And this is GREAT NEWS.

Why? Because it means that with just the tiniest bit of consideration and work, you should be able to absolutely crush your next job search.

Not too long ago, I was involved in a search for an entry-level marketing position. When I posted the job, I braced for the flood of resumes to pour in. Times still aren’t great; a lot of people looking for work.

I’m not naïve: I expected to get a lot of crap resumes because one place we posted the position was on an untargeted regional job website.

What I didn’t expect is just how many potentially qualified applicants would be TERRIBLE at applying for a job.

From my entirely unscientific personal experience, I’ve categorized the five types of incompetent job applicants. I’ll describe these guys below and talk about how you can avoid being one of them and, in general, be better than 95% of your competition the next time you apply for a job.

#1: The Blind Squirrels

Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut (but probably not a job in a recession).

These days, when an employer posts a job, they will get dozens of applicants who also apply to every single other job they come across. The blind squirrels are the job applicant version of spammers. Spray and pray. Why anybody thinks this works is beyond me. They’re hopeless.

#2: The Sloths

The next level of job applicant amateurs are people who could possibly be qualified for the job but who make no effort to go above and beyond the bare minimum. The send:

• No cover letter (or a generic one)
• Nothing in their resume that addresses the job’s specific requirements.

About 95% of applicants for this job DID NOT include a cover letter! We didn’t consider any of them. Keep that statistic in mind. Whenever you think you’re up against tough competition, remember that most people will exert only average or below average effort. If you can do more than that, you’ve already eliminated up to 95% of your competition.

#3: The Me-Me-Mes

When a job applicant takes the time to write a thoughtful cover letter and perhaps even tailor his or her resume to the position, that person is miles ahead of the sloths and squirrels. But there are still plenty of blunders that will ensure the applicant will never get a call back about the job.

Think of this: many hiring managers are going through hundreds of applications a day. They have seconds to spend on each one. What this means is they first look for any reason to immediately disqualify you. No cover letter? Gone. Typos? Forget about it. Still have an AOL email address? That could hurt you, too.

But you may also be sabotaging your own application by focusing too much on yourself.

It’s important to self-promote; you must be able to confidently project your experience and talents. But you can easily take this too far. You see, here’s the golden rule of applying for a job: You want to show the prospective employer, as specifically as possible, how YOU can solve their problems.

The employer does not necessarily care about your 3.9 GPA. What they care about is how you’ll get them more customers or cut their expenses or support an executive so she can be more productive.

This mistake is especially grave in the first paragraph of a cover letter.

Let’s look at some examples:

After an inspiring and rewarding academic career at Some University and experience working for Some Company, I am looking to provide marketing support in a business setting. It would be a wonderful opportunity to be considered a strong candidate for this position.

This is about as bad as it gets. For one, the first sentence just rehashes what we should be able to learn from his resume. And it’s about him. As a hiring manager, I’m thinking: So what? What can you do for me? The second sentence is worse. I’m sure it would be wonderful (for you) to be considered for this position. But it’s not going to happen. You’ve just wasted 30 seconds of my time.

I am writing to you with sincere interest in the marketing position advertised. I am currently looking to take my five years of marketing experience in the non-profit sector and transition into a solid business environment with room for growth.

See a pattern yet? As a first line, it’s OK to state what position you’re applying to, especially at a large employer with many vacancies. Better? Put it in the file name or subject line. In the second sentence, we again she the applicant restate her experience and then state what she’s looking for. Again, I don’t care. At least not yet. As a rule of thumb, save the stories about why you’re applying for the job (you need a new challenge, you need more money, you slept with your old boss and now it’s awkward, etc.) for the interview.

Don’t be a Me-Me-Me. Make your cover letter about the employer. What can you do for them?

#4: The Ignoramuses

There’s an old anecdote about applicants to IBM who can’t answer the interviewer’s question: “What does IBM stand for?”

Now that we have the Internet, there’s NO EXCUSE not to research a company before you apply. I’ll make this quick:

• DO NOT apply for a job without spending at least 10 minutes learning about the company online.
• DO NOT go to an interview without spending at least a couple hours researching the company, customers, and the industry.

If you don’t, you’ll look like a dumbass, and you probably won’t get the job.

#5: The “I Dunno”s

When you talk to a prospective employer—whether it’s at a formal interview or on an introductory phone call—it’s game time.

You just made it past the most difficult stage of the job search…convincing the employer to give you a call. Now you really don’t want to screw yourself!

When the employer asks you a question—even a dumb question—give a thoughtful answer.

Duh, right?

You’d be surprised how many people say “I don’t know”.

