Time sheet app

The DOL released a Timesheet app (available on iTunes) meant specifically for employees to keep track of their hours, including breaks and overtime. The app is available in English and in Spanish.

The hourly rate appears to be set by the user, so it can be adjusted for overtime, for raises, or for the payments accepted from various contracts. This app may be particularly useful for librarians who are teaching job seeking or money management classes, or if they have questions from clients about wages--especially from teenagers who may not have tracked their own wages before.

From Workforce Management: Illinois Bars Job Discrimination Based on Credit History

Illinois Bars Job Discrimination Based on Credit History, though some workers, such as those in the financial services and law enforcement, or for "bondable" positions, will still be subject to credit checks and they may miss out on a job due to poor credit.

The first step is to get your credit report--you can get a free one each year--and be aware that there may be discrepancies between reports. For example, on my report, a store credit card I had closed out with 0 on the balance was still showing 3 years later on a credit report with one agency and the other agency was still showing an outstanding balance on a separate student loan that I had also paid off and closed out. And the two credit reports had two different home addresses. The two agencies didn't have the same mistakes in common.

Cleaning up errors and looking for discrepancies is the first thing a person can do if they are worried that an employer may hold a bad credit history against them. You may also want to go through the process for yourself, since you will need to have it updated if you plan to buy a house and some apartment management companies will also ask to view your credit report before approving you as a renter.

Get your credit report:

• Equifax
• TransUnion
• Experian (no longer has consumer credit services in Canada)

Why Your Credit Score Matters

Here is the first chapter, courtesy of FT Press, for the book, Your Credit Score: Your Money and What's at Stake. I'm sure if you have or are working at a reference desk, you have gotten questions about credit scores: what they are and how to get them, and this sample chapter gives you a brief history and explains how to get your score.

You might also want to get your own credit score, since it can affect so many aspects of your life, such as buying a car, a house and even renting an apartment, since some (many?) apartment managers check credit scores before accepting a rental application. Apparently, there are some employers that check credit history before making a job offer, but I am not sure how many libraries do it (though, as the article explains, it may be a matter of course for a government job offer, or if you need security clearance).

• In the US, Fair Isaac has the website, MyFico.
• In Canada, CBC's Marketplace has done a special called Card Tricks, about credit cards, and getting your credit score is on page 11, which also explains the factors that affect your credit history.

You should actually check for errors on your credit reports. The reports from the two agencies can be different, as I discovered when I applied for a mortgage. If you have had more than one credit card, or changed your address recently, I really recommend checking it.

Don't wait for a rescue

There are lots of posts (like this one) and articles (like this one) about is it a recession or a depression, how long will it last, etc. The only uniform answer is, we don't know. No matter how much knowledge a person has, or expertise in the area, that is the one certainty: we have none.

But there is one constant theme in all of this analysis that is beginning to make me nuts: The Obama Effect (Let Me Google That For You). Obama supposedly has had an effect on the campaign, on the confrontation in Gaza, and now, he will have an effect on the economy, (etc.)--possibly for the better. And his and the plans of his advisors will have an effect on the individual, so the Obama Effect is not all hot air.

But, in case you're confused, Obama's dad was from Kenya, not Krypton. The only person who will save you is you. If you're in school and you're worried about the future, this is what you need to do:

1. Check your bank balances and start saving, especially if you have no savings. Try this rule: with the exception of cost of living needs, if a desired item costs more than you make in an hour, don't buy it, eat it, visit it, view it, or hang it on your wall.
   
2. Don't buy anything else on credit since you will just have to pay it off later, with interest. Put your credit card in the freezer until you need it to buy bus or plane tickets to interviews or conferences. See suggestions #13 and #15 on ways to save money on traveling.
   
3. Look for ways to bring down your personal costs.
4. If you have a student loan, some lenders make sure you go through a consultation about repayment. Find out about getting one booked and learn about the repayment process, especially if your lender has a program for loan remission.
   
5. Ruthlessly squeeze every cent out of your tax return. See if there is a student service that will help you file for free or cheap.
   
6. Is your resume ready to go? If not, complete it and have it proofread by the end of this month.
7. What are the job resources available to you in your state or province? Does your library school have a job search library? Have you made job searching part of your daily schedule?
8. Ask your current employer about the prospects for extending your job into the summer or the likelihood of a position after you graduate. Do not believe gossip--cut backs or increases--go directly to the person who has hiring authority. Find out about their hiring plans and find out how you can become a candidate.
   
