A few years ago, the Internal Revenue Service challenged the tax deductions a college professor took for losses he reported in his business as a book author.'They came in and said, 'OK, prove to us it's a business,'' recalled Joseph Newpol, a certified public accountant and tax attorney who advised the professor on how to deal with the IRS's scrutiny.'We showed them the history of his book writing activity and demonstrated that he didn't have income for several years,' recalled Newpol, who is also a professor in the tax and personal financial planning department at Bentley College in Waltham, ... view article details

Top 15 Jobs Most Likely to Be Fired during COVID-19 With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in all states of the United States, the number of unemployed people has climbed in recent weeks. So far, about 22 million citizens have applied for unemployment relief for the first time. Behind this number, 22 million unemployment stories and many people's lives that have been impacted. So, what are the top 15 jobs most likely to be laid off? 1. Restaurant Staff Affected by the spread of the new coronavirus, the US catering industry has suffered heavy losses. Recen... view article details

When viewed as a whole, life can seem like an exercise in routine, marked by several key turning points. Think about the important life-decisions you’ve made. Whether it’s deciding to go to an event at the last minute (and then meeting your future spouse) or introducing yourself to someone at a networking event (who told you about a job opening that embarks you on a new career path), you can often look back and see a clear marker where everything fell into place.As I continue to work with private clients to help them negotiate job offers, I’m starting to see distinct patterns. In every session... view article details

The manufacturing industry has struggled in recent years to update its public perception and attract an evolving workforce. In an effort to inspire the next generation of manufacturers, Manufacturing Day was created and strives to address common misperceptions about the industry by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t. In honor of this day – which always falls on the first Friday in October – we compiled a list of 10 jobs in the manufacturing realm along with their average salaries (thanks to Salary.com data). Read on to se... view article details

Be Sure to Consider Your Entire Compensation Package When Negotiating Employer Won't Budge on Base Pay? Try Elsewhere You’ve gone through several rounds of interviews and have finally landed the job of your dreams. The problem is; your dream job doesn’t come with a dream salary. But before you pass on the position, there are many non-salary benefits that you can negotiate. Combined, they might make your potential position seem quite palatable. The good news is these benefits come at a low -- or no -- cost to your company. Here are the top ten benefits that you can and should ask for during ... view article details

If Your Resume Isn't Opening Doors, Get Some Professional Help Is It Worth the Money? Job searching sure is expensive. After all, it costs money to dry clean your interview suit, fill up your tank and drive to each and every job interview. And at a time when you’re counting every nickel and dime, you don’t want to spend any more cash than necessary. But if you’ve been job searching for some time without success, it may not be what you’re saying, but how you’re coming across on paper. That’s where a resume writer comes in. Resume writers are not just professional writers, but they’re experts... view article details

"Soft" Skills & Emotional Intelligence Will Help Get You Hired & Promoted Skills: Hard vs Soft As your career progresses one of your goals is to ensure that your "hard" skills -- tangible, teachable skills and abilities that allow you to perform your job -- are up to snuff. But in your effort to hone your hard skills, don't ignore your "soft" skills. Soft skills, sometimes called "people skills" or "emotional intelligence," are less tangible qualities that determine how you manage your own behavior, as well as interact with and get along with others. While soft skills are more difficult to ... view article details

Think Ahead While there are no ways to guarantee that a negotiation will succeed, there’s one way that will pretty much ensure that a negotiation will fail, and that’s to go in without any kind of plan.Common errors include entering a negotiation without doing research of your value on the market, not role-playing the conversation in advance to make sure your selling points are on target (and preparing for pushback on those selling points), and the least effective technique: barging into your boss’ office randomly and deciding to demand a raise or promotion.I recently came across a ve... view article details

Awkward But Necessary It may be one of the hardest conversations you’ll have to have with your boss.Asking for a recommendation can certainly be stressful, awkward, and a bit unpleasant. After all, you never know what your boss’ reaction might be to the news that you’re essentially looking to leave the company. But if you’re in the market for a new job, you’ll inevitably need a referral from your current jefe.Here’s how to ask your boss for a recommendation.4. Be Realistic If you’ve been showing up to work day in and day out and being a model employee, asking for a recommenda... view article details

Rich or Poor, Offer Letters Are Still Necessary If you’ve worked at any level in the corporate world, you’ve probably received an offer letter of employment. As a teenager, your first job offer – babysitting, mowing lawns, washing dishes, waiting tables – was probably pretty informal. Ah, but that first official offer letter.Sure, things might have gone great on your interview. You’re 99% sure they’re going to give you the job. Hopefully you negotiated a nice salary increase. You can’t wait to tell your parents and friends. And HR even verbally said you got the position. But it wasn’t... view article details