Even the brands loyal have claimed to have stayed away from purchasing their favorite brands. In March 2010, more than 50% said that due to the recession, they did not buy the brand they wanted to.

The categories that were already on the fall, before recession, did not see much of a change, but categories in which brand loyalty was paramount got hit by the recession. Apparels, OTC, and Health and beauty products saw the major decline. These are the categories that had most brand loyalty. See image above for detail.

Shifted to cheaper brands

While answering a question about what the consumers buy if not their preferred brand then they revealed their trading down behavior as well. Coupons, discounts, and freebies were said to be on the decisive factors in preference setting. See image for detail.

Nielsen BuzzMetrics has done a thorough study to gauge the mood of the consumers, and for that the company sieve through 45,000 Usenet forums, 8,000 discussion forums, and 135 million blogs. According to the Nielsen Company, the main focus was on finding the following:

• How are consumers reacting?
• How are card companies communicating changes?
• What actions do consumers plan to take?
• Who is to blame?
• Which companies are being implicated?

The study revealed that buzz related to Credit Card Act tipped off big time in May 2009, and it continued making round until it petered out n February 2010, when the law was put into effect. (See image for trend).

People who went gaga on the announcement of Credit Card Act 2009 started to oppose it when Obama signed the bill to make it a law. People have many complains ranging from having not enough protection to fear of misuse by the company, etc. Only time will tell how justified this fear is, meanwhile see the image below to get the complete data.

Plan, Plan, and Plan

Planning is important. It takes the surprise factor and blind spot out of the equation. Review the list of common questions asked in an interview, and prepare an answer for each one of them. Do not mug up. Just make yourself comfortable with the questions. During the planning process also find a way out to blunt the ruthless edge of your negative characteristics. Do not make it look like your biggest asset, but soften its edge and make it look less damaging.

Look uber-cool

Well, I do not intend to suggest that you should take in all those garbage being consumed by teenagers in the name of fashion and “walking ahead of time”. All I want to suggest is to look up-to-date and in the know of things that matter to the job you are being interviewed for.

When I say up-to-date I also mean up-to-date in your appearance. I know it was not the first thing you expected to read when you wake up in the morning, but it important. You will not like to look like a black sheep among all the white clones. Dress as the way people younger to your dress, at least for the interview. It will convey the person on the other side of the table that you may be chronologically from different group, but your psychosocial make is same as his own.

Tell them you will learn

Do not flinch if you are faced with a question that you do not know answer of, or if you have asked about a technology which you have never heard of. Tell your interviewer that you are unaware of thing in question, but you will learn it sooner than expected, and if you are promised the job, you can start learning right from today. This will tell your interviewer, how much keen you are for the job, and how much time you are willing to devote for that. The interviewer will not pass unimpressed.

What else do you think is necessary to excel in an interview? Use the comment box and send in your suggestions.

Avoid dead metaphors and done-to-death cliché

Think like this: In a hiring season, an employer or HR manager has to go through hundreds of CVs every day before he could call any one person for the Interview. And the worst part is almost all the résumés he reads are written using same set of dead metaphors and done-to-death phrases. It is boring. If you want to make your résumé stand out from the similar-looking crowd of résumés then avoid using any clichés. Use your own language and make it appealing.

Update your resume

Now is the time to answer the question posed in the opening sentence. Have you or haven’t you? If your answer is no then go ahead and start constructing your résumé yet again. Add freshness to your dust-biting résumé.

Do not give complete work details

If you are 45 then chances are you have been part of workforce for close to 25 years, and it is but natural to have done many jobs in all those years. But do not put all of them in your résumé. No one is interested in reading 1000-page epic résumé, and no one cares about where you provide janitorial services during tough times. Only mention things relevant to the current job, and things that increase your chance of employability.

Even if heaven falls on earth, your résumé should not be longer than 2 pages. Not even and half pages.

Enough of reading for today, now it is time to start working on your résumé. Get going!

The biggest part about being successful writing is pretty much just being diligent.  You have to work at any career, and writing on the internet is no different.  You can’t allow yourself to second guess your career choice, or give up when the assignments seem too few and far between.  Something has to break eventually, but if you give up, you’ll never get that opportunity.

Learn how to use keywords, and to write SEO.  Search Engine Optimization is the most important technique for any internet writer.  If you want your articles to garner attention, and be read by the mass public, you need them to get noticed on search engines.  Because sites like Google operate searches by using keyword recognition, you need to have your articles formatted properly, and with the correct sprinkling of keywords.