9. Subscribe to the appropriate listservs that have job postings in the field you are interested in.
10. Have you spoken with your references, or your internship/co-op coordinator or supervisor? Did you remind them that you are on the market and would be grateful for any advice (read  job leads) that they could send you?
    
11. If you are thinking about relocating, start using vertical search engines and niche job boards in that province or state and start applying for work.
    
12. Next month have a mock interview with a real professional interviewer and polish your skills. Get honest feedback, not from a person who loves you or forgot to give you a Valentine.
    
13. Does your web cam work? Do you know how to get it to work if it works but you have never used it? You can keep down interviewing and traveling costs by checking to see if your web cam is ready for action. [Sheesh, not that kind of action.]
    
14. Attend a session on negotiation so you can learn how to deal with HR, interviewers, bankers and landlords, so you can negotiate in regards to rent, repayment and salaries. You will need these skills if you have to work in purchasing or licensing in any library that has contracts with external companies (like, all of them) so now is the time to learn and practice, practice, practice.
15. Take advantage of as many free or low cost services that you can use right now, as a student. First of all, take advantage of the student rate to go to library conferences that have a career fair so you can hit at least ten potential employers, and get through some screening interviews.
    

Most of you with experience in taking care of yourselves will have already taken these steps; for others, these are new, or you're not used to doing so much at one time. Think about that: do it now, and check them off one at a time, or wait 'til you graduate and add, buy Maalox, to the list.

And how will you be paying for this?

According to this article from American Libraries, the stock market collapse will have consequences for many libraries that rely on endowments for funding, which means cuts to library hours, as well as, library staff. This could mean layoffs--but it could also mean decreased hiring in the coming year. It could also mean keep the people but fewer books and licenses, so don't despair about job offers yet.

One thing you can do is some research to figure out how your prospective employers are funded. The American Library Association has a section on their site dedicated to library funding, and Library Journal also offers a roll of articles about library funding from their pages. The state or provincial library site should have information about how the libraries within that area are funded (state name + library in Google should get you these websites).

So don't lose your nuggets over the news, but do a dig into the money sources of your prospects. This should also be part of your basic employer research that you take to an interview.

Tax perks for students

This is for Canadians: there may be some tax benefits that you can claim, as a student, that you are unaware of--though, as graduate students, you may be experts at these. If you went out of town for a summer job, save your receipts for the move.

More on microloans

CNET just released an article, At microloan sites, the new college try, today about microloan sites and student loans. Basically, a microloan is a "small" loan given to a person who is not eligible for or who has exhausted other forms of credit, with terms of repayment. The loaners are not always banks--though they or other agent can become a middle man--but could be normal people who just want to help someone. For example, I just made my first Kiva loan this past week, purely out of interest in the idea of microloaning. But I wonder: could I have had a greater impact, in line with my professional goals and personal beliefs, if I had helped someone with their education?

I have some other questions:

• Will a microloaning movement in education affect the amount of money people give to scholarships? A loan is different from a scholarship, but recycling money with microlending may appeal to some givers.
• Will it affect how much people give to their alumni association--which also disperses funds to students--if they are tapped out from giving their "charity" to microlenders?
  
• Should student financial aid offices or faculties start looking for funds for students by acting as agents or intermediaries to vouch for students?
• And, would you loan money on this site? Would you look for a library student who needed funds to complete his or her education?

I think this area is going to see a lot of action in the next year, possibly affecting some students this year and more in the years to come as credit gets tighter.

Microloans

I made my first loan on Kiva today. I decided to do it because I read Banker to the Poor over a year ago and I was interested in the premise. However, after I did it, I wondered: can you get a microloan to pay for college?

Yes. And expect that more companies may be throwing their hat into the ring in this area of lending. Why? Because lenders can see who they are giving money to--a feeling that their money is helping a real known individual--and, if they do their research, the lender can feel that all of their money is going to the recipient, little or no money to administration.

Here's microloaning in a nutshell: a person who is unable to get a loan from a bank, gets a loan, which they have to repay--loan not gift--that suits their smaller needs. Some people like this model--personal, just feel so warm and squidgy after, and if the loan is repaid, the credit can be reapplied--and others wonder if it is really helping: banks turn these people down for a reason and/or the terms of the loan may make them difficult to repay. For more information, check out Microfinance on Wikipedia, or this article from The Tyee.

As it gets more difficult to get loans for education--or if you just need an "emergency loan" and you don't want to go through the scholarship office or get a line of credit that has exorbitant interest--more people may opt for the microfinance option for their studies. And grad studies--short period, usually for professional education with higher learning potential (=pay back loan) may be an answer for some students.