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Before You Choose That College...

As college acceptance letters start to roll in, parents will soon have a better idea of their children's educational options for the years ahead.

But before students select a college and head off to school, financial advisers say there are a few things many families need to consider about how to handle the costs, get the most for their money and protect themselves against unexpected developments.

Below, five advisers share their words of advice for parents and their college-bound children.

1. THE ADVICE: Encourage your child to select a career first, and then a school.

THE REASON

Many parents and children approach college as a time to sort things out, to delve into a lot of areas and see which ones the child finds most inspiring. Greg Gilbert, an Atlanta-based financial adviser, sees it differently.

College, he says, is preparation for a career. But children often first think about what school they want to attend and then determine what career they will pursue. That can result in wasted time and money.

Thinking first about career options "helps children focus their college experience instead of hopping around from school to school," says Mr. Gilbert. It also may help cut down on costly extra classes in college and reduce or eliminate the need to retrain in the future, he says.

Of course, many high-school students have no idea what kind of work they want to do after college. Mr. Gilbert recommends that clients have their children work with a professional career counselor who can walk them through career options. In addition, he recommends that children shadow or at least visit with their parents' friends or other professionals in their field of interest and try to get volunteer or paid experience in the given field as early as possible.

"The key is not just saying 'Oh, I want to do this,' but instead, really actively vetting out the [career] idea to see if it's the right choice," he says.

2. THE ADVICE: Don't promise your child you'll pay the entire tuition.

THE REASON

It isn't that you don't intend to do it when you say it. But, warns Bob Goldman, a Sausalito, Calif., financial planner, "when the time comes, the parents may not be able to pay it." Being realistic, he says, will help the student make better-informed decisions.

The promise has become even more difficult for some of his clients to live up to after they have lost their jobs or suffered some other financial setback, he says. "The parents may now have to wrestle with [the choice between] paying for college or saving for retirement, and that makes for infinite pressure and pain on both sides," he says.

Mr. Goldman recommends skipping the promise, no matter how well-meaning and heartfelt, and instead have an honest talk with the child about the financial realities of the situation. He suggests parents might say, "I can pay X amount. If you want to go to a more expensive school, you'll have to borrow the money."

3. THE ADVICE : When deciding between an in-state public university on the one hand and a private university or out-of-state public university on the other, make your child responsible for at least some of the costs of choosing the more expensive option.

THE REASON

This takes away the "blank check" mentality when students weigh their education options, says John Gugle, a certified financial planner based in Charlotte, N.C. He also believes students are more likely to value their education when they bear some responsibility for the financial impact of their decision.

He recommends parents say the following to their children: "If you choose to go to the in-state public university, then we will pay all four years. However, if you choose to go to the private or out-of-state public university, then we will pay for three years and you will be responsible for one year."

Also, if the child goes to school beyond four years, the child should have to fund that additional cost, Mr. Gugle says.

This makes the child think "long and hard" about what they can afford, he says. Many of his clients have taken his advice, he says, and it has helped defuse a "thorny" decision-making process.

"Unfortunately money issues will often influence the college choice," Mr. Gugle says. "Parents and children need a way to balance the costs with the future benefits."

4. THE ADVICE: Make a deal with your child: Underperform and you're out.

THE REASON

"The whole concept is to promote responsibility and help the children understand this is a very important financial endeavor," says Donald Duncan, a certified financial planner based in Downers Grove, Ill.

Going to college should be considered the child's first real job, says Mr. Duncan, and job success should be defined by the child's GPA.

"If their GPA isn't satisfactory, they get fired from the job," he says. That means finding a less expensive option, perhaps a different college or a trade school.

If the parents are footing the bill, they should agree with the student on a certain minimum GPA before the child starts college. If the child is going away and the parents anticipate an extended adjustment period, the agreement might allow a certain amount of time for the student to make the grade. But the parents need to enforce the agreement if the child doesn't live up to the bargain, Mr. Duncan says.

In that case, a good community college may be a better value for the parents until the child is mature enough to realize the financial burden of a college education on the parents and is dedicated enough to make the cost worthwhile.

5. THE ADVICE: Help children protect their health and finances from uncertainty and risk.

THE REASON

Once a child turns 18, parents no longer have the legal authority to access the child's medical records or make health or financial decisions for the child, says Laura Mattia, a Fair Lawn, N.J., certified financial planner.

