Career

Did you know that there are over 100 pharmacist-related career paths? 

Pharmacy is a well-recognized branch of biology globally with multiple careers and job options. You may choose to be a hospital pharmacist, research assistant, military pharmacist, community pharmacist, or any other, depending on your interest domain. Pharmacists work with other healthcare workers to ensure quality patient care. They not only serve in hospitals, clinics, or the military but also research and produce better treatment options.

Here’s a brief introduction to various pharmacist career paths in the pharma industry. Have a look and see what interests you the most.

Hospital Pharmacist

The need for hospital pharmacists was not realized by the management and doctors a few decades back. Physicians were believed to be enough to diagnose ailments and prescribe and dispense medication. However, with the passing of time, hospital pharmacists have become essential. They make sure that every drug administered to the patient follows protocols of rational drug use.

You may also make interventions where needed. Pharmacists are also a part of purchasing, and managing inventory, compounding medicines, and testing drugs in the hospital. Being a hospital pharmacist is a good choice if you want to interact with patients and contribute to their well-being directly. It enables you to utilize your knowledge and provide immediate, adequate treatment.

Hospital Pharmacist Average Salary: $144,000

Community Pharmacist

The role of a community pharmacist is not as direct as a hospital pharmacist. Alternative to hospital pharmacists, community pharmacists may interact with the customer instead of the consumer. However, being a community pharmacist is perfect for learning and serving your local community. Community pharmacists are also known as retail pharmacists.

A community pharmacist must have impeccable technical knowledge and communication skills. They should be well-versed with the dose, frequency, routes of administration, side effects, etc., of every medicine they work with. As a community pharmacist, it will be your responsibility to counsel the consumer and customer about the medicine intake.

Community Pharmacist Average Salary: $114,504

Clinical Trials

Many firms recruit pharmacists to conduct clinical trials of newly launched drugs and vaccines. The pharmacists collect data about the volunteers and record the outcomes. They monitor the safe storage and administration of the drugs and minimize adverse effects (if any). Pharmacists overlook clinical trials to ensure patient safety and protocol compliance. They also counsel the participants and explain the procedures to the hospital staff for their support.

Clinical Trials Pharmacist Average Salary: $103,044

Military Pharmacist

Whether you belong to the US or any other part of the world, you can apply for a pharmacist position in the military. The air force, navy, and army have specialized pharmacists that cater to the medical needs of the soldiers. You will be deployed to different locations to utilize your expertise for those who protect the borders. It is an excellent choice if you have always wanted to be a part of the military yet choose to be a pharmacist.

Military Pharmacist Average Salary: $63,695

Production Pharmacist

Besides hospitals and the community, pharmacists are the backbone of the drug manufacturing industry. They are involved in research, planning, production, quality assurance, and many other roles including development in a drug production plant. Production pharmacists are an important part of the drug manufacturing chain. They do not operate the machinery themselves; yet supervise the workers. Production pharmacists must be vigilant as the tiniest miscalculation or wrong processing can ruin the whole batch. You may also look for quality management roles at a pharmaceutical plant.

Production Pharmacist Average Salary: $61,606

Research and Development

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that pharmaceutical studies would not have existed if research and development were not there. Research and development is a crucial component of the pharma industry that works to introduce better drug therapy for patients. Pharmacists in R&D do not only work on inducting new molecules to them for treating pathological conditions, but they also find ways to offer improvement. Companies spend millions on research and look for pharmacists best suited for the job. You can be a part of a research facility if that interests you.

Research and Development Pharmacist Salary: $144,814

Regulatory Affairs

Regulatory affairs are among the most demanded pharmacist career paths in the pharma industry as it pays pretty well. As the name suggests, pharmacists in this domain regulate the safety and efficacy of the drug. They direct the product quality in the pharmaceutical company for the drug safety department, such as the FDA to approve the medicine.

They monitor each step of the process, from the discovery of the molecule to the pricing as well as post-marketing protocols. Regulatory affairs include lots of research work and in-depth knowledge about the therapeutic and physical attributes of a drug. Regulatory pharmacists are critical for pharmaceutical industries to launch new products.

Regulatory Pharmacist Average Salary: $102,564

Pharmacovigilance

As a pharmacist, you must have heard “pharmacovigilance,” but what is it?

