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I had an interesting question from NH Mom of 3 about my WIDD idea. A WIDD, in case you don’t remember, is a “what I done did” file - a record you keep of all of the projects and details of your past positions.

“I wonder, is there a way to “cram” and get down onto paper what you have done on past assignments to make a starter WIDD file? I an in between positions currently (not of my choice, and not planned!) and am starting to interview elsewhere. Any advice?”

My response was that I think if I was trying to recreate a WIDD file from scratch, the very first thing I would do is contact anyone who I’d stayed in touch with from that job and ask them what I did. It sounds strange, but it is the simplest way to get started. Either your former colleague will remember (maybe they worked on the same project, or they supervised you or were supervised by you) or your ex-colleague will at least trip off a few associations in your head that might help.

I had a former colleague call me about a month ago to ask me if I remembered the name of a project we’d worked on five years ago. Fortunately, I had my records and was able to help her out. Try reaching out to some of your former coworkers! People are usually happy to hear from former colleagues and also usually happy to help. You have to admit to yourself the possibility that your former coworkers might be more organized than you are, or simply have better memories.

If that doesn’t help, you can always look back through any old calendars or appointment books you might have. Most people keep some sort of calendar with important dates on it. Even if the calendar has minimal details, look at it. I recreated a few of my projects in Europe once by looking at my (paper at the time) calendar with flight information on it. Seeing “10:15 am flight to Kiev” jogged my memory about a particular project I did there that I had forgotten about.

But none of your former colleagues are available, you tossed all of your calendars and you’re getting frustrated. Try a memory-jogging exercise. Sit down in a quiet place and start trying to remember your jobs. I’m not talking about the projects you worked on or the duties you had. I’m just talking about the physical aspects of your job. Think about the faces of your former colleagues. Think about where the coffee machine was. Recall your desk. Keep a blank piece of paper next to you and scribble down anything that occurs to you. Go back after a day and look at the notes again and see if it has sparked a memory.

When all of this fails, I would suggest hitting the Internet and finding a job description similar to the one you had. Many companies will advertise job specifications on sites like monster.com. These descriptions may either serve to refresh your memory or give you a starting point to just create a bare-bones description.

Thanks to NH Mom of 3 for the question! If you have questions, feel free to email me and I’ll do my best to answer either by email or here on brip blap!

photo credit: CJ Sorg

Popularity: 2% [?]

I am joining the ranks of authors of blogs such as Lazy Man and Money, Get Rich Slowly, The Digerati Life and The Simple Dollar and becoming a problogger! While my blog may not be on the scale of theirs, I am excited to announce that I will be a problogger soon!

For about a month.

One of the beauties of contract consulting (to me, at least) is that the contracts come to an end. In this case, the contract couldn’t have come to an end at a more perfect moment. I had planned on taking unpaid leave under the FMLA to stay home with Bubelah when our daughter arrives. However, it turned out that the client managed to hire a permanent employee for the position I’ve been filling for a year (after I turned it down - I am too spoiled for a “regular” job now) and decided that having a consultant back up a junior exec just wasn’t a good idea in these tough economic times. I was ready to move on after a year, as well, and had been sending out feelers for other projects for a while, too.

So at the end of April I’m done with my client. It’s been a good client and I’ve made some good (work)friends there, but I will not be sorry to see it go. The 1 1/2+ hour commute had begun to drag on me, and with summer approaching I’m hoping to get some quality toddler-soccer time in the evenings if I can work closer to home. I’ve already had preliminary talks with a Wall Street client (don’t believe the hype - most Wall Street companies are doing just fine and conducting business as normal).