That loss of control over a child's care "is a hard thing for a parent to hear," she says, but families need to create a "game plan" to address the unexpected.

It should include three documents—a health-care directive, a HIPAA release and power of attorney—which together allow parents to access a child's medical records and make decisions on the child's health care and finances if necessary.

Ms. Mattia gave this advice to a client whose child was going to study in London for a semester. The client initially was shaken by the realization that she could no longer make crucial decisions on her daughter's behalf without taking legal action, Ms. Mattia says.

But it prompted a conversation between mother and daughter that brought into the open the anxiety they were both feeling about being so far apart and introduced the daughter to the importance of financial and estate planning. It also prompted the mother to take another look at her own estate plan.

"It was an empowering discussion for both the mother and daughter," Ms. Mattia says.

Corrections & Amplifications

HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to it as HIPPA.

Ms. Dagher is a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires in New York. She can be reached at veronica.dagher@dowjones.com.

22 Secrets HR Won’t Tell You

: About Getting a Job

What You Should Know About Résumés

1. “Once you’re unemployed more than six months, you’re considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don’t want anything to do with you.” –Cynthia Shapiro, former human resources executive and author of Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know

2. “When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your résumé is or how great your experience may be, it’s all about connections.” –HR director at a health-care facility

3. “If you’re trying to get a job at a specific company, often the best thing to do is to avoid HR entirely. Find someone at the company you know, or go straight to the hiring manager.” –Shauna Moerke, an HR administrator in Alabama who blogs at hrminion.com

4. “People assume someone’s reading their cover letter. I haven’t read one in 11 years.” –HR director at a financial services firm

5. “We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it’s something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com.” –Rich DeMatteo, a recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

6. “If you’re in your 50s or 60s, don’t put the year you graduated on your résumé.” –HR professional at a midsize firm in North Carolina

7. “There’s a myth out there that a résumé has to be one page. So people send their résumé in a two-point font. Nobody is going to read that.” –HR director at a financial services firm

8. “I always read résumés from the bottom up. And I have no problem with a two-page résumé, but three pages is pushing it.” –Sharlyn Lauby, HR consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

9. “Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan résumés for key words. The secret to getting your résumé through the system is to pull key words directly from the job description and put them on. The more matches you have, the more likely your résumé will get picked and actually seen by a real person.” –Chris Ferdinandi, HR professional in the Boston area

Secrets About the Interview

11. “It’s amazing when people come in for an interview and say, ‘Can you tell me about your business?’ Seriously, people. There’s an Internet. Look it up.” –HR professional in New York City

12. “A lot of managers don’t want to hire people with young kids, and they use all sorts of tricks to find that out, illegally. One woman kept a picture of two really cute children on her desk even though she didn’t have children [hoping job candidates would ask about them]. Another guy used to walk people out to their car to see whether they had car seats.” –Cynthia Shapiro, former human resources executive and author of Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know

13. “Is it harder to get the job if you’re fat? Absolutely. Like George Clooney’s character said in Up in the Air, ‘I stereotype. It’s faster.’” –Suzanne Lucas, a former HR executive and the Evil HR Lady on bnet.com

14. “I once had a hiring manager who refused to hire someone because the job required her to be on call one weekend a month and she had talked in the interview about how much she goes to church. Another candidate didn’t get hired because the manager was worried that the car he drove wasn’t nice enough.” –HR professional at a midsize firm in North Carolina

15. “Don’t just silence your phone for the interview. Turn it all the way off.” –Sharlyn Lauby, HR consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

16. “If you’ve got a weak handshake, I make a note of it.” –HR manager at a medical-equipment sales firm

17. “If you’re a candidate and the hiring manager spends 45 minutes talking about himself, the company or his Harley, let him. He’s going to come out of the interview saying you’re a great candidate.” –Kris Dunn, chief human resources officer at Atlanta-based Kinetix, who blogs at hrcapitalist.com

Plus: 10 More Secrets About the Interview

Things to Know About Salary Negotiation

18. “There’s one website that drives all HR people crazy: salary.com. It supposedly lists average salaries for different industries, but if you look up any job, the salary it gives you always seems to be $10,000 to $20,000 higher than it actually is. That just makes people mad.” –HR director at a public relations agency

