Young Professionals - Can You Handle the Truth? 10 Tips About Careers (That Nobody Ever Tells You)

Steve Young is a very accomplished athlete who has extended his relevance in the game football by making a career out of being a popular on air television personality for the ESPN network. While a younger generation of football fans may be most familiar with Young for his current work as a commentator on ESPN Monday Night Football post game shows fans old enough to remember his playing days know that he was truly something special on the gridiron. Long before Steve Young became a Super Bowl MVP in 1995 with the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL he was a prominent player for the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and later a poster boy for the upstart USFL spearheaded by Donald Trump to compete with the NFL.

After being dubbed a high school athletic prodigy out of Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut Steve Young, a three sport star in high school (football, basketball, and baseball), moved across the country to continue his football career at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Young who was initially considered a run first and throw second type of quarterback worked hard to overcome his shortcomings at passing the ball. Young, who played quarterback for an option run style offense in high school, eventually made his weakness his strength to the point that by his senior season he set an NCAA single season record by completing 71.3% of his throws.

The First Team All-American quarterback at BYU led an explosive offense that thanks to efficient quarterback play established a new NCAA record for total offense as the squad averaged 584.2 yards per game while racking up an 11-1 record. Despite finishing second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy to running back Mike Rozier of Nebraska Steve Young did receive other noteworthy accolades including the Davey O'Brien Award given annually to the best quarterback. Young completed his college career in style by tossing the game winning touchdown in a Holiday Bowl win against the University of Missouri in 1983. The pass that gave BYU the 21-17 win was the tail end of a trick flea flicker play. Young would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

The upstart USFL (United States Football League) was just getting off the ground when Young was prepared to turn pro in 1984. While the established NFL still seemed like the direction the game would head for the long term the USFL was successfully picking off star players to join their league and Steve Young was amongst the young talent that was lured by lucrative contracts to suit up for the less established brand. Young signed what was at the time considered an extremely lucrative deal in the form of a $40 million annuity contract in exchange for agreeing to play for the Los Angeles Express for ten years.

The career Steve Young had in the USFL was shorter than scheduled as a result of the owner of the team he played for going bankrupt in Young's second season. Financial debacles caused embarrassing lapses in the integrity of the league including bus drivers refusing to drive teams to games after paychecks bounced and players simply not showing up. Interestingly, due to the structure of the original contract that Steve Young agreed to he is still being paid from that original contract and will continue to be every year through 2027. Due to the annuity nature of the original $40 million contract Young was scheduled to be paid $1 million a year for 40 years. Even though the now defunct league officially shut down in 1986 litigation proved successful in eventually guaranteeing that Young be paid the annuity value he was promised.

Steve Young would go on to sign with an abysmal Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in the NFL and suffer a 3-16 record as a starter over two seasons before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers were he was mentored by the great Joe Montana while serving as his backup. Young went on to have a prolific NFL career despite wasted time in the USFL and with the Buccaneers. Looking back on the NFL success of Steve Young the two-time MVP who has the record for highest passing rating to go along with a Super Bowl ring is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the history of the game. In 2005 Young was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Sam

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Career Tips for College Grads - Tips for Shining at Your Next In-Person Networking Event

What should you know before attending your first career fair or in-person networking event? What skills should you brush up on? How can you make this experience more than just drifting from table to table, grabbing fliers and feeling lost? Here are some tips for young career seekers on how to stay on top of your career networking game...

Prep your resume.

Your resume should clearly state a career objective. And - every detail that you include such as education, skills, computer proficiencies, and career history should support that career objective. An example: let's say you're running out of room on your resume. You're not sure whether to include the unpaid internship or talk about the summer camp job you had. If the unpaid internship is more relevant than the summer camp job to the position you're trying for, then include that and save the summer camp gig for when you talk in person.

Next, move your education to the bottom of your resume. Prospective employers don't care as much about where you went to school as they do about the relevant experience that you have related to the potential job. Finally, proofread and print on resume-quality parchment paper. Bring a folder full of copies to pass out at in-person networking events.

Prepare your one-liner.

Some people call this an elevator speech. It's a brief synopsis of what you want to achieve in your career, or your specialty - what you do best. They call it this because you should be able to convey the entire message in the length of time it takes to ride an elevator. Practice your elevator speech on family members and friends until it rolls off your tongue really easily. This is what you'll say to people who ask you what you do or what you're interested in doing.

When you meet someone, make eye contact and smile.

Eye contact lets people know you're approachable. Make a good first impression by looking someone in the eye and speaking up with confidence. Shake their hand firmly (no "dead fish" handshakes), and look them in the eye while you're doing so. Show those pearly whites!

Networking is still a great way to find a job. By "networking," of course I mean getting out there in a professional sense. Make it so that your name gets brought up because you know someone who knows someone in the biz. That's the best way that I know of for finding a job you love.

Copyright 2007 Hallie Crawford and Authentically Speaking. All rights reserved.

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Online Networking Tips For Your Young Career Seeker

Searching for a job can be an intimidating process! It can be especially so for that young adult straddling the in-between place of college and the 'real-world.' And if your young adult is particularly shy or reserved, that can pile on the stress to an already daunting process. However, today's reticent job seekers have an advantage from when you first entered the job market... online networking.

