Here are 10 things you can do while you're looking for a job:
1) Work on your resume and ask friends and other professionals to look it over and give you their comments. Offer to volunteer and share your knowledge with organizations you're interested in as a way to get noticed. Think of a project you'd like to work on and tell them about it in an email.
2) Subscribe to a local area jobs website. I don't like national level sites because they seem to have lots of lame jobs and few in your area for some reason, just my opinion.
3) Apply for something with the federal, state and local governments. You'll get on their databases and some agencies send updates when their job postings change. Go ahead and visit the Employment Development Department, you never know, you might even have unemployment benefits that you're eligible for.
4) Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. Many people don't like to do this actually because they don't want to appear weak to people they may have known a long time, or they may not want to let everyone know they are out of work. What you can do is think of a project you'd like to do and talk about that, another technique is to just ask people how they got to their occupation and this may open them up to talking about how to get in somewhere they know of.
5) Apply to large organizations only if you respect them and their work. You will likely have a boss that does something you don't like and will enter at the bottom so you need to have maximum personal satisfaction.
6) Get some learning in. This could be school, an online course, or reading a new book every month. You need to be learning and keeping your mind sharp, and you may discover a new passion or get trained in a new industry this way. It helps make you feel like you're doing something while you wait.
7) Devote a few hours every week to walking an area you'd like to work in and checking out classifieds, you need to get out and can get ideas this way.
8) Spend time learning about financial planning. You can make a lot of money through investing smartly, reducing taxes, having the right insurance strategy, thinking about retirement and estate planning. No better time to do it than right now, whatever stage of life you're in. While you're at it check out all the ways you can make money, like rents, royalties, licensing, dividends, and building a portfolio. Don't be afraid to pay for professional help if you need it.
9) Start a personal business. Consulting, online, temporary, seasonal, handyman, flea markets and fairs, something that will get reported on a Schedule C. Even when you get something regular going again you can keep this as something on the side to supplement your income in addition to your new job. Some people consider franchises, I would advise against this unless you have a lot of money and energy to burn; mostly you are buying into a job with another boss and lots of restrictions and the money up front can be a lot. Don't sell any long term assets to finance a new venture.
10) Create categories and track your monthly cash expenditures. I use the following categories but you can add/delete the ones as needed:
Business
House/rent/groceries
Gas/auto
Entertainment
Education
Investments
Dine out
Clothing
Gifts
Insurance
Debts
Health
This is so useful and people are always amazed at how much they actually spend on things as a percentage of their income. Tracking your spending almost always results in self discipline and you'll save money that way.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Trading Stocks to Build a Money Machine
Here's my basic strategy: Buy into a stock at 200-300 shares, and then wait a couple weeks. If the market drags everything down, let the security go down 15-20% and then buy another 100-200 shares. If it goes down another 20-30% after that then buy up to 200-300 shares. Even in volatile markets like the one we're in now you won't see many stocks going past these percentage swings unless they are looking at bankruptcy or something extreme like that. By doing this you are lowering your average price per share. For instance, you could buy in at $27/share, in a bearish market the security may tank down as far as $22. If you follow my advice, you're average cost per share will drop to around $25/share. On the rebound, the security only needs to rise 15% or so and then you're in the money to either break even or wait to about $3 a share above your break even point and then sell the position for about a $1000 profit. The more volatility there is in the stock market the faster this system generates profits for you. Remember to diversify, I'd recommend at least 5 stocks and as they go up and down you will begin cashing out every few weeks and making money this way. On occasion a stock will tank from bankruptcy or bad legal news and then you will sell at a loss after waiting for a small rebound from the bargain hunters, this is ok because most stock gains will make up for the loss over the tax year and you should hopefully get a minimum 20-30% return on the overall money you put into this stock trading system. Be sure to figure in the cost of your trades in your average cost to pinpoint your breakeven point.
If the stock just goes up after you buy, don't buy anymore, just sell when you've made the money you want. If you happen to get dividends using either strategy then all the better. Look below for a couple of stocks this works well with:
First is the Select Sector SPDR Financials ETF (XLF). It trades in the $20s a share but once the financial sector stabilizes and large banks get through the credit squeeze and CDOs get written down look for this security to rise up to the $30s a share range. It's been really volatile with large swings, but backed ultimately by the federal reserve the risk is mitigated with this one. Large trading volume ensures you'll have buyers when you want them.
