Health Insurance for New Grads--The eBook!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard there’s a bit of a debate going on about health insurance. Should everyone be required by law to have it? Who foots the bill? And so on…

Now that you’ve graduated from college and aren’t covered under your parents’ plan, you need health insurance. Don’t think you’re invincible — because you’re not.

“But health insurance is complicated and confusing.” Yes, it is. That’s why Heather Huhman wrote Graduated, Unemployed & Un(der)insured: Why You Need to Stop What You’re Doing Right Now to Purchase Health Insurance and How to Pick the Provider & Plan Best for You.

Throughout the pages of this e-book, you’ll learn your health insurance rights, what COBRA is, why you might want to consider graduate school, different plans offered by employers, short- and long-term insurance options, how to shop around for a policy and the potential impact of healthcare reform. It’s all here.

The regular cost is $19.99. However, between now and 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, February 20, 2010, it will cost you only $9.99 if you use the coupon code ‘HALFOFF‘ during checkout. (If you don’t see the Add to Cart button below, click on the cover image to the left.)

To view the table of contents and introduction for free, click here.

In addition to a $5 off coupon for the next e-book she writes (a new one will be produced approximately every six weeks), purchasing this e-book today will guarantee you a copy of any future revisions. So, if a month from now there’s new information, you’ll receive an e-mail with the updated copy–for free!

From After-College to Quarterlife Crisis?

FYI, I did an interview this summer for the Road Map to the Real World blog, and I'm not sure if you know about it.

Download or stream the podcast here.

Enjoy!

Making an Entry-Level Salary Work for You

Grace Kendall posted a great blog post on the Come Recommended blog, The Classroom to Cubicle Project. She talks about how tough it is to live on an entry-level salary.

And she's darn right. It is hard to live on. She makes $25,000 a year and that may even sound low to some of you--but some people have survived on even less. Myself included, and it wasn't that long ago.

So how do you make it work?

I talk about this a lot in the book. The key, I think, is practicality. I stress having a roommate to save on rent costs, or co-habitating with your rents for a short period of time. Additionally, have a budget to stay on track of everything. These are small things that most new grads do to make it through entry-level pay.

And if all else fails, remember that everyone started somewhere and they made it through. Soon enough, you'll progress into your career and have enough money to live more comfortably. The beginning is tough...but it's temporary, too.

Getting a Clue When it Comes to Networking

The term "networking" gets a lot of slack. Most new grads are eager to start networking but aren't sure how. And if you've been in the professional world for a few years, you probably don't keep up with networking unless you have been recently unemployed.

Regardless, I enjoyed this article, "Thirteen Networking Mistakes." In it, the author discusses being "clueless" about networking.

I didn't smarten up about the goal of networking--or the importance of selecting the right network--until I dove in. I attended a meeting of a local media/PR group a few years back. After shelling out about $25 for the lunch, I went into the room and tried to spark up as many conversations as possible. ($25 isn't cheap, especially for a lunch with strangers, so I wanted to get the most out of it.)

Anyway, I managed to overcome my shy side and made a few new pals. Great! The problem? They were all in the same boat as me, looking for work. There were writers looking for designers to buddy up to, hoping the designers needed to liven up their visuals with exciting content. The designers were hoping the writers could bring them new clients. Neither side really had the clients that the other wanted. We were all "starving artists" for the most part.

Point is, if I was there to forge connections, I agree it was beneficial. But it would have taken more than one lunch to do that and I had such a bad experience that I never went back. To me, I'm in networking to make money and get leads. This was more for other creatives that wanted to commiserate or talk about computer programs. The other writers I met could hardly keep themselves afloat, so I knew I wasn't going to get work out of it. Same with the designers and "agencies"--most were one-man shops that did copywriting "in-house" to save money. (This explains why there are many sucktastic websites out there!)

Needless to say, nothing good came out of this, which is why when I network now, I ask myself two questions:

• 1. What do I want to get out of this?
• 2. What types of people do I want to meet?

See, for me, I don't have much of a desire to meet other copywriters--I'd rather get new jobs. So when I network, I go to broad business functions where I may be able to find a graphic designer that needs a copywriter to add content to his designs, but I can also find a hospital that needs an article for its newsletter or perhaps an insurance company that wants a new website. Copywriting reaches all industries, so I have to target all industries. I want to meet people in these industries, who can pass my name on to other business owners they know. By just meeting writers, I was closing doors because they were too reluctant to sub out work. (I don't blame them, so am I!)

New grads can expect to find plenty of networking, but in a similar respect I have mentioned, ask yourself what you want to get out of it. Are you looking for a mentor? Maybe you have a job and part of that is to get new leads? There are a variety of objectives so be sure to see what you can get out of it. If you're just in the market for some new friends, it's great for that too.

Another thing is to be aware that it can cost money. I'm not one to eat meals with strangers, so I am more drawn to cocktail mixers or events at libraries or other public places. Ask about memberships, too--some groups won't let you come unless you purchase a costly membership. On the other hand, your employer may pay for your membership if you're representing the company.

Think about what you want out of networking and do what's beneficial to you. With so many options out there, you've got to be selective--and you've got to get a clue!!

Share Your Dating Disasters during February!

Sometimes things get a little too serious on this blog...so when I heard about something fun for Gen Y'ers, I was all about featuring it!

Follow the Gen Y Dating Disaster series on the National Generation Y column during February to read real-life dating woes of Millennials across the country.

Each funny and incredulous story will feature a dating lesson learned and a little commiserating (after all, who hasn’t had their own dating disaster?)

For more information read, “Share your dating disaster story in upcoming series” and for more Gen Y Dating Disaster Stories, click here.