Being fired is like a divorce and based on today’s statistics, that doesn’t sound good. So many articles cover the fact that 50% of all marriages in America end in divorce. Interestingly enough, other articles say 50% of all hires are bad hires. Might there be a correlation between the two? I think there is. […]
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Blogger is Google’s free web tool for creating blog sites. That’s the traditional intent of the product. While it is a great tool for blogging, Blogger is also a terrific tool to create very cost effective and fairly robust professional websites. Such websites are a great cost effective solution for any business, organization and job seeker to promote their brand and develop their initial internet presence. |
Anyone comfortable using computers and having a little technology experience can learn to create and manage their Blogger website with relatively little effort. However, given that most professionals are quite busy with developing their business and brand, it may make very good sense to contract with someone well versed in Blogger (or any web development tool) to help with those efforts for several reasons:
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Saturday March 12th at 8:00am
Please share this with other groups you may be in. Join us on Meetup.com at: http://www.meetup.com/The-Breakfast-Club-NJ/ to RSVP for the meeting.
Presentation: “Common Traps That Trip Up Job Seekers”
Are you frustrated by your job search, and not even sure what’s going wrong?
John Hadley (www.JHACareers.com) has coached 100’s of job seekers, and along the way has seen all sorts of traps that trip up candidates, often without them even being aware they’ve done anything wrong.
Join us on Saturday, March 12, as John Hadley shares strategies and techniques he teaches his 1-on-1 coaching clients to make sure they don’t get snared by these traps! After all, if you don’t even know you’ve done something wrong, how can you ever hope to fix the problem?
John Hadley teaches job seekers who are frustrated with their search strategies and skills to tap into the ‘hidden’ job market and land the job and pay they deserve. He also works with professionals struggling to gain new opportunities at work. His free Career Tips email newsletter is read each month by 9,500 subscribers; check it out at www.JHACareers.com/Newsletter.htm.
Bio
John Hadley helps job seekers who are frustrated with their search. He also works with professionals struggling to achieve the visibility that leads to new opportunities at work.
After graduating from Stanford University, John worked as an actuary in the insurance industry for 20 years, ultimately as Chief Actuary of his company. He then opened a successful systems consulting practice, which generated over $2.5 million in revenues. 13 years ago he started his Career Search Counseling business, and has helped hundreds of clients land the job and pay they deserve.
John is a sought-after writer and speaker, publishing a monthly Career Tips Email newsletter to 9,500 subscribers, each month bringing advice on marketing yourself for a career search, or for accelerating your career. He is currently finishing his first book, “Cruising Through Executive Interviews to Land the 6 Figure Job You Deserve.” You can find a variety of career resources on his website at www.JHACareers.com.
Networking begins at 7:30 am, meeting starts promptly at 8:00 am.
There is a $10 fee at the door to cover the cost of the room.
Be sure to tell your friends and bring them along. Be a part of our growing network of Job Seekers, Hiring Managers, Recruiters, Career Coaches, and people who want to be able to help themselves and each other.
Days Hotel Conference Center
195 Rt. 18 South, East Brunswick, NJ 08816
732-828-6900
7:30 to 8:00 – Registration & Open Networking
8:00 to 8:15 – Welcome and housekeeping
8:15 to 9:15 – Presentation by the guest speaker – Limited to 60 minutes
9:15 to 10:15 – Elevator Pitch – 30 Seconds about yourself, who you are, what you are looking for, target companies (3-4), how we can help you, how you can help others. Follow the rule of the Three B’s of Public Speaking: Be informative; Be brief; Be seated.
10:15 until you choose to leave – Open Networking, follow up with people you are interested in meeting following their elevator pitch, exchange business cards, peruse the library, arrange follow up meetings, etc.
