Move Over Pops: Rockstars Have Invaded the Workforce.
Generations X, Y, & Z Blog

23 Powerful Tips and Tools to Eliminate Debt.
DoughRoller

Cover Letter Writing Tips.
Alison’s Job Searching Blog, About.com

Seven Way to Invest in the Stock Market When You’ve Got No Money.
Monevator

Marketing Yourself During a Recession.
Brand-Yourself.com

Procrastination Break: 10 Blogs Guaranteed to Keep You From Your Work.
The Freelance Writing Jobs Network

10 Ways to Make Your Boss Love You.
SmartMoney

A List of Money-Saving Lists: 422 Ways to Save in Total.
The Cheapskate Blog, TIME Magazine

Finding Your Passion is Like Getting Married.
Under 30 CEO

How to Make Yourself Indispensable At Work.
Dumb Little Man

13 Generation Y Rockstars Who Need to be on Your Radar.
Life Without Pants

What to Do When You’ve Run Off Into a Career Ditch.
45 Things

10 Best Things We’ll Say to Our Grandkids.
Wired Magazine

People always seem to have expectations of us, especially as we get older. In a typical progression of American middle-class life, people go from being carefree teens and college students of whom not much is expected (and in fact mistakes are often expected to occur at this stage of life) to being adults in the “real world” in a matter of just a few years.

As productive grownups, we are expected to get a “good steady job” with benefits and a stable income, get married, buy a house, and have children-all at the socially-determined “appropriate” times. This is all well and good for people who happen to enjoy living life in this particular manner-but what happens to those of us who choose to take a non-traditional path?

Particularly as young professionals, we tend to delay marriage and children for longer than other people do. Some of us also elect to stay in school (or return to school) well into mid-life and to take greater financial risks by opening businesses, which can sometimes delay the establishment of that nice, stable life.

In my experience, the world really seems to frown on people who do things differently-so if “non-traditional” best describes your life path, I’m sure you’ve already experienced the judgmental comments and condemnations of others. These comments can be hurtful and cause us to question if we are really doing the right thing by thinking outside of the box and living differently than the majority of the population. It is always good to question and analyze ourselves-perhaps after such an analysis we may realize that in fact our way of life is not satisfactory, and that changes need to be made. However, it is important to remember that the only one who can judge the quality and relevance of your life is you.

Most of the time people who make such comments either do not understand the different path that you are taking, or are envious that you had the guts to go after your dreams and live life by your own rules (and are damn happy doing it!).

So, there are a few options in these situations. If you are inclined to do so you can try to explain to the judgmental person or people in your life your motivations and rationale for making the life choices that you do, and that in fact you are very happy living this way. Maybe they will understand, and you will develop an even deeper bond or friendship with them because you have shared a significant part of yourself. However, there is a possibility that such individuals will still find your choices difficult to understand and accept. If it continues to bother a particular person that you are marching to your own drummer in life, there is a good chance that they fall into the envious category previously mentioned. In this case, you may want to consider whether it is worth having someone in your life who judges you so harshly for who you are.

Of course, a problem with this is that many times the people who seem to judge us the most are our loved ones-parents, grandparents, relatives, and the like (generally people with a more traditional, “old school” type of mindset). These are individuals who we dearly love, and whom we know love and want the best for us as well. In the majority of cases we do not want to cut these people out of our lives, at least not completely. In these situations the best course of action may be to accept that this person does not have the ability to understand your life choices, and that their judgments likely (though not always) ultimately come from a place of love.

Being able to separate realistically while maintaining the positive aspects of the relationship in this manner can be a challenging and often lifelong task. But the more that you try, the easier it usually becomes. And when you are living your life in a way that makes you happy, all relationships often become more fulfilling and enjoyable as a pleasant after effect-so keep on doing what you do!

**** These tips do not constitute medical or psychological advice or counseling, please contact a licensed medical provider or therapist if you feel you need help.