But between now and then I will be problogging! This is my second test run (after a five-week break last year) pretending to be financially free. What I learned the last time:

The Good Stuff

1. I am still very disciplined about getting up early, even when I don’t need to be.
2. My son didn’t get tired of seeing me all day, every day. Not a bit.
3. Bubelah and I actually get along very, very well with both of us home. I think the stereotype is that couples would get irritable if they are around each other all day, but we actually found that it makes for a much smoother and easier division of labor according to who wants to do what, and that means everyone is happier.
4. My spending (other than fixed costs like the mortgage) drops significantly. When you’re at home and you have the time to economize (and need to) you tend to do so. When you work outside the house, sometimes you rush to the quickest (i.e. least frugal) solution (for example, take-out dinners).
5. I’m happier. This may sound like a given, but it’s not. I know plenty of people who cringe at the idea of a non-working life. They prefer the offices, the interaction with their colleagues, being defined by their jobs. It’s not a bad thing - everyone should do what they like - but I found that I have absolutely no problem with not working. Last year I used that time to start up this blog, learn a lot about finance (yes, there’s always something new to learn, even for an accountant/MBA) and just enjoy my family.

The Bad Stuff

1. I eat much healthier food, but with the kitchen right there I tend to eat more of it. Grazing will get you, even if you graze on carrots all day.
2. I have a tough time tearing myself away to “work.” I am hopeful that other than a few days around the birth of our baby I’ll be able to force myself to write at least a couple of hours per day, and not put all of my blogging off until late in the evening. I get too caught up in playing and relaxing.
3. I lack focus. I got a number of projects done, but I do let myself get caught up in what I think of as “new project syndrome” - hey, I need to start an herb garden…when actually what I need to do is fix that squeaky hinge that’s been on my to-do list for six months.
4. It isn’t permanent. As much as I like these intentional breaks between contracts, they can’t last forever. I know it’s not permanent, that I need to go back to work. My blogging income isn’t as bad as it was in my GOAL update, but I think I make more in one day consulting than I make in one month blogging. Blogging might buy a few books, but it’s not going to pay the mortgage - so I know that these breaks aren’t going to last. Soon, though!! (snaps rubber band)
5. I’m happier. I know I listed this as a good thing above. But if you have to drag yourself back to The World of Cubecraft after you’ve taken the months of May and June off (with all of the nice weather), it puts a sock in that happiness. This time I’m resolved to use that as a motivator to get rich quickly and eliminate my NEED to consult.

So stay tuned; starting in about a week I will be the latest Problogger in the PF world… at least for a while!

photo credit: Fábio Pinheiro

Popularity: 3% [?]

Yesterday I talked about the downside to consulting. I presented the bad news first to make sure that it would be clear it’s not all roses. No job is, whether it’s an employee job or a self-employed job. But there are a number of advantages to being a consultant, and the advantages (in my opinion) far outweigh the drawbacks.