The web is a perfect place for your son or daughter to meet professionals searching for the right brand of talent. To help your adult child leverage their online networking effort, offer these suggestions:

Participate regularly.

Have your son or daughter log on often and continuously to get their name out there and become familiar with the hot topics in their field. In addition, while your young adult may be somewhat new to the industry, offering help to others can be a big boost to their career. Encourage them to share what they know. It can also help land them a mentor in the field who can provide contacts and professional experience - which can be extremely helpful in their career search.

Be willing to learn new things - from both beginners and seasoned professionals.

As a young adult, your son or daughter is probably more computer savvy than some of the seasoned professionals who entered the job market without today's new technological skills. Your son or daughter may, therefore, gravitate toward aligning themselves online with other like-minded or similarly-aged contacts. But encourage them to branch out, and learn from the older set that may have a better grasp on how to manage the career game.

Use blogging to become better acquainted with their industry.

Parents are sometimes skeptical of encouraging young adults to become too immersed in various computer practices, particularly if they themselves are not familiar with the techniques. But as blogging continues to grow in credibility and popularity, it is a valuable source of getting your son or daughter's name out there in the right circles. Particularly if your son or daughter likes to write, you can encourage them to start their own blog as a means of making a name for themselves. Or encourage them to become active participants in other blogs; even large companies today have functional regularly updated blogs. Consider blogging similar to passing out business cards; yet in a more meaningful and intellectually intimate way. Blogging also allows your young adult to learn about their field even after college and to keep them abreast of new ideas and developments in their industry.

Hallie Crawford

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Online Networking Tips for Young Career Opportunists

In addition to in-person networking events, the web is the perfect place to meet professionals who are searching for your brand of talent. If you're nervous about networking, don't be. The internet is a great ice breaker and way for "shy networkers" to ease in slowly and get to know people over time. You can really make some strong professional bonds if you do it right. Here are some tips for leveraging your online networking effort:

Participate on a regular basis.

You may be young, but if you have skills then you're just as valuable as anyone else who you may meet online... and in some cases, maybe even more so. As a newbie to the professional world, you're in a great position to find a mentor who can bring you into their circle and get you some needed contacts and professional experience. So jump in, be curious, talk to people, ask questions! Log in on a regular basis and just put it out there. Offering help to others can be a big boost to your career - so share what you know.

Be open to both young and old; be willing to learn new things.

Young people tend to be more skilled in the areas of computers and technology than the older generation. Sometimes it can seem tedious to have to explain things, or maybe you feel impatient, wanting them to get to the point. Even so, your talents are well matched to someone older who knows how to play the career game. Make it a practice to be friendly toward everyone, even the old salts who seem set in their ways. You have much to learn from each other.

Use blogging to become even more immersed and connected in your field.

Blogging continues to grow in popularity... big companies have jumped on board, but even so the blogosphere is still a level playing field for young career mavericks. If you like to write, consider starting a blog as a means of making a name for yourself. Identify yourself as someone interested in and knowledgeable about your field. Or, make comments on someone else's blog. Blogging is like passing out business cards... but instead, you're passing around ideas, inviting people to get to know you in a much more intellectually intimate way. Blogging also helps you keep learning about your field after college, and staying abreast of recent trends and developments. It will put you in touch with the important people in your field - and you never know - you may just land a job as a result!

Copyright 2007 Hallie Crawford and Authentically Speaking. All rights reserved.

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Four Reasons to Revise Your Resume

by Caroline Levchuck, Yahoo! HotJobs


For some folks, updating a resume is as much fun as getting a tooth pulled. But keeping your resume current is only painful when you haven't done it for a very long time. If you view a resume as a constant work in progress, updating it frequently will be a pain-free process. Still not convinced? Here are four reasons why you should revise your resume today.

The "Crazy" Trap Lurks

Remember the definition of "crazy": doing the same thing over and over yet hoping for a different result. If you're sending out the same resume over and over yet not getting any response from employers, your resume needs help. Revise it to enjoy different results.

Nothing Stays the Same

Even if you've held the same job for the past three years, your resume shouldn't look the same as it did three years ago. If your responsibilities at your job have remained static, perhaps the technology you use to do it has not. Indicate that on your resume. If nothing truly has changed at all, it may be time to take on some new responsibilities or learn new skills.

Do You Know Where You're Going to?

Your resume is a road map of where you've been -- and it's a good indicator of where you're headed. Updating it frequently will help you remain connected to what's on the map and where you are in your career. This awareness will help you determine what new experience or skills you'll need to wind up at your dream destination.

Snooze, and You Lose

When opportunity knocks, you need to be ready to respond at a moment's notice. There's no better way to introduce a careless error into your resume than by updating it at the last minute. Revise it now, and take your time. Don't ruin your chance to impress a potential employer because your resume isn't current.

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Managers' Tips for Evaluating Employees

by Margaret Steen, Yahoo! HotJobs


The No. 1 piece of advice for managers getting ready for their employees' performance reviews? Allow plenty of time.