Another good mid term buy is Peet's Coffee (PEET), traded on the NASDAQ. If you want to get in and make 5 or 6 dollars a share, buy Peet's at $20-22 and let it go up to $27 or $28. Even though it trades at a high P/E ratio, the company has plans to expand from 180 to 800 stores, and with Starbucks pulling back in the US, this premium roast company is going to sweep up market share. The company has a strong grocery store distribution business and its emphasis on quality coffee make it a famous brand among West Coast consumers.
You can set this technique on autopilot with good for 60-days limit orders, after 2-3 months of following it you will become more comfortable with this system and hopefully be close to getting your first payout by that time.
If the stock just goes up after you buy, don't buy anymore, just sell when you've made the money you want. If you happen to get dividends using either strategy then all the better. Look below for a couple of stocks this works well with:
First is the Select Sector SPDR Financials ETF (XLF). It trades in the $20s a share but once the financial sector stabilizes and large banks get through the credit squeeze and CDOs get written down look for this security to rise up to the $30s a share range. It's been really volatile with large swings, but backed ultimately by the federal reserve the risk is mitigated with this one. Large trading volume ensures you'll have buyers when you want them.
Another good mid term buy is Peet's Coffee (PEET), traded on the NASDAQ. If you want to get in and make 5 or 6 dollars a share, buy Peet's at $20-22 and let it go up to $27 or $28. Even though it trades at a high P/E ratio, the company has plans to expand from 180 to 800 stores, and with Starbucks pulling back in the US, this premium roast company is going to sweep up market share. The company has a strong grocery store distribution business and its emphasis on quality coffee make it a famous brand among West Coast consumers.
You can set this technique on autopilot with good for 60-days limit orders, after 2-3 months of following it you will become more comfortable with this system and hopefully be close to getting your first payout by that time.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
To War or not to War? First Stop the Bleeding.
The recent debate in the US government throughout the most recent episode with General Petraeus testifying before Congress has led me to the conclusion that the US does not have the willpower to withdraw from Iraq. Yes, you read correctly, the weak and easy choice is to keep the Army and Marines fighting there and turn a blind eye to the reality on the ground. The real unknowns are what will happen if we leave and this is what scares people more than what will happen if we stay.
This war is bleeding the United States in countless ways, and it's important to find a way to stop the bleeding. Since we have been unable to control the violence in Iraq and are unwilling to leave Iraq, we are stuck in the middle of a bad situation. What the government is doing is having leaders like General Petraeus at Capitol Hill testify before Congress, and set a false deadlines one after another intended more to keep antiwar supporters quiet and buy time, which is a clever political manipulation.
Those that voted for the Iraq War are responsible for what has happened. Even though many of them now regret voting for it, they did not think about it more carefully and take enough time to analyze all the angles and come up with contingency plans. Whatever your ideas about this war, it's the people who had no say in the matter that are paying for it, while the Congress bickers, while the President ignores his own people. We have to keep up the pressure on the Congress, on the President to do something different in Iraq and cut the bleeding. Here are the numbers of each party's vote on the Iraq War resolution on October 11, 2002:
House:
Republicans: Ayes - 215; Nays - 6
Democrats: Ayes - 81; Nays - 126
Senate:
Republicans: Ayes - 48; Nays - 1
Democrats: Ayes - 29; Nays - 21
This war is bleeding the United States in countless ways, and it's important to find a way to stop the bleeding. Since we have been unable to control the violence in Iraq and are unwilling to leave Iraq, we are stuck in the middle of a bad situation. What the government is doing is having leaders like General Petraeus at Capitol Hill testify before Congress, and set a false deadlines one after another intended more to keep antiwar supporters quiet and buy time, which is a clever political manipulation.
