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Yahoo! Finance: How Long Until My Loan Is Paid
Off? "By making regular payment, you will eventually
pay off your loan. Use this calculator to determine how
much longer you will need to make these regular
payments to pay off your loan..." 081108
MSN Money: How much debt is too much? "Your
debt ratio is an important number to be acquainted
with. It tells you how your monthly debt payments
compare to your monthly income. A high debt ratio
might indicate that your monthly expenses are
becoming unmanageable. It also might discourage
lenders from loaning you any more money. Use the
Debt Evaluation calculator to determine whether your
debt ratio is acceptable or too high..." 081106
Yahoo! hotjobs: Holiday Party Fouls Die
Hard--Eat, Drink, and Be Wary "Mistletoe and egg
nog help make the holiday season festive, but they
can lead to crazy behavior that coworkers talk about
for years after the holiday work party is over..." 071214
Yahoo! Finance: Party Your Way to a New Job
"One of the most common job-hunting mistakes people
make is putting the search on hold from Thanksgiving
to New Year's. It might seem like entire offices are
hibernating, but the truth is, they're at holiday parties.
Join them there..." 071205
CNN Money: Corporations woo baby boomers
"With more than 1 in 4 workers eyeing retirement,
companies scramble to keep valued
employees...Corporate America is finally waking up to
the extensive experience mature employees bring to
the table and placing value on the benefits of retaining
older workers..." 071110
About.com: Bad to the Bone: Dealing With a Bad
Boss "You're weary. You're frustrated. You're
unhappy. You're demotivated. Your interaction with
your boss leaves you cold. He's a bully, intrusive,
controlling, picky or petty. He takes credit for your
work, never provides positive feedback and misses
each meeting he schedules with you. Or he caves
immediately under pressure and fails to support you in
accomplishing your job..." 071019
CareerJournal.com: Tips for Creating a Resume
That Downplays Job Hopping "If you've held several
jobs over a short period, and don't explain the
changes on your resume, you might look like a 'job
hopper' to recruiters and hiring managers.  Companies
are not interested in wasting their time or money
professionally developing a candidate that has not had
a successful career track..." 071015
wsj.com: Starting Up: A Benefits Package Can
Reel In Talent "When Chris Larsen and John Witchel,
co-founders of Prosper, a peer-to-peer online lender
in San Francisco, sat down with three employees
around Larsen's kitchen table to build the now
year-and-half-old web site, benefits were the last thing
on their minds. The staffers were all working for stock
options at the time..." 071010
Forbes.com: Now They Know You Know "It's
common wisdom that the best time to ask for a raise is
when you know your boss is in a good mood. But if you
find out that your boss knows you know she is in a
good mood..." 071003
CareerJournal.com: Online Social Networks
Expose Job References You Can't Control "Job
interviewees, beware: Your prospective boss may have
called your references before you walk through the
door -- and they may not be the contacts you
provided..." 070930
eSSORTMENT: How to quit your job "Submitting
your resignation can be a gutsy move. When you
resign, do it professionally, without apologizing or
burning bridges..." 080106
careerbuilder.com: America's 10 Most-Wanted
Workers "As more workers from the baby boomer
generation retire, millions of jobs are opening up
across a variety of industries; unfortunately, hiring
managers are having trouble filling these vacant
positions..." 070907
MSN Money: Don't ignore that debt collector "The
rules of engagement with debt collectors have
changed dramatically in recent months, and even
people who pay their bills on time need to understand
what's happening..." 081106
MSN Money: Insider's guide to debt
consolidation "You could get the convenience of one
payment instead of several, but you might not save
money or get out of debt faster. Look into these other
options first..." 081106
Times Online: Top economist says America could
plunge into recession "Losses arising from America’
s housing recession could triple over the next few
years and they represent the greatest threat to growth
in the United States, one of the world’s leading
economists has told The Times..." 071231
CareerJournal.com: Expand Your Connections
Through Online Networking "Francois Gossieaux is
the founder of a small software company in Boston.
When he heads to San Francisco in a few weeks for
an appointment with his first client, he'll also meet with
a handful of venture capitalists and potential
customers.  What's unusual about the subsequent
meetings is that all are with contacts Mr. Gossieaux
met by networking with people who belong to LinkedIn,
an online-networking service colleagues invited him to
join last summer..."  071021
careerbuilder.com: Six Rules for Effective
'Networking "For busy workers, networking online is a
great way to quickly meet dozens -- or even hundreds
-- of like-minded professionals.  It also can be an
option for those less inclined to reach out and socialize
with new business contacts in a traditional setting..."
071008
Forbes: Caution: High Voltage "Electric vehicle
companies are sparking to life all over. What happens
to them if GM or Toyota electrifies autos?..." 070926
active/rain: Mortgage Market Meltdown "Not a day
goes by that you do not hear about the Subprime
Mortgage Market disaster and how many people have
lost their homes due to bad loans, dishonest mortgage
lenders, etc.  But will the effects only be felt in the
Subprime Markets?  The answer may surprise you..."
080106
careerbuilder.com: Make Money Working in
Money "Most of us agree on one thing – we like
money. Do you like it enough to make a career out of
it?..." 080106
Working Mother: Best Companies for
Multicultural Women "...the 2007 Working Mother
Best Companies for Multicultural Women based on the
detailed application completed by each company..."
080106
careerbuilder.com: Five Dumb Things Job
Applicants Do "Are you the type of employee who
would say inappropriate things to clients or embarrass
your boss in front of senior management?"..." 080106
Yahoo! Finance: When an Employer Just Is Not
That Into You "No one ever said a white-collar job
search was easy. There's nothing relaxing or carefree
about tracking down corporate recruiters, following up
on interviews, and playing phone tag for days with
overstressed HR people and hiring managers. Job
hunting is grueling, mentally and emotionally..." 080106
Yahoo! hotjobs: 'I Hate My Job -- Now What?!'
"The job-hater's blues--If you can't stand going to
work, there are things you can do besides complain..."
070814
eSightcareers.net is a career support Website for
folks who are blind or visually impaired.  "[They
provide] access to authoritative career management
guidance geared toward those with disabilities who are
dedicated to learning how to manage their own
careers..." 080106
Vic Coelho's
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The Interview and the Eye