"Everybody hates it. Nobody really wants to" prepare their workers' reviews, says Diane Foster, principal of executive coaching and consulting firm Diane Foster & Associates in Alameda, Calif. But there's a price to pay for managers who breeze through the preparations, then just try to make it through the employee meetings without hurting anyone's feelings. "Too many people leave the performance review without having a solid understanding of what the boss really wants."

Helping your employees do their jobs better is one of the most important parts of a manager's job. So it's critical to think through not only what you're going to say to your employees, but how you're going to say it.

Experts offer these tips for not only getting through your performance reviews, but making them useful for you and your employees.

* Talk about the performance, not the person. Instead of saying, "You're not doing your job," say "Your performance is not up to standards," suggests Meryl Runion, author of "How to Say It Performance Reviews."

* Be specific. This is easiest for measurable goals: You were expected to sell 100 pairs of shoes but you only sold 80.

Carol Gegner, principal of Executive Coaching and Consulting Systems in Walnut Creek, California, adds that it's important to explain how the poor performance is affecting the organization. "Then you need to be able to describe the change that you'd like to see," Gegner says.

And it's just as important to be specific about what your employees are doing right, says Runion. "Don't just say, 'Great job.' Say, 'Great job. Here's an example of a time when we knew we could count on you,'" Runion says.

* Review your employee evaluations with your own manager before you deliver them. At many companies, this is required. But even if it isn't, it's a good idea to make sure your own biases haven't influenced your ratings. "We all have individual personalities," says Glenn Shepard, a management consultant and owner of Glenn Shepard Seminars. "We sometimes are not as objective as we should be."

* Watch out for what Shepard calls "recency bias." If you do performance reviews once a year, you're most likely to focus on what the employee did in the month or two before the review. This can lead to a bad review for a worker who had a good year with one problematic project at the end -- or a better-than-deserved review for someone who started working hard only when review time was approaching.

* Focus on a few key messages for your employee, rather than a laundry list of accomplishments and problems. "If you don't prioritize, the problem is that the listener may be overloaded and miss the most important points," Foster says.

* Make performance management a year-round process. "Someone who's good should know they're going to get a good review, and someone who's awful should know they're going to get an awful review," Shepard says. "If it's really a surprise, that screams poor management."

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Take Financial Stock Before a Job Change

by Tom Musbach, Yahoo! HotJobs


Any decision to change jobs has financial ramifications. Whether you're making a switch to get more responsibility, more enjoyment, or more freedom, you have to consider money, among other factors.

Basic financial planning will benefit you whether you're switching employers or careers, going back to school to learn new professional skills, or branching out to be your own boss. After reading the tips below, you may also want to contact a certified financial planner to help you tailor your transition strategy.

The Financial Cushion

Financial reserves are a must for anyone who's making a career transition. You should have enough money available to cover all your living expenses during the transition period.

"We advise most clients to maintain a cash cushion of six months," says Micah Porter, president of the Minerva Planning Group in Atlanta. "If you're making a career transition, you'll need to increase the amount of cushion you have if the transition will involve going without a salary while searching for a job."

If you're starting your own business or consulting firm, many financial planners recommend you set aside two years' worth of living expenses, according to the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

Edward Jones, a St. Louis-based company that recruits self-motivated professionals to run their own businesses as investment representatives, offers similar advice for its candidates.

"At Edward Jones, our investment representatives have the opportunity to earn significant income once they build up a strong client base, which typically occurs after the first year or two," says Price Woodward, the principal responsible for recruiting and hiring investment representatives at Edward Jones. "The training compensation and guaranteed payments for the first year in business may require candidates to reduce their standard of living or use money out of savings or rely on a spouse or partner's income in order to maintain their lifestyle during the first few years of being an investment representative."

Necessary Coverage

Before you transition, make sure that you have adequate insurance coverage. If you have health insurance with your current employer, consider continuing that coverage through COBRA. You can also investigate private regular coverage, which can be more affordable if you're single, or you could switch to be part of a spouse's health plan.

Pay attention to any possible retirement benefits or accounts you may have, such as a 401(k). To avoid being taxed, make sure you roll over your 401(k) into an IRA account or a similar retirement savings plan with a new employer.

Loans and Taxes

If you're training for a new career, a student loan can prevent education costs from depleting your cash reserves.

"You don't want concerns about finances detracting from your studies," says Porter. "I would tend to take out a bit more than I thought I might need, with two caveats:

* Average starting salaries in your new career should allow you to repay the loan over time with relative ease.
* The loan should be via an official student loan program, and offer the low interest rates normally associated with those programs."

Paying income tax is another financial matter that you should consider before making a job transition, according to Shannon Wentworth, a marketing consultant and writer based in Oakland, California. This is especially true for people who work for themselves after having worked full-time for an employer who routinely deducted taxes from paychecks.

"Save all your receipts and plan for paying your own taxes," she said.

The Payoff

Wentworth started her consulting business in early 2006 after leaving a corporate marketing job, and she says she's had "a lot of fun" being her own boss.

"I travel more, exercise more, read more, sleep more, and make more money," she says. "I've also at times worked more. It's harder to say 'no' to work when you don't have a steady 9-to-5 job."

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