Career advice for the young (or anybody else)

A couple of days ago, a young student approached me and asked me for some career advice. The student wanted to understand a little more about what banking and finance is about, and how it measures up in terms of their “dream job“. I was very impressed with this young student, because unlike many of their peers, they were actually trying to look at their future and start planning. This student, to be fair, is part of an advanced group of students. They get tutoring as part of their regular school day, they have additional instruction in note-taking and other study skills, and they are in advanced Math and English classes. They have a leg up over many students already. This young person seemed to have a leg up on even this group.

There was another teacher in the room at the time, who had worked in a similar field in her younger years, and we both shared some of the upsides and downsides, many of the really funny incidents, and some of the sad, sobering, almost depressing parts of our former jobs. See, no job is truly perfect. There are some good parts and bad parts, and much of adult life is about learning to deal with the bad parts while preparing for, waiting for, and whenever possible working to create the good parts.

And while just that much would have been a good enough lesson, that isn’t the main point of this post.

If you have been doing your job as a parent or concerned party of a young person, there is likely to be a point where they will ask you about career advice themselves. How you respond, what you say and how you say it, and your timing are crucial.

Once a young person asks your advice about future careers, they are putting the trust of their future in your hands!

So how do you respond?

“Follow your bliss!”

Some parents think this is great advice. They want their children to be happy in whatever they do. I’m not going to say that this approach doesn’t have any merit because I know that all parents want their children to be happy. Hell! I’m not even a parent, and I want other people’s children to be happy in their career. Happy people generally don’t make as many mistakes, and tend to do their jobs much better overall than their less happy peers. If that’s all it takes to be able to go to Taco Bell and not get my order screwed up or just ugly, then follow that bliss.

But there is a slight downside. For many kids, their bliss is playing video games or taking obnoxious pictures of themselves for Facebook. True, with a little creativity and some luck, you can make a career out of either of those, but neither has that ring of career aspirations that would make a parent proud.

 

“Follow the family!”

Okay, if “the family” is really The Family, I’m staying out of this argument altogether! But assuming that we’re talking about parents like my mom, who truly believe that following in the family business or doing the same job as your parents is a good thing, there’s a lot to be said for this method too. There is nothing wrong with upholding the traditions of your family, taking advantage of the skills and training from what may be generations of people who have done a job with love and with pride. I kind of like to believe that I’m in my family’s business as a teacher because my grandfather was a teacher in his home country. I get that I’m probably stretching a bit, but it makes me feel good.

But what if, like me with my mom, the family business just isn’t a good fit? Even if I went into my mom’s business of nursing and caring for the sick, that isn’t me either. One of my brothers works construction. He has three daughters that all together probably don’t have the upper body strength required to do what he does, plus it isn’t a very feminine job, and his daughters are very feminine girls. Should they, and I, have taken a job that we don’t enjoy? Even if it means that we will suck at it and embarrass the very people we were trying to please by doing the job in the first place?

“What’s important to you?”

The way I approached my student was to ask what was important to them. What are they looking for in a career? We also talked about what skills they felt they might want to strengthen. As we talked, I was able to throw a few different ideas their way, and as what they said changed, I was able to change my suggestions to fit their evolving priorities. Keeping in mind that this student is very young, and their priorities will change several times between now and when they become an adult, it was more important to get them to think in terms of what they want out of a job than it was to try to stuff them in a hole that might become a bad fit later on.

Is there a downside to this? Sure, I guess that the student might have felt a little unfulfilled when they came to a trusted advisor with the hopes of getting a concrete suggestion. I guess that walking away from a conversation where you hope to get answers with nothing but more questions can be annoying. I’m okay with that because this student needs the opportunity to decide things about themselves before they are going to be ready to plop down for a career that might last them the rest of their lives.

I don’t know why, but as I was having my conversation with my student, I kept thinking that someday they’d be alright.  Of course, one of my favorite songs about someday is this one, and while it is a sad song, and possibly a little depressing, I’ve always enjoyed it and I hope you do too.  Enjoy!

 

WTF about Bank Transfer Day?

November 5^th 2011 has been designated by the great and popular ones as Bank Transfer Day. Facebook has a whole group dedicated to the idea that people should close their bank accounts at major banks and open accounts at smaller, regional banks and credit unions. Because of the way the calendar works out, many financial institutions will be promoting this heavily for Friday November 4^th, which is one week from today. Many are planning hootenannies with balloon animals and popcorn carts or whatever cheesy marketing stunts their marketing whizzes can come up with. Because of my unique perspective as one who knows a little something about these things, I’ve been in many conversations about the Events of Bank Transfer Day with peers, family members, and even friends.