Many people confuse pharmacovigilance and regulation. However, they do not perform the same function. Professionals in the pharmacovigilance department act as drug safety officers to discover, evaluate or prevent drug-related issues. They are responsible for monitoring the drug’s safety profile from the phases of induction and manufacturing to post-marketing. They report the adverse effects to the regulatory body, which may recall a specific batch with several complainants. 

Pharmacovigilance Pharmacist Average Salary: $71,116

Nutraceutical Pharmacist

Nutrition-related products have existed for a long time. Yet, nutraceutical has gained a significant place in the pharmaceutical market now. Many pharma industries are creating products of natural origin to produce supplements along with other foods like granola bars and cereals with added nutrition. You can be a part of the nutraceutical department in the pharma industry and contribute to nutritional products for the consumers. 

Nutraceutical Production Pharmacist Average Salary: $79,243

Care Facilities

Long-term care facilities like nursing homes and retirement facilities usually have a staff for the medical needs of the residents. Usually, pharmacists are also a part of the team other than CNAs or PCTs. They work with other healthcare providers to manage medication and appropriate dosing. Some elderly residents suffer from chronic diseases and require close monitoring. Pharmacists play a major role in ensuring the best treatment in such facilities.

Long-Term Care Pharmacist Average Salary: $114,629

Veterinary Pharmacist

Did you know that veterinary clinics and hospitals also recruit pharmacists? Yes, they do!

Pharmacists in veterinary services compound medications according to the needs of the pets. The medication has to be prepared vigilantly according to the pet’s condition and weight. And who can do it better than a pharmacist!

But, being a veterinary pharmacist requires further education and training in veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics.

Veterinary Pharmacist Average Salary: $122,189

Marketing

Often fresh Pharmacy graduates do not know that they can also try their luck in marketing. Typically, it is considered a field for business students. However, the knowledge of pharmacy enables you to market your product better. Pharmaceutical companies welcome pharmacy-degree holders into their marketing departments. They understand the protocols of pharmaceutical marketing and comply with the regulatory instructions. 

Marketing professionals in the pharma industries collaborate with pharmacovigilance and regulatory teams to provide accurate information to doctors and patients. They plan conferences and seminars to educate physicians and prescribers about the medicine. They also conduct marketing analysis pre and post-launch of the product with the help of test marketing and other strategies.

Marketing Average Salary in Pharma Industry: $56,375

Sales

Sales in pharmaceutical companies work traditionally. The pharmacist’s sales approach is to educate the doctors through visual material. They connect the company to potential customers and provide samples at hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics. While their main motive is to amp up the sale, they ensure giving the right information regarding patient care, including therapeutics and side effects.

Sales Rep Average Salary in Pharma Industry: $94,840

Locum Pharmacist

The concept of locum pharmacists as a pharmacist career path in the pharma industry is not much popular. But, we’ll tell you what many others don’t know!

Locum pharmacists are described as temporary or freelance pharmacists registered with their country’s pharmacy society. They are often asked for their service when regular pharmaceutical staff goes on leave, such as vacation, sick leave, maternity leave, etc. It is a suitable choice if you are an adventurous soul with a pharmacist degree who would love traveling. You might have to go to different locations where pharmacists are required.

Locum Pharmacist Average Salary: $172,489

Academics

It is often not suitable for many graduates to opt for extended hours in the pharma industry or night shifts in a hospital. If you love learning and teaching, you can obtain further education and make your way to being an educationist in your domain of interest. Often colleges and universities recruit alumni, which is always worth a shot!

Pharmacology Professor Average Salary: $94,485

The Bottom Line

Being a pharmacist is great as it comes with endless options to choose from. You may join a hospital, retirement facility, pharma industry, retail pharmacy, or university to put your skills to use. Hospitals and industries welcome pharmacists in multiple roles like compounding, dispensing, production, research, pharmacovigilance, marketing, sales, etc. You may also opt for a veterinary pharmacy to compound and administer medication for the pets.

From so many pharmacist career paths in the pharma industry, choose the one that interests you.

Unless you operate as an online selling business, counting money is integral to every business. It is vital to have a skilled cashier to make sure no mistakes occur. However, that does not mean not hiring beginners.

Proper training is inevitable if your new cashier is inexperienced or you do not have a cashier at the moment. Here’s how to count money as a cashier without making any mistakes.

