Holiday Job-Hunting

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Holiday Job-Hunting

Michelle Singletary
Thursday, December 22, 2005; 10:25 AM

According to some experts the holiday season is a great time to look for a job. The question is: Are you ready for the job interview? If not, my column today might help you.

Jeff Taylor and Doug Hardy, authors of the Color of Money Book Club selction for this month, "Monster Careers: Interviewing," offered some tips to readers whose questions weren't answered during the online chat we had last week.

For example, one reader asked: "What's the best way to find out the salary of the position being offered?"

Research the salary range by networking with friends in the profession, Taylor and Hardy say. You can also check out the salary research information on Monster's Web site, http://www.monster.com/. Click on the link for "Career Advice" and then look for "Salary Center."

"It's often best to let the interviewer mention a salary range first, although they usually frame it as a question," the authors said. "If you know generally how much the job pays, and you've determined a range you're comfortable with, you can throw out a range but make it broad -- at least 20 percent around the figure your research has determined is the market rate."

My column also includes Taylor's and Hardy's answers about the "weaknesses question," how to deal with competition, and why you almost never hear that you didn't get the job.

A Time to Look Back

If you missed my column this past Sunday, then you missed some noteworthy money matters that I highlighted from this past year. Here are just a few:

New bankruptcy rules. It's now harder to declare yourself broke. Under the law that went into effect this year, debtors have to meet a means test to be eligible for Chapter 7.

Credit reports became free to everybody. It used to be that only residents in seven states could get their credit reports for free.

Savings rate falls below zero. In October, the Department of Commerce reported a national personal-savings rate of negative 0.7 percent. That means people are spending more than they make by using credit cards, borrowing against the equity in their homes, tapping their savings or selling assets, such as stocks.

Want to catch up on other personal finance events from 2005? Then read "A Busy Year for Fiscal Fitness."

A Final Rundown on Holiday How To's

Still got shopping to do but have questions about buying online or encouraging your children to save? Then Don Oldenburg's column from this past Sunday ("Best of the Holiday Bullhorn") is a quick read with last-minute holiday advice.

For instance, if you're still shopping online, be careful, Oldenburg warns. Here are some of his tips:

Buy only on secure Web sites (the beginning of the site's address changes to "shttp" or "https" when you're ordering).

Make sure online retailers have a name and a physical address.

Keep documentation of orders (confirmation page or e-mail). Track deliveries (federal law requires orders made by mail, phone or online be shipped by the date promised, or when none's stated within 30 days -- or you can cancel and demand a refund).

Lastly, Oldenburg recommends you visit http://www.staysafeonline.org/ and http://www.onguardonline.gov/ for more on keeping your computer secure.

In a Humbug Mood?

If this time of year puts you in a consumerist funk, then you have got to read Libby Copeland's take on the shopping as a hunting sport. ("If Not Sublime, Then Silly: Holiday Shoppers Are the Hunter-Gatherers of the American Economy," Dec. 19)

Shopping is much like hunting, Copeland writes: "Acquisition feels good; desire begets desire. On these Saturdays before Christmas, we start early and go till it's dark, our arms heavy like we've accomplished something, and perhaps we have. Another animal might have collected nuts for the winter. We collect 'atomic' clocks and decorative candles."

Copeland sums the holiday season this way: "Shopping defines the American Christmas, but the real point is that shopping defines America."

Ends and Odds for the Year

Well, folks, this is the last newsletter for 2005. But before I bid you adieu, I just wanted to share some of my most noteworthy columns of the past year.

"Spend and Save Don't Go Together" (Oct. 30)

"In Crisis Mode, Turn To Your Tax Return" (Sept. 11)

"Persistent Money Myths" (July 10)

"Calculator Helps Determine How Much Savings You'll Need at Retirement" (Feb. 10)

"The Most Important Financial Number" (March 17)

"Free Life Insurance, and No, There's No Catch" (June 16)

Of course I love all the books I've selected this year but here are some of my favorites:

The March and April selections are both great since they deal entirely with retirement: "The Retirement Catch-Up Guide: 54 Real-Life Lessons to Boost Your Future Resources Now!" by Ellen Hoffman (Newmarket Press, $22.95) -- "real-life examples of people who were able to play retirement catch-up" -- and "The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life" by Jan Cullinane and Cathy Fitzgerald (Rodale, $19.95), an essential book for the new or soon-to-be retiree.

Since I write a lot about students, financial aid and student debt, I thought this one would be a great addition to your library if you have college-age kids: "Take Control of Your Student Debt" by Robin Leonard and Deanne Loonin (Nolo, $26.95). This book "is an easy-to-understand guide to the complex and often overwhelming process of the federal student loan program. ... You can pick and choose which parts serve your needs."

And from November, the book that generated the most offensive comments ever in the history of the Color of Money Book Club: "Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?" by Michael Eric Dyson (Basic Civitas Books, $23.00).

(Most of the authors also joined me for online chats to answer reader questions: Hoffman, Cullinane, Loonin and Dyson.)

You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.