 

First, before I share my opinion, let’s look at what BTD is. Angered by large financial institutions that are planning on adding fees to services that have been traditionally free to customers and members, many of the same people who are occupying places in protest have decided to prove a point by closing their accounts at the large institutions in favor of smaller ones.

I’m all for free speech, and I especially am supportive of the idea of reviewing your banking situation to see if you are dealing with an institution that is best serving your needs. Further, I think Bank of America specifically sucks a very large bag of…, well, let’s just say that I’m no FAN! That being said, I’m not sure of the wisdom of jumping on a bandwagon to prove a point. I think many people make rash or quick decisions and later on regret these decisions. When changing financial institutions, the potential for real regret is very low, but not absent.

So I guess what I’m saying is go for it! I’ve talked about some things to keep in mind when considering a new financial institution HERE, and also HERE. For those of you who have read FINANCE FOR YOUTH: THE BOOK, you may remember that I dedicated a whole chapter to selecting the best financial institution. In part, what I said was this:

Do a little research first, and when you visit branch offices, go in ready

to ask questions until you are satisfied with the answers. Decide what’s

important to you when it comes to a financial institution.

And,

Treat your initial visits to a bank or credit union like a job interview for

them. Weed through any that don’t have everything you want and you will be

left with a more manageable list of candidates. If you don’t like the answers

they are giving, you can leave quickly without wasting a lot of time.

And even,

Above all, don’t feel pressured to open an account just because of a

strong sales person. There is a phrase that you might have heard before

about putting all of one’s eggs in one basket; and this is true. Look at the

benefits for you opening an account, and go with the one that offers the

most for the least money (fees!).

If you haven’t yet read Finance For Youth: The Book, what are you waiting for?!?! Get to clickin’ on the link above to get your copy and one for a friend in time for the holidays! Aside from the above, I spend a whole chapter talking about things you need to know to make a good decision about the future of your financial institution.

So, take this week to interview a new financial institution, or ten. If you are getting feed for something that should be free, find an institution that can accommodate your needs, or reevaluate your hierarchy of financial needs. Kick the tires, ask questions, be a pest. If after all that, you decide that Financial Institution X is better than Financial institution 4, switch. But don’t switch because of a protest movement. Don’t switch because some hipster on TV said you should, or because you saw a video with some character wearing a Guy Fawkes’ mask from V for Vendetta ranting about the evils of banks. Do it because it makes sense and because you will ultimately benefit from doing so.

So after spending most of this post telling you not to get all amped up by the protest movements and the protesters, I could think of no better way to illustrate the silliness of making rash decisions than by having Flava Flav and Public Enemy performing “Fight the Power”.  Enjoy!

Oh! I wish I didn’t have to see his Weiner…,

This week, I was working with a middle school class and I was asked what my opinion was of “The Weiner Thing”. Okay, I’ll admit that my first instinct was to make inappropriate jokes that were at the level of the student asking me. My second instinct was to make another, even worse, joke. I think my exact words were something along the lines of “I love it. I carry it with me all the time.” I told you, these are my first instincts. Eventually, I came around to answering the very serious and encouraging question asked by a student who hasn’t demonstrated (up till now) an engagement with current events. I’m posting a response more for the parents who might have questions to answer from kids who hear or see news (mostly accidentally), or who are force-fed a line by the government school system (it happens way more than you want to believe).

First, let’s get straight what this post isn’t about. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Conservative, based mostly on economic positions. On a personal level, I don’t like Anthony Weiner because I disagree with his politics. I’m not terribly interested in this subject. All that being said, the “Weiner Thing” is really about two separate and wholly unequal issues. One is incidental, and one is very important. Let’s start with the former.

The Facts:

-Congressman Anthony Weiner has, by his own admission, sent what are considered to be inappropriate pictures of himself to Twitter Followers.

-He has done this both before and after his marriage.

-He accidentally broadcast a picture of his junk in underwear through Twitter.

Those are the facts of the issue that are not important. See, Weiner is an adult. If he wants to display his shortcomings to the world via Twitter, FaceBook, or a Billboard in New York, this is his right and prerogative to do so. Weiner would like to leave this post at that, but then there is the little problem of the second issue, which is important.

Some More Facts:

-Congressman Weiner is one of 500+ people who make the rules of the Country. He should be held to a standard of ethical behavior and honesty.