Make sure that you make friends within the industry as well.  Network, network, network so that you can connect to as many job providers and writers as possible.  These are the people that have and will know about the best jobs.  Getting connected to them will open up as many doors as possible, and really get your career moving.

As long as you work hard, and are diligent, you can succeed.  Just remember to keep at it, and don’t give up on writing.

As with any business venture, networking is key.  Tapping into the world, meeting others looking to form careers in the same area is key.  This will give you an in to what jobs are available, and what jobs are worth applying for.  Work from home forums or websites can be good resources.  Use them, because networking oftentimes determines how successful you become.

Also, know how to spot a scam.  This is especially important when starting out.  Most scams involve asking for money in order for an opportunity to provide you with work or resources.  Never give them anything, because more often than not these are scams.  You’ll pay money, and get nothing, or no job opportunities in return.  A legitimate employer is never going to ask you to pay money in order to secure an opportunity.

In your search, remember that patience is key.  You may find difficulty finding an opportunity at first, and it may take some time to form legitimate ones.  But as long as you’re diligent, eventually you’ll find something.  Once you find one job, you’re usually good to find a few more, easier than last time.
Remember that you’re going to make mistakes, but don’t let that stop you from soldiering on.   The difference between success and failure is the amount of effort you are willing to extend.

What happened?

They had their job and I didn’t, for long time, and that is how I realized the importance of a cover letter in job search. Do you wish to travel the same path, and have the same experience before you realize the importance of having a nicely written cover letter?

I hope not!

Benefit of having a cover letter

Why do we need a cover letter? What difference does it make to our skills?

None. A cover letter does not make any difference to your skills. But, it helps you present your skills in the friendliest manner using the least possible words. You need a cover letter because:

1. You have to compete with hundreds (if not thousands or tens of thousands) of applicants who have exactly same qualification as you do.
2. You have to make your claim of being the most suitable candidate for the job stand out among the claims made by other applicants through their résumé.
3. You do not want your CV to remain unopened and get thrown in the trash bin.
4. You want to give an idea about who you are, what your qualification is, and what you can do even before your employer reads your résumé.

Let me tell you a HR secret. HR people do not go over all the résumés that they get. They read the cover letter typed in the mail body or sent with the CV and make their mind based on the information they get in the cover letter.

If you are not convinced with what I have said above then reread the entire post and do it until you start believing it because this is important. I am leaving you with this thought, and tomorrow I will tell you about the structure of a cover letter.

Fear of unknown

Being afraid of things that we do not know is quite natural. It is human to be afraid of things that we do not have any knowledge about. Each one us has this fear. This fear is natural, but it tastes sour when it starts intimidating and thwarting our development. When a newbie faces this fear he freezes, but when a seasoned professional faces this fear he deals with it.

Fear of not earning much

This is the fear that has stopped many deserving men and women from achieving what they always wanted. Having a financially stable life is everyone’s desire, but if this desire is pushing you to get everything quick and now then you should stop to think. You will get what you deserve, but not now. It will take some time. We all have to start small.

Fear of not getting enough work

This fear is related to the fear we discussed above. Not having enough work to justify the career change freezes the new entrants. When starting out you may not get enough work, but as you establish yourself in the field, you start getting works.

Fear of not getting recognized

People in general seek recognition from family, friends, and neighbors. They want their jobs to be recognized and respected. For undeveloped mind, freelance writing may not be a career to respect, and sadly most of the people have that. This thing keeps many from opting for this career, despite all its lucrative benefits.

-Try thinking positively about the job you hate.  Consider the positive parts, such as the fact that you are lucky enough to have a job during this turmoil.  The fact that you have reliable enough work that you’ve stayed employed, and have been able to live more comfortably than many other Americans.  Thinking about your good fortune is a great way to bring that smile out.

-Set time limits on your tasks, to see if you can accomplish your goals.  This is almost a tactic to make a game out of the monotony you may suffer if you hate your job.  Also this helps you get faster, and better at accomplishing your tasks.  The appearance of becoming a better, harder worker, could help you advance into a higher position that you won’t hate.

-Take an interest in your coworkers.  Make friends, and be positive and good natured with them.  Creating a better work environment around you can really help how you feel at work.  A great way to do that is improve your relations with those around you, creating a friendly environment that you can enjoy.

