Career & Money Coach Blog

Considering shopping online this holiday? Read these tips first.

Are a few bucks saved really worth all that effort?

If you're routinely reaching for a sweater at work, odds are good the thermostat was set by a man.

Relocating for work? Make sure to ask your employer these six questions first.

These quintessentially American gaffes won't win you fans abroad:

· In Rome, scheduling a client lunch at the Olive Garden.

· In Jordan, suggesting a burka-free casual Friday.

· In Berlin, calling Gerta in accounting "a real Nazi about time sheets."

· In Toronto, asking a colleague if she knows your cousin Brenda, from Ottawa.

· In Tel Aviv, complaining about how your cubemate takes off for all the Jewish holidays.

Sweating a pink slip? Adopt one of these quirky-but-crucial office personas:

Cubicle Perez You've got the dirt on who's warring, macking, and fudging her expenses.

Lady PMS The gal who's always packing Kotex, Motrin, and Milk Duds.

Venti Sprinter When the boss joneses for her 3 p.m. latte.

Powerball Princess They give you a dollar - and their hopes for an early retirement.

No Raise - How About a New Computer?

TRAVEL SMARTS

Your new excuse for a sabbatical in Paris? It'll make you a superstar employee. When researchers presented scenarios that required out-of-the-box problem solving, a majority of those who zeroed in on the best answers had spent some years living in another country. What's more, a recent study found that former expats were more likely to be promoted. Explains Adam Galinsky, professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, "When abroad, you're forced to adapt to a local culture" and fit in—you're exercising your brain by thinking about cultural norms and how to adapt to them. What better excuse for having that after-dinner fromage?

Nearly half of all U.S. workers leave their PCs on overnight. Here, three urgent reasons to turn off before you head out:

1. Hackers spend their waking hours prowling for vulnerable computers. Don't assume your firm has up-to-date security—a third of small businesses don't.

2. Your computer is a carbon-spewing beast. Computers left on standby will emit 20 million tons of carbon dioxide this year—roughly the same amount as 4 million cars.

3. Powering down may save your job. U.S. companies waste $2.8 billion annually keeping computers on after hours—in tough times, that's a heck of a lot of salaries.

Rex Lee
The aggrieved assistant Lloyd on HBO's Entourage dishes on dressing for success:

"Before Entourage, I worked at a casting agency. One day I showed up to the office in a bright-orange shirt and red board shorts. I mean, I was just an assistant-who cares, right? My boss took one look at me and, in front of everyone, ordered me to go home and change. From then on, I came to work looking like the perfect Brooks Brother."

Head Count: That's the question we asked readers on MarieClaire.com. Of the 391 responses, 28% said they'd give up their offices; 27% said they'd work fewer hours; 18% said they'd give up vacation days; 17% said they would relocate. Only 11% said they'd take a pay cut.

The typical desk—home to the rarely cleaned keyboard, mouse, and phone—carries 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat, says University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba, Ph.D. And since women tote more stuff to work (makeup, a change of shoes, Junior's macaroni art), their offices are usually twice as germy as their male colleagues'. One especially cringe-worthy hot spot: your handbag. "Women's purses tend to be really dirty, because they put their bags on the floor everywhere-even in the bathroom," says Gerba.

THE GERMIEST LOCALES IN YOUR OFFICE:

Keyboard: 719 germs per square inch
Mouse: 846
Handbag: 882
Desktop: 1270
Phone: 2180
Chair: 67,700

If you're out of a job, dole out proper business cards at your next meet-and-greet. The major office-supply chains offer fast turnover on cheap custom printing, typically starting at $10 for a box of 100. Here, no-fail tips for ensuring sharp cards that scream "hire me."

· Use your last job title.
Cutesy titles (e.g., Chief Idea Officer) are a no-no with would-be employers.

· List no more than one phone number.
Include your name, title, address, e-mail, one contact number, and a website if relevant--that's all.

· Don't get too fancy.
Unless you're in a creative industry, stick with simple cards, jazzed up only with a logo, rounded edges, or glossy finish. Skip free services like VistaPrint.com, which puts its logo on the back of cards. Tacky.

If you're one of the nation's 3 million extreme commuters (you log more than 90 minutes a day to get to work), consider these sanity-saving gadgets.

In this economy many folks (both in a job and out) are attending network events. If you're out of a job we suggest investing in personal business cards so you don't show up empty handed.

Still got a job? Personal cards could still be useful - why not create your own "flirt cards" that list your name and phone number. It's an easy (and safe) way to hand over only the necessary information to potential suitors.

Get 50% off your business card order at Zazzle.com, good on all three sizes: Skinny, Business, and Chubby.

To save 50%, go to Zazzle.com/businesscards and enter promo code: ZMARIECLAIRE at checkout.

