It’s kinda cool to be included on the same list with Neil Gaiman (author of “Coraline”).

Also worth checking out are “Apostrophe Abuse” (name speaks for itself), “Blue Pencil Editing” (you can never be reminded too often about the difference between “continuous” and “continual”), and “The Urban Muse” (check out the recent thread about “should writers date other writers?”–WG has always thought no but then maybe that’s just her).

So, in advance of that happy day, here is a primer on the best way to quit your job.  Meanwhile, hang in there.

They definitely do not like questioning the base premise: i.e., that whatever it costs, whatever sacrifices you have to make, you absolutely must send your kid to college. 

Working Girl loves questioning base premises.  She’s always found conventional wisdom to be, well, conventional.  And she has long wondered whether getting a college education is always always necessary.  Don’t get her wrong, WG loves learning, loves books and ivy-covered halls and all the rest, and feels that college is a wonderful thing.  But is it automatically a wonderful thing, for every young person, no matter who she or he is or what he/she wants to do in life??  Is it worth, say, huge crippling debt?

However, she has learned not to voice such heretical thoughts to her friends-with-teens because she’s always frightened by the wild-eyed looks she gets in return.

That’s why it’s impossible to resist pointing out a humble little article buried in the bowels of today’s Wall St. Journal, entitled “What’s a Degree Really Worth?“  Turns out that some of the “proof” for why you-gotta-get-a-degree is a bit suspect.   You can read it for yourself but here are a few highlights:

• The statistics you hear the most (that, over their lifetimes, college grads earn nearly a million dollars more than high school graduates) are based on some pretty crude calculations of averages.  Plus, they’re using old numbers.  Note that in 1999, average college costs were $15K a year; today they are $26K.
• Comparisons of lifetime earnings don’t take into account income taxes or the cost of college itself.  Seems like a huge oversight. 
• At least one expert thinks that the million-dollar number is really more like $279K. 
• Even the College Board has admitted that its old claim that a BA is worth $800K is ”misleading,” and has removed it from its website.

Just in case you’re not wild-eyed enough, Working Girl would like to add:  Who’s to say that people who go to college and do well there are just, by definition, people who would normally do well in life, whatever their formal education?

P.S.  One last thought: If you are in school, or plan to go to school, congratulations!  Study hard.

Update:  For some fascinating anecdotal data, check out Gina’s comment below.  Thanks, Gina.

Even offensive.

Problem is….job hunters get this question all the time.  For example, a reader writes:

On sharing salary…I saw a friend at a networking function; he’s someone I know very well.  He mentioned they’re expanding and hiring, so naturally I threw my name into the hat.  He asked me what I’m making.  I didn’t want to say but he wanted a ballpark…I know he’s not the one who will ultimately hire but has a big influence on the decisions.  I gave the actual true figure but think maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. 

Well, what’s done is done, and you probably haven’t seriously harmed your prospects.  But in general you don’t want to give prospective employers your salary info.  You just don’t.  What does your old salary have to do with your new salary anyway?  You should be aiming for the “going rate,” based on the value you offer to this employer, which may have no correlation at all to what you made at your last job. 

So why do employers want to know your salary history?  WG’s theory is that a hiring manager’s first priority is to look for reasons to eliminate candidates.  It’s an easy way to shorten that stack of resumes.  If in your last job you made significantly less (or more) than the salary of the position they’re hiring for, into the recycling bin your application goes.

You, as job hunter, naturally want to be considered on the merits of your skills, training, experience, and potential–what you specifically have to offer to this specific employer.  You don’t want to be eliminated right off the bat just because of salary.  This is why career experts say to never be the first one to mention money.

The problem, of course, is what to do when they ask.  And they will!  So here’s a brand new Working Girl “Eternal Truth” (this one isn’t in the book): 

Just because someone asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer it. 

This is true in all areas of life, not only job hunting.   So check out this post for seven possible answers to the salary history question.  Nick Corcodilos, as usual, also has these wise thoughts about keeping your salary under wraps and divulging your salary history.  QuintCareers has a slightly different take. 

Chances are you’ll probably handle this question a little differently each time.  Often you need do no more than smile and change the subject.  (Try it!)  If you do find yourself blurting out a number, don’t beat yourself up.  There’s more than one path to satisfying and remunerative employment.

See “listening,” “showing appreciation,” “sharing credit,” and the rest.  It’s actually not rocket science.  But let’s face it.  We forget.

Bonus:  Advice applies to life, as well as work.  A twofer!

However, somewhere along the line she did muster up the energy to contribute this post to U.S. News & World Report (actually, it appeared on Wednesday).  It’s all about one of the most difficult things we ever have to learn–”how to take advice.” 

As opposed to “how to get advice,” which is pretty much of a no-brainer—–advice-givers are everywhere and only too eager to spill the pearls of their wisdom.  (This includes WG!)

But how to tell good advice from not so good?  How to judge if a particular suggestion, though it may be a good one, is a wise idea for you personally?  That’s not so easy and takes some practice.  Check out the post for a few tips.

Check it out for great ideas for giving killer presentations, asking for a raise, knowing when to stop talking and when to say No (important!), and more.  Working Girl’s tip?  How to quit a job.  Hmmm.

The problem is, how do you find one? 

If having a mentor is something is something you think “other people do” think again!  You could have one, too. 

Check out today’s post from U.S. News for 13 pretty easy tips for finding a mentor.  And then, have at it.

Okay, they’re not all “essential.”  You can pick and choose.  Even doing a couple can really make a difference.

(If you are only now becoming aware it is 2010, then doubly welcome.) 

Naturally, most of you do know it’s a brand new year.  Which is exciting and scary both.  Are you making any resolutions?  How are they working out so far?  Working Girl is writing her weekly post for U.S. News (about resolutions, will appear on Wednesday) and you will not be surprised to learn she ran across multitudinous sites/blog posts about making and keeping new year’s resolutions. 

For your reading pleasure, here are some of the best:

Gretchen Rubin over at The Happiness Project (her book  just came out!) wrote a great post in 2008 that is just as true today:  How to stick to your New Year’s resolutions — 12 tips.  Wise, practical, and doable stuff.

Here’s a nice solid article from Amelia Gray on Top 10 New Career Resolutions.

QuintCareers, ever the source of sensible advice, not to mention crystal-clear titles:  Making and Keeping Your New Year’s Career and Job Search Resolutions.

Do you have a job but, still, things could be better?  Career Expert Offers 10 New Year’s Resolutions Workers Should Consider for 2010.  Long title, short (& sweet) article.

Finally, for those new to the workforce, or experienced but thinking of changing careers, career guru Lindsey Pollak (author of Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to do Before You Join the Real World) offers 12 great tips: New Year Resolutions for Your Career.

That should get you started.