-He repeatedly lied about what isn’t really that big a deal.

-(Pardon the pun) He was a real dick in the way he dealt with the media.

-He didn’t know the people he sent the pictures to.

This is important to young people because aside from the jokes and the overly jaded political ideologues out there, young people are told that they should trust those in authority. They should be able to look up to “officials”, and emulate their behavior. At the very least, they should believe that those in authority are smart enough to know that you shouldn’t send pictures of your junk to strangers, and especially not to people who may be under-aged.

Further, the Weiner debacle serves as a cautionary tale against arrogance. He might be destroying his career because of the way he approached the media, first in his lie, and later in his arrogance.

When further asked if I thought Weiner should be fired or jailed, here are my thoughts on that. I live in California, not New York. I’m never going to be in a position where Anthony Weiner will be on my ballot. His behavior certainly will have repercussions with his wife, the House of Representatives, and with his constituents in New York, my involvement ends at helping young people to learn to avoid the mistakes that Weiner made.

 

 

Broken Resolutions? Great, now let’s get to work!

Okay, maybe you’ve already broke your New Year’s Resolution to get in better shape. You probably have broken many of your resolutions. Just this Monday, I had a student tell me that they broke their new year’s resolution to be on time to school. Monday was the students’ first day back after winter break.

The reason I refused to name specific resolutions for New Year’s is because so many resolutions fail. Rather than look sad like my friend here, now you have the opportunity to get off your butt and do something. Just don’t call it a resolution!

Getting in shape is the most popular resolution. Getting out of debt and being better with money was up there. Guess which one I care more about?

• Understand that learning about finance, much like getting in better physical shape, is a process, not a simple declaration. Take small steps. Right now, you are young enough to make a real effort, and even to make a few missteps once in a while. Don’t give up already.
  
• Don’t get hung up on titles or artificial definitions. You want to learn to be better with money than your friends and some members of your family. You don’t need to say that you are going to be “debt-free” in 2011, unless you really think this is a goal that is attainable and worthy of attaining. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with wanting to avoid debt, but don’t lose sight of the bigger picture of being happy and living a fulfilling life.
  
• While this is an individual journey, you don’t have to always be alone. If you don’t have friends or family that will go on a similar journey, find people that have already been there or who are on the fence about starting their own. There are tons of Finance blogs out there where this is their whole approach. Check out my blogroll for several of what I consider to be the best examples. Check out my Twitter followers for others.
  
• Do not ignore the benefit of doing your homework. Just like in math, science, or any other class in school, you don’t have all the answers. You have access to them, but you have to do the work. Reading these articles will help, reading and re-reading finance for youth: the book will also get you there. Frankly, there are several other writers out there who might resonate more with you that will help. I don’t care where you get the information (as long as it is accurate), just that you get it and read it.
  
• Practice what you learn. There is a huge difference between reading books about Bruce Lee and taking martial arts lessons. I’ve done both. The books were great, but they never helped me to defend myself when I needed to. You need to practice the skills I teach you here or else you won’t be able to use them when you need to. Nowhere in the world of f4y do I tell you how to handle every situation. I have no intentions of changing that. I give you guidelines and basic skills. It is up to you to adapt what I teach you into something that serves you in other situations.
  

There are no guarantees in life, which means you could do everything right and some stupid thing or another could screw it up anyway. It also means that you may succeed even if you do nothing. I’m suggesting ways to increase the probability that you can succeed, and instead of being like my friend above, you can be more like his idol here. Notice how through following my advice, from a very young age, he is now in fantastic shape to succeed. I hope the same for you!

So instead of wallowing in whatever failure you think you are guilty of because you couldn’t stick to something as weighty as a New Year’s resolution, start tonight to build in a determined, planned, reasoned out, regiment to succeed. I’ve got a feeling that you might succeed after all!

 

 

Finance For Youth: The Contest!

This is just a quick post to tell you about the contest that is going from now till the end of September.  If you ask a question here, or on my TWITTER account, or FACEBOOK, or even email, you will be entered in a random drawing for a signed copy of Finance For Youth: The Book.  Got the rules?

1. Ask a question anywhere on Finance For Youth.
2. Your name is entered in a random drawing.
3. At the end of September, I pull a name, contact the winner, and send you a signed copy of Finance For Youth:  The Book.

Simple, no? (Oohh!  That’s one for me?)

Some of you might not be as super-excited to win a signed copy of my book, but it beats the heck out of being the winner in this song.