We rounded up five experts to answer: What's the best way to get back in touch with job references?

We rounded up five experts to answer: What's the best way to spend my tax refund?

Every Tuesday night for the past two years, I have doled out $4 Miller Lights and margaritas at a hole-in-the wall pub next to my apartment that doubles as a karaoke bar. I cannot count the times I have wanted to quit. Now, I cannot thank the manager enough for giving me extra shifts. I always thought I was better than the other employees at the bar because I had a "real job" and was only there to make some extra cash. These days, I don't talk back to the angry customers who think I put too much olive juice in their martinis and I silently pray that the drunk men who stay until closing time will give me good tips because they like how I fill out a pair of jeans.

Before, the bar was my second job, and it's very strange to think that this is now my primary source of income. Sometimes I wonder how my parents would feel about it — but I'm too afraid to ask them. Surely they did not drop $100,000 on my college education to see their only daughter get hit on by men twice her age while wearing an outfit half her size. I had gone to college to become a journalist — a word that symbolizes international expeditions, Pulitzer Prizes, and bylines in important magazines; a word that still gives me goose bumps, despite the fact that things haven't worked out so well on that front.

For all my initial complaints about bartending (the long hours, the obnoxious customers, counting soggy dollar bills at the end of the night), I have developed friendships with the cast of characters who make regular Tuesday-night appearances. There's Jade, the 40-something single mother trying to re-enter the working world, having spent the past five years as a full-time mom and the past two in a bitter custody battle with her ex. Then there's Mark, the civil court judge who loves ginger ale and comes to the bar with the sole intention of singing Buddy Holly. He confides in me about his wife's multiple sclerosis, which, according to his most recent update, is getting worse. The bar and Buddy Holly provide a brief escape from his fears, and I like being the person he lets his guard down with.

It's no surprise that Manhattan kids grow up differently from most. Perhaps it's the plethora of cultures they encounter on any given city block that makes them more worldly than children who grow up in, say, Tuscaloosa (not that I have anything against Alabama. I'm sure it's a swell state).

Pitying me for lack of funds and no job prospects, my former coworker asked me to babysit his 2-year-old daughter, Charlotte, while the nanny is on vacation. I have never met a child as astounding as Charlotte, a bilingual wunderkind who takes naps willingly and insists on listening to classical music when she's getting dressed. Charlotte takes ballet classes, sings American and Korean lullabies, and eats things like soba noodles and tofu. She's 2! Where else in this country, I ask you, do 2-year-olds eat tofu?

I took Charlotte to ballet class. However, I did not realize the effort involved in taking a child from point A to point B in this city. Packing her lunch, snacks, diapers, and ballet slippers left me sweating and exhausted before I even left the apartment. And walking anywhere with a stroller is like going through some kind of boot camp course. It took me 25 minutes to walk 10 blocks, since I was so paranoid that a crazy person would snatch Charlotte out of her stroller or that we'd fall into a manhole.

Despite all the work involved in taking care of a child, it's amazing how drastically different Manhattan is at 11:00 on a Monday morning. I can't remember when I was last out and about in this city actually noticing my surroundings, or had the time to do so. The city is serene somehow. While sidewalks at 9 a.m. are mobbed with Wall Street workers in suits (or what's left of them), 11 a.m. is the hour of parents and toddlers, full of sing-alongs and tutus. I'm not saying I want to be unemployed forever, but a girl could get used to this.

Laid off? Tired of your cubicle? Need a raise? Want a change?
Search for your dream job — it just takes a click.

Job Training: Finding the right words.

Every time you apply for a job or try to line up a date on Match, you're going to be Googled. To maintain control of your cyberimage, follow these simple steps, courtesy of Chris Soghoian, expert on cybersecurity at Harvard.

• BE YOUR OWN WEBSITE. Outwit Google by visiting godaddy.com, and where, for $10, you can make your name a domain, so "yourname.com" will appear at the top of search results. (Don't forget to fill the site with pics of you hanging with George Soros.)
• SELL YOURSELF. Buy your name as a Google ad for $5 (you'll also pay about a nickel for every click), and it will pop up whenever someone searches for you. You'll get a report from Google about those cyberstalking you — where they're from, how often they're visiting, and what keywords they're using to find you.
• SNEAK AROUND. To prevent others from tracking you, sign up for TOR, the free "anonymizing proxy" developed by the U.S. Navy (torproject.org). Combine it with "porn mode," geek-speak for your browser's privacy setting (just search for instructions to set up Incognito on Google Chrome, Stealther on Firefox, Private Browsing on Safari, and InPrivate on Internet Explorer), and it'll be the last traceable search you'll make.
• JUST ASK. If you hosted a blog you no longer want visible, use Google's Website-removal-request tool (google.com/webmasters) to have it stricken from their cache. No fingerprints.