I have read many articles about ways to take control of your finances in a downstream economy. Seldom are we comfortable talking about how this economy is impacting our relationships and what steps we can take to bring the love back into our lives. Are you spending your nights with your loved one arguing about the next pending bill that is past due? For those families or relationships in which people are quickly developing a negative love balance along with a negative bank balance, here are a few ways to recharge when it is not so affordable to go on a vacation:

1. Keep a written track of everything from your bills to your daily chores.  Write down all due dates as well as any other important dates on your calendar. This process will give your mind a break from having to remember one hundred things to do and give you the peace of mind to make the most out of your busy life. 

 

2. Think about ways to eliminate your credit card debt as soon as possible. If you come up with a plan, make a note and think about out how you will approach the subject with your significant other. Plans are most effective when you have convinced your brain first about the pros and cons associated with each step you would like to take. Writing your thoughts out carefully on paper can help you become confident and overcome fear, which is one of the greatest obstacles to overcome in achieving financial success.

 

3. Reach out to each other by finding ways to make each other’s lives easier. Are there dishes in the sink that you can help wash? Is there mail that needs to be delivered to the post office? Each step you take to help one another will reap rewards just like they add up on your credit card: the more you do for your loved one, the more rewards you will accumulate.

 

4. It is quite common for couples to disagree on the simplest of ideas. Chances are, when this happens, you would rather steer clear of each other. The idea here is: if you disagree, let your mind do the work for you. Sleep on your ideas and wake up the next morning to find yourself in a better mood and with better words to approach your loved one.

While it is not possible to negotiate a better rate for our relationships, there are surefire ways we can take small steps to bring us closer in times when we need each other’s support the most.

Biography

Cambridge Who's Who VIP Member Nadia Farooq

Cambridge Who’s Who^® member Nadia Farooq is a senior financial data analyst for Imagine Software Inc., a leading provider of on-demand derivative trading analytics, portfolio and risk management solutions. Ms. Farooq has four years of professional experience in statistics, specializing in time series and real data analysis, handling correlations, analyzing actual market data, maintaining data integrity and accuracy of interest yield rate curves and ensuring quality.

Nadia Farooq started her career as an entry-level financial data analyst after graduating with her master’s degree. Shortly thereafter, she was promoted to the position of senior financial data analyst. She then moved into quality assurance, utilizing problem solving techniques. She currently performs time series data analysis, real data analysis, correlations analysis and analysis of actual market data. She also maintains data integrity and quality assurance in addition to ensuring the accuracy of interest yield rate curves. In addition to these responsibilities, Ms. Farooq has extensive knowledge of fixed income products with a concentration in convertible bonds.

In 2005, Ms. Farooq received her Master of Arts in Statistics from Columbia University, having received her Bachelor of Arts in Statistics from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 2004. In addition to her other accomplishments and accolades, she was awarded the Mabel Smith Douglas Honor Thesis in Mathematical Finance. She is a member of The Phi Beta Kappa Society and the Golden Key National Honour Society. In her spare time, Ms. Farooq contributes to such worthy charities as the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and the Helping Hands Association.

Nadia Farooq became involved in her profession through her educational background in statistics, and she attributes her success to her hard work, problem-solving and decision-making skills. In five years, Ms. Farooq hopes to write several self-help books to improve the lives of her readers.

Visit Nadia Farooq’s Cambridge Who’s Who Press Release to learn more about her accomplishments and experience in the finance industry.

Article(s) by Nadia Farooq

• Tips for Maintaing Healthy Relationships in an Unhealthy Economy New!

When preparing a résumé, the use of bold print is one of those thoughts lingering in the back of your mind that you should be sure to incorporate. Once all of the information has been gathered and typed into some sort of format, and the résumé is essentially complete, the first thing the average person does is goes back and highlights items throughout the presentation in BOLD.

This event usually signals the light at the end of the tunnel, as the preparation process was absolutely exhausting. The gathering of information took days, and trying to come up with a format was equally tiring, when faced with so many choices. Just having to consider all of the different approaches to résumé-writing that you see on the Internet today can be intimidating. Then, you have to complete the task of compiling (writing) your information in the “best style” ever, in ways that each of us has fantasized will “wow” the reviewer. Finally, after days or even weeks, the “Best Résumé Ever” is in the final stages of being ready to submit. With glee and a sense of accomplishment, the finishing touches are added to define a creative flair.

On average, the subject matter or things that people will use bold font for can be quite amusing. Some presentations will have only the dates of employment in bold (2003-Present), while others will have the candidate’s name and category headings in bold (Professional Experience or Education), and several among them will use capital letters to help make these headings stand out. In certain cases, the applicant’s address, phone number or even e-mail address is considered important information, and calls out for bold accents. On occasion, you will find the employer name and/or job title prominently displayed in bold highlights, and, of course, there are those that direct attention to a high school or college degree, and institution.

