No matter how many job interviews you’ve been on, or how well you think on your feet, most people are rarely as prepared as they should be.
In fact, as the CEO of a recruiting firm, I’ve spent decades interviewing candidates, and I’ve seen even the most experienced candidates — with the most impressive resumes — make rookie mistakes that can easily destroy the first impression.
My father died recently and left me and two siblings a house with no mortgage. I am in the process of being declared executor of the will. My brother goes to the house every weekend for a “staycation,” however my sister and I live in other states and can only return to the hometown a few times per year.
My sister and I think this is the opportune time to sell the house and divide our inheritance, but my brother thinks we should hold on to it as it is increasing in value. Of course, it will incur some expenses for upkeep, insurance, taxes, and utility.
Is it a better climate to hold it as an investment or to sell it and then invest the money into stocks or retirement accounts? I am 65, brother and sister are 60 and 57.
Thanks,
Feuding over the Family Home
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Dealing with a late parent’s home can easily lead to familial squabbles if everyone isn’t on the same page. Getty Images/iStockphoto
The background: After suddenly losing my job last year, I was thrown into an urgent hunt. Four months ago, I landed a position with a decent salary, doing much the same work I’d done previously but in a sector that I wouldn’t have chosen if I wasn’t desperate. It was definitely an “I’m taking the job because it’s the first I’ve been offered” situation, but I was grateful to get it.
The people here are nice, and they’ve put a lot of time into training me. They are evidently expecting me to stay for many years, as has been the pattern for most former employees in my role. I would like to work for myself in the future and am even thinking about completely changing fields, but that will take a long time to achieve and I need to stay employed until then. I figured this would be a good setup for, say, the next five years.
But I’ve realized that I just don’t enjoy the job at all. I’m used to working on projects that don’t set my soul on fire, but this has been the most stressful job I’ve ever had by far. Part of that is due to inefficient working practices, which I should be able to influence over time, but I don’t think they’ll completely go away. My department — and therefore me — also shoulders a huge workload that has nothing to do with our roles and should be done by a totally different team. It really interferes with my ability to get my main job done, and I’m working very long hours during busy weeks. I’ve been told that won’t change for the foreseeable future because of pressures from the pandemic. I’ve also encountered some ethical concerns with the company’s work that I didn’t expect.
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Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
If you are looking for a new job, you’re not alone. More than half (55%) of Americans plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months, according to Bankrate’s August 2021 Job Seekers survey. Add a tight labor market, and that there are more open jobs than people looking for work, and chances are that someone who’s got good skills is going to be an attractive target.
But just because a job is offered to you doesn’t necessarily mean you should take it. “It’s important to look for red flags during the interview process,” says Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster. “You’re evaluating the employer the same way they’re evaluating you to determine if you’re the right fit,” she says.
When these red flags are waving, career experts say you should think twice about saying yes to that job offer, no matter how good it might seem.
Four years ago, I was downsizing and building a home while I still had a hefty mortgage on my first home. I couldn’t secure the loan on my own until the other house was sold.
I applied for the mortgage with my girlfriend. I had a down payment of $125,000 and paid the monthly mortgage, along with real-estate taxes. She pays for the utilities.
Needless to say, things are not working out, and I would like her to move out. She wants half of the home’s value, as her name is on the mortgage.
Is she entitled to half the value? Can I refinance without her knowing? I think I snookered myself. Please help.
Homeowner
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‘Needless to say, things are not working out, and I would like her to move out.’ MarketWatch illustration
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Click the link belowfor the article (Quentin’s reply):
Going back to the office soon? As a speech trainer, one common source of anxiety I’ve been hearing from people is the social interaction they’ll once again have to make with colleagues.
But like any other form of public speaking — yes, elevator banter counts — small talk skills have nothing to do with your personality, and everything to do with learning to empathize with your audience.
If you want your skill and comfort levels to soar, avoid these seven conversational pitfalls:
Now that the World Health Organization has officially recognized the symptoms of ‘workplace burnout’, it’s clear that the mental health effects of too much work are a global concern. While it may feel tempting to walk away from work altogether, scientists warn that not working is also linked to mental health issues. As a paper published in Social Science & Medicine, there’s an “effective dose” of work we should be doing each week to reap the rewards — and it’s not that much.
“Indeed eight hours a week would be enough for the average worker.”
As part of the University of Cambridge’s “Employment Dosage” project, study co-authors Brendan Burchell Ph.D., and Daiga Kamerāde, Ph.D., spent a lot of time thinking about how to optimize work schedules to improve mental health. In this study, they wanted to answer one question: is there an ideal number of hours we should work per week to keep ourselves feeling emotionally fulfilled?
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Photo by Chonlachai Panprommas / EyeEm / Getty Images.
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
[Source photo: DeanHammel/iStock]
