Getting Paid What You're Worth- Create the Right Resume

This actually suprises a lot of people (I don't know why), but I have a business degree. There's a lot you can do to increase your chances of getting that job. Maybe you're looking to upgrade or just land a position after some time at home.

The Killer Resume

Your resume is your very first chance to make a really good impression. Make sure that there aren't any typos, grammatical errors or spelling mistakes in it. You should do more than just the usual spell check of it. Print it out and really look it over. It's a lot easier to see errors when it’s on paper in front of you than after your eyes are tired from staring at the computer screen for hours.

Also, it’s a good idea to have a friend or mentor proofread it.If you really must, have someone professionally complete it, but stay away from lots of different colours and flashy print. Also, make sure the person you’re employing to do your resume actually speaks your language very well. There are a lot of people out there charging money to complete resumes in broken English, as well as other languages.

Have Multiple Resumes

Just one version of your resume won't be enough. You need the right resume for all the jobs you apply for. It's better to tailor it to an opening rather than to write one and spam dozens of managers with it. Also, use the keywords that appear in the job ad to describe your skills. It’s a personal touch that will pay big dividends.The biggest mistake people make on a resume is they think everything they've ever done needs to be in there. The resume is just the bait to get you the interview, so don’t make it pages and pages long complete with the lemonade stall you had when you were nine years old.

Managers prefer it when you describe your accomplishments instead of listing your daily responsibilities. This will always set you apart from the competition, which can be fierce. Quantify those accomplishments when possible. Describe what you made, saved and achieved for the firm.

The Interview

Once you get an interview, make sure that you dress professionally. Men should consider wearing a suit and tie and women a nice top with either slacks or a skirt. It doesn't matter if the company's typical attire is casual; you are there to make an impression.

Nothing frustrates recruiters more than when a candidate doesn't know anything at all about the company they want a job with. Before the interview, do some homework and learn all you can about the company's products, services and their competition, too. Check out the organization’s Web site to see what the latest news is.All this information is priceless when the hiring manager asks why you want the job and you can explain how you'll be an ideal fit for the position.

Common interview mistakes include asking about vacation policy before you've actually been offered the job, long answers that never really address the question (like you used to offer in High School), trying to dominate the interview and even answering calls on your mobile phone during the interview process (that includes texting).

Many managers will ask questions like, "Tell me about a challenge on your last job that you had to overcome?"

Good questions for you to ask are,"Can you tell me about the person who held this job before me, what successes did they have?”

When an interviewer asks, "Tell me about yourself?" It’s just an ice breaker. So practice a very short life story prior to the interview. Try to find something that will stick in the interviewer’s mind, maybe you’ve recently studied a new language or completed a triathlon.

The Numbers

As for discussions on salary, don't discuss this type of thing until you've actually been offered the job. If you blurt out a number before the interview, you could take yourself out of the running.

After they’ve seen how good you are talk numbers.If the interviewer asks what your current salary is, it’s probably because they don’t know how to negotiate. Ask if you are being offered the position and, if you are, you’re certain that a salary that both of you feel comfortable with can be negotiated. Then ask if a salary is budgeted.

Obtaining Your Credit Report

I’ve been living in Australia for a while now and I’m noticing more and more how much junk mail I’m receiving in the post. Fact is, once you’re in the system you’re vulnerable to mistakes and illegal activity, so it makes a lot of sense to check your credit report.

So how do I get a copy of my credit report and transaction history?

You can contact the credit reporting agencies located in Australia (or any other country) to obtain a copy of your credit reports, and it’s usually a free service. You will be asked to provide some information to enable them to identify you, so be ready with things like:

your full name
your address
your date of birth
your previous address
your driver's licence number.

There are two main credit reporting agencies in Australia. Their contact details are:
Veda Advantage Public AccessPO Box 964North Sydney NSW 2059Phone:1300 762 207Fax: (02) 9951 7880URL: http://www.mycreditfile.com.au/Email:assist.au@vedaadvantage.com

Dun & BradstreetPublic Access CentreDun & Bradstreet (Australia) P/LPO Box 7405St Kilda Road VIC 3004Phone: 132 333Fax: 03 9828 3185URL: http://dnb.com.au/Credit_Reporting/Order_my_consumer_report/index.aspxEmail:customerservice@dnb.com.auPeople living in Tasmania can also contact:Tasmanian Collection Service:GPO Box 814HHobart TAS 7001Phone: 03 6213 5555Fax: 03 6234 2988URL: http://www.tascol.com.au/reports.htmEmail: enquiries@tascol.com.au

Reducing Credit Card Debt The Easy Way

Saving money is certainly very tough these days. Especially when you start to factor in bank and credit provider charges with the interest rates they already charge. These additional charges will suck the life out of you! Some of the things these organizations think of to charge you for are amazing, and many bank and credit card charges have been heavily criticised by consumer watchdogs like Consumer Affairs of Fair Trading Departments all over the world. Go over your limit and you'll be slugged with a huge fee, make a payment late and ditto. Pay over the counter and some will even charge you!

It takes me back to my Grandfather and some of his many words of wisdom. 'Never get into debt unless it's to buy a house', was him at his most sage like.

Now before all the bank lovers out there (bank employees) charge into a song about a bank's right to do this and that after my first paragraph, let me ask you people how a bank justifies a $40 charge for a late fee when they're already slugging the customer with interest!

Case Study: Moi

I had a good history with a credit card company who recently cancelled my account because they said my payment was late. I'd been with this company for around 10 years without missing a payment and amassed around a $6.5K balance. When I changed bank accounts and tried to change direct debit details they lost my information. A big enough concern when you consider the risk of identity theft.



As I tried to discuss the issue with the company they sold my debt to a third party. A collection organisation who were very hostile to say the least. That collector promptly sent me one of those letters demanding payment before they take legal action, unleash the hounds of hell and sacrifice my soul to the bank gods.