For just as many people you find out there preparing a résumé, you will find variations in the use of bold print when adding the final touches. What many people do not consider is that there really is a strategy involved to incorporating bold print. How you choose to use bold print can portray quite a bit of information to the reviewer about your approach to life, or to getting the job done. If your use of bold print seems haphazard, inconsistent, and does not portray a theme or employ a methodical approach, you may be sending the wrong message. Notice how nothing in this paragraph seems to stand out?

Consider the following perspective when you set out to send a message to the employer and make the decision to use bold highlights in your résumé presentation:

The purpose of bold font is to draw the eye to certain information, from the beginning of your résumé, right down the first page and into the second. The information portrayed in bold should be the information you want the reviewer to notice and remember. When you consider that the typical résumé only receives 10-20 seconds of attention (some résumés receive even less), the use of bold print can be your best friend. Did you find your eye drawn to this statement when you began reading this paragraph?

Only the most valuable bits of information in a résumé should be boasted in bold, and depending upon your career field or objective, this information will vary from one presentation to another.

The first and most common strategy is to highlight your name. You want to use an interesting font that portrays personality so that the employer will remember the visual impact and associate your name with the position you are seeking.

The second most important thing to highlight is your job title. Most presentations today will list a job title right up front, which should be the next thing the reviewer sees. The job title you choose to list should match the position you are applying for, and should be in bold. This covers several important areas: 1) You have told the employer that you are exactly who they are looking for and stated your objective early on; and 2) You have saved the employer valuable time, as they do not have to determine what your value is, or the position you are seeking, by reading through your information. This small attribute will leave a positive impression on the reviewer — almost on a most subconscious level — but there nonetheless.

This strategy can also be applied if you are using an objective statement or a profile narrative in your résumé. Make sure that you are careful to incorporate a job title in your statement, and that you highlight the information. Remember that there is never a one size fits all résumé: you must design each résumé for the position you are currently seeking. Along these lines, make sure that you highlight the job titles you have held when you incorporate your employment history. This strategy will draw the reviewer’s eye to your previous assignments, show progression in responsibilities and document advancement in your career field.

At this point, we have made sure the employer knows who we are and what job we are seeking, and reinforced the information by highlighting the job titles previously held. Great start! In other words, the target employer could care less about the names of your previous employers. And remember, if you choose to highlight the previous dates of employment, you are taking valuable review seconds away from other information in your presentation — not to mention drawing attention to the length of employment or any gaps in employment history you may have experienced.

The next strategy is to highlight a valuable contribution or accomplishment you have achieved in order to keep the eye moving and prompt the reviewer to gather as much valuable information as possible in the short period allotted. By applying the bold font to a portion of one or more statements further down in your résumé, you will accomplish this task. For this strategy to be effective, the information you highlight needs to make a statement in itself. Review the following statement to get an idea of how this works. This statement provides two different opportunities to use the bold print effectively:

Negotiated a $10 million venture capital investment in XYZ Corporation, which generated $1 billion in revenue over 15 years.

Negotiated a $10 million venture capital investment in XYZ Corporation, which generated $1 billion in revenue over 15 years.

Negotiated a $10 million venture capital investment in XYZ Corporation, which generated $1 billion in revenue over 15 years.

Notice how the highlighted text makes a statement in itself and could stand alone?

Negotiated a $10 million venture capital investment.

Generated $1 billion in revenue over 15 years.

Be selective in the information you choose to highlight and refrain from overkill. Too much bold print can render the entire process just as ineffective as a bad strategy in choosing the wrong information to highlight. As a general rule of thumb, the use of bold type is most effective when used sparingly and well-spaced throughout the document.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with highlighting your education, a degree or special training that supports your objective. This is especially true if the employer has determined that a particular degree or level of education is a condition of employment. If this is the case, then you may want to incorporate the education information on the first page to draw the same attention to this qualification as you would your name and job title.

As long as you follow the basic concept, you will be able to intrigue the reviewer with the information presented in your résumé, and effectively portray the potential or value you will bring to the organization. The competition is tough, and the little things that you use to promote yourself can go a long way. Your strategic use of bold print will serve to draw the eye down the first page and onto the second as the reviewer tries to absorb the most important information as quickly as possible!

Recently named Cambridge Who’s Who^® Executive Director of Global Branding and Networking, Donald Trump Jr. shared his knowledge of branding, marketing and networking with Cambridge members during an exclusive call held on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. The special event, hosted by Cambridge Who’s Who^®, was complimentary for participating members, and featured informative remarks from Donald Trump Jr. and Cambridge Who’s Who^® Chief Operating Officer Erica Lee, along with an interactive Q&A session.

As the guest speaker, Donald Trump Jr. informed members how to apply basic real estate concepts to the digital world. He offered online branding strategies, and identified the various types of digital real estate that are available on the Web to help members brand themselves and their companies more effectively.

Donald Trump Jr. emphasized the importance of being proactive and taking the necessary steps to control your online image. He stressed that securing a personalized domain name such as www.yourname.com improves your marketing and visibility, as well as assists potential employers, contacts, and customers and clients in finding information about you or your company on the Web. He also touched upon the benefits of implementing search engine optimization techniques when developing your digital real estate. Specifically, he pointed out that adding keywords and tags (targeted to a specific audience or industry) to your online profiles, blogs, websites and marketing messages will help you to strengthen your online presence and gain global exposure.