Those that voted for the Iraq War are responsible for what has happened. Even though many of them now regret voting for it, they did not think about it more carefully and take enough time to analyze all the angles and come up with contingency plans. Whatever your ideas about this war, it's the people who had no say in the matter that are paying for it, while the Congress bickers, while the President ignores his own people. We have to keep up the pressure on the Congress, on the President to do something different in Iraq and cut the bleeding. Here are the numbers of each party's vote on the Iraq War resolution on October 11, 2002:
House:
Republicans: Ayes - 215; Nays - 6
Democrats: Ayes - 81; Nays - 126
Senate:
Republicans: Ayes - 48; Nays - 1
Democrats: Ayes - 29; Nays - 21
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Veteran Unemployment
I recently read an article published by the Boston Herald August 5th stating that Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans that have left the military face an 8% unemployment rate compared to the national average of 4.6% unemployment. Now, why does this situation exist in the United States? Have we decided that vets are less competent than their private sector competitors in the job market? Are vets just not looking hard enough for work? I don't think so, however I think there are some reasons for this phenomenon.
The first possibility is the obvious one that, since these vets have been deployed overseas for years on possible multiple tours, they have lost valuable time that could have been otherwise spent climbing the corporate ladder and/or building experience and contacts that would serve them in the private sector. Most of their personal and professional contacts are likely other Soldiers or Marines, Airmen, etc. whatever the case may be who are also probably looking for work after their time is up and are not in a position to offer work.
Another, more likely scenario I think is that the private sector in general feels no special concern for war veterans. Many of these same Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are members of the reserves or National Guard in their home state and consequently an employer is likely to select someone not in the military reserves because that employee has no chance of having to leave work for 18 months because of some inconvenient war deployment. These companies for the most part are staffed with people who are trained to weed out anyone they perceive as a threat to normal operations in the company, and possibly going off to war in the service of the Army or someone else must be perceived as a bad thing to most hiring managers.
A third possibility, and this probably applies to a minority of these vets, is that they suffer from some sort of emotional or physical damage they incurred while overseas. It could be something as simple as the depression set on from spending so much time in a miserable place which causes a resulting inability to pursue opportunities with enough gusto, perhaps they are disabled and the employer doesn't want to hire someone handicapped but won't say so, or perhaps they are merely expecting that at some point they will be sent back to Iraq again by a country that has forsaken them and doesn't really care whether they live or die when it comes down to it, because, after all, they signed up for it, right?
There are some organizations that claim to help vets find work, one of them is http://www.hireahero.com/, another is called Helmets to Hardhats, and there are other programs out there that steer veterans to become teachers, for example. These programs, while shamefully unsuccessful, are really no more than online resume databases where I think nobody is actually on the other end reading the resumes that are posted.
The government also claims to try and help these vets, however these efforts often are also unsuccessful. Your state's Employment Development Department (http://www.edd.gov/) has the same online resume builders and sometimes you may find a linked private organization that has interview help and job advice, etc. The civil service gives 5 or 10 points to veterans on the civil service exam depending on their status, however there are so many people applying for the jobs that are also veterans, this will not be a significant aid to you as a vet, especially if you do not score well on the exam anyways. Our politicians prefer to funnel money to NGOs and other organizations that claim to help these vets find jobs, but they are neither helpful nor effective, obviously.
The solution is not expensive however requires some honesty and effort by all of us. If you are in a company and a veteran applies to work there who is, for example, in the National Guard, think first about that person's skills and ignore for a moment that he or she may be deployed later. These days, turnover is quite high in most companies, but veterans are typically pretty loyal to good employers, and even if they must leave your company for a tour overseas, I'll bet they will reward you with hard work and job loyalty over the duration of their employment.
A smart employer will discuss his or her fear of a possible deployment with the veteran job candidate. There should be a plan of action for what will happen if your employee leaves and a commitment by management that the company is not going to sideline the vet or fire him or her in the case of a deployment. This can be the case regardless of the size of the company.
Those reservists that are small business owners face a special problem, because when they get deployed, like me, the keystone of their business is gone for a very long time, and in some cases a deployment will kill their business and they will return only to join the ranks of those 8% unemployed veteran job seekers. What I suggest to those people is to maintain your relationships with your clients as best as you can and not give up, however there has to be a net for those veterans that cannot put it back together once they return, for whatever reason.