Are a lot of interview questions bullshit? Absolutely. But if you want the job, you still have to answer them.

Interviewer: Where do you want to be in five years?

Applicant: “I don’t know.”

What’s your biggest weakness?

“I don’t know.”

What’s your dream job?

“I don’t know yet. I want to try a lot of things.”

If I’m interviewing, I might let one I don’t know slide if I like you. But any more than that, you’re cooked. I’d rather get an awful answer than I don’t know.

Interviewer: Where do you want to be in five years?

Applicant: “Retired.”

What’s your biggest weakness?

“I’m pretty lazy and require a lot of supervision to get anything done.”

What’s your dream job?

“Your job.”

These are not the best answers to these cliché interview questions, but they’re better than no answer at all.

Here’s the bottom line. When asked an interview question:

• Give an answer.
• A considered answer.
• If you need to, ask for time to think.

In interviews I’ve been on, I’ve created a lot of awkward silences.  But I’ve followed them up with kickass answers.

(Note: This goes for phone interviews too! Employers use short phone interviews to screen candidates. In other words, they want to make sure they’re not wasting their time by having you in for an interview. Take phone interviews seriously; put your game face on.)

YOU KNOW THIS STUFF, NOW USE IT

Earlier this week I asked Money Under 30 Facebook fans for the best interviewing or job searching advice they’ve received. Look at some of the answers:

I highlighted a few things, some of which we just talked about.

My point?

You know this stuff!

If you’ve ever met with a career office or gotten interviewing advice, somebody has told you these things before. But based on my experience, 95% of people aren’t doing them!

If you want to improve your odds of getting an interview and landing a job, don’t the people I described above. Instead, do this:

1. Focus your job search

Work backwards. Define 1) the type of job you want and 2) the type of company you want to work for. Decide how picky you’ll be. If you just need a job—any job—to get by, define instead 1) your skills and 2) all the kinds of jobs that you at which you can apply those skills.

2. Do your homework and prepare

Let’s say you find some jobs you want to apply for. Get to know those companies. Network. Use social media to connect with the companies.

Now, write a kickass resume. Then, make a spreadsheet of the jobs you want to apply for to track your progress.

3. Apply carefully

Let’s say you’re looking for work full time. If you spend two hours on four job applications a day  you will have better results than if you spend a half hour on 16. You can take this even further. If I found a job that I really wanted, I would probably spend more than 8 hours researching the company, thinking of ways to network, and tailoring my application material to the job.

At the very least:

• Write a custom cover letter that talks about how you will solve the company’s problems.
• Tailor your resume to the job. Put your most relevant experience at the top.

At interview time, put your game face on.

Interviews are a big deal, and you should consider every detail.

Yes, what you wear is important, but what you say is even more important. Spend several hours preparing answers to questions you expect to receive and writing out questions to ask the company. Again, prepare to discuss ways you can solve the employer’s problems.

Finally, remember that interviewing is a two way street. You need to be prepared to sell yourself, but you should also listen carefully and ask questions to validate that the job is a good fit for you.

I think that’s enough for today.

But what about you? What have you learned about job searching or interviewing that would help others? Share your advice in a comment!

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Today, I asked Amber to write about how you can use social networking accounts to help your career. (At the very least, if your Facebook profile photo includes a Solo cup, it’s time to change it.) But we’ll go way past that to help you take some simple steps that will up your online presence in ways that could pay off big at work down the road. And later this week check back for my post “How NOT to apply for a job”.  Speaking from experience hiring people, I’ll share some things you can do that will make you better than 95% of your competition when you apply for a job.  Until then, here’s Amber:

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True story: I was at work the other day chatting on the phone with a colleague. As our conversation was wrapping up, he said “Oh, by the way; I Googled your name the other day when I was looking for your e-mail address. I found your Twitter account and blog.”

It was the first time my two worlds had collided: my online career and my “real-world” career.

Aside from being flattered that somebody Googled me, my colleague’s discovery was a wake-up call . We simply cannot ignore the impact social media has on our real-life and, in particular, our career.

YOU WILL BE GOOGLED 

Has somebody in your work world Googled you? Share your story in a comment. If it hasn’t happened yet, you simply have to expect that—if they want to—anyone can and will find you online.

Today, Facebook has over 800 million users and Twitter isn’t far behind with 200 million.

But social media isn’t just about tweeting a picture of your dog’s new sweater or tagging your  friend in an embarrassing picture on Facebook.  Recruiters and employers are using Facebook and other social media to monitor employees, discover new talent, and even make hiring decisions.