Erica Lee also highlighted the various Cambridge Who’s Who^® digital real estate™ opportunities offered through membership, including Cambridge Connect profiles, and Charities Blog, News Blog and Resource Center features, as well as online press releases, video production, website creation and search advertising services. These platforms are specially designed to showcase members’ skills, talents, products and/or services on a global level, and open the door to new professional contacts and opportunities.

Following their presentations, the conference call lines were opened to Cambridge Who’s Who^® members, allowing them to ask Donald Trump Jr. for career or business advice. Members who entered the queue had great questions for him on a variety of key topics such as how to reach your target audience, obtain credibility and become visible on the top-tiered pages in major search engines.

In response to members’ inquiries, Donald Trump Jr. instructed listeners to get in front of their target audiences by participating in industry conferences and booking public speaking engagements in an effort to gain recognition for their expertise. He also stressed the need to differentiate yourself from the crowd, and promote the unique set of talents, skills and abilities you possess that help to define your personal brand. In addition, he encouraged everyone to deliver a consistent message in their branding and marketing initiatives, and stated that you must create a proven track record to obtain credibility in your profession and demonstrate that you are an expert at what you do. Furthermore, he advised members to take advantage of the Cambridge Who’s Who^® online branding and search optimization services available to them. He notified them that Cambridge Who’s Who^® has a dedicated team to help members optimize their branded content for search engines. As he pointed out, the more relevant you are to the rest of the Internet community, the more online visibility you will obtain.

Cambridge Who’s Who^® members who attended the conference call gained valuable information to help them develop a strong online brand and Web presence. Several of the professionals who participated graciously shared their feedback on the teleseminar with Donald Trump Jr. “I have a newfound awareness of what messages and impressions are important in marketing a business,” writes Lee Logan, a Cambridge member located in Dallas, Texas, who specializes in event planning.

Cambridge Who’s Who^® looks forward to offering more seminars in the future. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge and advice as a guest speaker on an exclusive Cambridge Who’s Who^® conference call, please send an email with your full name, contact information and areas of expertise to seminars@cambridgeregistry.com.

To learn more about the Cambridge Who’s Who^® Spring Teleseminar featuring Donald Trump Jr. as the guest speaker, please visit our Cambridge Connect blog post: “Cambridge Who’s Who Spring 2010 Teleseminar Recap.”

Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development

Structured as five-minute webisodes, the Professional Development Series is a ‘meat and potatoes’ guide that is available to anyone with access to the Web. Mary Delaney of Careerbuilder.com, Lon McGowan of iClick, Seth Goldman of Honest Tea, David A. Junge, MD, Chris MacAskill of SmugMug, Warren Brown of Cake Love and Ann Marie Harrington of Embolden, among others, have devoted their time to speak candidly about their experiences coming up in their respective professions. These revealing interviews with this high caliber group of professionals has been assembled into one video collection that can now be viewed on Cambridge Who’s Who Connect and the Cambridge Who’s Who Video Channel.

The Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development Series was designed as an educational resource to enlighten those interested in realizing business growth, career development and/or professional brand-building. Interspersed within each chapter are handy hints and tips that sum-up and reinforce the notions expressed by the featured professionals. Each of the five initial Professional Development Series webisodes also focuses on a particular subject: Branding and Marketing, Networking, Business Financing, Motivation and Sales. For a taste of what these content-rich chapters entail, be sure to watch the Cambridge Who’s Who Video Series Introduction 

Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development Series

The first full chapter, Branding and Marketing: The Right Way to Attract Attention, explains the significance of establishing your brand, which is the single most important means to convey your identity, strengths and goals. Part of branding involves informing your clients or contacts about a promise that you are willing to make to them – it is up to you to determine how you go about fulfilling that commitment and conveying that in your branding campaign. This episode of the Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development Series also explores the relationship of networking to promoting your brand and marketing your products and services. 

Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development Series

In Strategies for Successful Networking the featured experts emphasize the value of keeping up with your daily networking activities. This includes interacting regularly with professionals in and outside of your industry, maintaining a strong Web presence and utilizing several online social media tools. When it comes to successful networking, your appearance – as in what you wear and how you carry yourself – can serve as the perfect conversation starter because, you never know what professional opportunities lie ahead. Chris MacAskill of SmugMug leads by example.

Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development Series

The Business Financing: Tips to Transform Your Ideas into Reality video cuts to the chase with a valid insight: financing for your company or bright idea begins with a solid, detailed business plan. From there, funding your venture becomes a constant process of setting realistic goals, monitoring your cash flow and redirecting your strategy at a moment’s notice. Two passionate and successful business owners, Warren Brown of Cake Love and Lon McGowan of iClick, have each learned first-hand the challenges of establishing their own companies; they offer valid advice on how to ignite your entrepreneurial fire.

Cambridge Who’s Who Professional Development Series