1. Freedom from corporate politics. I mentioned yesterday that you’ll never really be an insider, or considered to be part of the “power tower” in a corporate environment. Whew. I can play office politics with the best of them, but about 5-6 years ago I got very tired of the game. Now, when people start wondering what significance it has that Jim Bob got the corner office instead of Sallie Bob, I tune out. That is a true pleasure to me.
2. When you are off the clock, you are OFF. Different consultants may approach this differently, but when I leave the client I’m off the clock. I have no blackberry, I don’t check work email, I don’t take phone calls and I don’t even let work cross my mind. My clients know this going in - if they need to reach me, they have to wait until business hours the next day. I used to field phone calls and emails from my bosses at midnight, especially when I was working in Europe. I would scribble notes for myself over breakfast. Now, if I’m out of the office I am out - both physically AND mentally.
3. You get to see far more of the corporate world than your average employee. I know people are job-jumping more frequently now than in the past, but a consultant still shifts much more frequently. I usually spend anywhere from 6 months to a year at a client, so on average I have a new “job” at least once per year. I don’t have to worry about a complete upheaval each time I change clients in terms of benefits, 401(k) rollovers and so on. As I switch from client to client the biggest thing to remember is not to get on the wrong subway line in the morning!
4. You get amazing access to top levels of the company. I have found that once you are established in the company you have a lot of freedom to float up and down in levels. I can spend one day working with entry-level staff and the next meeting with corporate officers. Since you aren’t a part of a corporate hierarchy, you can skip the normal “going up through your boss” routine.
5. Travel is more or less out of the question. This depends on the type of consulting you do and your tolerance for travel. I do know a lot of consultants who do nothing BUT travel. Since I spent so much time traveling, it’s easy for me to set the expectation up front that I simply don’t do business trips (and frankly with the wealth of web conferencing and video communications available I don’t see the point anyway).
6. 6a. Overtime. 6b. Overtime. 6c. Did I mention overtime? Getting paid an extra day’s pay when you work late is priceless. I don’t work overtime often, but it completely changes your perception of working late. For me, working late just means a sizable bump up in my pay. For my salaried co-workers, it’s a decrease in their hourly rate and “free” work for their bosses.
7. Job hunting on the job is acceptable. You can pitch your client on new projects or even find out from them of work that might be needed at their friends’ company and nobody minds. If Client A recommends you to Client B and you do a good job for Client B, Client A benefits too by providing value to Client B. And you benefit by having your clients do your marketing for you.
8. Freedom to set your own schedule. If you are paid by the hour it’s a lot easier to take a day off when you want to, because it’s hard for a client to complain unless there is a deadline looming - and even then you have a different dynamic than an employee. If you don’t provide value, you aren’t being paid. If an employee doesn’t provide value, he is a drag on the department, getting paid while not showing up.
9. Building yourself as a brand. Employees can definitely do this, too, but for a consultant the chance to establish yourself as a brand is a lot of fun. Employees are defined by their roles and their bosses and their Human Resources departments. A consultant can create his own branding - you can choose the roles and clients and skills you want to sell to the next client.
10. Expanding skill sets at your clients’ expense. Most of my clients will engage me for one reason but inevitably need me to help out on a side project that requires the use of some skill I don’t already have (a particular kind of software, for example). The client seldom minds giving you the training to get those skills, so I get paid for learning new skills. That’s priceless, as Mastercard would say.
11. Freedom from support and professional staff. I spoke yesterday about the benefits of working with staff, but it also means you have a lot of information to keep up with to manage so many people. Now, I have no support. If I need something done, I do it. Then again, I don’t have to deal with approving sick days, negotiating disagreements between subordinates and spending countless hours interviewing new staff applicants. I don’t miss that type of work at all.
12. No reliance on bonuses. This might be an arguable point, but in the financial services industry that I work in most of the time (it is New York - not a lot of manufacturing plants in Manhattan) your compensation is often very heavily weighted in favor of a bonus. You might make $40,000 a year in salary and receive a bonus of $60,000 if the company has a good year. If you work for an investment bank or one of the big players, this gets more ridiculous the higher up you get. This may sound like a good deal, until you have a year like Citigroup or WaMu are having - then that bonus may be $15,000 (it’s seldom $0, unless you’re about to get canned). My salary is paid as I earn it - my bonus is ‘built in’ so to speak, and I don’t have to keep my fingers crossed that the formula is going to work out for me in August.
13. Meeting new people. Again, for some people this would be awful. A lot of people prefer to maintain routine, or they are shy, or they simply don’t care about meeting new people. I have met and worked with so many great and interesting people at my clients that I never would if I worked in static, small department. The challenge of learning to meet new people and forge connections with them has served me well in many aspects of my life.
14. Respect. I know I made it sound like a consultant is at the tail end of a lot of abuse and disrespect, but this usually goes away as you prove your value to the company. If you can come into SuperBank and say “hey, I have an idea to improve your process here that worked wonders when I was at MegaBank,” and it saves someone an hour out of their day, it won’t take long to gain respect. Someone else will claim credit for your work, maybe, but they will respect your abilities.
15. Time off between jobs. Each time I switch clients I can take time off and not have to worry about explaining it to my next client. Most employees feel compelled to start in a hurry. I don’t.

Being a consultant is not for everyone. You need a lot of experience and you have to be fast on your feet. You have to be able to endure meetings and constantly moving from client to client. You need to be able to complete projects and absorb huge amounts of new information. What you get in return, in a word, is freedom. It’s not the freedom of someone who has achieved financial freedom, but it is a lot better than what employees experience. I can’t imagine going back to being an employee anymore, and I would advise anyone who is nervous about acquiring the label of “the consultant” to relax and take the plunge!

photo credit: Pear Biter

Popularity: 3% [?]

