WeHelpWomen.com Offers Free Webinar

Successfully Navigating Life's Transitions
Presented by Dr. Jude Miller Burke

WeHelpWomen.com is partnering with Dr. Jude Miller Burke, a leadership consultant, to host the free webinar, Successfully Navigating Life’s Transitions on Wednesday, November 16th from 10 -10:30 a.m. MST. Dr. Miller Burke offers insight into the stages of a transition, individual personal reactions and how one’s life can be enhanced or diminished by a change.

“Change is inevitable in our lives. At times change is chosen, but just as often a change is imposed upon us,” said Dr. Miller Burke. “Whether it is a job or relationship change, our reactions to a transition may vary in intensity, but not necessarily in the type of reaction it creates. Each person has their own individual way of reacting to change.”

The webinar will walk attendees through factors that influence how people react to change, including the context or background to a change, individual personality styles, and developmental stages in life.

“We also have a somewhat preset way of handling whatever change is sent our way, whether we are 25 or 55 years old,” added Dr. Miller Burke.

The Successfully Navigating Life’s Transitions webinar, hosted by Dr. Miller Burke, will teach attendees about:
• Common stages of transition
• Individual stress reactions
• Adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms
• Finding your guiding truths

Dr. Miller Burke will answer attendee’s questions following the webinar at 10:30 a.m. MST. To register for the free webinar visit http://www.wehelpwomen.com/navigation-lifes-transitions

Is Your Spouse Financially Unfaithful?

By Renee Hanson, Wealth Advisor at Ameriprise Financial

In a recent Harris Interactive online poll of 2,019 adults, 31 percent of American couples with combined finances admitted lying to their spouses about money.

Not surprisingly, another third of these adults admitted that they had been deceived. Both sexes lied to their partners about money in equal numbers.

The top three deceptions involved hiding:

• Cash — 58 percent
• Minor purchases — 54 percent
• Bills — 30 percent

Others included:

• Hiding major purchases — 16 percent
• Keeping a secret bank account — 15 percent
• Lying about earnings — 11 percent
• Lying about debt — 11 percent

When the lies were discovered, it led to:

• Divorce —16 percent
• Separation — 11 percent
• An argument — 67 percent
• Decreased trust — 42 percent

What can you do to help protect yourself?

Although there is no sure-fire way to prevent a partner from financially deceiving you, there are a few things you can do to reduce the likelihood it will happen — or at least help you catch a deception early on, before it grows into an even bigger problem.

First, before you say “I do” or combine finances with your partner, discuss your values and expectations about spending, saving and managing money. Identify any areas of disagreement and work to resolve them by deciding how you’ll approach future financial situations together.

Second, take time to regularly go over finances with your partner. This includes reviewing your tax documents together, which can help ensure you both know how much the other is earning, as well as how much is being contributed to employer-sponsored savings vehicles, such as a 401(k). It also includes regularly checking your credit card statements and making sure that the purchases match up with your receipts.

Third, schedule meetings with your financial, tax and legal professionals at times you can go together. This enables both of you to be well informed about — and equally involved in making — decisions about how to approach your:

• Financial goals
• Investments
• Taxes
• Wills
• Other legal documents

It also enables you to strengthen your joint relationships with these professionals.

The online poll, commissioned by ForbesWoman and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) was conducted from December 17 to 21, 2010.

Do you want more helpful advice on managing your finances? Become a member of the Fresh Start Community of women today: www.wehelpwomen.com. Membership gives you exclusive access to all of the exciting & interactive workshops.

Renée A. Hanson, CFP®, CEP®, CDFA™, CFS, is a private wealth advisor with Hanson, Ayala & Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Her passion is in helping women achieve their dreams and financial goals, regardless of life’s many obstacles. Renée is licensed/registered to do business with U.S. residents only in the states of AZ, CA, CO, GA, IA, IL, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SC, TX, VA, WA, WI. Please visit: www.reneehanson.com to learn more.

Ameriprise Financial does not provide tax or legal advice. Consult your tax advisor or attorney.

Brokerage, investment and financial advisory services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Some products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all clients.

© 2011 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keeping a Positive Attitude During Your Job Search

By Dolores Seright, Certified Professional Coach
You’ve been a positive person your entire life and you look at life as an exciting opportunity to do what you want to do. Then the economy took a downturn and you lost a significant part of your investments. Maybe you even lost your home to foreclosure. And you are unemployed or seeking to find a better-paying job!