Understanding the Need for Training

Counting cash comes naturally to all of us. Yet, keeping a cash drawer for a business is different from counting money in your pocket. You must tell your employees why they need to be trained before managing huge amounts of cash. The need for human interference does not go away even when you have cash registers and counters. Learning to count money as a cashier will come to the rescue in case of a power failure. It also allows easy rechecking of money count.

Verifying Registers

The first step in training new employees is training them to verify the drawer balance. Do not forget to tell them to verify the balance before starting their shifts. It is better to do the verification process under the supervision of a manager or a supervisor. It will help reduce the chances of mistakes when they add money to this account. The cashier must know that they are responsible for the cash drawer. No other employee except the manager can access the cash register beside them. Counting the cash in the cash register is critical before you add more money to it.

Making Change

Many people might think that it’s an easy job to make a change. However, you may not be aware that major blunders often happen in giving change to the customers. Most customers usually do not pay the exact amount. Instead, they would pay a round-off figure, and you have to give them their change.

Train your employees to make changes for the customers correctly. The best way is to use the count-up method. It involves adding the amount to the total purchases, bringing it to the amount paid by the customer. The cashier takes the amount of cash from the customer and sets it on the register. Next, they count up to obtain the nearest round figure, then to the total paid by the customer. For example, a customer pays you $100 for a $76.60 product. You firstly add coins to make it $80 and then add bills to make it $100. It is an easy method of counting money with fewer chances of error.

Counting Back

While the chances of mistakes are less with the count-up method, they are still possible. The next step is to count the money again while giving the money back to the customer. You may also count it verbally and place each piece of currency in the customer’s hand gradually.

Balancing the Drawer

Just like verifying the balance at the beginning of the shift, the cashier has to balance the drawer before winding the shift. The cashier must count the total amount in the register and non-cash (ATM card/ Credit card) transactions. The ending balance should be accurate according to the opening balance and daily transactions. All the data must be added to a spreadsheet or other computer software.

Train for Cash Devices

Training your cashiers to use cash devices saves their time and allows rechecking the amounts. You may add a cash counter or coin and note recycler to count money as a cashier error-free. It is a vital addition for efficient cash counting.

How to Count Money Fast?

The ability to count money fast is one of the essential skills for a cashier. No one wants to stay in the line for a long time. Your cashier should count money fast without errors to avoid damage to the company. Here are a few tricks to count money faster:

• Firstly organize your denominations into different groups.
• Then make reasonable stacks if you have a particular amount to work with.
• Improve your speed by practicing in your spare time. 
• Always double-check the counted money before you are sure you are a pro.
• Use a money counting machine when you are low on time. You may also use it to recheck the amount after counting.

What to do When Someone Asks for Change?

You may sometimes come across situations when people come to ask for change for a particular bill. The best approach is to ask them about their needs and use your techniques to count money as a cashier. Lay it down on top of the cash drawer and count the change in bills as required. Hand over the cash to the customer, verbally counting it to them. If it’s a large amount, it’s better to give some bigger bills and a few smaller ones.

Today, most companies hire candidates who specialize in a particular field. This allows the organization to put that person to the best use for the company’s progress. Job specialization is not a new concept. People have always been working in their field of expertise. However, now companies invest in grooming and specializing the employees to the fullest in a particular area.

Though job specialization helps organizations to grow, there are various advantages and disadvantages of job specialization. We have put them together in this article to help make the right decision.

Let’s have a look at them.

What is Job Specialization?

Monash defines job specialization as the process of focusing one’s occupational concentration on a specific area of expertise.

Job specialization refers to improving your expertise and skills in a particular domain. It allows the employees to become masters of their craft and provides more skilled workers to the company. Specialized employees working in a department can handle tasks more efficiently and conveniently than others.

Job specialization requires training and experience. Though, the workers become adept at their tasks eventually. It reduces the period of resolving a complicated task and gives you a mastered force. Whereas, sometimes, the work can be monotonous and tiring for the workers. The pros and cons of job specialization are as follows.

Advantages of Job Specialization

Boosts Productivity

One of the most significant advantages of job specialization is improved productivity. Dividing the jobs between workers according to their specialization allows them to work fast. A professional understanding a particular subject in detail can find a better way of performing the task than others.

For example, an unspecialized person will need to research the problem from scratch to find a solution. On the other hand, a specialized person already understands the issue. It enables them to solve the problem steadily.

Lesser Risks

When a person performs the same task repeatedly for an extended period, they are less likely to make mistakes. They may also assess risks beforehand to avoid loss of resources. One example of this advantage of job specialization is someone who manages accounts. Someone who has taken education in finance and has been working in the department for years would be better at it. Conversely, a person with a degree in marketing might not be the best fit for the job.