The military services, the government, the country, etc. however you want to call it, have a duty to these people that served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are looking for work and cannot find a suitable job within some time frame, say 3 or 6 months. Unemployment benefits usually cover about 6 months after discharge from the military, but for those whose jobs will not come back, for those that cannot find work, or for those who lost their businesses while they were away, the military should take it upon itself to provide paid work and guidance to these veterans in their home areas. Some of you may think this sounds absurd, however for someone who has the motivation but not the resources or the opportunities, some commitment from the military in this direction will yield the right results in the form of a community of people who feel positive about their military service.
Unfortunately the reality of this country is that we routinely leave people who are in need of help to fend for themselves, regardless of who they are. We are lacking a sense of community and loyalty to our own in this country, we have forgotten that people are valuable, that everyone has something to give, and even though there are slogans these days about supporting the troops, the reality has gone little further than reciting the slogan. It is not enough to simply not spit on a veteran and call him or her a baby killer, what we need to do is not allow these people to come home and be stuck miserable and alone because the private sector is so unwilling to hire these people.
We cannot rely on the government and our politicians to help veterans; the government has failed this country, its people, and continues to do so. We've got to open our own eyes and if we come across some capable veteran who is stuck because of his jobless situation, don't forget about that guy after you meet him; think about who you know who might be able to hook him up with some work. If you're an employer, do what I do; take a few minutes out of your day, and if the guy is looking for a job and is qualified to work in your firm, give him the respect of an interview in exchange for the years he spent in the military for our country so your son or daughter wasn't drafted to do it. If you like him then hire him; if not then don't, that is respecting him. However, don't penalize him because he is in the reserves, and if he is a few years older than your other applicants, realize that this guy is only looking for the opportunity to work, and is trying to make the difficult switch to the private sector. Give that veteran the opportunity, you might be surprised how glad you will be if you put aside your fears of what you will get.
The first possibility is the obvious one that, since these vets have been deployed overseas for years on possible multiple tours, they have lost valuable time that could have been otherwise spent climbing the corporate ladder and/or building experience and contacts that would serve them in the private sector. Most of their personal and professional contacts are likely other Soldiers or Marines, Airmen, etc. whatever the case may be who are also probably looking for work after their time is up and are not in a position to offer work.
Another, more likely scenario I think is that the private sector in general feels no special concern for war veterans. Many of these same Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are members of the reserves or National Guard in their home state and consequently an employer is likely to select someone not in the military reserves because that employee has no chance of having to leave work for 18 months because of some inconvenient war deployment. These companies for the most part are staffed with people who are trained to weed out anyone they perceive as a threat to normal operations in the company, and possibly going off to war in the service of the Army or someone else must be perceived as a bad thing to most hiring managers.
A third possibility, and this probably applies to a minority of these vets, is that they suffer from some sort of emotional or physical damage they incurred while overseas. It could be something as simple as the depression set on from spending so much time in a miserable place which causes a resulting inability to pursue opportunities with enough gusto, perhaps they are disabled and the employer doesn't want to hire someone handicapped but won't say so, or perhaps they are merely expecting that at some point they will be sent back to Iraq again by a country that has forsaken them and doesn't really care whether they live or die when it comes down to it, because, after all, they signed up for it, right?
There are some organizations that claim to help vets find work, one of them is http://www.hireahero.com/, another is called Helmets to Hardhats, and there are other programs out there that steer veterans to become teachers, for example. These programs, while shamefully unsuccessful, are really no more than online resume databases where I think nobody is actually on the other end reading the resumes that are posted.
The government also claims to try and help these vets, however these efforts often are also unsuccessful. Your state's Employment Development Department (http://www.edd.gov/) has the same online resume builders and sometimes you may find a linked private organization that has interview help and job advice, etc. The civil service gives 5 or 10 points to veterans on the civil service exam depending on their status, however there are so many people applying for the jobs that are also veterans, this will not be a significant aid to you as a vet, especially if you do not score well on the exam anyways. Our politicians prefer to funnel money to NGOs and other organizations that claim to help these vets find jobs, but they are neither helpful nor effective, obviously.
The solution is not expensive however requires some honesty and effort by all of us. If you are in a company and a veteran applies to work there who is, for example, in the National Guard, think first about that person's skills and ignore for a moment that he or she may be deployed later. These days, turnover is quite high in most companies, but veterans are typically pretty loyal to good employers, and even if they must leave your company for a tour overseas, I'll bet they will reward you with hard work and job loyalty over the duration of their employment.
