10 different things you really enjoy doing, like a hobby or activity that you find yourself spending a lot of time or thinking about when you aren’t working.
Then, write down 3 different ways you could turn that activity or hobby into a way to make money.
Circle the top three of those ideas and start researching the costs, resources, and supplies you would need to turn that into a side business. Pick ideas with low start-up costs and offer flexibility.

You have about 5 months to do the research and planning it would take to start a side business doing something that you really enjoy. People get scared of the idea of actually starting a business or they think it’s too hard, but if you get serious about an idea and do some planning for it, you can easily start making part-time income in the first few months.

If you just want to make some extra money and you don’t care what you are doing to make it, then here are a few suggestions:

Do consulting. Whatever your current job is, research to see if there is a market for consulting or independent work. Many companies can save money by paying a consultant to do part-time work for an hourly fee, rather than hiring on a new employee that they will provide benefits and salary to.
Become a virtual assistant. A lot of small businesses are outsourcing their personal assistants and secretaries to virtual assistants. This is a legitimate work-at-home job, and it typically has flexible hours.
Become a nanny. Instead of going to them, have them come to you. Seek out one or two working mothers who need child care, and ask to provide day care for their child while you take care of your own baby. You could easily charge $600 per month for each baby. Obviously, you would not be able to take on more than one or two, because you don’t want to become a full-fledged day care. There are a lot of legal issues that go along with that.

To answer your last question, I would take the entire fall narrowing down what you want to look for or develop as a side business, and then hit the trail hard starting January 2nd, 2010. I have found through personal experience that many companies are pre-occupied with the holidays, rather than looking to hire new employees. But, my suggestion is to develop a side business that you can run out of your home with little start-up cost.

Readers, please comment below with your suggestions and ideas to help her out!

How To Find A Job You Like While Unemployment Rates Continues To Rise

Erik Folgate — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:16:03 +0000

Barack Obama and his administration can claim that the economy is recovering all they want, but I won’t be convinced until I see the unemployment rate begin to decline. The fact is that hundreds of thousands of people continue to lose their jobs every month, which means that finding a job is becoming harder every day. For most people, survival mode comes into play, and just finding something to keep them afloat is necessary.

If you have a little time to spare and you are creative enough, you may be able to find a job that you actually like! Here’s what to do and what not to do:

What NOT To Do

Submit your resume to Career Builder and Monster. The “employers” that contact you will either be staffinig agencies trying to place you in a job that no one else wants or an employer who is only willing to offer you a “commission only” position.
Be attracted be a job posting that is very vague and/or does not require any experience and/or guarantees a certain monthly salary.
Think that a good job is going to come to you. If you want a job that you enjoy, you need to pursue it, network heavily, and take a step towards getting another job every single day. Not one day can pass without thinking about getting a job that you like.

What To Do:

Identify three different job fields you would like to pursue based on your interests, skill set, and who you know.
Network with the right people. Networking with anyone will get you a job, networking with people in the job fields you have identified will get you a job that you enjoy. Find clubs and organizations, then attend the meetings.
Take full advantage of social media. Don’t just build a LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook profile with a lot of connections and followers. Produce content on these social networking sites that focuses on the fields you are looking to get into. Quality followers and connections should be more important to you than quantity.
Volunteer at organizations that you like. Volunteering will keep you fresh, build experience, and it could turn into a part-time or full-time gig.

If you don’t have an emergency fund cushion to pay your bills, didn’t get severance pay, and/or can’t apply for unemployment benefits, you should not spend more than a couple of weeks trying to find a job that you enjoy. Your family and your finances come before your wants and desires. If you can’t wait long in between jobs before the bills start piling up, quickly get a couple of part-time jobs that mean nothing to you. Don’t spend three or four months looking for “the right job” when you can’t afford to. But if you can afford it, try the tips I mentioned above, and work hard at it. You’ll thank yourself if you land something you enjoy, rather than something that just pays the bills.

How To Use LinkedIn Effectively To Further Your Career

Erik Folgate — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:05:37 +0000

Social media the “in” thing right now, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere for a long time. We are naturally social creatures. We like interacting with each other, sharing opinions, debating with each other, and basically showing off our lives. Why do you think Facebook is so popular? We like sharing our photos and updating people about US, becaue we are naturally selfish. Not to mention it’s fun to keep in touch with old friends without needing to put any effort into it. LinkedIn is a different beast than Twitter and Facebook. Twitter and Facebook are all about being personal, but LinkedIn is more like an interactive resume. You can build an online resume all while connecting with professional contacts. LinkedIn is different, therefore, it should be treated differently.

Don’t Be Too Personal on LinkedIn

Stay within the parameters of LinkedIn. If you don’t want recruiters, bosses, or co-workers finding your personal blog easily, then don’t sync the feed to your LinkedIn profile. There is definitely a balance you must master, because you also don’t want your LinkedIn profile to be very stale and mundane. It’s important to interject just enough of your personality into it without coming across as a goofball.

Be Interactive

Social media is driven by participation and contribution. If you are not participating in conversations and sharing with others, there is no point in having a LinkedIn account or any other social media account. The best thing you can do for yourself on LinkedIn is write reviews for other contacts. Usually, they will reciprocate with a review about your past or present work. Join LinkedIn groups as well. They are a good source for information your industry and possibly network with other professionals in your area or profession.

Be Truthful

You may be able to get away with a white lie here or there on your paper resume, because only a handful of people ever see it. But, your LinkedIn resume is available to everyone in the world. Don’t run the risk of being called out on the internet!