1) Attend meetings regularly to keep group strong and help pay back to others (meeting logistics on our website www.thebreakfastclubnj.com)
2) Keep anti-virus on your machine up to date and run scan regularly
3) Review messages and if request for assistance please help whenever possible
4) Once you have received your invitation and joined our linked in group, connect to other members directly(questions see Gerry Peyton -gpeyton@ptd.net)
5) Join groups Facebook group, Google +, and connect to other members directly (questions see Adrienne Roman – adrienne1204@optonline.net)
6) Join groups twitter account (questions see George Pace – keeppace@gmail.com)
7) If you run across someone in transition invite them to join our group and sponsor them through process (details on our website www.thebreakfastclubnj.com)
8) Sunday mornings listen to our radio show, “Your Career Is Calling”, at 8am ET either on radio at 107.7 or via internet 24/7 live or on demand at www.1077thebronc.com (as this is a call in show your calls help make it successful)
9) If you are in transition put your elevator pitch in writing to group, ask for help with job search issues or connecting to people at target companies, regularly post job opportunities (from email you joined the group – send email to thebreakfastclubnj@yahoogroups.com)
10) Help fellow members whenever possible
We look forward to seeing everyone let’s make this a great meeting for our members that are in transition and welcome those that have landed
Introduction
One of the most perplexing issues that arise when in transition is financial planning. If you have a Finance background, maybe this does not apply to you. But for most of us, financial considerations, run neck and neck stress-wise, with finding employment.
Wouldn’t it be great to have the opportunity to ask financial questions to a qualified financial planner to help you make those important financial decisions, especially in the midst of tax season?
Well, guess what!
At the next Breakfast Club NJ meeting, Saturday February 13, 2016 at 8 a.m., you will have that opportunity to ask those questions to Bill LaChance, an independent financial advisor based in Chatham NJ. Bill offers a unique flat fee program and focuses his practice those going through or contemplating a career transition. Prior to launching his financial planning practice, Bill spent twenty two years in corporate finance in the retail industry and before that was a CPA with a large accounting firm. Bill has a B.S. in Accounting from Bryant University, an MBA in Finance from Indiana University and completed the Financial Planning Certificate program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Bill is also an Enrolled Agent authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS and provides tax consulting and preparation services.
Following this note, is one of Bill’s blogs from last year to help you start thinking of questions you can ask him on Saturday.
See you Saturday!
Adrienne Roman
One question many folks have when leaving a job is what to do with their 401K/403B. It most instances rolling over your 401K to an IRA makes the most sense, but in some situations the better option is to keep the money in your current 401K or roll the money into a 401K at your new company.
Taxes work for a 401K/403B plan the same as for a traditional or rollover IRA. You put money in pre-tax, the earnings grow tax deferred, and you pay taxes on any amount withdrawn.
While the taxation rules are the same, some of the features of the various plans differ. This blog focuses on those features that would influence your decision to roll over your 401K/403B. Since none of the differences between 401Ks and 403Bs are relevant to this discussion, going forward I will only refer to 401Ks. Keep in mind that the features I describe apply to 403Bs as well.
1. Do nothing and leave the money in your former company’s 401K.
2. Rollover the money to your new company’s 401K.
3. Rollover the money to an IRA.
4. Withdraw the money.
The fourth option should be avoided if at all possible. Besides paying taxes on the money you withdraw, you will no longer have that money available for your retirement and you may have to pay a 10% penalty. This option will be a topic for a future blog.
Here I focus on the pros and cons of the first three options.
There is one situation where I believe it makes sense to keep the money in your old company’s 401K. That is if you leave the company any time during the year you turn age 55 or later. The reason has to do with the 10% early withdrawal penalty. The IRS imposes a 10% penalty (on top of having to pay income taxes) for retirement plan withdrawals made prior to age 59 ½, (with certain exceptions). One of those exceptions is that you can make a withdrawal from a 401K before age 59 ½ without paying a 10% penalty as long as you left the service of your employer during the year you turn 55 or later. This exception does not apply to IRAs. I did speak to someone recently whose advisor recommended rolling over her 401K to an IRA. Later, when she needed to withdraw some cash, this person found out that she was responsible for the 10% penalty, a penalty she could have avoided had she left the money in the 401K.
