Author: Daniel Bortz

5 Common Myths About Home Appraisals That Aren’t True

Posted in Northwestern MutualTagged ,

So, you’ve found the home of your dreams! Before you pop the Champagne, you’ve still got a few steps before the deal is done. One of those is the home appraisal.

If you’re getting a mortgage, your lender will order an appraisal to have the property’s value professionally assessed. This helps ensure that the home is worth enough to serve as collateral for the value of the loan. That means the home must appraise at, or above, the agreed-upon purchase price.

It seems straightforward enough, but the process can be confusing, especially for first-timers. Here are five common myths about home appraisals.

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How to explain why you’ve been job hopping

Posted in Monster.comTagged , ,

Job hopping can be a strategic way to move up in your career, but prospective employers might look at your resume with one eyebrow raised. After all, they want to hire someone who will commit to their company, and if you’ve switched jobs a few times in a few years, well, that will surely be something you must be prepared to talk about.

You’re not the only job-hopping candidate out there. According to the most recent statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wage and salary workers had been with their current employer for a median of 4.2 years in January 2018. The tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 was 10.1 years, more than three times that of workers ages 25 to 34 (2.8 years). That indicates a generational shift in attitude with regards to just how long it’s appropriate to remain in a job.

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Illegal interview questions that employers shouldn’t ask you

Posted in Monster.comTagged , , ,

Job interviews can make even the most prepared candidates uncomfortable. But although the hiring manager is in the driver’s seat, there’s a chance they’ll make a wrong turn and ask a question that is off limits—a question that you don’t have to answer, and sometimes definitely shouldn’t. That’s why you need to be able to spot illegal interview questions.

“Even trained hiring managers and recruiters sometimes ask illegal questions,” says Charles Krugel, an HR attorney in Chicago.

The Civil Rights Act of l964 “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.” As a job seeker, you want to be able to spot red flags that could indicate you’re not being treated fairly. These five interview questions are illegal for potential employers to ask you.

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10 Best Aquariums in the World

Posted in Budget TravelTagged , ,

For many of us, aquariums offer our very first glimpse of what life looks like under the sea. Our oceans and fresh water bodies are teeming with marine life—a dazzling array of animals, plants, and organisms that shape our world, and a visit to an aquarium can be the first step in teaching children how to care for their planet.

There’s no shortage of aquariums, though. According to the MarineBio Conservation Society, there are more than 200 marine aquariums and ocean life centers around the world.

Need some help narrowing down your options? These 10 are Budget Travel’s list of the best aquariums across the globe.

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First-Time Cruisers: 11 Biggest Mistakes (and How Not to Make Them)

Posted in Budget TravelTagged , , ,

A record-high number of travelers are taking cruises. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), about 28.5 million people set sail in 2018, up 7% from 2017. Americans, in particular, are fueling the industry: 14.2 million U.S. citizens took a cruise last year.

However, many first-time cruisers make mistakes that can cause them undue stress or drive up the costs of their vacation. If you’re planning your first voyage, you don’t want to be one of them.

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How to handle five types of toxic co-workers

Posted in Monster.comTagged , , ,

Like toxic waste, toxic co-workers have to be handled with care. And it’s not healthy to have prolonged exposure to either.

“Whether it’s chronic backstabbing, extreme defensiveness, narcissism, cruelty, bias, discrimination or other forms of mistreatment or misbehavior that they demonstrate, [toxic co-workers] are intolerable to work with or be around for an extended period,” says Kathy Caprino, founder of Connecticut-based career-coaching firm Ellia Communications. “They’re toxic because they’re like a poison to your system and to the organization’s ecosystem, making it hard to maintain your own well-being, professionalism, and collaborative spirit when you’re around them.”

Worse yet, working with a toxic co-worker can negatively impact your job performance and even derail your career if they’re allowed to continue their behavior.

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Tips for Building a Wedding Website

Posted in The New York TimesTagged , ,

For many engaged couples, a personal website is an important part of the wedding-planning process. Often, it’s where guests go to find gift registry information, directions to the reception, preferred attire suggestions, and other useful information about the upcoming nuptials.

Seventy-four percent of couples who married in 2018 created a wedding site, up from 59 percent in 2015, according to the WeddingWire’s latest Newlywed Report.

Of course, not all wedding websites are created equally. What sets great web pages apart from so-so ones?

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5 job interview questions you should never ask

Posted in Monster.comTagged , , ,

You may be camera ready with a spiffy job-interview outfit and your resume (15 drafts later, phew) and cover letter in hand, but now it’s time for the hardest part: preparing what will come out of your mouth. The job interview questions you ask a hiring manager can make or break your chances of getting an offer.

The key is to ask the right questions and “always think about how you’re being perceived,” says Courtney Templin, president of JB Training Solutions, a Chicago-based career development firm.

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