Although it should be obvious that being sloppy with what you post on Facebook could  cost you a job. Many party photos have cost candidates job offers or worse, gotten employees fired. Others have been dooced: fired because of their blog or Website.

But even though there are things in your social media profile that can hurt your career, social media can help your career.  

1. PREPARE YOUR SOCIAL ACCOUNTS

In 2011, 89% of companies will use social media networks for recruiting according to the infographic below by CareerEnlightenment.com.

That means that nearly 9 out of 10 companies are now recruiting via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Getting involved with these companies via these networks can help you spot new positions and connect with employees who can refer you to new positions or even to hiring managers themselves.

In addition to recruiting online, once you actually apply for a job, there’s a 20% chance that your prospective employer will research you on various social media networks.

This means that you’ve got to do two essential things if you’re on the job hunt:

1. Clean up your social media networks. Be perfectly comfortable having a potential employer see everything on your profile. Do NOT assume that just because a scandalous photo is shared “by friends only” that an employer won’t see it.
2. Get connected with potential employers. If you have a certain company in mind—or already applied for a job there— follow that company on Twitter, “Like” them on Facebook, or get connected with them on LinkedIn to increase your chances of being noticed.

2. CREATE A DIGITAL RESUME

The traditional black-and-white, one-page resume is out; digital resumes are in.

If you’re searching for jobs and you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, it’s time to get one. Signing up is easy and free and will give you access to thousands of employers.

If you want to impress future employers, consider a personal website. You can easily buy your own domain name and upload a picture, short bio, with links to your contact information or LinkedIn profile. And in some creative professions, it’s almost a sin not to have an online portfolio.

Companies already know you’re online. Why not use this knowledge to your advantage and give them even more reasons to hire you to their company?

3. BUILD A NETWORK, A BRAND, OR EVEN SIDE INCOME

We all know building side income or working multiple jobs is a great tool to further your finances.  But what you may not realize is that you can leverage this experience in your full-time career.

Being “in” with others in your career field on social media sites is the latest and greatest form of networking. It’s almost like you have two presences these days: your real-life presence and your online presence. If you’re not available in both ways, you may miss out on an opportunity or meeting your next mentor.

Like many people that work part-time online, I’ve been able to build my brand and freelance work through my online presence. Sure, I send out random tweets at times, but I’ve also secured freelance jobs, connected with top people in my line of work, networked with like-minded people, won prizes, and even had a little fun along the way.

Something You Can’t Ignore

Social media isn’t something we can ignore anymore. It’s a movement that has changed that way people interact with one another. Like anything else, it has its flaws, but it can also create a whole new world of opportunity if you use it to your advantage.

Have you used social media to help your career? Been Googled by an employer before? Were you prepared? Let us know your story in a comment.

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Not surprisingly, everybody in the story was under 30. Nor was it surprising that hundreds of readers chimed in to say: “twentysomethings working multiple jobs? Duh!”

This piece is driving home points that you and I already know. College grads of the last decade:

• Left school with record student loan debt.
• Face a somewhat improving—but still very gloomy—job market.
• Probably won’t be able to make ends meet, repay student debts, and start saving on an entry-level salary alone.

The following excerpt describes an aspiring actress who works more than four jobs to make ends meet. I think her story may not be all that unusual among twentysomethings:

LOUISE GASSMAN, 28, has a rotating schedule of multiple jobs: as an actress; as an assistant to dance instructors at the Circle in the Square and Juilliard schools; as a baby-sitter; and in a variety of administrative roles and as a spinning instructor at SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio in New York.

Ms. Gassman’s monthly income, which can vary greatly depending on whether she books an acting job, ranges from $1,800 to $4,000. Some months, almost all of her income goes to the $1,450 rent on her 290-square-foot studio on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Whatever is left after essentials goes toward paying off her remaining $16,000 in college loans.

“I worry about money all the time,” Ms. Gassman said. “I live on a really tight budget, and I live paycheck to paycheck.”

Periodically, the accountant who cuts her check at SoulCycle reminds her that someone her age should be putting away $300 a paycheck for retirement, an amount that is sometimes almost half of her pay. “I’m like, retirement?” she asks. “Then I have the ‘Oh my God, Oh my God’ feelings.”

I know many of you will immediately want to set Ms. Gassman straight. 

• “What are you doing living in a Manhattan studio on that kind of pay? Get roommates, or at least move to Jersey.”
• “Please tell me you at least have an emergency fund? And health insurance!!”
• “What do you expect for wanting to be an actress? Get a real job.”