19. “On salary, some companies try to lock you in early. At the first interview, they’ll tell me to say, ‘The budget for this position is 40K to 45K. Is that acceptable to you?’ If the candidate accepts, they’ll know they’ve got him or her stuck in that little area.” –Ben Eubanks, HR professional in Alabama

20. “You think you’re all wonderful and deserve a higher salary, but here in HR, we know the truth. And the truth is, a lot of you aren’t very good at your jobs, and you’re definitely not as good as you think you are.” –HR professional at a midsize firm in North Carolina

21. “Be careful if a headhunter is negotiating for you. You may want extra time off and be willing to sacrifice salary, but he is negotiating hardest for what hits his commission.” –HR professional in New York City

22. “I once hired someone, and her mother didn’t think the salary we were offering was high enough, so she called me to negotiate. There are two problems with that: 1) I can’t negotiate with someone who’s not you. 2) It’s your mother. Seriously, I was like, ‘Did that woman’s mother just call me, or was that my imagination?’ I immediately withdrew the offer.” –HR professional in New York City

by Reader's Digest Magazine

The Death of the One-Page Resume?

We've long been told to keep the resume to one page. But now that the job hunt has turned digital, job seekers are left wondering: Does that rule-of-thumb still stand?

While the answer depends largely on who you ask, many career coaches, recruiters, and hiring managers agree on something that comes as a shocker to job seekers who have edited, tweaked, and downsized fonts to abide by what was once regarded as a universal rule. If you need more than one page to showcase your fit for a position, they say, you should go for a second one.

"If you have enough experience and credentials to really highlight on two pages, don't short-change yourself," says Vicki Salemi, a recruiter and author of Big Career in the Big City: Land a Job and Get a Life in New York. "It's not the end of the world if you do need to go onto two pages."

Not only is the longer-than-a-page resume not the end of the world, but many recruiters and job-search advisors actually encourage job seekers to continue selling themselves after the page break. Paul Anderson , a Seattle-based career coach, says one-page resumes simply don't have enough content. "I completely advise against [the one-page resume] unless it's a college graduate or someone who's brand-new to the marketplace," he says.

This newfound affinity for page two is largely due to the job market's digital transition. Reading onto a second page now means scrolling down on a computer screen rather than actually turning a piece of paper. And job seekers have more than the human reader to consider; resumes are now at the mercy of computerized applicant-tracking systems. Those databases search not only for keywords, but for frequency of keywords, Anderson says, which means a resume that mentions coveted job responsibilities or skills four times is likely to outrank ones that includes that same keyword only once or twice. And to include keywords repeatedly, you need space--at least two pages, possibly three, he says.

It's not a system that rewards brevity, much to the chagrin of the human hiring managers who are next in line to read applications. That's why bosses like Jerry Hauser, who helps nonprofit leaders with hiring practices as CEO of The Management Center, still appreciate a well-written one-pager. "Partly what I want to know is that you can convey information concisely," Hauser says. "I don't need to know every last detail about each job. Often, the more detail there is, the less real information, because you're not pulling out the most important things you accomplished, which is what I'm really interested in."

That's the same approach advised by Fran D'Ooge, president of Washington, D.C.-based recruiting firm Tangent. Although she says it's now "the norm" for applicants to exceed one page, "the thrust of the one-page rule is still important, which is, keep it as short as humanly possible."

For job seekers in certain industries, however, as short as humanly possible means two or even three pages. That's because academics, as well as specialists in some scientific, technological, and healthcare fields, are expected to include published works, knowledge of various programming languages, or other esoteric skills. For those applicants, condensing to one page signifies lack of experience, which could land their resume in the digital trash.

[See Don't Underestimate the Power of Your Cover Letter.]

With all of this conflicting advice, how are job seekers supposed to figure out how long their resume should be? Though other experts will no doubt beg to differ, Susan Ireland, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Resume, suggests this neither-hard-nor-fast guideline: Aim for one page if you have less than five years of work experience, and if you have more, consider two pages (so long as you don't work in the industries listed above).

Yet even Ireland, who recognizes that two-page resumes are now widely accepted, recommends keeping it to one page if possible. "It's out of consideration for your reader," says Ireland, who has worked in the career industry since 1989. (Her resume is still one page.) "Take as much work off the reader's shoulders as possible, but still give yourself all the credit that you deserve."