Saves Time

Doing something every day makes employees good at their job, and they take less time to perform the function. At the same time, the non-specialized workforce will take more time to understand the task and act accordingly. That is why companies invest in workshops to improve the skills of their workers. They help improve production in less time.

Less Supervision Need

When a set of experienced experts in the same domain work together, the company trusts them more. They do not require extensive direction and supervision. Choosing the right person for the right task through job specialization gives them the liberty to work independently.

Reduced Costs

Lesser risks and improved productivity eventually reduce the cost. It helps minimize wastage and diminishes the costs of covering mistakes. Job specialization helps you in the long run by recruiting the right people for the task that proves beneficial for the company.

While specialization proves favorable to the organization, both the advantages and disadvantages of job specialization are crucial. Let’s talk about the disadvantages of job specialization.

Disadvantages of Job Specialization

Monotony

Performing the same tasks every day can become monotonous, and the workers might feel drained. While job specialization improves productivity, sometimes monotony may decrease it. Tedious work for a long period tires mentally and physically.

Dependency

When employees of a particular department are adept at one kind of job only, they are more dependent on others. They cannot sort out other issues that do not fall in your domain. Thus, some tasks may face a delay in the absence of workers with a different specialty.

Inflexibility

Specialized professionals are also inflexible and may not sometimes prove beneficial for a company. Let’s say that a company focuses on job specialization. They might face difficulties when they have to cut down the number of employees as specialized employees cannot fit well in other departments.

Less Job Satisfaction

The same environment and tasks regularly can be quite boring. The workers may sometimes need a break from their daily tasks, or it can lead to less job dissatisfaction. If they continue to work for a long time without a break, they might think about shifting to another job.

Isolation

Employees in an office like a harmonious environment and interact with other people. Sometimes, specialized jobs restrict you to an area away from other workers and disconnect from the rest of the process. Isolation also causes an increase in frustration among employees.

Increases Cost

Job dissatisfaction may lead to a higher turnover rate, increasing the demand for more recruitments. When recruiting specialized persons, you may also have to pay them higher for their expertise. Moreover, arranging interactive activities for isolated employees adds to the organizational budget.

The Bottom Line

Job specialization is being widely adopted in organizations to have the experts on board. However, the advantages and disadvantages of job specialization go hand in hand. While it improves productivity, it may also tire the workers mentally and physically. On the one hand, it reduces the need for supervision. On the other hand, job specialization may isolate some of the employees. It often reduces costs owing to enhanced production. Yet, it may sometimes increase the costs of recruitment.

Today, many people find it difficult to depend solely on their salary to meet their personal and family needs. With the current cost of living, relying on only one source of income makes you feel like you’re not making any headway.

Aside from that, you may have debts to pay, and a percentage of what you earn is deducted to cater for those loans. For that reason, you’d want to bring in some extra income by starting an online side hustle.

Having a profitable side hustle can assure you of financial security and eliminate the constant fear of job loss. With a bit of creativity and commitment, you’re sure to have additional cash to supplement your current budget. That said, have a look at some of the tips to get started:

1. Choose A Suitable Online Hustle

For starters, there’s a long list of online side hustles and you need to pick one that suits your line of interest. Have time for self-reflection to establish your outstanding skills or even a hobby. 

For instance, if you like reviewing products, you can spend your free time filling out online paid surveys. Luckily, it’s not difficult to get one since you only need to register and have a profile and portfolio on a reliable platform. Afterward, the operators contact you the moment they find a survey that suits your profile.

Here are some of the benefits of doing paid surveys as a side hustle:

• They’re entirely free to take part.
• You can work from the comfort of your home.
• They pay very well.
• You have a choice of selecting the type of surveys you prefer.
• Your opinions count since businesses take them into consideration.

2. Determine Your Start-up Capital

All online hustles have a start-up cost. Thus, it’s wise to draft your budget early enough to get ample time to build up enough savings.

That said, here’s a list of items and expenses to include in your budget:

• Data or reliable Wi-Fi for internet connection
• Accounting software for bookkeeping
• A smartphone and laptop
• Office equipment, if needed
• Advertising costs
• A payroll structure if you require workers to assist you with your hustle

To be safe, try to cut your costs to conserve your starting capital as you grow. For more insight, consider seeking advice from friends running similar gigs. Alternatively, you can get ideas by listening to podcasts, attending online events, and visiting reliable professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn.