But here’s the reality: while these things occur immediately to regular readers of personal finance blogs (like the accountant prosthelytizing for retirement contributions), most people do not think so pragmatically.

MOST OF US HATE THINKING ABOUT MONEY, SO WE DON’T

I can’t prove this. (Yet.) But there are indicators. Like the fact that over half of Americans couldn’t scrounge together $2,000 in an emergency if they had to.

I also suspect this because for the first half-decade of my adulthood, I was one of these people.

I was 22. Retirement wasn’t on my radar. Neither was health insurance. (Isn’t that for old, sick people?) Saving for tomorrow was something a few of my friends did, but they were math and business majors, and they graduated without debt. I was lucky to be working at all, and if I had money in my pocket for drinks on Friday night and a bus fare to visit my girlfriend, that’s all I needed.  When emergency expenses came up (and they did), well, that’s what credit cards are for, right?

This is how many, many people think. Especially in our twenties.

If you’re one of these people, you get it. But the problem is, you’re probably not reading my blog. Most of you who are reading have emergency funds and 5-figure IRAs at 25, and unless you’re reformed like me, the concept of ignoring your finances is alien. Confounding. Terrifying.

I wish more people who don’t think about their money would read this blog, but I can’t force them.

Getting personal finance advice is like going to AA. An alcoholic isn’t going to get sober until he’s ready to get sober. When that happens, AA is there for him. In the same way, when you realize you need to get a grip on your finances, personal finance blogs are here for you.  But we can’t force you to start an emergency fund any more than a concerned family member can force an addict to quit.

So what the hell does all this have to do with working multiple jobs?

This:

SECOND JOBS SOLVE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

When you can’t make ends meet and can no longer cut back, you must earn more money. And second jobs are the easiest way for most people to do that. Even if you’re totally unwilling to make a budget, cut back on spending, automate your savings, stop using credit cards, you can get at least get a second job.

The upside of Ms. Gassman’s situation is that she’s doing what it takes to pay her bills…working a crazy number of odd part-time jobs.

Not everybody is willing to do that.

But the ones that do get ahead.

Second jobs are what started me on the road out of debt and to financial security. And in one way or another, I’ve been working multiple jobs for the last five years.

In my mid-twenties, I worked nights and weekends at a Starbucks in addition to my 9-5 job. Later, when blogging grew into a business, I traded actual second jobs for self-employment in addition to my regular employment.

Later this month, I’m going to publish a post offering a behind-the-scenes look at what the business of blogging looks like and how I now make full-time money from this blog spending only a couple hours a week working on it. If you don’t believe me—I understand—I can still hardly believe it, too. But it’s true. (Subscribe if you don’t want to miss it.) In that post, I’m also going to explain why I still have a day job and why I have no intentions of leaving it.

But here’s a hint: Two incomes are better than one.

When you take on a second job, you get:

• Extra money to pay down debt, start saving, or just get by.
• Income diversification. You can lose one job and “still have something”.
• Additional networks and career opportunities. Sometimes, an extra job may turn into something more.

THE DOWNSIDE

Obviously, working multiple jobs requires the one resource more precious than money, our time.

I’m not saying go out and work 100 hours a week. Balance is important. But working 60 hours a week never killed anybody, especially when you’re young and/or single.

In my moonlighting days, I certainly felt a bit of a stigma to working two jobs. (In fact, I chose the Starbucks I worked at because it was a good 30 minutes away from my office; still, I occasionally bumped into a coworker there.) I’m under the impression this may have changed in light of how hard the economy’s been, which would be great. I’d love to hear your input in a comment—how much of a stigma is there to working multiple jobs or working service jobs with a college degree? Is it changing?

WHY I’M TELLING YOU THIS

Simply put, today’s twentysomethings have lousy starting positions for life. Choosing to work multiple jobs for a defined period of time (when you’re young and have the time), is a great way to catapult yourself ahead.

Nobody should work their life away, and that’s not what I’m recommending.

BUT…a few extra hours on the clock today can get you out of debt faster or on track to saving faster. In short, it can pave the way to more secure future. Heck, if Louise Glassman keeps it up, she might even be able to sock something away for retirement.

What about you? Do you work multiple jobs? How’s it helped you? What are the drawbacks? Are there any stigmas to working more than one job or certain kind of jobs? Share your story in a comment.

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If so, leave a comment describing how you invested in yourself, how much it cost, and what you think you’ll get out of it. (Share how you’ve invested in yourself here »)

WHY I ASK

This week I’m at a conference in Atlanta for my day job, which is selling (very expensive) business software.