The term consultant gets tossed around a little too freely these days, but the core definition of a consultant seems to be “someone brought in from outside a company to give advice.”  Consultants, of course, come in many different packages.  There are consultants who are themselves employees of other companies, there are long-term contracted consultants and there are by-the-hour or by-the-project types of consultants.I’ve been a consultant of each of the three types above for 12 of the last 15 years.  I spent a few years “working on the inside” and didn’t care for it too much.  Even when I was a consultant with an employer I got a little uneasy dealing with my consulting companies’ internal politics and rigid rules and policies.  I have found my comfort zone doing contract consulting; I have one client at a time for periods as long as a year at a time.  I don’t have multiple clients, and I don’t have a “consulting boss” - just clients.

I have learned, though, that many people who are employees dream of being a consultant.  Being mentally prepared is key.  I have seen many people broken by their preconceptions about what consulting entails or how they should be treated.  Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years about the downside of consulting:

1.  More importantly than anything else, be prepared to be treated ridiculously badly…
2.  But also be prepared to be treated ridiculously well.  Most clients will have a love-hate relationship with their consultants.  One week you’re golden, then someone gets yelled at by their boss or hears rumors of a takeover and suddenly you’ll be a threat to their cushy cubicle.  You are always at the bottom of the food chain.  Even at places where I’ve worked for a long time, gained the trust of client over client, gotten glowing recommendations, etc. I never forget that depending on which way the corporate winds are blowing I can be lauded or spit on.
3.  Get ready for the worst desk, the worst computer and the worst supplies.  I have been put in closets, empty conference rooms, and forced to work without a computer for weeks at a time (and for a variety of reasons I never ever offer to use my own “work” laptop).  The intern will get a nicer desk.  My current client, one year in, has yet to give me my own extension or voicemail.
4.  Don’t think, even once you’ve been at a client for a long time, that your co-workers think of you as a fellow employee.  You are always an outsider.  Despite the fact that you both work for the same employer, but just get paid differently, you will find that you will always have the Scarlet O (for outsider) on your chest.
5.  Get ready to work without any sort of support staff.  When I was still an employee I had a veritable army of people working for me.  At one point I had an admin assistant and a secretary.  What does a secretary do in this day and age?  Get your dry cleaning.  I had a staff of 25 at one point.  Once you have that many people working for you, you don’t have to lift a pen or type out an email, practically - you spend your whole day in meetings and directing others.  As a consultant, it’s all gone.  I have to grovel to get a client’s admin assistant to book a meeting with their boss - as a consultant I am usually priority number 836.
6.  Any staff forced to work with you will treat you like you’ve been assigned to work for them.  Employees simply believe that they are entitled to order a consultant around simply because they get paid hourly instead of receiving a salary.  They also want to make sure that there is no chance that someone will realize that, as equals, you might actually do a better job than they would.  If I have a staffperson or manager who is ‘equal’ to me in the corporate hierarchy, there is no way they EVER allow me to go to a meeting by myself.
7.  Any staff forced to work for you will resent you.  I have yet to meet an employee who thinks they should be working ‘for’ a consultant.  At my last client I had 5 staff assigned to me, and it took a long time for me to get them to shake off that reluctance.
8.  Everyone will assume that you make more money than they do for doing the same work.  It’s true, because if you get paid $5000 a month but work 80 hours a week you’re making more than the consultant who works for $30 per hour - but only if that consultant works 40 hour weeks.  If that consultant works 80 hours per week, he earns about $12,000 per month (at least in New York, where time-and-a-half overtime is required by law).
9.  Your ear will get bent at least twice a week by people telling you that you need to get a “good, safe, stable job with benefits.” These will be the first people to go when downsizing, outsourcing or mergers occur.
10.  Despite the fact that your hourly rate may be astronomical when compared to a salaried worker (who works 80 hour weeks) you’ll always be the first one assigned to make copies.  I never complain, but it always amazes me beyond belief that the company wants to spend my time (and therefore their money) this way.
11.  If you leave late, someone will accuse you of trying to pump up billable hours.  On the other hand…
12.  …if you leave early, someone will accuse you of slacking off - even though as an hourly worker you aren’t costing the company anything, as opposed to a salaried worker cutting out early.
13.  Almost every company you work with will be a mess.  In my experience, a company that is functioning well and has happy employees probably doesn’t need highly-paid contract consultants around except for the sake of their extremely specific project skills.
14.  You may have to spend time selling yourself to clients.  A lot of people think they can do this but when they actually try doing it, they hate it.  It’s definitely not for everyone.
15.  Unless you work on a very specific project that is completely done when you leave, people will always blame the consultants for problems that arise - even 6 months after you leave.