2. Plan Your Schedule

Most workers are under pressure in their workplace and might find it challenging to manage a side gig. However, it’d not make sense to have a side hustle that you can’t make time for. Aside from your daily job routine, you have to keep in mind that you have other commitments to attend to.

For that reason, consider having a to-do list and allocate your non-working time to each task. Having such a healthy schedule helps you plan ahead of time and balance the workload. Nevertheless, you’ll prevent unnecessary burnout if you make time for self-care.

4. Know Your Trade

Understanding your market is your best chance of achieving customer satisfaction. People have different tastes and preferences, which is one of the primary things that drives them to settle for a particular item or service. Clearly, you can’t sell a commodity without first finding out your customers’ likes and dislikes. 

For instance, suppose your online side hustle involves website development. Your potential clients typically have some features they want to be integrated into their online platforms. Be sure you know exactly what your client wants before you accept the job.

Besides, if you go ahead and fail to meet their specifications, this might cost you an important client. In addition, you’ll receive negative reviews, which is very bad for business. Therefore, make a point of learning more about your trade to improve your service. 

On top of that, you should communicate constantly and make relevant inquiries to help you identify if something is missing and what needs improvement. This way, you can address your current shortcomings and establish a long-term relationship.

5. Set Practical Goals

Every business person must work hard to attain their daily or weekly objectives. Starting an online side hustle requires commitment for you to earn some extra money aside from your full-time job. Therefore, you should generate a reasonable amount of revenue to cater to your expenses and, at the same time, earn considerable profit. 

For a start, don’t put too much pressure on yourself by targeting a figure so high that you can’t hit it. On the other hand, don’t aim at making a small profit because it may not be feasible in the long run. In other words, you should be smart in setting your goals. 

Aside from the cash aspect, you also need to set goals regarding your work output. For instance, if you’re into proofreading, you can have a work goal of two articles a day. If you stick to your plan, you’ll make handsome profits with time.

7. Make Time For Training

Depending on the nature of the online hustle you intend to take, you may have to consider some formal training to acquire the requisite knowledge.

For instance, if you want to offer online bookkeeping services for clients, you must have a basic knowledge of using accounting software like QuickBooks. Therefore, you can consider enrolling in relevant courses if you’re dealing with such technical side hustle.

Remember, it isn’t mandatory to go for paid courses. Right now, there are dozens of free online tutorials you can take advantage of. This helps you get equipped with relevant skills, experience, and wide-ranging content about your particular industry.

But if your choice of side hustle is a bit complex and there are no free tutorials, make a point of attending a comprehensive online course to get the best training. With a good background and a willingness to grasp new content, you’ll undoubtedly experience quick results.

7. Decide Where To Work From

Online side hustle comes in two categories. You can opt for a passive income remote gig or choose one that offers an active income. The good thing about having a side gig that generates passive income is that it only requires a few hours of your time.

Most people do it for fun and generate some income out of it. On that note, if you prefer this, you shouldn’t be worked up about setting up a workstation. For instance, bloggers, YouTubers, and Instagram influencers can work from the comfort of their homes.

However, online jobs that generate active income are very demanding and might require you to hire a team of professional workers. For this reason, you’ll need to have an office setting to manage your operations effectively. They include:

• An E-commerce store
• Animation and video making
• Web designing

8. Market Yourself

Marketing is an essential aspect of the business world. If you can’t reach your target audience, you may not do any meaningful business. Since you’re dealing with online activities, you’d want to use online marketing to promote your gig. This way, customers can easily find you and consider your product or service.

Below is a breakdown of ways to market your online hustle:

• Create a website.
• Embark on search engine optimization (SEO) for readers to quickly find your site on search engine results pages.
• Post your product or service on popular social media channels.
• Develop a good portfolio.
• Request your current clients for reviews and referrals.
• Start a blog.

9. Differentiate Yourself

Competition is unavoidable in the business world. Indeed, you’re not the only provider of a product or service in the market. You’ll be positioning your online hustle against a pool of established competitors in the industry.

Nevertheless, most of these players will make a move to try to outmatch your performance. This is common as most existing businesses view entry into the market as a threat. On the other hand, customers always demand the best, and you’ll need to give them a reason to choose your services.

