It is not uncommon that people who are unhappy like to share their troubles with others. It is part of the very normal human condition.However, I would suggest to you that when it comes to networking with either your fellow members or others who are in your inner circle of friends, that yo...

I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes the job search process so maddening and one of the many conclusions I have come to is its lack of structure. (Someone should really redesign it!)Unlike all of the other projects we may have in our career as financial folks, this one may have ...

There was this very amusing comedy routine that I heard many years ago. During part of it, the comedian pointed out that when operating on a patient under local anesthetic, surgeons are not allowed to say “oops.” (I know what I mean when I say oops. What did he mean?)In much the same way, ...

During every recession, there are typically specific industries that experience more declines than others. One of the truths about the job market is that in any piece of time, one or more industries are usually singled out “for punishment” and lots of folks in those industries lose their j...

As someone who now makes sales calls all day long, it is sometimes hard for me to remember the difficulty I initially had in picking up that 400 pound phone.Back in the dark days of 1991-1992 (the two years I was out of work), I found that my experience doing collection work as a CFO sort ...

Several years ago I got a note from one of our new members that warmed my heart.He forwarded a note to me with a copy of his resume and as I scrolled through his message I smiled to myself in pride at what a remarkable organization we have created for ourselves.I didn’t actually need yet a...

As accountants we know only too well that the time periods into which we divide a year are a little arbitrary. They only mark the passage of time in a logical manner (which is very important to all of us financial types).We also know intuitively that the concept of getting a fresh start wi...

Sailing can be a very simple or a very complicated activity. It depends on how you want to approach it.To get from here to there can be planned on a very simple basis or a very complicated basis. For example, if you are sailing across Long Island Sound from North to South to a particular d...

At some point during a long job search I often get an email from a member in which the primary message is about “the futility of it all.”Having been out of work myself for almost two full years in 1991 and 1992, I guess I can say I’ve been there and done that.Being out of work is never eas...

As the days of fall begin to arrive in the Northeast and the trees begin to change colors, it is all very beautiful. (However, it has been very windy.) Earlier this month I started decommissioning our sailboat for the season. This coming weekend I will wrap up a few remaining tasks. For th...

I often wonder to myself how politicians can do so much lying and get away with it. Okay, sometimes we boot them out of office for lying, but we only replace them with new folks who also lie.The truth I suppose is subject to each person’s individual judgment. What one person considers to b...

Have you ever felt you didn’t know anything about computers? I do all the time, and I have been using them since my first Apple IIe.Still, there is just so much to know and so much to learn. And, the rules keep changing. Things that work on one computer don’t work on my next one. (Why Micr...

“They” say (I don’t know who they are) that searching for a job is filled with highs and lows.It doesn’t matter who you may have heard it from or how often you heard these words of consolation, if you have been through a long job search, you know the feelings. I suppose we can find ways to...

One of our members wrote me once and asked me about how to keep a proper attitude when your job search stretches into what seems like an eternity. The reason he addressed this question to me is that he noted that I have mentioned on several occasions that beginning in March of 1991 I was u...

I don’t know if any of you feel as I do, but when I have a cold or the flu, it is at once annoying and thoughtful that those who care about us are constantly checking up on us.Thank goodness I’m not sick very often, but when I am I prefer to be left alone during “the cure.” Human beings va...

For those of you with allergies, you know only too well that once you have a reaction to something, for some period of time even small amounts of that substance will set you off.As I understand it, what happens is that an allergic reaction triggers elevated histamine levels in your body. I...

Although the job market appears to be okay at the moment, it is still a sad fact of life these days that many of our members face the prospect of a salary lower than they previously enjoyed.From our perspective as financial folks we struggle with the burden of our hard won escalations in s...

If there is one thing that is certain about us financial types, it is that we always know the answer.Ask us a question and it isn’t long before we are well into the “primarily due to’s and partially offset by’s.” Yet, this major strength of ours and important skill set is an impediment to ...

One of the more interesting ideas floating around these days is giving up. I can’t say I am an expert on this topic, other than to say that I have heard about it at length from others. Not that they have actually bought into the idea; just that they were talking about it.As you all know, I...

I’m not sure if everyone understands the importance of our Good News Announcements, so I thought I would share with you tonight some of my thoughts as to why they are so important.Since the very beginning of our newsletter, the Good News Announcements have always appeared at the very begin...

I know that many of our members are faced with the unpleasant truth that they have been out of work for a significant period of time. Having been out of work myself for almost two years, I know that this unpleasant question of “Why have you been out so long?” gets asked. Like anything else...