Many people who are here are getting ready to spend $100k, $500k, sometimes even millions of dollars on enterprise software systems (and then pay 20% of that amount every year to support and upgrade the software). This got me thinking about what we spend our own money on…and how we should be spending a portion of our income investing not in the stock market, but in ourselves.

Why do companies spend millions on business software?

ROI. (Return on investment.)

When a business spends $500,000 on software, it’s betting than in 12 months, give or take, the software system will save it at least that much money. (The software I sell, for example, helps manufacturers work more efficiently, so they can produce more products in less time.) They are not buying this software, they’re investing in it.

HOW THIS APPLIES TO YOU

You are your own greatest asset. Your ability to earn is what’s going to put food on your table for years to come, enable you to experience and buy things you want, and allow you to retire when you’re older.

Knowing that, you have a choice. You can rely on your cumulative work experience to earn you raises and promotions every few years in the future, accepting the fact that you’ll never really transcend the job/role/industry/lot in life you have now.

Or, you can continue to invest in yourself. As you do so, you’ll increase your effectiveness. As you become more effective, you will earn more money.

P.S.

You don’t have to spend a lot, to invest in yourself, by the way.

A book on business or self-improvement counts.

So does a $100 coaching session, $1,000 seminar or, yes, a $30,000 master’s degree.

Just be careful: Although it’s generally a good idea to invest in yourself, you can make bad investments in yourself if the ROI just isn’t there (consider the different returns generated by a master’s degree in Creative Writing and an MBA from a top school).

How have you invested in yourself recently?

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Looking for some worthy splurges to help you ring in the New Year? Consider these investments in your career to kick your financial life to a new level in 2011.

It might sound counterintuitive, but spending money on a few key items can pay-off big time. Even when we’re cutting back and learning to be frugal in many other aspects of our lives, investing in our careers in ways that help us get promotions, a new job, or a new freelance assignment can help increase our take-home pay. And whether you’re earning the extra cash through a 9-to-5 job or side-gig, raising your income is one of the best ways to boost your overall financial security.

These five investments, taken from my new book Generation Earn, are designed to improve your earning power:

Outsource more of your chores. If you’ve been dreaming of starting up a small business, or want to start freelancing for glossy magazines, then you need the time to get started, especially if you also have a full-time job. If your evenings and weekends are currently filled with chores you could outsource, such as grocery shopping or cleaning, then consider paying someone else to do those tasks for you. The cost might pay for itself after you sell your first product or get your first freelance contract.

Work with a coach. Professional coaching can turn you into the star podcaster you’ve dreamed of becoming, or it can teach you how to be a better leader. Sometimes, a career coach or development course can help you get “unstuck” from a career rut. Talk about your goals for the session ahead of time to make sure you get what you want out of it. (The price of one-on-one coaching typically starts at around $200 an hour.) Less formal advice can come from meeting with more experienced colleagues and mentors over lunch or coffee; they will often be happy to talk with you.

Take a course. Check out the options at your local colleges and universities as well as online. Sometimes, a course in an area you’ve been daydreaming about can provide motivation to try out a new field or help you make connections that can lead to new clients or a new employer. At the very least, it will stir up your creative juices.

Revamp your image. What kind of impression do you leave? If you work in an office or meet with clients, a positive, confident impression can turn into promotions, more leadership responsibilities, and more referrals. Personal shoppers, which big department stories offer for free, can help you find a wardrobe that’s professional and stylish. Website designers, which can cost $2,000 and up, are well worth their price if your online impression is vital to your line of work. You might also want to consider buying business cards for a burgeoning side-business, whether it’s a blog or a freelance career.

Buy your domain name. If you might go into business for yourself one day, then you probably want to own the url of your name or your name plus your field. For example, if you dream of launching your own dog-walking business and your name is Amy, you might want to purchase AmyWalksDogs.com. Domain names, especially creative ones, are relatively cheap, and buying them can also help motivate you to start turning your idea into a real business.

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Note from David: If you enjoyed this post you can learn more about Kimberly’s book or buy a copy, or check out her writing for U.S. News & World Report.

See, if your salary is $50,000, you don’t earn just $50,000. The actual value of your pay is comprised of both salary and benefits, which is generally much much than your base salary. As an added bonus, the value of many fringe benefits (insurance or vacation, for example) is not included in your taxable income.

So the next time you’re job-searching for a job or bemoaning your meager hourly wage, don’t forget to consider the value of fringe benefits. Companies that offer fabulous fringe benefits could be the best company to work for in the long run. Here are 15 common fringe benefits that won’t raise your taxable income:

1. Education Assistance. If your employer pays for your tuition and textbooks, you won’t be taxed on that benefit up to $5,250. Basically, you can go to school on your employer’s dime and improve your job skills. It’s a win for both you and your employer.