My reaction was Callahan-esque. I rang them and basically told them to 'Go ahead and make my day'! Then I rang the Fair Trading Department and complained.

My husband's response was probably the most unsettling of all. "No more shoes on the credit card for a while, " He said, attempting to hide his amusement. Does he think I'm Sarah Jessica Parker or something?

Due Process

After contacting the Fair Trading Department the debt collection organisation was unable to continue their strong-arm tactics while the whole mess was looked at. This allowed me a little breathing space and stopped the collectors racking up late charges and any other charge they could think of.

After a few weeks of information going back and forward, the company involved started to back off a little and suggested a 'settlement'. This was quite a turn around when you consider the tough talk they had started out with, wanting me to either write them a cheque there and then for the 6.5k or organise a new loan through them at a much higher interest rate.

"Could you pay 4k?" They asked.

I nearly choked. Two and a half thousand saved off my credit card debt if I could settle, that's one heck of a discount! Hard-working husband was suitably impressed as well.

Identity Theft in America

Identity Theft

Identity theft has reached plague proportions in the United States. So much so that in many surveys, Americans indicated that they fear Identity theft more than the usual top concerns like burglary.

With the pressure of identity theft being used to commit crimes like terrorism, America has been trying desperately to overhaul its privacy laws and bring all of its states onto the same page with its new Real ID laws.

Despite the positives of Real ID many Americans see negatives associated with privacy concerns. What consumers seem to be preferring, is the concept of insurance and /or retaining a company to watchdog their credit history and alert them if something has gone wrong.

Identity Guard

Enter Identity Guard, one of many players in America’s war against identity theft and fraud.

There’s a host of companies providing identity theft protection, but what attracted me to Identity Guard was their attitude towards online protection of their client’s identity, which will make it ideal for heavy users of the internet and wireless modems which pose a huge security risk. Identity Guard does all this ;

• Daily credit bureau monitoring, email alerts plus unlimited toll free customer service
• Daily monitoring of the Internet’s “black market” and “back alley” chat rooms.
• Daily scanning of all three credit bureaus with reports, scores and quarterly updates
• Public record reporting, scanning for application and social security fraud, and more.
  

Whilst the internet does pose a new risk of fraud and identity theft to its users, by far the most cases of identity theft and fraud are committed by stealing information the old-fashioned way - stealing bills or watching people entering their details like pin numbers. Sensitive information like birth details, Social Security numbers and credit card details are like gold to fraudsters.

The Crimes they Commit

Identity theft can happen in seconds and once a criminal has hold of a few details they can do a lot of damage. In fact, many victims of identity theft don’t actually know that someone else is using their details until it’s too late.

Criminals often open new credit cards in your name and change the bill delivery address to something else so that the victim cannot see the totals building. And, they can spend a victim’s money fast!

There are cases of criminals taking out home or car loans in someone else’s name, claiming scholarships to study or simply using the details to gain employment.

When an identity thief uses another person’s details to gain employment, it’s likely that they are an illegal immigrant. The consequences for the victim are the IRS contacting them expecting income tax on wages they never earned.

Victims can spend years trying to clear their name and repair their credit history, sometimes this isn’t successful. Some people even face jail for the crimes of a doppleganger using their name.

It’s frightening how fast an identity thief can destroy a person’s life emotionally and financially and this is exactly why companies like Identity Guard are prospering.

http://www.identityguard.com/ for more details

Credit-Reports

What is in a credit report?

Your personal credit report may include details like; past addresses, previous employment history, current employment, credit applications, overdue accounts, judgments, clear outs, crossed or linked files, name changes and bankruptcies etc.

You can sometimes Improve your credit report by disputing mistakes and they do sometimes contain unfair mistakes. This may allow you to obtain a loan you would be otherwise refused, lower your current interest rates and lower upfront and ongoing fees.

Many people believe that credit ratings can be improved by borrowing small amounts, obtaining low interest credit cards or even paying back debt.

Unfortunately, Australia is one of the few countries in the world that follows a negative credit reporting system.

The Australia. system only records negative occurrences, there is no positive credit to balance any small negatives. When you pay your old debts, the negative credit stays. It’s like a life sentence.Therefor, your paid negative listing is no better than anyone else’s unpaid negative listing.

This means a person will not get much further by doing the right thing and paying the old debt.Then, when it comes time for you to apply for credit, the credit provider taps your name into their computer to determine your suitability for the loan and bingo, there you are for something that happened years before.

The whole process can be assessed by algorithms, with limited human input and the result is often a ‘no‘ with no way for you to reason with the person giving you the bad news.When your name pops up on the computer screen with the smallest of blemishes the provider can reject you if you, even a missed phone bill can stop you getting a loan sometimes.

It’s a little known fact that when you make any application for a mobile phone on a contract, or maybe apply for an interest free store offer, you may have consented for your particulars to be given to a credit reporting agency.These enquiries include almost every application for credit including personal loans, credit and store cards.

22,953 bankruptcies were declared in Australia during 2005. The reality is that many bankruptcies are avoidable, this is due to a variety of options now available to debtors that many people know little about. It is possible to stop the harassing phone calls and letters, freeze the interest on your loans, postpone your payments and most importantly recover from a stressful life of debts.

There are over 13 million credit reports held in Australia, 1.5 million contain defaults.

What is a debt agreement?

A debt agreement resolves your debt without you becoming bankrupt. It’s a legally binding arrangement with creditors and stops the harassing phone calls and letters. You can freeze payments and interest upon acceptance, release you from your debt and pay less than you owe, put a hold on payments and even transfer assets or property such as cars, from your name to your creditors.A debt agreement may also allow the repayments to become affordable.