Still, some managers like Jamie Morgan, who's responsible for staffing at Microsoft's online services, say they don't mind reading resumes longer than one page, as long as the presentation is straightforward. "I'm more interested in the content than the length," Morgan says. "I've seen people accomplish it very well in one page, and I've seen people accomplish it in two or three pages."

Therein lies the key: accomplishing it well. Ellen Gordon Reeves, a career advisor and author of Can I Wear my Nose Ring to the Interview?, says too many resumes are long for the wrong reasons. "A lot of people who have two-page resumes really could have a one-page resume, but they're not using the space efficiently."

If you do go for two pages, make sure your second page doesn't include an awkward amount of white space. If you're only using a quarter of the second page, try to condense it into one page instead. And if you're at one-and-a-half pages, play with the layout and fonts to use that leftover space, giving your accomplishments room to breathe. Don't forget to include your name on both pages and number them in case they get separated.

The lesson here? Do what works for you. "You shouldn't listen to some arbitrary, ridiculous rule that just won't die," says Dawn Bugni, a resume writer and former recruiter. "The only [real] rule for a resume is that it's accurate and it lands an interview."

Alexis Grant, On Tuesday March 8, 2011

agrant@usnews.com

Tim Johnson and Bernanke Discuss Jobs and Fiscal Responsibility

Recent Press Releases

Mar 01 2011

Johnson and Bernanke Discuss Jobs and Fiscal Responsibility at Hearing

Contact:Sean Oblack/Sam Gilford, 202-224-7391

Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held a hearing on the Federal Reserve Bank’s Semiannual Monetary Policy Report. The Committee heard from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and discussed the state of the economic recovery.

“It is clear that the Fed is taking aggressive action to help put people back to work and stabilize the overall economy,” said Chairman Johnson following today’s hearing. “We should be using every tool in the toolbox to create jobs and spur growth. Congress and the Fed have taken steps to encourage growth, including measures to increase small business lending and provide needed certainty and protections in the financial system. There is certainly more we in Congress can and must do to ensure our economy is on solid ground.”

Mindful of South Dakota families who continue to feel the effects of these tough economic times and the need to create more jobs, Chairman Johnson questioned Chairman Bernanke on what actions the Fed is taking to boost the economy. Chairman Johnson also reiterated his stance against continued deficit spending, noting that the nation needs to find pro-growth policies even as we decrease overall spending.

This is the second time this year that Chairman Bernanke has testified before the Senate Banking Committee. Chairman Johnson will continue to work closely with the Federal Reserve and other financial regulators to encourage economic growth and job creation.

The following are excerpts from this morning’s hearing:

JOHNSON: Mr. Chairman, has the bipartisan tax cuts enacted last

December been a boost to economic growth? And to what extent does it

complement the Fed's QE2 (quantitative easing) program short term?

BERNANKE: Yes, Mr. Chairman, everything else equal, the

additional tax cuts, including the payroll tax cut and the business

expensing provisions, should add to aggregate demand and contribute

somewhat to growth in 2011 and in 2012.

I should say that -- and so in that respect it's complementary to

the Fed's monetary policy actions.

I should say that in our projections and forecasts we try to make

an assessment of what we think is most likely in terms of fiscal

policy. And we had anticipated, as of November, for example, that

many of these provisions, including the U.I. (unemployment insurance)

and most of the tax cuts, would be extended. And so we had taken

that into account in our analysis.

That being said, there was some additional stimulus coming from

the payroll tax cut, for example, which we had not anticipated when we

-- when we were looking at our forecast in November.

JOHNSON: What is your perspective on how we can promote long-

term growth in light of the need to reduce the size of the deficit?

Are there particular policies or government investments that will

promote U.S. economic growth and our international competitiveness

over the long term even as we work to reduce spending overall?

BERNANKE: Mr. Chairman, I spoke about this a bit in the

testimony before the Senate Budget Committee.

The fiscal situation is very challenging, so on the one hand,

it's clearly important, and indeed a positive thing for growth to

achieve long-term fiscal sustainability. That will help keep interest

rates down, that will increase confidence, that will mean that future

taxes will be lower than they otherwise would be, and that will be

beneficial for growth.

At the same time, to the extent possible, I hope that Congress

will not just look at the inflow and outgo, but will also think about

the composition of spending and the structure of the tax code.