What a Job Seeker Can Learn From Kanye West.
Gradversity

A Really Simple Budget Worksheet.
Money Under 30

Listen Up! 10 Ways to Use Your Ears to Advance Career.
Careerealism

Personal Brand Audit: What’s Your LinkedIn Score?
Personal Branding Blog

Consumers Creeping Back?
Forbes

Living Through a Recession Can Have a Lasting Impact on the Young.
TIME

Best Interview Answers.
About.com Job Search

Define Your Digital Footprint.
Danny Brown

Make a Great Impression.
Psychology Today

Personal Brand Statement: 7 Winning Steps to Creating One.
Brand-Yourself.com

Seven Free Sites to Track Your Personal Information.
Consumerist

Four Ways to Make Meetings Better.
45 Things

The 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure focused on the discovery of “electronically stored information” (“ESI”) and emphasized early communication and cooperation in an effort to streamline information exchange and avoid costly unproductive disputes. Since that time, a growing number of problems have emerged—namely, that the courts are being bogged down with extensive and unproductive discovery disputes, rising costs, and escalating motion practice without ever being able to evaluate the merits of a case. This begs the question, is it possible for a litigant to make it through electronic discovery with his pocket book intact?

The answer to this question may be “yes” if the parties and their respective counsel cooperate. In July 2008, The Sedona Conference®, an organization of leading jurists, lawyers, experts, academics, and others, published “The Sedona Conference® Cooperation Proclamation.” The purpose of the Proclamation was to launch a coordinated effort to promote cooperation by all parties to the discovery process to achieve the goal of a “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.”  Specifically, in drafting the Proclamation, The Sedona Conference® sought to promote open and forthright information sharing, dialogue, training, and the development of practical tools to facilitate cooperative, collaborative, and transparent discovery. 

The Sedona Conference® Cooperation Proclamation recognized that lawyers have both a duty to be zealous advocates for their clients as well as conduct discovery in a diligent and candid manner. The Proclamation also noted that cooperation does not conflict with the advancement of a client’s interests— it actually promotes them.

The Proclamation suggests the following methods for accomplishing this cooperation:

1. Utilizing internal ESI discovery “point persons” to assist counsel in preparing requests and responses;
2. Exchanging information on relevant data sources, including those not being searched, or scheduling early disclosures on the topic of ESI;
3. Jointly developing automated search and retrieval methodologies to cull relevant information;
4. Promoting early identification of forms of production; and
5. Developing case-long discovery budgets based on proportionality principles.

Through January 2009, The Sedona Conference® Cooperation Proclamation has been endorsed by at least 44 federal judges, including three judges from the District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. 

The legal community is beginning to recognize the pitfalls associated with conducting electronic discovery under the 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and devise solutions to those pitfalls which are geared towards applying the rules in a practical and cost effective manner. If you would like further information on The Sedona Conference® Cooperation Proclamation or recent publications on this topic, or require assistance in navigating through a dispute which may involve electronic discovery, please contact us.  

Read this book if you’re:

• lacking credit.
• struggling with your student debt.
• confused about 401(k)s.
• thinking about buying a car or condo but have no idea if that’s even plausible.
• wondering just how in the heck you’re going to find the extra cash to start a savings account.
• getting married and don’t know what to do about finances.
  

For some reason or another people just love to make fun of Suze Orman—I’ll admit, myself included. She’s one of those motivational speakers we all like to roll our eyes at. Like, “if that lady tells me balance my checkbook one more time, I’m gonna scream.” So how did I come to read and ENJOY an entire book of hers?

Last year while perusing the incredibly small selection of business books at Women and Children First up in Andersonville, I came across a book with a title I couldn’t resist. Young (”Hey, I’m young-ish!”), Fabulous (”I’d like to think I’m pretty fabulous”), and Broke (”Yep, most definitely”). Her short, choppy ‘do and those pearly whites stared back at me, and I knew I was fated to fork over my last $16.

