For those of you whom are getting ready to graduate college, or still have some time to go, you may want to consider taking the time to put together a solid resume to send to potential employers when the time comes. You have a lot of resources available to you right now (Career Development office for instance) to help you fine tune your resume, and get noticed by employers when the time comes.
This doesn’t exempt the rest of the work force! With our recent economy, I know that there are a more than a few people out there searching for employment. Keeping your resume up to date will help you get focused quickly after a job loss. Even if you are “secure” in your job, you should always keep feelers out there to see if there is a better opportunity waiting for you somewhere on the horizon.
There is a great article at Dumb Little Man that discusses building a top notch resume. About the only item on their list that I disagree with is removing your postal address. I would consider that a pertinent piece of pedigree information, not one that I would omit from my resume.
The bottom line on this issue? By having a solid resume, and taking the time to update it regularly (10 minutes every 6 months!), you put yourself in a much better position than someone struggling to get their act together when it comes down to it.
In speaking to a friend recently about credit cards, mortgages, and personal finance, he confided that he had very little knowledge of most things finance related. The question he eventually asked me was “What is the difference between secured and unsecured debt?” Since I feel the answer could benefit more than just my friend, I decided to post it up here for all to see.
Secured Debt is debt backed by something tangiable. Good examples of a secured debt are your vehicle and your mortgage. There is a physical good that can be reposessed or foreclosed on to recoup losses by the lender in the event you fail to make the payments.
Unsecured Debt is debt without a tangiable asset to back it. The best example of this would be a credit card. A regular credit card has nothing to back it, so the creditor can only attack your credit score and not your home.
There are secured credit cards, where you pay a specific amount up front to the creditor, for instance, $500. You are then given a credit card with a credit limit of $500, secured by the money you have already fronted to the creditor. This would be considered a secured debt.
Hope this helps!
(This post is part of our “Landlord Basics” series, which seeks to help the new landlord / investor understand some of the basics of tenant relations and property management. Click here to view the entire Landlord Basics archive.)
Entering an occupied apartment can be a challenge for a landlord. Many tenants will not have an issue with the landlord entering their property as long as they are notified. However, uncooperative tenants insisting that you can’t come in, even to do maintenance, can be a real headache. And the tenants do have their rights. Generally, as long as the tenant is quietly enjoying their apartment as defined in their lease, you must provide notice before entering their unit.
If a tenant calls in a maintenance item, be sure to clarify a few facts with them to make the process run smoother.
- Will anyone be home to meet the maintenance personnel?
- Is it alright for the maintenance personnel to enter the apartment while you are not home?
- Ask if there are any animals that you need to be concerned with.
How much notice is necessary? In most states, a landlord must give 24 hours notice before entering a unit, except in the case of an emergency. This should be defined in your lease with the tenant, to make sure that the tenant understands. The amount of time necessary differs from state to state, as well as the method in which you must notify. In some areas, a simple phone notification is ample. In other areas, you must post a notice on the door. Speak to your lawyer regarding the requirements for entering a unit so that you don’t wind up in hot water!
I recently read an article over at Productivity501 about scanning your signature into your computer, so you could easily attach it to documents. This can be incredibly handy when it comes to signing files and sending them back. You won’t even need to print it out in most cases – just insert the image, and align it where you need a signature. This is also incredibly handy if you use an online fax service, which I have been looking into extensively as of late in the interests of a “paperless” office.
One of the biggest objections that many people have to the scanned signature concept is that of privacy and security – what if someone gets their hand on my signature? Think about it from this perspective: You sign so many papers that if someone really wanted to, they would find a way to get your signature. Public documents contain signatures, and the pages can be copied for usually under a quarter! Security of your signature can be a real farce!
What’s your opinion? Would you scan your signature to save time?