It is not easy during this time to keep a smile on your face when company after company selects another, “better qualified” person for the few openings where you’ve managed to get an interview.

Your friends tell you to have a positive attitude and that someone will recognize your unique skills and offer you a job. Easier said than done, right?

Just remember though........

Action Keeps Negative Attitudes Away
Positive excitement happens when you are doing things, especially things you love to do. Think about the things you were too busy to do when you were working. Make a list of all the things you get excited about and begin by putting them on your schedule. It can be as simple as taking a hike, going for a swim or reading a book. Maybe a trip to the zoo or a picnic by nearby lake is something you enjoy. Take advantage of this opportunity to simply choose and enjoy what to do with your time. And remember to write it on your calendar!

Employers and Recruiters Can Easily Recognize Negative Attitudes
Job searching can be challenging if you have experienced some rejection. It can also be difficult if you were downsized and upset with your former employer. Keeping your comments positive during a job interview are essential to getting a job offer. Knowing you will be asked about your former employer, you must be sure that you have written out your response to questions about why you left. Practice your answers in front of a mirror until you are confident and smiling with your response. Remember that people want to work with happy, enthusiastic people.

Tips for Maintaining a Positive Attitude While Searching for Your Job

• Develop a strategy for your job search which includes daily goals for internet research, networking, and other search related activities.
• Join a support or networking group that offers training and tips to help with your search.
• Include exercise or other physical activities in your daily schedule.
• Be social and go to networking events and other activities you enjoy. Surround yourself with friends and positive people.
• Listen carefully to what you are saying when talking to others. Develop a habit of saying positive things.
• Make a list of your achievements in all areas of your life and review it frequently. You will be reminded of your best moments which will build your self-esteem and self-confidence.
• When you hear someone discussing negative topics, such as how hard it is to find jobs in our current economy, stop listening. Complaining where take you nowhere but further down.
  
• Visualize your new job and see yourself in your new work environment. How does it feel?
• Use your job search time to increase your skills. You will be more valuable to your new employer.
• Remember to have fun and enjoy the new people you meet and the many new experiences you can learn from.
• Volunteer at an organization that you really enjoy. You can make a difference, make connections and gain experience you can add to your resume.

Your Attitude is Your Choice
You can decide each morning how you are going to live that day. The choice is yours. Take a few moments each morning to reflect on all of the good things in your life and smile. You are facing a new life, and the future is unknown at this moment. Develop your strategy, work your plan and believe in yourself. Remember that your job search is a journey to your new future.

Do you want even more helpful advice? Take our free assessment and become a member of the Fresh Start Community of women today: www.wehelpwomen.com. Membership gives you exclusive access to all of the exciting & interactive workshops.


Dolores Seright, CPC, is a certified professional coach and her passion is teaching people the skills they need to pursue their passion, become an expert in their field and excel in their business. Her experience as a regional business director for a corporation combined with her experience as a business owner gives her a unique ability to understand the challenges job seekers face. Dolores also volunteers as a career coach at Fresh Start in Phoenix and facilitates workshops on job searching in today’s marketplace. Learn more about Dolores at www.PassportToYourDreams.com and connect with her at www.facebook.com/phoenix.coach

Organizations We Support - Women For Hire

Experience Women For Hire this fall at the remaining expos (Los Angeles 10/18, New York 11/3, Washington DC 11/9, Dallas 11/15). Free resume reviews, 15-minute power seminars, Mentor Match, The Interview, Perfect Pitch, AND recruiters from top-notch employers. Start your day at Tory Johnson's Early Morning Seminar, where Women For Hire's founder reveals her own fired-to-hired story and latest job tips --advice that millions of viewers seek on ABC's Good Morning America.

Please reference www.womenforhire.com for future dates and information.

Financial Tips to Get You Through a Job Loss

By Renee A. Hanson, Wealth Advisor at Ameriprise Financial

If you find yourself out of work, there are several things you can do to help safeguard your financial situation until you land your next job, including:

• Overhaul your budget — Every penny counts. So look for large and small ways to reduce expenses. For example, cut back on cable TV, mobile phone and Internet services, use coupons and compare prices and shop for items where they are least expensive.