2. Health/Life/Accident Insurance. The most well-known fringe benefit, but arguably the most important. Both you and your employer pay premiums on your health insurance plan (usually your employer pays a higher premium than you). The premiums that both you and your employer pay are not included in your taxable income.

3. Length of Service Awards. If you receive small awards recognizing the amount of time you’ve worked for your employer, you won’t be taxed on these awards. The awards must be small property awards and cannot be cash or cash equivalents to qualify for the exclusion.

4. Adoption Assistance. Although subject to limitations, if your employer assists you in the adoption of a child, this benefit could be excluded from your income. Employer-provided adoption assistance is usually in the form of financial assistance, informational resources, or parental leave policies.

5. Athletic Facilities. Some companies provide workout facilities for their employees and their families. The facility must be on company premises and must be owned and operated by the employer. Off-site gyms that your company pays for do not qualify.

6. Employee Discounts. This is a popular perk at retail stores and dining establishments. Many people look for part-time jobs at companies like this just to receive an employee discount. If you do receive a company discount, the benefit you receive won’t be taxed.

7. Employee Stock Options. Certain stock options are not taxed upon exercise. Stock options are non-cash compensation in the form of shares of the employer’s stock. When the options are exercised, there is no taxable event; however, when the shares are sold, the owner may be subject to capital gains tax.

8. De Minimis Benefits. De minimis benefits are benefits so small that they cannot be valued per employee. Some common de minimis benefits include small holiday gifts, donuts/treats/bagels, occasional parties or events, among other small but regular benefits. De minimis benefits are very common among workplaces, but luckily do not affect taxable income.

9. Health Savings Accounts (HSA). If available, employees and employers can contribute to an HSA. The amounts that the employer contributes are not included in the employee’s income. The distributions from the account are not subject to taxes and can be used to purchase qualified medical items.

10. Meals. Meals provided by an employer are not taxable. Meals can sometimes overlap with the de minimis benefits explained above. Some employers provide regular meals on their premises for employees. If your employer provides meals as a convenience for them, then the meals are not included in your income.

11. Moving Expense Reimbursements. When you relocate for a job, you’ll likely incur moving expenses. If these expenses are reimbursed by your employer, you will not include the reimbursement in your income. If, however, your employer doesn’t reimburse you for moving expenses, you could deduct them as an above the line deduction.

12. Retirement Plan Matching. Many employers match employee contributions to a retirement plan up to a certain amount. The amounts are not included in your taxable income today. However, when you retire and begin to withdraw money from your retirement account, you will be taxed on that money – including the amount your employer contributed.

13. Time Off Awards. Time off awards can be given instead of cash or cash equivalent awards for superior performance or other achievements. Since time-off awards have no cash value, they cannot be taxed. However, the salary that you earn on the days that you take the time off will be included in your taxable income. Although these awards aren’t technically a fringe benefit, it’s important to note that they aren’t included in taxable income.

14. Paid Vacation. This is an extremely common fringe benefit and arguably the most lucrative. Paid vacation is just that – getting paid to take time off from work. Paid vacation is similar to time off awards, but is more automatic. You’ll know how much paid vacation you’ll receive at a job, while a time off award is often a surprise.

15. Sick Leave. This is another well-known benefit of employment. Sick leave is usually necessary when you’re working a full-time job. Although rules differ between companies, employees can usually take paid time off for illnesses, doctor’s appointments, or funerals.
As you can see, salary isn’t the only perk of having a great job. Fringe benefits can often make a lesser-paying job much more attractive. The biggest benefit is that many fringe benefits will never affect your taxable income – meaning that you can enjoy them free of charge.

Have I left anything out? What fringe benefits do you enjoy?

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from The New Job Security, Revised: The 5 Best Strategies for Taking Control of Your Career by Pam Lassiter, a career management consultant with over 30 years of experience. Ms. Lassiter’s advice is on the money and should prove invaluable for young professionals looking to fast-track their careers.

Michael is twenty-six years old and, by all measures, he should be a hot commodity in the job market. After finishing his undergraduate degree in finance at a major university, he headed for an investment banking firm to get some firsthand experience. He followed through on his master plan to get three years of work experience before enrolling at a well-known business school for a master’s in business administration (MBA) degree that would make him eligible for some of the most prestigious and well-paying jobs available.

