Autumn in Edmonton

Autumn is a very beautiful time of the year. 97 Street (just north of Yellowhead Trail) provides a great fall scenery.

I was walking my dog with a few other ladies at Queen Elizabeth Park, by Kinsmen. I had to stop when I saw this gorgeous archway framed by trees:

Edmonton has amazing trails for running, walking and cycling. It's a great escape without having to travel too far.

Net Present Value Function in Excel

In a studying frenzy for my CMA case exam, I came up with an NPV template that would tackle:
- changing tax rates
- varying annual cash in-flows & out-flows

In a 4 hour exam, time is precious. I won't have time to use my financial calculator if they gave us a timeline of more than 5 years, which happened in the Solare Consulting case. Hopefully this blog post will be helpful for those who are looking for a quick and dirty reference on calculating NPV for capital budgeting exercise.

Disclaimer: My template has not been audited for accuracy. Use at your own discretion.
Here is the fore-mentioned template. Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9rs0tywhmvm50qf/Quant%20Template.docx
I tested it against using the PV factor formula, where-by: (1+k)^-n
I have n laid out as a horizontal timeline: 0 1 2 3 .... n on Excel, where these numbers are linked to, when finding what the PV factor for each n-th year is. (Note: you can copy and paste horizontally until time_n once the PV factor formula is set up)

Then, take the net after-tax annual cash-flows per each year and multiply it by the respective PV factor for that n-th year. Take the sum of these discounted cash-flows. Bang, you've got your NPV.

That is using financial mathematics.

However, there is a quicker way yet.
Find the sum of all your after-tax dollars in the column when n = 0; let's call this CF_0. Then, add that CF_0 with NPV(k%, CF_1:CF_n)

where k% is your after-tax WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital).

I tested both and they match.

If the exam gives varying tax rates for different EBIT levels, I might cry a little and use if-statements on Secure Exam to insert tax rates. Then, find NPV. Alright, I have anticipated as many curve-balls they can throw at me. I just hope I'm ready!!

Oops, Wire Went Unplugged

Wow, it has been a while since I've done any artwork, music and writing. I was looking up a really, really old social network profile I had and compare it with what I am actually doing today: my hobbies really took a toll as I have been devoting more time to my career. Any spare time I've got, I try to post often to my food blog as well, on top of maintaining professional studies after work. (Yes, owning a house can eat away a lot of your time, unless I had elves cleaning magically after midnight.)

What I should really do though is to unplug myself from various distractions: the TV and social media. Either two mind-numbing things seem much more detrimental to being creative, especially when time is a constraint. When I write, I think, I feel, I'm alive. I would find ways to improve how I phrase and describe a moment. I found that I am annoyed that I haven't been myself lately. If I was one of the seven dwarves, I'd be Grumpy. A brat. Hurrah, I'm vicariously living my life through others. Piss off. (That's Grumpy talking.)

However, when I try to recall some simple joys, I remember that discovering failures and successes for myself is far more rewarding than watching another person do it. Yes, tie a super-knotted bracelet by mistake, I'd then be spending endless time as a kid, enjoying the process of loosening the knots and re-do the handmade friendship bracelet -- even though I could've easily cut new strands and start over again.

I'll start with getting re-acquainted with the piano. Here is a short clip of me sight-reading a Van Morrison song -- just the first verse. My plan is to learn  two songs to play as a bride next year. So, I was casually playing to see which songs would work. I guess this blog would pick up when I were to document DIY passes and fails. :) 

O' Alberta

Oh, province of great beauty -- not one bit the same
From North to South; Prairies to the Rockies
Diverse wealth from fertile soils and fossil fuels

Sweet home, Alberta...

- Cynnie, September 30, 2012

(This is my very first acrylic medium. My only exposure was a brief introduction to mixing basic acrylic colours when I was volunteering for Artist on the Ward at the university hospital.)

How to Survive a Job Hunt

Scenario A:
So, it is your final year in university or college. The intensity of team assignments and fast-looming deadlines is increasing the need for Tums to settle your poor stressed stomach. Living on very little sleep after possibly a lot of instant junk foods and cans of energy drinks, job hunting could be far from your mind right now....

Scenario B:
You are working in what appears to be a dead-end job where you've learned everything you could. You want to move out or up. You want a career. How do you transition from a job into a career?

PLAN FOR SURVIVAL (Think Effectiveness and Efficiency)
In either scenario, you will need a plan. Not just a plan to write a general resume, hit "send" to 50 jobs and hope to hear back from 3 recruiting managers. No, unless you are applying for general help at restaurants, retail stores and the like, spending 15 minutes in total on a resume and cover letter is simply not enough. Personally, each resume takes me at least 3 to 6 hours to write. Have someone who has recruiting experience to proof-read your application and give you honest feedback. Plan to stand out from the crowd.