-Finally, just because you have a job, doesn’t mean you can’t look for a different one.  Try looking for other opportunities that may serve you better.  Something that you can really get into, and have a true passion for, unlike your current job.  Just make sure to keep that knowledge silent, as some employers take personal offence when their employees look for work elsewhere.  The last thing you want is to lose the job you have, because you were looking for a different one.

Well, realize that most people who feel underemployed are generally dissatisfied with their jobs.  Usually this stems from either a salary that is below your standards, the lack of opportunities to express your skills, or just not enough work for you to complete.  In any situation you can find yourself feeling unhappy at the workplace.  Which is exactly why you should take this opportunity to resolve that situation.

Try making yourself more of an asset to the company.  If you find yourself not getting enough work, try asking for more.  If you’re not happy with your salary, make yourself stand out so that the company has no choice but to recognize you for your accomplishments.  Try asking your boss for more assignments, or ways that you can help out by taking on workload from other sources.  Gives you something to do, and helps you become more of an asset.

If you’re unhappy with the position in general, you can use the extra time to network.  Hit the break room, or the cafeteria and make friends with the people around you from other departments, or other companies.  Find out what opportunities are around you that you didn’t know about.  You could end up finding the job of your dreams, you just have to put in the effort to search.  If the company you’re at now isn’t meeting your standards, networking can help you find a new opportunity that will.  Anything is better than staying underemployed and unhappy.

Every application needs a cover letter, and a cover letter is your chance to shine.  So take advantage of that opportunity and be original.  The last thing you want in a cover letter is to sound mundane, or like the cover letter is the same form that you’ve sent to every other company you’ve applied.  Personalize and let your personality show.  That’s what a cover letter is for.  Sell yourself, and let your originality shine, and that will make your cover letter stand out from the rest.  Just remember to remain professional and courteous.

Being persistent means letting the company know who you are.  After you’ve turned in an application make sure to follow up.  That means waiting a few days, and then visiting the company again to check on the status of your application.  This shows initiative and a genuine desire to work.  That gives you an edge as most people think the process is done after submitting an application.

Finally, remember once you have that interview, the job is far from done.  Be confident, and do your research.  You need to know what you’re talking about here, because a bad interview will always lose you the job opportunity.  Stay positive, and confident, and know your facts concerning the company.  Use those facts to work for you, and to outline your desire to work there.  Performing that to great effect will make you a top candidate for the job, and will best increase your chances for landing the position as quickly as possible.

So obviously the first step to earning more money from your writing, is to write more.  Writing as much as possible is the truest way to get better, and to create enough content .  By writing more, you create more opportunities for yourself, by being more available.  The presence you make online is the most important factor at being a successful writer.  The more renown you have, more jobs will become available, and they will pay higher rates.

Take all the opportunities you can to read others writing.  Especially writing that’s in the same field as yours.  See what the competition is doing, and where the trends are in writing.  By participating in these, and using them to influence your topics and style, you stay current.  Staying current in an ever changing medium on the internet, is paramount. Especially if you hope to be successful.

Write outside your comfort zone to develop your skills.  By writing about topics, or in styles that you’re not familiar with, you grow as a writer.  This way you can use what you’ve learned in your own work.  You’ll be a more solid writer because of it, and your writing will reflect that.  There’s really no better way to find your own unique voice than to attempt everything you can.

Invest in yourself.  This means time and money.  Have faith that your hard work will pay off.  That’s why you are a writer, because you know where it can take you if you work hard.  So keep on going to that end.  You never know how far the road will take you, if you’re too afraid to invest the necessary efforts to get there.

Well first off, make sure you know why you should be networking.  Most jobs that are available on the market aren’t even advertised.  In fact, some of the best jobs out there are never even advertised before they are filled.  By making a name for yourself, and connecting to as many people as possible, you create more chances to find out about these opportunities.  Whether through connecting with someone whose company is hiring, or finding out through a friend that’s applying with the same company.

To network effectively, it’s as simple as making the effort to find professional relationships.  Career related seminars or conferences are a great way to get yourself out there.  The same goes for websites that feature social networking for professionals.  Resources like LinkedIn should be taken advantage of, as they are decent resources for making fast friends.

Beyond that it’s easy to make the little connections.  If you have children, try to talk with the other parents around you at school related events, or extra curricular activities.  You may find someone on the same career path, and that friendship could pay off in the long run.