As the source of our economic wealth continues to shift from manufacturing to information and services, the “knowledge worker” continues to rule. Graduates of well-regarded MBA programs comprise a pool of knowledge workers that the world’s best companies target for bright, motivated hires. Michael put himself on the path that leads to these high-level jobs by enrolling in a world-class MBA program. When he started classes, however, he discovered that he had become a little fish in a big pond. He’s now in classes with people who are as smart as or smarter than he is. His first job successes have paled as the bar has moved higher. Having completed the first year of his program, he’s now competing for coveted summer internships at companies that could catapult him to long-term career success.

I met Michael in a networking seminar I presented to MBA students. He was clear about his own goals. “I want to be a consultant with a professional services consulting firm. I want to design strategy for Fortune 500 companies, become a partner, and reap the rewards.” What he wanted, he could articulate, but when I asked him, “Why should a company hire you?” there were five seconds of dead air. That’s a long time for an aspiring consultant. He hadn’t thought about the company’s needs. Most of his fellow students are targeting the same consulting firms, investment banks, well-funded start-ups, and a select group of other companies.

How is Michael going to get their attention and differentiate himself from the rest of the pack?

As you can see, controlling your career isn’t about age, experience, when and where you got your degree, or what your plans are for the future. It’s about attitude. It’s an orientation to the outside world. It’s learnable.

The 5 Best Strategies

The order in which I’ve presented the 5 best strategies is not random. I begin by laying a strong internal foundation, move into more external concerns, and end with steps for negotiating the conditions of your new (or revised) job. If you jump straight to the money (Strategy #5: Negotiate in Round Rooms), you won’t typically have the base built yet that allows other to say “yes,” so take your time and work your way through them. Once you master these five strategies, you’ll continue to use them throughout your career to achieve the type of work life you want. (They’ll even work with your kids or partner, but I’m not going there in this book.)

Send Clear Signals

Sending the right message determines your results. Of course, you need a plan before you know what your message is, right? If you’re reading this book, you’re going to have both. You will no longer say, “There are no job openings,” “I don’t have the right qualifications,” “I’m too old or young,” or “I can’t move up in my company,” because you’ll be sending out the more positive signal that you’re a catch. You have a lot more options than you realize.

Market for Mutual Benefit

If you lead with the business needs of your “target markets” rather than your own needs (focusing, for example, on ways to increase their profitability rather than your interest in a promotion or employment), you will get their attention and differentiate yourself from the crowd. Using their vocabulary shows that you already understand their business at their level.

Stop Looking for Jobs

The number of approved job openings is finite. The number of problems to be solved is infinite. Which category would you rather go after?

Build Sustainable Networks

Developing networks wisely has taken some hits and changed a lot in recent years. Social networking sites have added to the noise and the pressure to nurture everyone in your network simultaneously. The goal is to feed and sustain a network that you select from the noise so that the members of your network are motivated to help you over the long term.

Negotiate in Round Rooms

Negotiating strategies are simple and often require only that you use the right vocabulary at the right time. You can put them to work quickly, and you can use them for more powerful results for the long term. These alone will pay not only for this book, but for some nice vacations as well.

What’s the bottom line? The New Job Security comes from you. It is within your control, not your company’s. Does all this sound like a tall order? Actually, it isn’t. All 5 of the new strategies are learnable. And if you practice them until they come naturally, you’ll be prepared for change. You may even create it.

Reprinted with permission from The New Job Security, Revised: The 5 Best Strategies for Taking Control of Your Career. Copyright © 2010 by Pam Lassiter, Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.

What do you think? Have you used any of the above strategies in your career? Can you attribute career success to your networks, your ability to solve problems, or your negotiating skills?

The end of a recession doesn’t mean that economic suffering is over; rather, it just means we’re making headway towards reaching our normal economic capacity. As we walk the gradual path to recovery, Americans will still be out of work and struggle to make ends meet.

Luckily, if you’re on a job search because of the recession, you could receive some tax breaks on your return this year.

Job Search Tax Deduction Rules

There are a few rules to be aware of relating to job search tax deductions:

• The tax write-offs for job search expenses are only deductible if you are looking for a new job in the same line of work that you previously worked in. You cannot deduct expenses related to looking for a job in a different career field.
• If you lost your job and procrastinated too long on looking for a new one, you cannot deduct the related expenses.
• If you are just starting a job search for your very first job, you cannot deduct the associated expenses.
• Finally, all of the deductions listed below—with the exception of the moving expense deduction—are miscellaneous deductions and you must itemize to claim them.

Read on to find out which tax deductions you should look for come tax time.