Divided into 10 sections about 10 very important aspects of your young, fabulous, and broke life, each chapter provides insight, answers questions, and sums it all up in plain language–nothing fancy, just a conversational tone with facts, facts, and more facts. It’s a great point of reference as well. It isn’t one of those books that you read from cover to cover; instead, choose which sections “speak” to you.

1. Know the Score.
Orman stresses that this is the most important aspect of your financial life–your FICO score. Whether you’re searching for a new apartment or trying to secure a loan for your new car, this score will make or break your interest rates. In this section, she reviews identity theft, how to keep your FICO score strong, and why to avoid bankruptcy at all costs.

2. Career Moves.
And I quote, “You are way too young fabulous to sign up for a life of drudgery.” It’s something a little bit difficult to wrap your brain around, but money should not dictate your life. In other words, don’t stay with a job just because it (almost) pays the bills. We’re young enough (and most of us are mortgage-free and child-free) to be able to switch careers without much consequence. In this section Orman also gives us some pointers on how to make ourselves indispensible, how to get a raise, and why going to back to school should only happen if you’re wanting a career change–not as an excuse to get out of a situation that doesn’t work for you.

3. Give Yourself Credit.
You might think that Orman’s advice to a broke person would be, “Avoid credit cards like the plague!” But it’s not. In fact, she admits that credit is important most especially if you are broke. One piece of advice that really surprised me was that you should use your credit cards as a lifeline when you don’t yet make enough money to live on. As long as you pay the minimum every month and don’t have a huge interest rate, in the end everything will be okay (Suze says!). Do avoid cash advances, though, which are a total rip-off.

4. Making the Grade on Student Debt.
Suze reiterates all of the stuff you should’ve paid attention to and retained from your loan counseling each year throughout college. But seriously, who really retained that stuff? No one. The good news is that student loan corporations are way more forgiving than credit card companies, so if you find yourself unemployed you can always get your loans deferred for up to three years.

5. Save Up.
Turns out you don’t need to make more to save more. Orman swears that you can find extra cash if you really look hard for it. For example, waiting a couple of weeks longer to get your hair cut will reduce the number of haircuts by two every year. That’s at least $100 if you’re a female in Chicago. But wait, there’s more. Don’t start a savings account until you invest in your 401(k)–that is, IF your company matches (that is, for every dollar you invest, your company invests a dollar or a percentage of that dollar).

6. Retirement Rules.
This section deals with the two main retirement funds Suze recommends for us: Roth IRAs and 401(k)s. Now here’s a statistic that blew my mind, and a supreme example of why saving for retirement starting NOW is imperative: If you invest $300 every month and earn an 8 percent average annual return from the ages of 25 to 40 (stay with me here), you’ll have invested $54,000, and the account will be worth DOUBLE THAT. Suppose you never invest another penny. By the time you’re 70, you will have $1.05 million. Now suppose you don’t start saving till 40, and you invest $300 till you’re 70. You’ll only have $450,089 to your name. What a difference starting early makes.

7. Investing Made Easy.
If you’re going to listen to anyone about investing, listen to a stockbroker. And Orman was one for years. Remember: Stocks are only for long-term investments where you don’t need the money for at least five years. If you’re wanting to save an emergency cash fund, do not invest in stocks. Start a savings account instead. A safe bet, if you’re interested in investing and you’re all but broke, is to invest in mutual funds–not stocks.

8. Big-Ticket Purchase: Car.
Buy your car. No leasing! If you lease, you’re just going to be making payment upon payment upon payment. When you do buy, buy something you can afford–like, not a Mercedes. Cars are the worst investment you’ll ever make, according to Suze. They depreciate the moment you drive them off the lot, as you’ve probably heard. Another word of advice: Keep your car for as long as possible. When you finally own your car, you’ll have more cash handy for other investments.