On the tax side, I think there's a good bit that could be done to

make the tax code more efficient and -- and also more fair and less

difficult to comply with.

On the spending side, I think attention should be paid to

important areas like research and development, education,

infrastructure, and other things that help the economy grow and

provide a framework through -- you know, that allows the private

sector to bring the economy forward.

So it's a double challenge. On the one hand, the need to control

longer-term spending; on the other hand, not to lose sight of the

importance of making sure that the money that is spent is spent

effectively and with attention to long-term growth.

###

Sen. Dorgan Credited for Native American Legislative Victories

WASHINGTON -- By any measure, 2010 was a banner year on Capitol Hill for American Indians.

And a huge factor was the pending retirement of a lone senator -- North Dakota's Byron Dorgan.

After years of trying, Congress passed several landmark bills for Indians, including laws overhauling tribal health care and law enforcement and settling a 15-year legal battle over lost royalties for mismanaged Indian lands.

Congress continued parceling out $2.5 billion in economic stimulus money to tribes and resolved four long-standing water disputes totaling more than $1 billion.

Tribal leaders and advocates call the two-year session that ended last week the most productive for American Indians in four decades. They offer several reasons, including strong support from the Obama administration, which has made tribal issues a priority.

And there was the Dorgan factor.

Dorgan, a Democrat, announced last January he wouldn't seek re-election after almost 30 years in Congress. Dorgan, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said he then "focused like a laser" on unfinished business, including the long-stalled bills on health care and crime.

"I was flat tired of working on these issues that were never resolved," he said in a recent interview in his Capitol office, which is adorned with Indian headdresses and tribal artwork. "I said, `We will get this done.' We can fix these issues by keeping a few promises."

Dorgan, 68, denies any attempt to craft a legacy, saying he merely wanted to complete legislation he had worked on for years.

"When children are dying and elders are dying, the time for talk is past," he said, noting that many Native Americans still "live in third world conditions in much of this country."

Jacqueline Johnson Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, the oldest and largest Indian organization in the nation, said Dorgan's pending retirement spurred action.

"To be honest, we all knew Senator Dorgan wasn't going to run again. There were things he felt very passionate about and really wanted to get done," she said.

Dorgan, she added, was "a consistent, energetic and persistent advocate" willing to listen to other viewpoints and gain bipartisan support. "I think that's why you see so many things passed," she said.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called Dorgan "a true champion" for Indian nations and rural communities.

The health care law, formally known as the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, was included in the larger health care overhaul passed by Congress last spring. It clears the way for more preventive care, boosts mental health resources and addresses recruiting and retaining physicians throughout Indian Country. It also focuses on teen suicide -- an epidemic on many reservations -- and improves treatment for diabetes, another chronic problem.

Dorgan said he told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid he would not vote for the larger health bill unless it included Indian health care. "That's not a threat, just a statement of fact," he said.

Dorgan also championed the Tribal Law and Order Act, which aims to give tribes more authority to combat crime on their reservations.

The measure authorizes more federal law enforcement officers and makes federal agencies collect data on crimes committed in Indian Country. It also requires the Justice Department to maintain criminal data on cases that U.S. attorneys decline to prosecute for various reasons, including a lack of evidence. A recent report found that federal officials decline to prosecute more than 50 percent of violent crimes on reservations.

On some reservations, fewer than a dozen officers patrol areas the size of Connecticut.

"If you report a rape, a cop might show up the next day," Dorgan said. "It's a full-blown scandal."

Congress approved $3.4 billion to settle the lost royalties case, which covers claims that Native Americans were swindled out of payments for oil, gas, timber and grazing rights for more than a century. As many as 500,000 American Indians will receive at least $1,500 apiece; some will get significantly more.

A total of $2 billion will be used to buy broken-up Indian lands from individual owners willing to sell, with the lands turned over to tribes. Another $60 million will go to a scholarship fund for young Indians.

The settlement was reached in late 2009, but was not approved by Congress until the lame-duck session that ended just before Christmas.

A separate settlement with the Agriculture Department will pay Indian farmers $680 million for improper denial of farm loans. The settlements and new laws, Dorgan said, are a matter of honor.

"We signed these treaties and made promises -- in writing -- and then broke them all," he said. "This is about keeping the country's promises."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/29/retiring-sen-dorgan-credited-native-american-legislative-victories/#ixzz1FwfO7rop