Therefore, to avoid such market frustrations, make a point of having a competitive advantage. Make sure you’re excellent at what you do to provide something unique and outstanding. Here’s an outline of some of the differentiating factors:

• Pricing Strategy: Charge reasonable prices depending on your market evaluation. Also, don’t reject low-priced contracts because they initially help you get experience.
• Remarkable Customer Service: Keep your customers coming back by fully satisfying their needs.

10. Prepare For A Challenging Opening Period

Successful businesses don’t take a month or two to build from scratch. The owners most likely invest their resources and time in laying a good foundation. In that regard, it’d be good to be emotionally prepared for such challenges initially.

An online hustle has its share of challenges, especially at the initial stages. Problems are meant to be solved, and like any other businessperson, you need to step up to the task and find a way out of it. You have no reason to quit the moment things take a rough turn.

However, it might take a while before you get your first contract or the right traffic for your channel.  Consider consulting the experts in your field or using the internet to help you find the answers.

Furthermore, be patient enough and give your hustle a growth period for consistent long-term performance. This could potentially be your full-time job in the future.

Conclusion

An online side hustle could be the solution to your limited budget. This is a stepping stone to being your own boss, gaining additional experience, and achieving ultimate financial freedom.

Getting started on one shouldn’t be a complicated process. Make sure to take into consideration the above tips and others to have your online side gig up and running. Besides, make a point of selecting a side hustle that matches your interests and skills.

Do you want to secure your dream job easily? Then it’s worth knowing what to expect from your job interview. The interview is your opportunity to sell yourself to your prospective employer. Furthermore, asides from your qualification, your performance at the job interview is a major determinant of whether you’re getting the job or not.

So many questions will be thrown at you, which might get you befuddled. Imagine being asked: do you want to tell us anything else about you? That’s a simple question, but one that can make you lose balance. In this article, we will be considering 5 common questions that you should expect at an interview and how to answer them well.

5 interview questions and how to answer them

1.    What makes you want to work for us?

When an employer or an interviewer throws this question at you, they want to know what your motivations for the job are. They use this question to fish out candidates with bogus motives who are just looking to experiment with the job. The best way to answer this question is by shifting your focus from what you want to what your employer needs.

When answering this question, mention something unique about them that caught your interest. It makes your interviewer believe that you have an idea of what you want to do – a bonus point for you. Don’t talk about your last employer, last job, or your salary benefits. Lastly, never sound like you’re desperate for the job, no matter what.

2.    Tell me more about yourself?

This isn’t just any question to ramble about your childhood, parents, family, or educational background. You should expect this question as one of the first questions from your interviewer. Discuss some fun facts and advertise some good sides of your personality. It makes the interviewer more interested in you and the interview more interesting.

When asked this question, the experiences you should share should relate directly to the job. Share some key things, such as what motivates you; you can talk about a favorite hobby, some experiences that have shaped your career preference, and the likes. Make sure you sound as simple as possible, don’t talk too much.

3.    Why did you leave your last job?

This is one of the points where many people blow it at an interview and may end up losing the job. The interviewer wants to know why you left your past job and want to work with them. Try to sound as honest as possible. Share the circumstances and the shortcomings that led to your quitting your last job.

Whatever you share, sound positive. Don’t paint your last employer in dark colors. Give direct responses and keep your responses as factual as they can be. Make them believe that you got over your experience and your enthusiasm about the future.

4.    How do you respond to stress and pressure?

The interviewer wants to know how you respond to workplace stress. How do you handle difficult situations and occasions when things don’t go as planned? How do you cope in high-stress situations? Be honest with your response, and make sure you don’t sell yourself short while being honest.

Don’t claim to have never experienced stress or that you hardly encounter stressful situations. Instead, make your answer show that you acknowledge the stress that can come with jobs and some past experiences. You can share how you have used stressful conditions to your advantage.

5.    What are your views about your salary?

This has been a pitfall for many. You don’t want to sell yourself too cheap, and you don’t want to make yourself overpriced for the job. Such questions like this can be very difficult to come up with a good answer to. They might not ask you how much you got paid in your last job, but you’re most likely to be asked your salary expectations.

You can help yourself through this by researching before going for the interview. It will help you to use some salary calculators online. They’ll suggest reasonable salary ranges that best fit your job title, skills, experience, employer, and location.

Conclusion

Job interviews are not all about just going to explain the content of your CV as most people think. It gives you a chance to speak better than your CV. Make sure you give direct and honest answers. Don’t talk too much or too little.