There are some common grounds between dating and job hunting.
1. 1 Husband and 4 wives: WHO? WHAT?! WHY? WHERE? HOW?!
Take some time to visualize yourself in 5 years from now. What do you want to achieve in your personal life? Now, what do you want to be in a professional life?
Nag line: RESEARCH! RESEARCH! DO YOUR RESEARCH and evaluate yourself!

What are your personal values?
- This will ensure we set our conflicting priorities right. It could be work-life balance or having time to enjoy our hobbies. Once we become aware of what we want in the long term, we can filter through endless job postings that do not fit our personal goals and values.

Which company (WHO) do you want to work for? What industry is it in? What is the corporate culture of the company you are applying to?
- It is important to know our targeted audience. How we go about networking depends on which industry we want to get into. If it's design and marketing oriented, a cardboard sign that says "Hire Me! Recent grad" may not be memorable. Also, have we got a portfolio ready?
If the job requires proof that you have registered for a professional designation (say accounting), make sure you include your program's transcripts in your application.

What are the company's vision and mission statement? (Often found on the company's About link on its website)

Does the company's corporate culture and value(s) relate to your own personal values? (Now, we do not want to date a person that does not believe in recycling and being environmentally friendly, do we?!)

- Or would you prefer to work for yourself? In that case, do a 5 year business plan and extensive market research, as well as a 5 year financial forecast analysis.

2. There is no "I" in team:
So, you are sitting at a table on your first date, you are trying to have a balanced conversation to get to know each other. 20 minutes have passed and all you have heard is, "I love football! The other day, I scored big by breaking my personal best running speed record. Oh, by the way, my best asset is my 'smile'. I am a super easy-going guy, you will like me. I will treat you ridiculously nice. Why don't I become 0your boyfriend?"
Okay, slow down. If your cover letter sounds like that, chances are that you will have the recruiters scratching their heads going, "That's nice. So what?" How can you bring value(s) to the company you are hiring for? How can you show that you will be a good 'fit' for the team you want to be part of?

3. Relevance! Read the job description carefully. Preparing your resume and cover letter thoroughly also prepares you for the (behavioural) interview
"I have got no time" is not a good excuse. When you are job hunting, you have to leave your victim attitude behind. Remember, you are trying to stand out from the crowd and away from the "Why not pick me?" mentality.
In a recessive economy, it is important to be aware that employers are looking for efficiency and effectiveness. This means possessing the ability to handle multiple conflicting priorities, eliminate any unnecessary work and make suggestions to improve specific processes.
Read the job description carefully; highlight keywords. Use as much keywords as possible and be honest, so that a software could move your resume closer towards the Most-Likely-Yes pile.
Why do I spend 6 hours on a resume? It takes time to really understand what kind of ideal candidate they are looking for. Also, it takes time to edit my past job experiences (from a different industry) relevant to the job. If there is an ideal job I really want but lack experiences, I save the job description and plan to fulfill the skills required to further progress in my career.
Also, depending on the industry, use common fonts: Arial or Times New Roman font no smaller than size 11. Triple check for spelling and grammatical errors. Pay closely to see if your document looks uniform and well-put together. It shows attention to details, so if such attribute is in your resume but there is a spelling error. It shows you are lying.

4. Get Organized!
I cannot stress the importance of keeping track of all your applications. Save the date and name of the job and company you've applied for. There is nothing worse than picking up a phone call and wonder, "What job did I apply for?"
Yep, true story. I made that error when I was 18 or 19, looking for office administration positions. I went into an interview whereby the recruiter had to tell me what the job is about. Recruiter's only comment was "Really nice resume." Her reason for rejecting me was silently obvious. My answers lacked weights how I am going to be of value to the company at the job.

5. I ain't no gold digger!
If you want to get rich fast quick, forget about working for a company. Go marry a rich sugar momma or sugar daddy and sign a pre-nup.
Here comes the dreaded question: What are your salary expectations?
Again, research the country's industry average. If you are asking for $100,000.00, your resume will go towards the bottom pile.

6. Dress to Impress
If you are wondering what to wear for an interview, think conservative black/grey/white/tan colours, with accents of colour underneath your blazer. Wear minimal jewelry. Iron your shirt
 or blouse if it's wrinkled. Minor details matter because it will bring you confidence!