401K plans allow loans and IRAs do not, so if you think you may need to borrow against your 401K in the future, you may want to roll over your existing 401K balance to your new company’s 401K. Since most companies do not allow you to borrow against your 401K if you are no longer employed with that company, leaving it with your old employer may be less desirable.
If neither of these two situations applies to you, it is usually better to roll over your 401K to an IRA. IRAs have several advantage over 401Ks. The first is that you have much broader investment options, including the full complement of low cost index funds from providers like Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Second is the availability of conversions to a Roth IRA. With a Roth IRA you pay your income taxes up front. With a traditional IRA, you pay your income taxes upon withdrawal. If you find yourself in a low tax bracket for a period of time, converting some (or all) of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and paying the taxes at that point may be a viable option.
Finally, IRAs have exceptions to the 10% early withdrawal penalty that 401Ks do not. The first is that you are allowed to withdraw up to $10,000 penalty free if used for a first-time home purchase. The second exception is that IRA funds can be withdrawn penalty free if used for qualified higher education expenses for you or someone in your family. The third exception is using IRA funds to pay for health insurance premiums, as long as you collected unemployment insurance for at least twelve consecutive weeks. In each of these instances you will not pay a penalty, but will still have to pay income taxes on the withdrawals from the traditional IRA.
If you are not sure which approach is better, you can hedge your bets and roll over part of the 401K to an IRA and leave the remainder in a 401K. Unless you are in a situation where you must make a withdrawal, it is advisable to wait until you secure a new job until making any decision on rolling over your 401K money.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
This blog has been republished with the permission of Bill LaChance.
Bad hires are expensive based on an interesting survey performed by CareerBuilder revealed that 41 percent of companies estimate that a bad hire costs more than $25,000; 25 percent of companies said a bad hire costs more than $50,000. And the higher the position, the higher those numbers become. Besides such costs, which are extraordinarily […]
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You’ve heard this before: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Of course it helps to know things. But, it’s more important to know people who can get you in the position to demonstrate what you know. Those people are your professional network. Building yours doesn’t have to be hard.
Here’s how manage your professional network… |
If you are just getting started in building your network, begin by creating a list of fifty people you know. Everyone is a potential connection. Include classmates, friends, past and current colleagues, family members and members of associations to which you belong. Include contact information for each person on your list. You will be surprised at how well connected you already are regardless of your career level. Create and develop a professional business profile online. The most popular website for business networking is LinkedIn. Facebook and others will also serve you well. In addition, there might be a sites suited to your profession, industry or specialty. Once you identify you know, connect to your contacts and begin to cultivate your relationships.
We achieve our greatest success through our relationships with others. That’s why it is critical to build and maintain your network. However, approach is everything. If you build your network with the goal of supporting others, you will be far more successful than if your goal is to solely satisfy your own objectives. Your network is a valuable component of your professional brand and success.
As you cultivate your relationships, the contacts you have will refer you to people in their own network. Build relationships with those new contacts and grow those relationships. Stay organized, ask each person you connect with the best way to stay in touch, and express thanks with a hand-written note or a thoughtful email. Then, you are well on your way to building a strong network.
To be truly successful at networking, you need to be continuously making new connections while at the same time nurturing the relationships you have. Remember, if you take the attitude that it is about you, you will be less successful in retaining your network. But if you treat your network as a group of people you serve and support, your experience will be much more positive and you will attract what you need to be successful.
I encourage you to leave a comment by clicking on “…comments” below…
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I am open to discussion at any time on these blogs or anything else related to project management you would like to explore. If you would like to comment about this blog, please do so by posting on this blog or by responding in an email at Benny A. Recine. You may inspire a blog article. I look forward to your comments.
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Many people are looking desperately for suitable jobs, but ask yourself whether you’re just working hard at it or smart at it. Many get so disappointed by the entire process that they give up entirely. Please don’t! Via this article, I want to revive your interest by attempting to logically explain the job search process […]
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I am on vacation and not even on American soil. It is a vastly different milieu in almost every respect. I find myself continuously comparing, contrasting, judging, and labeling people. Of course, this continuous chatter is only in my head. I don’t share it with anyone, God forbid. But isn’t that what we do in […]
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