A smart employer will discuss his or her fear of a possible deployment with the veteran job candidate. There should be a plan of action for what will happen if your employee leaves and a commitment by management that the company is not going to sideline the vet or fire him or her in the case of a deployment. This can be the case regardless of the size of the company.
Those reservists that are small business owners face a special problem, because when they get deployed, like me, the keystone of their business is gone for a very long time, and in some cases a deployment will kill their business and they will return only to join the ranks of those 8% unemployed veteran job seekers. What I suggest to those people is to maintain your relationships with your clients as best as you can and not give up, however there has to be a net for those veterans that cannot put it back together once they return, for whatever reason.
The military services, the government, the country, etc. however you want to call it, have a duty to these people that served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are looking for work and cannot find a suitable job within some time frame, say 3 or 6 months. Unemployment benefits usually cover about 6 months after discharge from the military, but for those whose jobs will not come back, for those that cannot find work, or for those who lost their businesses while they were away, the military should take it upon itself to provide paid work and guidance to these veterans in their home areas. Some of you may think this sounds absurd, however for someone who has the motivation but not the resources or the opportunities, some commitment from the military in this direction will yield the right results in the form of a community of people who feel positive about their military service.
Unfortunately the reality of this country is that we routinely leave people who are in need of help to fend for themselves, regardless of who they are. We are lacking a sense of community and loyalty to our own in this country, we have forgotten that people are valuable, that everyone has something to give, and even though there are slogans these days about supporting the troops, the reality has gone little further than reciting the slogan. It is not enough to simply not spit on a veteran and call him or her a baby killer, what we need to do is not allow these people to come home and be stuck miserable and alone because the private sector is so unwilling to hire these people.
We cannot rely on the government and our politicians to help veterans; the government has failed this country, its people, and continues to do so. We've got to open our own eyes and if we come across some capable veteran who is stuck because of his jobless situation, don't forget about that guy after you meet him; think about who you know who might be able to hook him up with some work. If you're an employer, do what I do; take a few minutes out of your day, and if the guy is looking for a job and is qualified to work in your firm, give him the respect of an interview in exchange for the years he spent in the military for our country so your son or daughter wasn't drafted to do it. If you like him then hire him; if not then don't, that is respecting him. However, don't penalize him because he is in the reserves, and if he is a few years older than your other applicants, realize that this guy is only looking for the opportunity to work, and is trying to make the difficult switch to the private sector. Give that veteran the opportunity, you might be surprised how glad you will be if you put aside your fears of what you will get.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Welcome
Welcome to American Strategy. I want to share my thoughts about the United States and inspire some thought about our country and its policies towards its own people and towards those around the world. Anyone is welcome to join in and post your thoughts on the Iraq War, health insurance, the economy, international politics, history and our government. If you've felt lately like our country is stuck because it's mired too deeply in corrupt politics, corporate control and is suffering because we've lost our sense of community with one another, then you've come to the right place to post your thoughts.
I have heard a lot of talk about freedom from our politicians, but I think they are not interested in the freedom and right of us to have peace, good health and economic opportunities. What we face now is a country where wealth is being sucked from individuals to corporations, politicians have forced their people into a miserable war, and a country where people who need help are left alone to fend for themselves. To get past this mess, we've got to develop a well-thought out strategy that's going to move our country in the right direction and then promote it in everything we do. As this blog develops we're going to work towards developing this idea.
So I encourage you to post your stories and thoughts on my blog and let us all hear your side. I think it is important to do; anyone is welcome and from time to time I'll be adding my own comments. Thanks for visiting my blog and I look forward to reading your posts.
I have heard a lot of talk about freedom from our politicians, but I think they are not interested in the freedom and right of us to have peace, good health and economic opportunities. What we face now is a country where wealth is being sucked from individuals to corporations, politicians have forced their people into a miserable war, and a country where people who need help are left alone to fend for themselves. To get past this mess, we've got to develop a well-thought out strategy that's going to move our country in the right direction and then promote it in everything we do. As this blog develops we're going to work towards developing this idea.
So I encourage you to post your stories and thoughts on my blog and let us all hear your side. I think it is important to do; anyone is welcome and from time to time I'll be adding my own comments. Thanks for visiting my blog and I look forward to reading your posts.
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