9. Big-Ticket Purchase: Home.
This is the section I paid attention to the most, since I barely have a clue what the word “mortgage” even means. Suze explains mortgages, property taxes, down payments, seller’s and buyer’s markets, home inspections, and home insurance. This section is a crash course in Home-Buying 101.

10. Love & Money.
What to do when you get married? Orman suggests merging accounts and paying for all living expenses from this account, but making sure to keep your own checking account with your own credit card. Other things to consider once you’re married and/or have a family are life insurance, a living revocable trust that includes a durable power of attorney, and a will.

After you’ve implemented some of Orman’s suggestions, I hope you’ll find yourself young, fabulous, and on your way to unbroke.

P.S. Turns out Suze’s alright. I stand corrected.

Having worked only in nonprofits, I recognize many of the advantages and disadvantages of this sector.  Below is an outline of a few of the benefits and disadvantages of working for a nonprofit.

Advantages

• The ability to do meaningful work and to create positive change for a community or a cause. While some may call one an idealist, it’s nice to have a heartfelt reason to get out of bed on the coldest of Chicago mornings.
• An opportunity to wear “several hats” due to understaffing. For instance, when our staff was downsized I was asked to take over writing grant reports and requests, which served as an important learning opportunity.
• A greater organizational culture of like-minded people. While not always existent, many nonprofits bring together like-minded people, allowing a safe space to share your opinions on matters. This makes for a much more enjoyable lunch hour if you can talk about the news together without disagreeing on every subject. Also, such an environment can inspire teamwork and collaboration instead of internal competition.
• Fancy titles. In order to make up for lower wages, many nonprofits will provide you with a super fancy title that can assist you down the road, if it fits on your business card. For instance, at one time rather than being an “Executive Coordinator” my title was “Executive Coordinator of Board and Staff Relations.”
• A more casual work environment with a more relaxed dress code, flexible schedules, or even dog-friendly offices. At my current office, we all get to coo when our Executive Director brings her puppy into work.
• More generous benefits. While nonprofits are known to provide lower wages than other sectors, they do tend to offer excellent health benefits, retirement packages, and even more vacation time.

The Disadvantages

• Lower wages. This is a huge disadvantage of working for nonprofits—employees are usually paid less than comparable for profit and public positions. However, mid- to upper-level nonprofit managers in larger organizations oftentimes have similar salary ranges to comparable positions in other sectors. So if you have under five years of experience, you should plan to have a salary in the low-$30K range at a nonprofit.
• Burnout is common at nonprofits. Due to both the personal and professional investment of the employee in the mission of the nonprofit organization, oftentimes the individual will blur the line between personal and work time. While I am not burnt out yet, I oftentimes find myself taking work home and going the extra mile just because of my emotional attachment to the subject matter and cause.
• There is a larger amount of turnover at nonprofits for many reasons. People move on to better-paying jobs, go back to school, switch sectors, or burn out. Additionally, there is a lack of professional development and leadership training opportunities to continue to engage employees, which affects the organization’s ability to retain employees.
• Nonprofits lack resources and are chronically underfunded which lead organizations to rely upon volunteers or to overwork the already burnt out staff.
• It is difficult to measure success. A strong motivator is the ability to measure success, and at for-profits this can usually be easily measured in profits. However, it’s more difficult for nonprofits to measure success when success is measured in the advancement of a cause, especially when the cause requires a long-term strategy to achieve its ends.

For more information on nonprofit careers, visit Idealist.org.

We are launching this year’s first-ever fall fundraiser with a bang, or a riddle rather. While displaying the theme and all the accoutrements would be ok, we wanted to produce a little mystery for our YPCers to solve. So, while you wait with baited breath and exhausting anticipation for the many, many details to come, answer this riddle and you can receive $5 off your event ticket.  