Create A LinkedIn Vanity URL

Your profile is more likely to show up in search engines and searches for your name if you have a vanity url. Mine reads http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikfolgate which is much cleaner than the default url. Just log into your account, go to “Account and Settings”, then “Public Profile”, and you will see an “Edit” button that allows you to edit your public profile url.

If you aren’t on LinkedIn yet, I suggest that you start an account today. It’s the easiest way to be head-hunted and meet other professionals in your industry. Just recently, I received an email from a recruiter telling me about a very relevant position that was located in my area. Recruiters and HR professionals are taking LinkedIn seriously and so should you. Related Posts:

How To Use LinkedIn Effectively To Further Your Career is a post from: Money Crashers

Best Cities To Live From Money Magazine

Erik Folgate — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:37:02 +0000

Money Magazine has come out with their 2009 best cities to live around the United States. Here are the Top 10:

Louisville, CO

Chanhassen, MN

Papillion, NE

Middleton, WI

Milton, MA

Warren, NJ

Keller, TX

Peachtree City, GA

Lake St. Louis, MO

Mukilteo, WA

Keep in mind that Money Magazine picks small towns that are near large metropolitan areas. Most all of these towns are self-incorporated towns that are considered to be suburbs to locals of the large city they feed from. Money Magazine heavily weights employment rate, crime rate, median income, median price of housing, the overall real estate market, and school systems.

I live in Orlando, FL and the closest small city to rank in the top 100 was Lake Mary, Florida at #96. That was a little disappointing to see only one city near me that ranked in the top 100, but these lists aren’t an exact science, and they are very subjective. I am also not ignorant to the fact that Central Florida has been ravaged by unemployment, has higher crime rates than usual, and real estate prices have plummeted.
It’s easy to defend the place you live in, because it’s natural not to think that you live in a bad place. Plus, many of the writers that come up with these lists don’t even scratch the surface of traveling to different cities and towns. They rely on data, but the data doesn’t always tell the entire story.

So, what was your biggest decision to settle down in the city that you currently live in? For me and my wife, it was living closer to her family, job opportunities at the time, and being central to many other cities around Florida that we have friends and family. Plus, there is a ton of stuff to do in Orlando and Disney alone gives many friends and family incentive to come visit us. However, many people are skewed by the International Drive feel of the theme park areas, but the rest of Orlando is nothing like that. Winter Park, Florida is one of the most hip towns in Florida to live in, in my opinion, but you would never know it if your only impression of Orlando is the Disney scene.

Where do you live and what do you like, not like about it? What city would you like to live in if you could pick with no other considerations to think about?
Related Posts:

Best Cities To Live From Money Magazine is a post from: Money Crashers

My Top Ten Career Related Websites For Young People

Erik Folgate — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:53:19 +0000

Your career is the most important aspect to your personal finances, because without a good career that you enjoy, you’ll have a hard time finding earning a significant income over your lifetime. Without good income, it’s so tough to get ahead with your finances. I am constantly telling people that they either have an income problem or a behavior problem if they can’t get ahead with their finances. If you need some direction with your career path or just some tips and advice about interviews, promotions, or office culture, here is a good list of websites to help you:

Brazen Careerist: This is more than just a collection of articles, it’s a community. The masterminds behind this website are Penelope Trunk (a syndicated work/life columnist) and two budding entrepreneurs, Ryan Healy and Ryan Paugh. If you are age 18 to 35, this is the place to be for everything career and life related.
Employee Evolution: This was Ryan Healy and Ryan Paugh’s first career project, and it is a good blog article resource for Millenial generation folks in the work force.
Escape From Cubicle Nation: Pam Slim runs this entrepreneurship and marketing blog, but she has a book and a consulting/coaching career for those who want to take the next step. She encourages and equips frustrated corporate employees to break away from corporate America and start their own business.
Modite by Rebecca Thorman: What can I say, other than this chick is cool, knows her stuff, and has a lot of new, fresh ideas to help people with their life and career.
48 Days by Dan Miller: Dan Miller is another career and life coach, and he’s the author of a great book, “48 Days to the Work You Love”. I recommend this book to anyone looking to make a career change or find their passion and turn it into a career.
Erica Douglass: She’s an internet entrepreneur and a millionaire at the age of 26! Erica started a web hosting company out of her garage and recently sold it for $1.1 million dollars! She now helps people start small businesses.
Ms. Career Girl: Obviously, I don’t frequent this one, but the girl behind the words, Nicole Crimaldi, is a Brazen member, and I like her writing style. She’s in Chicago, she’s in tune with what’s hot and new, and she knows her stuff.
Lindsey Pollak: She’s an accomplished author, speaker, and consultant. I like her blog, because she takes a different perspective on topics than you would normally find on a career blog.
Penelope Trunk’s Personal Blog: Her latest creation is Brazen Careerist, but she still updates her original blog regularly. Her style of writing takes some getting used to, and she holds nothing back when it comes to talking about her personal life, but I’ve bookmarked many of her articles, and she’s one of the best when it comes to fresh, honest career advice.
Ben Casnocha: Ben Casnocha was an entrepreneur as a young teenager, and he also has a book out called, “My Start-Up Life”. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my list. His blog is much more than just career advice. He’s one of the most thought-provoking bloggers and people I’ve ever followed.

Man, I can’t stand writing these lists. I always rack my brain about who to include. There are so many more, but I don’t find value in those mega Top 100 lists, so that’s why I try to keep them short. Let’s be honest, you only look at the top 10 or 20 from those mega lists, anyway!