By Victor Coelho

He made a strong first impression the moment I saw him.  He was well-dressed, well groomed, looked intelligent, and
immediately made eye contact with me.  His handshake was a bit overly firm, and as he squeezed, I got the
impression I was involuntarily involved in a hand-grip competition designed to impress upon me his dominance.

Also, his eyes did not deviate from mine once the handshake was completed.  He maintained a deep, penetrating,
unwavering gaze.  Even though I knew better, I had the uneasy feeling he was trying to hypnotize me.  

Now, here I was in the interesting position of bringing into my office for a job interview, an individual who was
apparently very competitive and trying to make a strong first impression.  That he did!  I arrived at that conclusion
before he even spoke his first word.  Alas, even though the expression on his face was neutral to somewhat positive,
the impression was negative.

Why?  He came to MY office—MY Castle!  He wanted something from me—a job referral!  His eyes continued his
laser stare.  Even so, I decided to break the eye contact between us.  It wouldn't be appropriate, if someone were
observing, to look like two puff-feathered cocks with bobbing heads engaged in a stare down contest.  It's a well-
known psychological fact that the first person to break eye contact usually takes the submissive role in the following
interaction.  I am not a submissive type of guy—especially in my Castle.  However, to move things along, I shifted my
eyes to the chair beside my desk and invited him to it.  

Even with his constant stare, common courtesy on my part required me to listen to what he had to say, and to
consider what he offered as a candidate for the job referral.  His words were cordial, and he appeared confident and
composed, yet I felt tension growing within me.  His eyes remained fixed and unwavering.  I was the listener, and as
the listener, it was more appropriate for me to extend eye contact.  He was the speaker.  As the speaker, his
extending eye contact for more than the time needed to establish a connection became aggressive and an invitation
in to a stare down.  

What he had to say was lost in the unending glare of his stare.  The purpose of our coming together in this meeting
was for communication and communion leading to and supporting a positive referral.  Instead, he destroyed his
verbal message and presentation with negative body language.

He did not receive a referral.

The lessons to be learned here are:
1.        Eye contact, when made by the speaker, should be made periodically than broken away without looking
down.  The reason why the speaker should not look down when breaking eye contact is to not convey
submissiveness to the listener.  
2.        As the interviewer, I'm not looking for submissiveness or for aggression.  I'm looking for facts presented by the
applicant to justify my decision to refer.
3.        With him and The nonverbal cues provided by this applicant told me more about him than what he wrote out in
his application and verbalized in our conversation.