Shorter days and longer nights 
Make for mysterious gatherings and festal sights

Relax and mingle with the unknown 
And prepare for fun we may or may not condone 

The everyday is veiled from show
When we dim the lights and turn the bass down low 

What appears anonymous on surface may be
Something familiar cloaked in secrecy  

Uncover the theme of our affair
And a discount on your ticket we will share 

What we can tell you about the event: 

Saturday, October 24 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Mars Gallery (1139 W. Fulton Market)

• Open bar and appetizers
• Raffle
• Silent auction
• Great music
• Ridiculous amounts of fun
• After party at Market with drink specials

YPC will offer reduced ticket pricing for the first 100 people to register, $30 for YPC members, $40 for non-members. Prices will go up closer to the event.

Networking’s Not Working For Me.
Guardian Money Blog
This gal says that meeting new people is fairly easy. But when the term “networking” comes up, she gets downright scared. We get it. Solution: Attend our networking workshop on September 23, and get over your fear!

Need An Economic Barometer? Check These Four Indicators.
Fast Company
Your backyard. Your underwear drawer. Your Spam. And your medicine cabinet. All four can show you just how recession-proof you are.

How To Buy Your First Home.
Money Under 30
Scary business! But it doesn’t have to be. Plus, if you act now, you can qualify for the 2009 $8,000 tax credit. Yes, you get that money IN CASH if you buy a place.

Unemployed? Now What?
Under 30 CEO
This article contains four sound pieces of advice—like reach out to every single contact you know and bite the bullet and work as a temp. Hey, it’s money. And it’s all about the benjamins, baby.

Being Real Will Get You The Job, Seriously.
Brazen Careerist
Boon Chew offers up his take on how to get a job—by being real. Plus, at the end of the article he shares all of these innovative strategies on how he’s landed jobs in the past. Thanks, Boon.

Guide To Getting Hired Quickly.
My Life ROI
This blog entry recounts and reviews an article posted on CNN’s Money website back in May. It’s still relevant though. The guy who wrote it apparently got hired in three days. Now, I’m not being a total pessimist here, but isn’t that totally lucky? Still, great tips.

Debt Douchisms.
Punch Debt In The Face
Honestly, I just like the title of this article. Okay okay, the content is relevant, too!

Kill Your Stress: Eight Stress-Busting Secrets.
Dumb Little Man
Not just physical, and not just mental, this article covers allllll the ways we can just chill out. For more ways to chill, check out my recent post on maxin’ and relaxin’.

Good Interview Tips.
Brand-Yourself.com
Not the most alluring blog title ever, but it’s true to form. Check out these eight tips for a surefire way to have a successful interview experience.

Cigarettes vs. Coffee: Which Is Financially Worse For You?
Budgets Are Sexy
Buy a pack of Camel Lights every day? Or a skinny triple mocha from Starbucks? Which is worse for your wallet? Well, since cigarettes are, like, $7000 a pack, we guess cigarettes. Although, what if you drink a lot of coffee? The jury’s out.

Our first three-day weekend in two months, and ironically enough, it’s a holiday in honor of that which we are not doing on Monday—working. Sometimes it can be awfully difficult to unwind after back-to-back meetings, the stress of commuting, and the anxious daily grind. That’s why I’ve compiled a short lil’ list of seven tips to help you relax this weekend.

Get out of the city. Go to Michigan or Wisconsin or the Indiana Dunes or downstate Illinois (I’ve always wanted to check out Starved Rock). Whatever you do, just get out of here. No more beeping car horns or smelly subways. Just you, your significant other or friends (or go by yourself if you really want to relax), a car, a cabin, and lots and lots of trees. Or hop on the Mega Bus and go visit your family, leaving your unruly dog with your roommate (I am).

Go to the Jazz Festival. If you really think about it, sadly, it’s one of the last festivals before this city turns into a frozen wasteland of wintery yuck. A stroll around Grant Park while listening to some innovative jazz tunes will do wonders for your spirits. Check out the fest from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. September 4 through 6 (that’s Friday through Sunday) in Grant Park. Best part? It’s free.