Just remember to return all the favors you receive.  Networking is a two way street, it’s not about meeting people to benefit yourself, and then forgetting about them.  To make strong professional bonds you have to help, as well as take the help they are willing to give.  Tip them in to opportunities at your company, or openings you know of around you.  That’s the only way to network effectively, and keep yourself in a positive light with those around you.

So for starters, what is cold calling?  Well put simply it’s literally calling companies you would be interested in working for, to inquire about jobs.  Most of the time these companies don’t have any open positions listed, but that does not mean that there are no positions available.  A company doesn’t always get around to announcing a job opening straight away.  By calling before the position is announced, you put yourself into the running before anyone else is even considered.

Beware that in most cases your call may be met with negativity.  The person you are calling oftentimes has an unwillingness to comply with anything you have to say.  This is usually just because they are busy, and see your call as an inconvenience.  But don’t get down on yourself for this.  Stay positive and recognize that the negativity from them is not personal, and has nothing to do with you.  Continue your inquiry, stay polite and courteous, and if there really is no chance of an available job, just move to your next possibility.

Remember to stay positive, and keep trying.  Oftentimes you can end up on a call back list for potential employees when a position does become available.  It’s always good to have on file that you were interested in working for them before a job was vacant.

First off, ensure that you know the situation.  If your company is basically on fire and jobs are falling left and right, and not even your boss seems to be safe, probably not the best place for a raise.  But if things seem fairly comfortable, with a few worries here and there, you could have a good shot.  Just make sure you don’t paint a target on your back by asking for more than the company will think you deserve.

Asses your worth to the company before asking for a raise.  If you find people have been laid off or fired in your department, but you have survived the scrutiny, there has to be a reason for that.  Asses your accomplishments and your skill set, so that you can see why the company values you.  This will give you good groundwork to make use of in an argument for why you deserve a raise.

Finally, using your track record as a resource, go in and ask for a raise with your previous accomplishments as your foundation.  Be prepared to get rejected, after all it’s recession, and this is more of a long shot than anything else.  But be courteous and stay positive, and illustrate this isn’t a deal breaker for you, as to whether or not you’ll stay with the company.  You’d just like a raise or a promotion for your continuing efforts in helping the team strive for success.  Make that point evident, and you’ll be fine.

The number one step in this plan is to keep your resume as current as possible.  By frequently updating your resume with your most recent accomplishments, or work history, you ensure it’s current and very reflective of you.  Beyond that you want to customize your objective to tailor to the company to which you are applying.  Your objective should not be a bland description of what you want out of a job, but rather what you want to put into a job.  Specifically focused on the company to which you are applying.

Highlight your stability from previous jobs.  By emphasizing that you are a worker that is reliable, and also with a fair amount of loyalty, you make yourself an asset to an organization.  Companies are looking to people that they can count on if they’re actually hiring during a recession.  Highlight the fact that you are dependable, and that a company would do well to hire you for that fact.

Finally, make sure that you personalize the resume for each company.  You need to have a job specific resume each time, so that you are presenting yourself as an interested party.  By making the resume count for them, you look interested and ready to commit to the position.  The work you put in before you actually get a job will pay off on your road to getting hired.

If you find yourself waiting till the last minute to accomplish tasks, working from home may not be for you.  You need to effectively manage your time.  The last thing you’d want is to be up against a deadline that looms ever closer, that you shouldn’t have to worry about.   If you don’t think you’ll be able to manage your time without a boss checking in every once in a while, this may not be the career for you.

Make sure that you have the space in your home to create an adequate working environment.  You don’t want to be converting an area like your living room, or bedroom.  Both are full of distractions and can lead you to unintentionally losing focus when working.  You  have to ensure that you have the room to make your own office.  A place where you can be free from non-work related distractions.  A sanctuary of at home production to where you can always accomplish your goals.

Also, you need to be a very self motivated person.  You have to make a lot of decisions for yourself when you work at home.  You only have yourself to fall back on, which means you have to keep yourself positive and goal focused.  Part of that is avoiding the temptation to get personal tasks done when you’re supposed to be working.  Try to avoid household chores or things you wanted to get done while you’re working.  This will lead to longer term distractions which can lead to major procrastination on your part.  That is absolutely always bad.

First off it’s important to know how to maintain an appropriate work demeanor.  Remember that your customers are the basis of your business, and treat them as such.  Without their money you don’t have a job, so part of your task is to ensure that they are happy with what their money is doing for them.  Keep everything professional but be courteous, and always take someone’s mood into account.  At times you have to relay information that can anger a customer, and work through it with the customer.  Don’t give up or let their bad mood control yours.