• Apply for unemployment benefits — If you don’t receive a severance package, unemployment benefits can financially help bridge the gap until you’re re-employed. In most states, you can apply at the local unemployment office or online, making it convenient and fast.

• Withhold taxes from unemployment benefits — Taxes aren’t automatically withheld from unemployment benefits, so set aside money to pay your taxes later or elect to have taxes withheld from your benefits if your state offers this option. Depending on your situation, you may need to make estimated quarterly tax payments. Talk with a financial or tax professional to better understand your tax obligations.

• Obtain health insurance — If you currently have employer-sponsored health insurance, a federal law known as "COBRA" entitles you to continue receiving that coverage at your own expense for up to 18 months at group rates upon termination of employment. Your employer or plan administrator will provide you with an election notice to enroll in COBRA coverage. The notice will include the date your COBRA coverage becomes effective, when it ends and what it costs.
  
  
• Become resourceful — Look around your household to see if you have items you are no longer using that you can sell at a garage sale, online or at a local consignment shop.
  

• Track deductible expenses — Certain job search expenses may be deductible, for example travel expenses for your job search and interviews. So, keep your receipts and discuss them with your tax professional.

• Leave your retirement account alone — If possible, avoid cashing in your 401(k) or retirement plan balance. This will enable you to avoid early withdrawal penalties and continue to benefit from potential tax-deferred growth.

For help making sound financial choices, consult a financial professional. He or she can help create strategies to meet your short and long-term goals regardless of your employment situation.

Do you want more helpful advice on managing your finances? Become a member of the Fresh Start Community of women today: www.wehelpwomen.com. Membership gives you exclusive access to all of the exciting & interactive workshops.

Renée A. Hanson, CFP®, CEP®, CDFA™, CFS, is a private wealth advisor with Hanson, Ayala & Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Her passion is in helping women achieve their dreams and financial goals, regardless of life’s many obstacles. Renée is licensed/registered to do business with U.S. residents only in the states of AZ, CA, CO, GA, IA, IL, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SC, TX, VA, WA, WI. Please visit: www.reneehanson.com to learn more.

Ameriprise Financial does not provide tax or legal advice. Consult your tax advisor or attorney.

Brokerage, investment and financial advisory services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Some products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all clients.

© 2011 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

How to Work for a New Boss

By Laura Browne,

Getting a new boss can be difficult. It can also be a great opportunity for you to start a good solid working relationship. What can you do to start off right? Here are some questions you should ask to make the transition easier and keep your career on track:

Before You Meet Your New Boss:

1. Ask Your Current Boss For Help – In many cases, your current boss will have a chance to talk to your new boss about you. Don’t be afraid to ask your boss to emphasize your strengths and interests when talking to your new boss.
   
   
2. Ask Others That Have Worked With The New Boss – This is where your network can come in handy if the boss is transferring from another area. Don’t panic if you get negative comments from others. Wait and decide for yourself when you work with the person. You may hear a negative review of your new manager’s working style from someone that had a personality clash with them, but you may find your new boss works well with you.

Ask These Questions, When You Meet With Your New Boss:

1. What’s Important To Them? Many employees make the mistake of focusing their first discussion with a new boss on their own job and career issues. While that is important to discuss, you should set the right tone by asking the manager to let you know what is important to him or her. What results are they interested in? What do they want to focus on?
   
   
2. How Can You Help Them? What does your boss want from you? Ask them what previous employees have done that they found helpful. One of my employees asked me what she could do to make my job easier. I really appreciated that kind of support.
   
   
3. What Problems Can You Help Them Solve? What keeps them up at night? You want to be seen as a trusted resource that can help them to be successful.
   
   
4. How Do They Like To Get And Give Information? Some managers prefer quick emails and others like to have long meetings. It’s important to understand how your manager communicates and adapt your style. For example, if you now work for a manager that dislikes details and just wants to talk about the big picture, that’s what you should learn to do in order to get heard even if prefer to give lots of details.
   
   
5. Do They Know Your Accomplishments? – Give your new boss a results summary with your accomplishments highlighted. Think of this as an internal resume and let your new boss know what you have done for the company. Discuss your strengths and be prepared to talk about how you plan to capitalize on them to support the new direction of the group.
   
6. How Can You Use Your Strengths? – After you understand where your new boss wants to take the department, then you can talk about your career aspirations. Highlight your strengths and be prepared to talk about how you plan to capitalize on them. Don’t be shy, you want to make sure your boss knows what you’re good at. Talk about the next projects you want to work on and other development opportunities. Ask for their help and their ideas. You don’t need to cover all this in your first meeting, you may want to save this for a future discussion.