Sleep alllllll weekend. Yes. Because you deserve it. Sleep will rejuvenate those weary bones. And while you won’t have much to talk about on Tuesday at the office (except maybe your bizarre dreams), you’ll have spent your time wisely. Hey, it’s healthier than drinking all weekend. Your liver will thank you.

Get a massage. If you can afford it, do it. Anywhere will do. Many hair salons and spas offer this service same-day if you’re lucky. Or if you’re feeling a wee bit adventurous, call The New School for Massage, Bodywork, and Healing’s Student Clinic (800 N Wells) now to schedule a $35 55-minute therapeutic massage. I checked their schedule, and they still have openings for Saturday. Jump on it!

Read a book. This isn’t that daunting of a task, I promise you. We’re not talking Wuthering Heights or Nietzsche’s collected works. Just pick up a mystery or what they call a “beach read,” go to the actual beach or make yourself a cup of tea, and go to town. Something with an effortless storyline, a page-turner—that’s what you need to escape.

Laugh. Call up your funniest friend and make plans. Plan a night out on the town with some partners in crime and get into a little “trouble” (not too much trouble, you hear?). Go rent The Big Lebowski, or go see Funny People. A new study shows that laughter reduces pain. Well, guess what? It also helps you chill out.

Act like a kid again. Make yourself some Kool-Aid, eat some Spaghetti-O’s, buy some Play Doh, and resurrect your GI Joes from your mom’s storage closet. Go to Six Flags and get your picture taken with freakin’ Bugs Bunny. I don’t care. Just lighten up, and be 7-years-old again—ah those were the days, when you didn’t know what “taxes” meant and the most important vaccination was a cootie shot.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone! We’ll be back in the blogosphere on Tuesday.

Owing Mom and Dad: Debt or Gratitude?
Money Under 30
Do you know someone whose parents still pay her cell phone bill? I do. And she’s not even unemployed. This article isn’t just about trust fund babies, though. It’s about when your parents just want to give you money, too. Bring it on, mom and dad!

The Thank-You Note: Your Final Shot
Brand-Yourself.com
It’s a no-brainer that you should send a thank-you note after an interview. But the interviewer is going to get tons of thank-you notes. How should you differentiate yourself?

20 Steps to Self Employment
BusinessWeek
You don’t want to work for The Man anymore? BusinessWeek has your solution.

Twitter Tips for Job Seekers
45 Things
This article is great. Ten tips to make your tweeting stand out.

Career Watch: Millennials Make the Most of This Recession
Computer World
“If it was the Great Depression and World War II that spurred the Greatest Generation to unparalleled achievement and the Vietnam War that galvanized the younger baby boomers to action, the recession may be the very thing that will prompt the millennial generation’s rise to greatness.” This article rules.

3 Reasons to Become a Social Media Narcissist
Careerealism
Advance your EQ, gain friends who may become mentors or colleagues, and eliminate by discriminating. Read on to see why social media needs to be in your life, no matter your age. Yes, this means you, mom.

Online ID Calculator
Reach
What’s your online identity? When you Google your name, what do you find? This calculator measures how your personal brand shows up in search engine results (namely Google). Pretty cool.

Could the Recession Be Good for Your Health?
TIME
Studies show that during an economic downturn, mortality rates decrease. Traffic deaths decline (you can’t afford cabs), liver disease declines (you can’t afford a beer), and people don’t work as much (you’re probably unemployed).

The 10 Rules For Building A Successful Personal Brand
Under 30 CEO
The main thing to glean from this article is BE PASSIONATE about yourself. Oh, and obsessive compulsive? Huh?

How To Set Goals When You Have No Idea What You Want
Dumb Little Man
You’re bored. You want something, but you have no idea what that is. Dumb Little Man pulls through once again with four tips to get your goal on.