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Photo Courtesy of Brandon Godfrey (flickr)

I’m poking my head out of hibernation to write this blog post.  Back in December I suspended my blogging to work on my book, which is chugging along.  I’ll give you a quick update.  First, writing a book is about as difficult as any other enormous goal, it’s always harder than you originally hoped.  I have, however, converted my sole proprietorship into an LLC.  I also recently opened my first business bank account and setup my account with the company that will help me self-publish the book.  Additionally, I’ve written the first 3 chapters and outlined the remaining chapters.  It’s a challenge to write a book while maintaining a full-time job, a personal life, and training for another marathon, but somehow it’s all coming together.  Patience is truly a virtue, and I haven’t mastered it yet. 

I received an email from one of my avid fans who is preparing to graduate from her Master’s program in a few months and she had some very common and very important questions.   I want to take a few minutes to highlight some quick answers to some touch topics.  I’ll go into more depth in the future, but like I said, I’ll be heading back into the cave to finish what I’ve started.

Job Searching
Don’t rely on Internet job search engines for everything.  Seriously.  In fact, you should only spend about 10% of your job search on Craigslist, CareerBuilder, Monster, and Indeed combined.  Make it simple.  Find a niche, find the top 5 employers in that niche in the area you want to work, and harass them until someone hires you.  What I mean is that if you focus your energy on a few select employers in a very targeted market, you will be able to customize your resume, cover letter, and knowledge to the companies where you as passionate about working.

Interviews
The same principle applies.  After you have submitted a resume or application, call the employer and directly ask them for an interview.  This is what I mean by harassing.  Make it very clear to the employer that you are insanely passionate about working for THEIR company and helping THEM.  (Hint: It’s not about you.)  During the interview, continue to show your passion, highlight your skills, and make it clear how you can benefit them.

Salary
Negotiable.  Learn that word and use it often.  Never give them a number, let them tell you the range the position typically pays and you choose the highest number they can stomach.  Learn your market and research the job you’re applying for.  Be knowledgeable of what you’re worth and what you can expect to negotiate.  If you say you want $30k a year and they were prepared to offer you $40k, you just lost $10k.  Ouch.  Ideally, you should leverage another offer against them, which will force them to pay you more if they really want you.

Insurance
Jobs are NOT secure.  Job security is an oxymoron.  As soon as you’re laid off, fired, or quit your first job in disgust, you will see my point.  Therefore, I don’t give typical advice about benefits.  My recommendation, get Self-Employment Health Insurance.  You can apply for this even if you’re unemployed and it will cover you wherever you work or live.  If you move, change jobs, or start a business you will keep your coverage as long as you pay your monthly premium.  The same goes for Disability and Life Insurance.  Also, the price you’ll end up paying is almost identical to what an employer will offer you.

401(k)s
I’m a Dave Ramsey fanatic.  What this means is that I don’t recommend you start saving for retirement until you are completely out of debt, excluding a home mortgage.  That means Zero credit card debt, Zero student loan debt, Zero car payments, etc, etc.  Save up a HUGE emergency fund, about 6 months of expenses, and then you can start saving for retirement at around 10-15% of your net income.  Use employers for this one because they’ll match a lot of your own contributions.  After you leave a job, roll over your old 401(k) into an IRA and keep saving.

Entrepreneurship
If you’re like me and the idea of working for yourself is more appealing than working for someone else, then do it and do it now.  The best advice I ever received about business is to start immediately, even if you have no idea what you’re doing.  If you can afford to start your business full-time then get going, otherwise get a full-time job that works well for your schedule to maximize your time to build the business.  I prefer Internet Businesses because you can start one for under $100 a year!  Seriously.

Want More?
I’ve got great news!  That book I was talking about will cover all of these topics and more.  It’s not finished yet, obviously, but it will be available in the next few months.  If you want to receive email updates about it’s release just sign up in the form on the bottom right of the page.  Until then feel free to contact me with any questions you have about being Graduated and Clueless!  Thanks to Rachael for submitting your email and prompting this blog post.

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Don’t forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!

The Clueless Graduate,

Jeff & Tessa Sanders

Jeff Sanders


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