More importantly, always keep a smile. It makes the interview more fun and may earn you your interviewer’s fondness. Make your interviewer believe you don’t want just any job but theirs, but don’t sound too desperate for the job.

Like millions of other hard-working Americans who’ve been toiling in the workforce for decades, you’re probably looking forward to that day you turn 62 and can finally retire. You’re not just retiring from your long-time job, mind you, but from the exhausting rat race. Now you can relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can travel!

But despite the best intentions, too many people were so busy working and raising families that they forgot to save enough money for retirement. When this happens, you’re usually looking at two choices. Either stay at your old job (until they politely ask you to leave) or find another job altogether. While neither of these options feels appealing to you, there is one fully legitimate financial option for making up for a less than stellar retirement account.

It’s called a reverse mortgage. If you’ve owned your family home for decades and have religiously paid your monthly mortgage payments, a reverse mortgage will allow you to tap into all that equity you’ve been building up for years.

You can take your proceeds in one lump sum, or you can take monthly disbursements. The best part is you never need to pay another mortgage payment again. You can see how much you’ll be able to qualify for by using a reverse mortgage calculator: https://reverse.mortgage/calculator.

But what if you haven’t lived in your home for very long or have been living in an apartment? While getting another full or part-time job outside the home is a non-starter, you might want to take a look at freelance writing.

It turns out that many retired people who have a knack for putting words, sentences, and paragraphs together are not only turning to freelance writing as a part-time and even full-time gig, they are making good money from it. What’s more, they can do it from anywhere in the world. 

If you’ve been dreaming of becoming a freelance writer, your retirement years could be the perfect time to begin. If you happen to be new to freelance life, however, you might have a whole bunch of questions about how professional writing works. Here are the top 5 questions you need to ask yourself before you type your first word. 

Am I a Good Enough Writer?

Whether or not you are a good enough writer to get paid for your words is the most “common question” newbie freelance writers ask. The answer is said to lie in improvement. In other words, as long as you are willing to learn and improve your craft, there’s no reason why you can’t expect to be a professional.

Even Hemingway (a one-time freelance reporter) wasn’t born a great writer, and neither were you. You just have to be willing to learn.

What Kinds of Jobs Should I go After?

You should plan on writing whatever you like. That said, if you’re new to the writing game, you might want to stick to topics you’re knowledgeable about. If you were a construction project manager in a previous career, you might want to write about building and design topics for a while.

Sooner than later, you will want to learn how to write about new topics. Eventually, you should possess the talent to write about anything, no matter how dull. The trick is making a mundane object, such as a teabag, appear interesting with your words.

How Often Will I Be Writing?

If you plan on being a serious writer in retirement, you can expect to write every day. Full stop. Writing is a craft that must be learned. You only get better with practice. Even if you haven’t been handed an assignment, you should be developing your own story ideas.

The best idea is to get up in the morning, sit down at your laptop with a cup of coffee, and “put in the word count.” 

How do I get Noticed?

When you’re a newbie, you will all too often feel that nobody is giving your work a chance, much less paying attention to it. But there are online tools out there to help you gain much-needed visibility.

For instance, you can start a WordPress blog or a Medium account and write free content on a daily basis. After a time, your work will be good enough that you will gain a decent-sized following. You can share your content via social media links like Facebook and Twitter.

But keep in mind, you’re in this to make money. That means writing for free will eventually become just one of the tools in your freelance writer’s toolbox for marketing yourself and your writing.

Set up a profile and take advantage of online platforms like LinkedIn to show off your talents and land paying gigs. If you’re planning on writing fiction, you can take advantage of Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Platform. You can even make a lot of money writing erotica if you so choose. Which begs the question.

How Much Money Will I Make?

In a word, it depends. A few factors come into play such as how much experience you have, the kind of writing you are doing, plus the amount of time (and energy) you’re willing to put into it.

Experts say that when you’re just starting out, you will want to consider freelance writing as a way to supplement your retirement account. However, as you progress and get more experience under your belt, you will begin to see lucrative paydays. This is especially true if you expand your talents to writing journalism, nonfiction, and fiction.

You might make small amounts with each publication, but by the end of the month, those small amounts add up to a very nice payday. What’s more, you can write from any destination in the world, be it a sandy beach in Tulum, or at a coffeehouse in Istanbul.