Tax Deductions for a Job Search

Employment and Outplacement Agency Fees

Agencies that help you on your job search—whether it’s lining up interviews or helping you through the application process—can prove to be very helpful in locating your next employment opportunity. While job-searching may be new to you, they are experts and can help you find a job more quickly than you might be able to on your own. However, the agencies don’t work for free. You’ll likely pay a fee if you use their services, which you can deduct on your tax return. If you land a job and your employer reimburses you for the fees, you’ll need to include the reimbursement in your income for the next year.

Resume Fees

Any fee associated with the creation, revision, and dissemination of your resume is tax deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. If you hire someone to help you prepare and revise your resume, the expenses should be deductible. Costs of paper, ink, mailing, and other printing costs are also tax deductible.

Phone Calls

Many employers are opting to interview potential candidates over the phone. This type of interview can become expensive if you are applying for several positions and if the phone calls are long-distance. Keep records of the amount of time you spend on the calls and you can deduct these expenses on your return.

Travel and Transportation Fees

While some of us may travel across the city for an interview, many others will travel across the country for an interview. If your potential-employer is not covering your transportation costs, you can deduct them on your taxes. Be careful when combining pleasurable activities with your job search travel or your expenses may not be deductible. If the majority of the time on your tip is spent on job-searching related activities, you should be able to deduct the costs of the trip.

Moving Expenses

When you do land a job after all of your searching, you might have to move for your new job. Luckily, if you move a certain distance from your old job for your new job, the expenses related to moving are deductible on your tax return. Out-of-pocket costs like transporting your belongings and lodging along the way are both deductible. The great thing about this deduction is that you do not have to itemize to claim it.

Remember…

When searching for a new job in these troubling economic times, know that Uncle Sam will allow you to deduct some of the expenses you incur during your efforts. And now that the recession has been deemed as over, maybe the job search will start to look a lot less bleak in the months to come.

In case you’ve had your head in the sand for the past few days, here’s the quick version: Slater was a Jet Blue flight attendant who had a really crappy Monday at work. After an altercation with a defiant passenger, Steven Slater let fly an expletive-filled rant over the airline’s PA, grabbed a beer from the galley, popped an emergency exit slide, and departed from his career.

About an hour later, police arrested Slater at his home near JFK airport.

Having worked service jobs before, I snicker at Slater’s story. I don’t doubt the seriousness of his legal troubles or the recklessness of his actions. But, I know every past and present service worker has dreamed of quitting in a “take this job and shove it” blaze of glory. Most, of course, never act. And those who do usually don’t go out in first-class fashion like Slater.

But what does this have to do with personal finance in your twenties?

It’s about the utility of the F-You Fund.

I know nothing about Steven Slater’s financial situation. I don’t know that flight attendants earn all that much, but he’d been at it for close to twenty years and, if he were smart, could have had a decent emergency fund and other savings. But did Slater have an F-You fund?

An emergency fund is money to pay the bills for six to nine months in case you lose your job. An F*-You fund is money to pay the bills in case you just can’t take it anymore.

Similar, but different.

If I wanted to create an F-You fund, I’d save more than just minimum expenses for a few months; I’d save a year’s worth of after-tax salary…enough to live on for a year.

Think about it: If you had a year’s salary stashed in a high yield savings account somewhere, you’d know that if you really got fed up at work, you could just quit.

Let’s be honest, popping the chute is never going to be a wise career move. But you never know when you might face a day, like Steven Slater, when enough is enough.

Have you ever quit a job suddenly? Were you financially prepared? How do you think having an F-You Fund would change your attitude towards work? (Feel free to comment on Slater, too, but let’s not get carried away…)

Case-in-point: Scott Nicholson, 24, is crashing at his parents’ place and searching for a job with little success. And yet, he turned down a $40,000 job offer in his field of interest because it wasn’t a management-training, career-track position.

Is this guy:

• Smart to hold out?
• Off his rocker to pass up a decent gig?

For one, he’s privileged to be able to pass at all. He has no debt (his parents put him through school) and a rent-free pad.

When I graduated, I had student loan bills and my own credit card debt (stupid as that was). I needed a job, pronto, and I took the first offer I received. It was a great job, but it didn’t pay enough and I had to move to a new city to take it, against my wishes. Still, I wasn’t about to be choosy.

In today’s economy, I would definitely do the same. Between other “career-track” jobs, I’ve worked at a car dealership and a coffee shop. A job is a job, and in my opinion, it’s better to have any work than none.

What do you think? Let’s hear from the recently-hired and recent grads still on the hunt for a job. Do you have to take what you can get in this job market or can you still be picky?