Now that I’ve covered all of those negative points, tomorrow I’ll cover the 15 GOOD things about being a consultant!

photo credit: joelogon

Popularity: 3% [?]

I like to think of myself as being a step past the normal employee grind, but I still get up most days and schlep to my client’s office. Sure, I take off when I feel like it and work moderately flexible hours, but I do the lunchpail shuffle. I do know that there are changes that I’ve made over the past couple of years that have made a big difference in my daily life, and my Life, capital L. These changes make the day better and make me more productive - and, invevitably, have made me a little bit richer, too. They didn’t cost anything and didn’t take any great effort. Give them a shot:

1. Get up early. If you are an early riser, the early hours of the day are probably your most productive. If you are not an early riser, you should become one. If you wake up 30 minutes before tumbling out the door you will be less likely to exercise, eat well, prepare a lunch or simply become alert before leaving. Set your alarm clock back 5 minutes before you go to sleep tonight, and do that every night for the next month. You will be amazed how much productive time this will add to your day.
2. Stop smoking. I am not sure this needs much explanation, but if you are a smoker you are wasting money with that morning smoke-and-joe. I won’t even touch on the health implications; you’re wasting time and money, all for the sake of a stimulant you don’t need.
3. Stop eating junk food. Eat protein the morning. Forget low-fat/low-carb/vegetarian/slow food etc.; the simple fact is that you will be perkier in the morning if you eat protein rather than carbs. Eating protein in the morning keeps you energized longer, makes you more productive and probably will make you eat less for lunch, too. Eat eggs for breakfast, or egg whites. No bagels, young Jedi.
4. Exercise. Exercising gives you more energy, makes you happier, increases your stamina and if done correctly even makes you more creative. Running is a great way to brainstorm; leave the iPod at home.
5. Groom. Spend some money on hair care products or hair cuts or razors or whatever you use to groom. Some people will tell you spending money on that type of stuff is not frugal. True, it is not; but you will not get ahead in this world if you don’t keep a presentable appearance. Think even rock stars roll out of bed looking appropriately rumpled?
6. Hygiene. Like #2, this one explains itself. Nobody likes to be around people who smell. Wipe when wiping is needed. Spend a little extra on high-quality deodorants.
7. Stand up straight. Confidence projects itself through your posture. If you slump and slouch and avoid eye contact throughout the day, you not only project an insecure, pathetic appearance to others, you feed your own brain an unhealthy diet of intimidated glances at your shoes. I make this mistake myself, sometimes, but try it. When walking in public, keep your shoulders thrown back, your back straight and your chin in the air. Walk like you own the sidewalk, and soon you will.
8. Smile. As in #7, project happiness and you’ll make people happy around you. There is nothing quite as startling as a smile from a stranger these days. Don’t be creepy about it, but stop scowling. Put a smile in your eyes if not on your face, and you’ll see a change in people around you.
9. Read/listen. If you commute to work - and chances are you do - make sure you make good use of that time. I know listening to the wacky Morning Zoo on X-Rock 103.6 may be the highlight of your day, but try to make use of that time. If you commute 40 minutes each way to work (the average US commute time) you spend approximately 9,800 minutes (163 hours commuting) each year. I spend almost 720 hours commuting per year! You can read a lot of books if you take public transportation, or listen to a lot of audio books on any subject (if you drive or take public transportation). Don’t give that time over to phone pranks and Rhianna.
10. Eat lunch with humans. I know the frugal approach is to avoid the office lunch, or the “wasted time” with colleagues in the cafeteria - but even if you have to bring lunch for everyone once in a while to tempt them to stay in the company cafeteria, do it. Don’t spend lunch reading a book or gobbling a PBnJ at your desk. Get up and take a break for a few seconds!
11. Take breaks. I have a terrible habit of “getting in the zone” at work and sitting without moving for hours, IMing and emailing and preparing documents. It’s a bad idea. Stand up once every 10 minutes. Yes, 10 minutes. Stand up when you take a phone call. Get a small cup for your water so you have to walk back and forth to the water cooler constantly. Breath. You are not chained to your desk.
12. Leave early. Trust me. If you are working for an employer and complete what is expected of you for that day. Do not chit chat. Do not check your emails one last time - my guess is that unless the corporate servers are impounded by the FBI, your emails will be there tomorrow. “Forget” your Blackberry on your office desk as you leave for the day. Leave 5 minutes before you normally do each day. Nobody will fire you, I promise. Think anybody at Bear Stearns is keeping their job because they turned out the lights every night? No. Take that time in the evening for YOU, and building YOUR wealth.
13. Do errands on the way home. Don’t wait until the weekend to run by the drugstore for shampoo (although you probably should be buying it from amazon or drugstore unless you’re clipping coupons). Get it on the way home. You’re already out. Save your free days for life - or better yet, for building wealth - not errands.
14. Take off your shoes, wash your hands and shower when you get home. If you are like me and ride the New York subways, you probably have 8,000 different emissions and fluids and various unpleasant emanations on your hands and the bottom of your shoes when you get home. Take them off at the door, then go shower. You reduce the chance of spreading illness throughout the house by staying clean.
15. Go to sleep early. Unless you have a thriving 24 hour business that requires your input at 1 am, chances are good that there is nothing “live” requiring your attention at that time. Go to sleep and get up earlier - you are more productive early in the morning than you are late at night. Let your evenings be for your family and for more positive productive activity - thinking, writing, making phone calls and reading.

