“Job Search” Archive
Oct
8
I apologize for being under the radar over the past few days. As I mentioned in a prior post, I have decided to invest some time in my largest asset, my career. As such, I have been scouring the web gathering salary information from Payscale.com, job leads from Simply Hired (my new favorite jobsite), and doing some networking on LinkedIn (far and away the best business networking site).
In addition, I have been spending a significant amount of my free time reframing my resume. My entire career until now has been in the world of finance; ironic I know given my current situation. My current position has given me more of an opportunity to understand a specific business (one that is growing very rapidly among MANY companies) and use my analytical abilities in a somewhat different light.
I’m going after positions that are outside of the wonderful world of Finance and are more oriented towards product marketing, sales and/or business development. So, as you might imagine, putting the proper spin on my experience vis-a-vis my resume has proven to be somewhat of a challenge.
That said, I have always been quite successful in landing interviews–and getting job offers–from top notch companies, whenever I decided to make a change. So It occurred to me, that I should probably share the process I go through in order to help some of my loyal readers who might find themselves in the same position as I do; ready for a new job that pays MORE money.
As such, I will be presenting a multi-post series on ‘How to Search for a Job’. Keep in mind, the info presented here will be my opinion only and it might not fit exactly to your particular situation, That said, it has served me well in the past and I expect it will serve me just as well this time around. Stay tuned for, what I hope will be some useful information.
Oct
1
A while back, when I was contemplating my entry into the blogosphere, I remember reading a post by Free Money Finance about ensuring you invest in your career, as it represents your greatest asset in life.
Over the past few months, I have contemplated getting a second job in an effort to boost my take home pay each month and pay off my debt sooner rather than later. In so doing, I was missing the most obvious solution to my situation, that is to look for another job altogether.
I am in my early 30’s and it is now perfectly acceptable– if not expected–for people my age to jump from job to job, getting a boost in pay along the way. I have been working in the finance field my entire career and frankly I have reached a crossroads where I am seriously contemplating a change into the world of sales or marketing.
My outlook on work is likely different than that of the average person. I don’t like working, period! The politics, the ‘ass kissing’, the non-value added work and the grind of the daily commute all add up to something that simply isn’t–and is unlikely to be–enjoyable. Work is called work for a reason.
As such, I figure if I am going to do something I don’t enjoy, I might as well get paid as much as possible to do so. My life outside of work is what should give me meaning in my life rather than work.
I am currently paid pretty well at my current job and my benefits are amazing. So amazing in fact, that my company uses that as a reason to keep salaries and bonuses lower than they should be given my experience and background.
For several weeks now, I have been running the numbers, looking at salary surveys, talking to my headhunter, determining the ‘value’ of my benefits, and I have reached the conclusion that it is time to start looking around. Even with the ‘value’ of my benefits included in the calculation, I am underpaid and I am likely to be properly leveled at my current company. That coupled with the fact I am ready for a change in my overall path, means the job hunt is on.
Nothing, frankly is off the table, including a change in location. I need to follow the advice laid out by Free Money Finance and maximize my greatest asset, my career.
I’m just starting this process and the first step is crafting my resume for different types of positions: finance, marketing and sales. Luckily I have had some great work experience with good exposure to senior executives, so I should be able to craft a great resume for each of these positions.
As the process progresses, I will post the details (as much as possible) about my job search, including tips, tools and techniques that work for me.
Jun
10
I thought it might be useful to give myself some short-term financial related goals for the month of June. These are very high level and aren’t necessarily tied to paying off a specific dollar amount by the end of the month, but are nevertheless very important steps:
- Finalize DMP plan with Credit Counseling Agency
- Start funding emergency fund
- Business plan, albeit on the uber cheap, for my travel agency business
- Finalize monthly budget
- Get back to contributing to my 401k. Ideally, I’d like to get back to the 6%, which is matched 50% by my employer
- Dust off resume and start to put some feelers out regarding a possible career move
The last item on the list might come as a surprise to some of you, but as Free Money Finance reminded me in a great post, your career is far and away your largest asset and I may not being doing all that I can to manage it. To that end, I will at least get my resume updated and put out some feelers to see what types of roles might be available to me. The job market here in Seattle is pretty hot and I do believe I am underpaid, particularly when I look at sites like Salary.com and Payscale.com.
The other question folks may have is why pay any attention to the travel agent business. Well, a few reasons. First and foremost, I think it would be a very enjoyable second income stream. I have considered many different moonlighting options but frankly I really enjoy working with folks to help plans their vacations. The income could be fairly decent. My commissions should start coming in this month and at least for the next few months, I should see $300-$400 in additional income from this business. Keep in mind this is ALL due to work of mouth and I’ve done absolutely no marketing or networking regarding this business. I think with some inexpensive marketing, some publicity through word of mouth and having business cards (these can be had for cheap at Vistaprint.com, I might be able to get this up to $500-$750 per month. That coupled with my blog income, would put me right about where I would be if I went out a got a ‘real’ second job.
Again, if anyone out there is planning a vacation, please do contact me as I can almost always get you a better price on vacation packages and hotels than ANY of the online sites.
For all you loyal readers who have made it to the end of this post, don’t forget to enter the Dollar Buy Dollar Two Month Anniversary Contest and please check out my new site, Pound Buy Pound.
