In early 2015, I purchased How To Engineer Your Layoff: Make A Small Fortune By Saying Goodbye written by Financial Samurai, and it changed my life for the better, forever. It was the best purchase I've ever made, and has returned at least 1,500 times more than the cost. Here is my story of how I negotiated a severance after reading Sam's book. When it was time for me to get … [Read more...]
Career Lessons From Martial Arts: A Black Belt Is A White Belt That Never Quit!
Sometimes our greatest career lessons aren't learned on the job. Without realizing it, we often pick up skills and mindfulness from outside sources and experiences that we later apply to our careers. For example, the countless hours I spent in the performing arts as a student taught me a lot about discipline, that progress and rewards come from hours of effort, and that getting … [Read more...]
How Much Is The Average Severance Package? Once You Know You’ll Never Want To Quit Again
One of my good friends Christine is thinking about negotiating a separation agreement with her employer of six years. She works in marketing at Gap and is ready for a change of pace and a new career path. She got married to her college sweetheart last year and would really like to work at a public service company like the Friends of the Urban Forest, a non-profit organization … [Read more...]
GRE Tips: Acing The GRE As A Middle Aged Person Long After College
When I took the GMAT for business school at 27, I was frustrated by the archaic equations that have nothing to do with real life problems. You know, things such as fixing the budget deficit, getting a promotion, saving more money for retirement, and making sure your spouse doesn't yell at you for forgetting her birthday. So here I am, eight years later at the age of 35 going … [Read more...]
10 Ways To Be A Better Manager
Congrats on your role as a manager! It's a challenging job but can be extremely rewarding if well executed. My years as a manager certainly taught me more than I ever anticipated and I'm grateful for the opportunities I had as a result. Surprisingly, a lot of people in leadership roles at work don’t much how to effectively manage people because they were never formally trained. … [Read more...]