In a nutshell, your resume and cover letter tell the recruiting manager your:
- Ability to communicate effectively
- Detailed orientation

Your interview could test your:
- Analytical skills
-Technical skills (They might ask you to sit in front of an equipment and perform a highly skilled task)
- personal approach to possible obstacles and/or challenges

Good luck! Do keep in mind that this is a difficult selection process on the recruiting side as well -- it is nothing personal when we do not hear any news. Job-hunting is an ongoing learning process; do remember to thank your interviewers for the opportunity.

Unplugged Happiness

While taking a two year hiatus on blogging on the Cynful Wire, I have been reflecting on the pursuit of happiness. If writing keeps me happy, what should I write (other than poetry)? Every day of the year seemed to be playing endlessly on repeat.... Having to bargain my way with every day mindless hum drum -- unpleasant road-raged drivers or commuters too eager to plop their faces onto a smartphone screen to take notice of anything else. This is my typical every day bus commute: a man taking two seats on a full bus, blissfully oblivious playing a game on his smartphone; he must have paid double fare for the seat of his backpack while an elderly lady hangs onto the rail for dear life. A mere "hello, excuse me" elicited no acknowledgement out of this gentlemanly stranger.

Try this point challenge, especially if you take public transit. Count how many people (including ourselves) have their eyes glued onto an electronic device screen. One point per bus passenger. Add 10 points if you see a driver texting and driving.

It has been three weeks since I have de-activated my Facebook. Since then, I have been able to focus on my studying a whole lot better -- rather than spending time on writing updates on studying. Laughable, isn't it?!

Unplugging from Facebook can seem terrifying at first -- but then, I remember how exhausting it is to keep up with up-to-the-minute details on my family, friends and acquaintances' lives. It has been amazing how much my stress levels has dropped -- without realizing how I unhappy I was, comparing my busy uneventful life with that of others. It also stopped me from living vicariously through others and having to worry about "being watched" closely -- or if a post would portray me as a narcissist. Quitting Facebook doesn't mean I am turning anti-social; if anything, it allows more face time. (Ironic, isn't it?) If anyone wanted to keep in touch, I'm only a phone call or an email away. Even better, I am finding the time to write thoughtful snail mails --things that only seem possible in times before the era of social media.

Another unplugging challenge is obvious: cellphone use. Figure out how much your smartphone usage is costing you on an annual basis. Factor the 3% average annual inflation cost -- so, multiply the cost of your annual cellphone bill by 1.03. If you are in a cellphone contract, multiply that number by the total number of years. Say, without including how much the cellphone costed, here's a rough estimate: an average of $55 per month x 12 months x 3 years x 1.03 x 1.03 x 1.03. That cellphone will eat away at least $2,163.41 over the span of 3 years -- $680.00 annually that could grow slowly at 1.20% in a tax-free savings account. Now, include the initial cost of your cellphone minus what you could sell it for -- does keeping in contact with everyone has to cost us our limb? Then, note how many impulse purchases we make from having convenient access to the Internet. Can we differentiate needs from wants?

Being plugged in kind of reminds me of a scene in the Pixar movie Wall-E. It is the part where humans would sit comfortably obese in their chairs, doing everything through a screen, oblivious to the existence of a swimming pool.

Once we start looking beyond our personalized bubbles, then, we can be more aware of how our actions can impact others and ourselves. To do good as a eco-global citizen requires more than liking an environmental or activist group -- it requires our genuine passion and planned action. We have to be good loving neighbours to be respectful citizens. Go ahead -- be fearless, unplug and be happy!

PSA: Facebook Places

Facecrook... beg your puddin', Facebook is getting cleverer each time with each new launch of a platform or an application. Just over a week ago, Facebook Places was just briefly talked about in the newspapers. I just found out today that I had to play with privacy settings YET once again.

What is Facebook Places? In a nutshell, it's a genius viral marketing tool. Your friend checks you in or you decidedly to "check-in" at your favourite location(s). Marketers understand the N-generation far too well: N-geners are far more technical savvy and more easily influenced by their peers. However, is this method ethical if privacy issues were taken into consideration? Facebook seems to have lengthy and complicated opt-out processes if you do not wish friends to "stalk" you. Facebook Places deserves this:

Now, to effectively opt-out of Facecrook Places, there are four steps.

1. Privacy settings > Applications/games/websites > Information accessible through friends > Uncheck Places

2. Privacy settings > customise settings > set "Places I check in" to "ONLY ME"

3. Privacy settings > customise settings >Friends can check me in to places > select disable
   

4. Account settings > Notifications >turn Notifications off for Facebook Places.

See, it's a lengthy opt-out process.