401K

An easy way to save up for your future is to sign up with the 401k plan at your workplace. A percentage is taken out from your paycheck and deposited into a 401k plan of your choosing. The best part about this is that the money is taken out pre-tax, so this is an additional savings to you.

For many companies, they also match your contributions too. For mine, they only match the first 4%, but I still contribute 15%. I put them all in aggressive stocks too, so the money goes up even faster. If I was older, then I may put it in more conservative stocks. But i’m young, so I go all out. I might as well put it in a saving account if I was going safe.

Sample Cover Letter

Personally I do not put much emphasis on a cover letter, but if you are a fresh grad every little bit counts. It should not be too long. Like a resume, employers do not want to be reading too much, it should be something quick and to the point. Here is a sample of a cover letter:

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Your Phone Number
Your EmailDateName
Title
Organization
Address
City, State, Zip CodeDear Mr./Ms. Last Name:

First Paragraph: Why You Are Writing. Remember to include the name of a mutual contact, if you have one. Be clear and concise regarding your request.

Middle Paragraphs: What You Have to Offer. Convince the readers that they should grant the interview or appointment you requested in the first paragraph. Make connections between your abilities and their needs or your need for information and their ability to provide it.

Final Paragraph: How You Will Follow Up. Remember, it is your responsibility to follow-up; this relates to your job search. State that you will do so and provide the professional courtesy of indicating when (one week’s time is typical).Sincerely,Your SignatureYour Typed Name

After the Interview, the Thank you Letter

Some employers do not put much emphasis on a Thank you letter, but I do. It shows you are interested in working for the company, and it gets you a better chance of being hired if word yours right. Here is a template you can follow, customize yours to the company you interviewed for…

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Your Phone Number
Your Email

Date

Name
Title
Organization
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name: It was very enjoyable to speak with you about the assistant account executive position at the XYZ Agency. The job, as you presented it, seems to be a very good match for my skills and interests. The creative approach to account management that you described confirmed my desire to work with you. In addition to my enthusiasm, I will bring to the position strong writing skills, assertiveness and the ability to encourage others to work cooperatively with the department. My artistic background will help me to work with artists on staff and provide me with an understanding of the visual aspects of our work.

I understand your need for administrative support. My detail orientation and organizational skills will help to free you to deal with larger issues. I neglected to mention during my interview that I had worked for two summers as a temporary office worker. This experience helped me to develop my secretarial and clerical skills.

I appreciate the time you took to interview me. I am very interested in working for you and look forward to hearing from you about this position.

Sincerely,

Your Signature  

Your Typed Name

Do not wait too long to send it out, or they may forget you. Most people now have emails, so once you get home from your interview, you should be working on the thank you letter to be sent out that same day. 

Cheap business cards

If you are looking for some inexpensive business cards. My wife found this site called Gotprint. They currently have 250 color cards for around $9. If you order more, it gets cheaper per card. 1000 cards is around $22, and shipping is minimal. They also have online templates, so you can design your own card on their site.

Who is Alan?

Some of you may be wondering what is my education and experience background. Well I graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1996 with a B.S. in Business Accounting. I worked for a printing company after that for 3 years, and have been working for an aerospace company for the past 7 years. So I have worked for a small and a very large company.

I also have my California Real Estate license, and I work with my wife part time selling homes. I just started blogging earlier this year around April-May.

Below are some posts I migrated from my Yelow Powah blog that I found related to the theme of this blog. Hope you enjoy reading my blog(s).

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 13 September 2007
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact sokalboy@yahoo.com. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

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