All in Professional Development

Top Negotiation Books for Parents: Unlocking Effective Results

Top Negotiation Books for Parents: Unlocking Effective Results

Catherine Agopcan
Financial Books, Mommy Money, Professional Development, Parenting

Negotiation skills are crucial in various aspects of life, including parenting. Whether you're trying to convince your toddler to eat their vegetables or discussing important decisions in the workplace, effective negotiation can make a significant difference in getting effective results. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of good negotiation skills for parents and highlight the top five negotiation books to help you become a master negotiator. Additionally, we'll provide you with valuable tips for negotiating with both toddlers and business counterparts.

Book Review and Summary: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Book Review and Summary: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Catherine Agopcan
Professional Development

“Negotiation is not an act of battle, but a process of discovery.”

This month’s book is all about negotiations. It’s called “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if your life depended on it” by Chris Voss. Chris Voss is a former FBI kidnapping negotiator. He shares nine key strategies hat he and his colleagues learned and use to help people in very risky situations. Here are the chapters in the book which correspond to the nine tested strategies.

The College Series: Setting Yourself Up For Internship Success

The College Series: Setting Yourself Up For Internship Success

Elaine Gamolo
Professional Development, College Series

The expert in anything was once an unpaid intern.

It’s the beginning of the spring semester and you realize that you’re going to have to face the realities of the real world in five months or so. It’s prime internship-searching season. You’ve googled “interview questions” dozens of times and are already anxious for your school’s career fair. This isn’t an article asking you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, nor is it a guide on what to look for in a company, but rather things to consider to ensure a more successful job searching experience. Whether you’re applying for summer internships or an internship over the school year, it’s important to think ahead and cover your bases when it comes to the internship applying process.

Be a Master at Virtual Interviews

Be a Master at Virtual Interviews

Elaine Gamolo
College Series, Professional Development

“The greatest superpower is the ability to change yourself.” - Naval Ravikant

With many people taking online classes or telecommuting to work, the world has made a major shift into the digital space. In this case, the typical physical interview may now not be the norm. There are many aspects of a virtual interview that are no different than a physical in-person interview, but there are also unprecedented things you may not be prepared for. Here are some tips on how to ace your virtual interview.

Tips to Help College Seniors Weather The Effects of Covid-19 On Their Future

Tips to Help College Seniors Weather The Effects of Covid-19 On Their Future

Catherine Agopcan
College Series, Alternative Lifestyle, Professional Development

“Mentors won’t make you rich. Doctors won’t make you healthy. Nutritionists won’t make you slim. Teachers won’t make you smart. Gurus won’t make you calm. Trainers won’t make you fit. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility. Save yourself.” - Naval Ravikant

With the help of one of our sisters, Elaine, who graduated from NJIT last year, we thought we would provide a few tips to help college students and more specifically, college seniors, weather the effects of Covid-19 in their future plans.

I was three years out of undergrad when the 2008 recession happened. I had just started a new job in New York City in a completely different industry when the mortgage crisis unraveled so a part of this are some lessons I learned during that time. The most important being to prepare and not let fear get in the way of action and to always think about your future self and future family.

How to Prepare Your Family Finances for a Recession

How to Prepare Your Family Finances for a Recession

Catherine Agopcan
Financial Basics, Professional Development

The best time to plant a tree was yesterday. The second best time is today.

The talking heads on TV are putting fear into our heads and hearts with the word “recession”. While I think we always have to be weary of the talking heads, it’s important that we start planning for an uncertain future and the best time to plan for an uncertain future is when the going is good. The thing with fear is that it paralyzes most of us from taking any action. Fear never goes away. We are wired to fear because it keeps us safe. While we sometimes think humans are complex creatures, our inner core and need is to ensure we survive from whatever could hurt us. The challenge is that wherever we turn, we are made to fear anything and everything because fear is used to sell us things. Instead of letting fear get to us, let’s put a plan in place that we know we can easily execute to get our finances in order before the slowdown happens for the sake of our future selves and our families.

Post Roundup: Money Advice for Nurses, Doctors and Those In the Medical Field

Post Roundup: Money Advice for Nurses, Doctors and Those In the Medical Field

Catherine Agopcan
Financial Basics, Professional Development

Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity.

After more than 30 years as a nurse (most in the ICU), my mother retired last year just shy of her 62nd birthday. It was her goal to retire before this birthday milestone. She shares her story her as immigrant nurse from the Philippines doing what she could do survive and thrive in a new country. For this blog post, I thought I would round up some of the more popular blogs and posts on personal finance from those who work in the medical industry.

Have You Told Your Boss How Great You Are

Have You Told Your Boss How Great You Are

Catherine Agopcan
Professional Development

I always dreaded completing my annual self-review because I had to condense everything I had done in 1 year into a paragraph. Then when I became a manager, I had to remember all of the other things my team and direct reports did. It became a chore. I was lucky though because as program manager, I was organized. I tracked milestones and I communicated successes and failures. Still compiling those at the end of the year was time consuming. The one thing I learned during my years as a program manager was to make sure my boss knew the good things I was doing. So this post, is all about reminding you to tell your boss how great you are.