Don’t bring your stress to the customers.  If you’ve had a bad day, or feel that something just didn’t go your way, don’t take it out on your customers.  Keep your personal feelings personal.  This way you can maintain a professional atmosphere that people will want to participate within.  Always keep professional and courteous, that’s pretty much the name of the game.

You basically need to have the patience of a saint sometimes.  So just remember, you’re being paid to do a job, and part of that job is waiting for customers to work through their own frustrations.  Whether it’s you having to explain the same points over and over again, or if they just seem to have an angry disposition, work through it.  Don’t let their mood or inability to quickly understand you affect your mood.  You’re there to help, and are being paid to do so, so jut take everything in your stride and have the patience to deal with customers effectively.  So just don’t take anything personally, and get the job done remaining professional and courteous.

And the first thing you should be doing, is just being a healthy person in general.  Eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, and maintaining positive social relationships are all key to being a healthy human being.  The better you feel from a health perspective, the better you’re going to feel in all the other parts of your life.  So personal maintenance is key to professional maintenance.

Make sure you keep yourself well organized at work, that way if you’re asked for a report at an unexpected time, you can find the necessary materials quickly.  That way you remove the pressure of having to slap something together at the last minute, by always being well prepared with a well organized desk environment.

Keep spaces open in your organizer so that you have time to do things for yourself.  It may sound a little silly, scheduling time for you to read, but this way you make sure to have the time available.  Making sure your personal time never gets ignored in favor of work ensures you stay more relaxed, and staying as relaxed as possible under pressure is the name of the game.  You’ll perform better, and you’ll find yourself to be a happier person.

Choose a career where you’re motivated by your own will to succeed, opposed to being driven by a paycheck.  You’ll find yourself much more stressed if you end up in a job you hate, and are only working long hours to make ends meet.  Sometimes this can be fairly unrealistic depending upon your personal situation, but try to gravitate towards jobs that you actually want to carry out.

Learn how to know when it’s time to call it quits.  Killing yourself for an extra four hours everyday isn’t going to get that much more work done, and is only going to cut into your life, and make you feel more stressed.  You always pay for the stressful years of your life later on, from health problems, to social problems.  Know when it’s time to tell your boss or company a polite “no” when it comes to compromising yourself for your job.  Get your work done, and do it well, but no job is worth compromising who you are.

an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.

The internet has inevitably turned average people into nerds; the dot com revolution has become a single-minded obsession for most individuals, especially when we take into consideration its importance as a method of communication.  From submitting school assignments to applying for jobs or services, it is hard not to stay away from a computer.

The definition is a bit misleading now, with the advent of online social networks.  Being single-minded, or focusing on one topic, can lead to an oxymoron: the internet, and therefore computers, is a pursuit that is socially nonsocial.  People are using text messages rather than contacting others face-to-face, but they are still getting their messages to each other.  Just think of MySpace or Facebook.  Today, being a computer nerd is the best stereotype you could portray and you’ll definitely forget the stigma that the word “nerd” has carried in the past, once you realize that an IT freelance career can be profitable.  Now you might ask, “How can I become a computer nerd from the comfort of my home?”  A friend of mine is slowly becoming a computer nerd and honestly it isn’t that hard to do.  Here are some guidelines and free resources for your transformation:

1. Install Linux first!  That’s what she did and I was surprised of how quickly she began to understand computer terminology.
2. Play around with HTML.  There are plenty of online tutorials!
3. Take a break and check out computer books at your library or read online articles.  If you choose the second option you’re probably already addicted to the internet (and you’re more of a nerd than you think!).
4. Practice JavaScript and you’ll be well on your way to writing a program.
5. Make your own website (and by that I mean, don’t use free templates!).  It’s fun to do and breaking the ice in this industry is as easy as registering your first domain name.  This is important because you’ll get more credit to your name as a freelancer who has a personal/professional website.  You can also use a free website and then use the custom HTML section to play around.  Make sure it redirects to your domain though!
6. Once you got an idea of it all, volunteer your time!  Do something for a friend or offer a potential client a test page.  Recommendations are your best asset when it comes to standing out from the crowd (and it’s better than being charged to practice in someone’s class).

That is all for now.  Hope to see you joining the ranks of our creative profession.  Like it or not, you’re already a computer nerd just for having read this far!