Getting a new boss can be a stressful time in your career. It’s important to realize that it’s also a stressful time for your boss. Let him or her know you want to help them be successful in their new role and they will want you to be successful too.

Do you want more helpful advice on job searching, career advancement and improving your leadership skills? Become a member of the Fresh Start Community of women today: www.wehelpwomen.com. Membership gives you exclusive access to all of the exciting & interactive workshops.

Laura C. Browne has more than 20 years experience as a corporate trainer and manager and is passionate about giving women the guidance and communication skills necessary to overcome and be successful despite workplace and gender-specific challenges. For almost ten years, women from Fortune 1000 companies have turned to Laura for career guidance and training. Laura is the author of Raise Rules for Women: How To Make More Money At Work and Why Can’t You Communicate Like Me? How Smart Women Get Results At Work (both titles available on Amazon Kindle).

"Mad Women" - Tips for Horomone Happiness

By E, Author of Shmirshky: Pursuit of Hormone Happiness

Mad Men is an award winning series on AMC. It’s a great show, but I think it’s time for a new series: Mad Women.

Many women in the workplace are criticized for exhibiting behavior that their male counterparts find bizarre and inexplicable. ”Bizarre behaviors” are no more than dismissive code words some men use to describe the challenges women face during perimenopause and menopause (I call it PM&M for short).

We all know that women are as capable, if not more capable, of performing skilled and executive functions as are men. That being said, the efficacy of women in the workplace is still criticized due to our vulnerability to the maladies of hormone fluctuations. Many men say that PMS and PM&M makes women less capable. This, of course, is nonsense, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t some legitimate challenges that we have to be aware of. Unfortunately, you can’t leave your PM&M at home while you’re at the office.

Informed women can, as in other areas of their lives, enhance their functioning by educating themselves and preparing for the effects of PM&M, while in contrast, their male counterparts might be focusing on applying Grecian Formula hair coloring to their balding hairlines! A highly functioning and informed shmirshky (my word for a woman) in the workplace is not something to be messed with.

Women typically begin perimenopause between the ages of 38-48, and the average age of menopause (when you period has stopped for one full year) is 51. If you’re going to be one of the millions of women in PM&M going to work every day, you may have to contend with the over 34 menopause symptoms in addition to your workload! Familiarize yourself with these symptoms, so that you are prepared and empowered to get the help you deserve when the time comes. Here are a few tips to help you find hormone happiness!

1. First remember, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are over 50 million women in North America in menopause and that doesn’t include the women in perimenopause! Lots of shmirshkies are in the same boat as you.

2. Put yourself on the top of your TO DO LIST! I know you’re busy, but if you prioritize your health, it will put you in a better position to handle all the other tasks on that list!

3. Find a specialist in PM&M to be your medical partner on your
menopausal journey. This may not be the same doctor that delivered your babies or who does your yearly Pap-smear. If the medical group you are with does not have a PM&M specialist, find one! You can switch doctors - there’s no divorce attorney needed. See pages 47-56 in Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness for helpful tips.

3. Start charting your symptoms! You will find these symptoms listed on pages 168-9 in the back of Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness in the Shmirshky Daily Symptoms Chart. This will help you communicate to your PM&M expert exactly how you feel in a quick and easy way.

4. Discuss the possible tests you may need. For some suggested tests, see page 57-64 in Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness.

5. Most importantly, do not hide your shmirshky under a bush! Trust yourself, you know when you don't feel well. Reach out and get the help you deserve.

Let’s kick that Mad Women concept right out the corporate board room door. The only thing women in the workplace need to be “mad” about is being treated as if going through normal PM&M life cycles and challenges is some sort of handicap, disease, or craziness.

Reaching out is IN. Suffering in silence is OUT!

Members of the Fresh Start Community, be sure to check out your Special Offers page to get your copy of E's fun-loving Shmirshky book. Not a member yet? Become one by visiting www.wehelpwomen.com.

"E" is the pen name of Ellen Sarver Dolgen, author of Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness, a light-hearted, informative, easy-to-read book on menopause, and creator ofhttp://www.shmirshky.com, a resource treasure trove for women going through perimenopause and menopause.