Today’s career paths no longer follow a linear trajectory. Unlike your parents’ or grandparents’ careers, people no longer enter a job believing they’ll stay with that employer for the long haul. Employers have come to understand that career paths are seldom a straight line, and if candidates display a seemingly unrelated job history, it no longer carries a stigma but shows that they — like anyone with a bit of mettle — are multi-dimensional.  This new world of expanded versions of job experience lends itself more to a career portfolio than a career path. Some may have run across portfolios in schools or colleges where they’ve been utilized to grade students based on “artifacts” and accomplishments — whether related or tangential to their [...]

You don’t have to look far to find people who seem to be living the high life. In both social and traditional media, the affluent lifestyle appears to be more the rule than the exception. While not always truthful, it’s part of the posturing that takes place in our rabidly consumer-driven society. In fact, nearly two-thirds of Americans find themselves living paycheck to paycheck and don’t have the means to spend money frivolously. If you’re among them, it can be difficult when you’re wishing to experience a prosperous standard of living. When I first started out, I lived from paycheck to paycheck and it was frightening. I know I overspent sometimes, which is why I developed some tips to stop the behavior.  The [...]