March 28th, 2009 by Damian Papworth

In some recent articles, I have broken down the job finding process into its logical components and detailed them individually. With this article I intend on building on those articles by offering tips which will speed up the process for you, looking at job hunting as an entire process.

1. Keep Up To Date With Your Industry – Always

You need to be aware of the conditions in your industry all the time. You should know what is going on, who is hiring, who is firing, where the opportunities are when you have a job as well as when you are looking. Market awareness should be a part of your professional approach to your career. Waiting until you need a job to look into this could cost you months and missed opportunities. So don’t wait till then, get up to date now.

2. Keep your resume up to date

Find a template or layout that you are comfortable with and maintain it. Update it twice a year at least. It will save you the mad scramble to put it together and possibly a lost opportunity because you were unprepared.

3. Recognise Networking Opportunities Every Day

Basically everything you do while you are at work and when you spend time with work people outside work hours, should be seen as a networking exercise. Make an effort to remember everyone you meet in your professional circles. Grease the wheels here. Getting this right will really help you with point 1 above also.

4. Always Go To That Interview – Even When You Aren’t Interested.

Successful interviewing requires touch and it takes mistakes to get that touch. It is a skill you can only learn through practise. You don’t want to learn these skills when you are being interviewed for your perfect job, you want to make your mistakes with jobs you don’t really care for. So go to every interview you are offered, for no reason other than the practise. If you get offered a job you do not really want, have the courage to decline it.

5. Diarise All Your Experiences

Note what you did well with each job opportunity. What worked, what didn’t, improvements you could make, elements you can get rid of. Then, when you next go through an employment opportunity situation, revisit your notes, duplicate the good things and improve the bad things. Recognise the process as having a learning curve, and learn.

6. If You Are Out Of Work, You Still Have A Full Time Job

Your Job Hunt is your full time job now. Get out of bed at the same time you would if you were working in your given field. This will put your time clock in sync with your interviewers. Spend the same hours working on your job hunt as you would in the job. Be disciplined.

7. Maintain Your Focus

You know what type of job you are looking for, don’t be distracted by other offers or ideas. Keep your eyes firmly set on the task at hand and the job you are seeking.

Its never easy to find, win and accept the right job for the next stage of your career. I hope these tips help though. Good luck.

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March 8th, 2009 by Hank Brock

The financial planning process involves five basic steps. After the initial meeting with your financial planner, the five steps to the financial planning process include: data gathering, plan preparation, plan presentation, plan implementation, and on-going monitoring.

1. Financial Planning Process: Data gathering.

Data gathering is a marathon. It usually takes place at your home. It may take two hours or all day. Your planner will need to examine all your documents: Tax returns. Balance sheets. Income statements. Employee benefit plan booklets. Retirement plan documents. Wills. Trusts. Insurance policies. Investment statements. Brokerage house statements. Bank statements. These are the tangible bits of information.

These physical documents are not all that your planner will need to get from this data gathering session. There is also subjective information that the planner must determine. What are your lifestyle goals? Where do you hope to be in the future? When do you plan to retire, and what are your expectations for that time period? Assumptions of the future must also be established. Your attitudes regarding interest rates, inflation, the economy, and various other factors must be clearly established.

Finally, your financial planner will determine your personal attitudes – toward taxes, risk tolerance, complexity/simplicity of your financial affairs. The primary objective of the data gather is to have a clear idea of where you are currently and where you want to head for the future.

2. Financial Planning Process: Plan preparation.

Preparing your plan typically takes three to four weeks, as the planner does an analysis — the diagnostic work. The planner knows where you are, and where you want to be. Now they need to figure out the most efficient way to get you there.

For example, maybe it’s a family partnership. Or a family corporation. Or a family trust. They’ll look at all the pros and cons — then prepare written recommendations. Some will be major strategic recommendations. Others will be minor tactical recommendations. They will all fit together.

3. Financial Planning Process: Plan presentation.

Once your plan is prepared, your planner will schedule time to present their findings to you. During this first meeting, he’ll present the plan to you and review any major points. You’ll then take the plan home to read and study. It is important that you sit down with your spouse (if applicable) and fully examine the plan. Write down any questions that you have regarding it.

When you get back together with your planner, you’ll go over the plan in detail. They’ll answer your questions. Clarify details. As you agree on each recommendation, your planner will prioritize them into an “Implementation Check List.” It’s simply a “To Do” list for you and your planner.

4. Financial Planning Process: Plan implementation.

The first three steps will likely be completed in about a month’s time.

The fourth step, plan implementation, takes on average five to six months (sometimes longer). During this time, you will cover topics such as tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and other insurance concerns. Your financial planner may want to bring in other experts at this time to consult on specific issues.

When all is said and done, you may have as many as 30 different recommendations in your plan. Some will be major, broad, strategic recommendations, likely worth thousands of dollars to you. The rest will be to help you fine-tune your financial affairs. These things will help you cross the T’s, dot the I’s, and ensure your finances are really in order.

5. Financial Planning Process: On-going monitoring and maintenance.

In the final step of the financial planning process, your planner should be retained to help provide periodic updates and on-going advice. You should do a couple of tax planning meetings each year, review your portfolio, update insurance, etc… You’ll often find little questions that you’ll want to run past your advisor. Because your planner knows your unique situation, you will be alerted to changes in conditions that directly affect your plan.

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