photo credit: Saveena (AKA LHDugger)

Popularity: 4% [?]

One of the most annoying phrases I hear at work every day is “dumbing it down.” I heard it once when an employee of my client, a Fortune 500 company, said he was making a presentation to a division CEO. My coworker, a middle manager, had to explain some accounting issues to the CEO and said in order to do so he’d need to “dumb it down.”

A person hearing this phrase could take it one of two ways. The first, more relaxed way to understand it would be that it’s a friendly gesture. If I’m talking to a rocket scientist who is trying to explain how they shot down a spy satellite last week, I’m not going to understand much about thrusts and vectors and attitudes and so on. That rocket scientist is going to have a lot more success explaining it to me by drawing a picture or waving his hand around in the air and making explosion noises.

But I suspect the way my coworker delivered it was that he believes himself superior to this division CEO. Now, I am the last person who believes success in a corporation indicates intelligence (and you only have to read the Dennis Kozlowski headlines to see why) but at the same time for a middle manager to loudly and cheerfully tell a conference call of a dozen people that he’s going to condescend to explain something to a successful corporate divisional CEO just because that CEO isn’t a CPA seems, well, dumb. To assume someone gets to that level of a corporation without a fairly solid understanding of finance seems somewhat naive to me.

People have a hard time understanding the difference between summarizing, simplifying and stupidifying (my word). Learning to choose the right one is important:

Summarizing: This rocket will deliver 10,000 pounds of explosives at 543 mph directly into the satellite, vaporizing all of the dangerous toxic fuel prior to reentry of the debris and the potential dispersion of the fuel in gaseous form, causing mild harm to nearby people.

Simplifying: This rocket will destroy the satellite and eliminate the threat of harm.

Stupidifying: Boom!

Too often people choose to stupidify advice instead of simplifying it or summarizing it. I think stupidifying happens as a matter of course in corporations as a political move - an effort to keep specialized knowledge as “leverage” - and is the enemy of teamwork. Stupidifying something is also much easier than putting in the effort to write a clear and concise summary. If the subject you’re explaining isn’t important enough that you feel the need to clearly summarize it, or simplify it, then most likely the “dumbing down” is not for the benefit of the recipient, but for you.

(photo by psd)

Popularity: 2% [?]