How to build a timeless work wardrobe on a budget

As fall begins and the weather transitions from hot and sticky to cool and crisp, your work wardrobe will be going through a transition as well. When new-season clothes hit stores, it's tempting to refresh your wardrobe by chasing the latest trends. But if you're on a budget, can you update your outfits without breaking the bank? Yes, as long as you shop strategically.

Focus on staples first
Before spending money on anything else, make sure you have staple work pieces in your wardrobe. Simon Kneen, creative director at Banana Republic, says both men and women need to have a crisp, white shirt in their closet. "You can't go wrong with a well-tailored white shirt, because it is both eternally classic and incredibly versatile," Kneen says. "A well-made white shirt can be worn through the work week and on weekends when teamed with a pair of jeans, creating a casual, yet elegant look."

Since white shirts show dirt and wear more quickly than other colors, consider investing in more than one, especially if you find a style that fits your body well. To get the most wear out of your shirt, treat any spots or sweat stains right away, and wash it by itself or with other light colors.

Invest in timeless pieces
It's easy to get wrapped up in new clothing trends, but consider investing in classic work-wardrobe pieces instead to get the most bang for your buck. Trends come and go, and in a year you may regret purchasing that graphic print pant, fur coat and oversized hat. But there are certain key pieces that will never go out of style and are worth the investment.

"Investing in high-quality pieces like a suit, slim-fit button down and blazer is worth it, since these are the building blocks of your professional wardrobe that can be tastefully mixed and matched with accessories to keep you trend-right every season," Kneen says. "It's especially worth the extra time and money to get the right fit for your body. Accentuate your assets with proper fit and lengths, especially during the warmer months when you tend to show more skin. This is true in the colder months as well, when tailored coats and pants are essential to avoid looking bulky in heavy winter items."

Save with versatility
Buy versatile items that can take you from desk to dinner or work to weekend. Kneen says that workers can save on casual shirts that can be mixed and matched with suits, blazers and pants. Cotton button-downs, being shown in different colors or patterns, are less expensive and can go from day to night and work week to weekend. "[Pair them] with trousers or pencil skirts during the week and chinos or shorts on the weekend."

Accessories are another easy way to incorporate new styles into an ensemble without spending too much money. They're less expensive but can transform an outfit from basic to style-forward. "Accessories are a fun way to experiment with trends without breaking the bank or looking inappropriate in a work environment," Kneen says.

Jewelry is a great add on for women, and many budget-friendly stores are mimicking styles found in higher-end shops. Chunky necklaces and metallic cuff bracelets look expensive, but you can find trend-forward options that cost $50 or less. Patterned or colored belts are another easy way to incorporate a trend without spending all your cash.

For men, ties are an accessory that can refresh a stale outfit on a budget. If your office dress code is more casual, add a pocket square to your blazer or shirt for a pop of color, or experiment with shape. "Adding a pop of color whether it's with a bright button down, a pocket square, or even just the lining of a jacket makes the classics feel fresh and new," Kneen says. Another way he suggests to stay on trend is with the shape of the items. "A modern cut on a blazer is slimming and nods to the tailoring trend without a complicated approach – effortless panache at its best."

"The key is not to overdo a trend, or you risk becoming a fashion victim," Kneen says. "A touch of current pattern and color goes a long way. You can update your look by pairing print and color back to a neutral – always a very stylish bet."

Keep track of your expenses
Be smart about where your paycheck is going by keeping track of what you're spending on clothes. Create a personal budget worksheet, and populate it with your monthly expenditures. If you don't know where to start, find a template online that has a basic outline developed. Microsoft Excel versions are extra helpful, because they'll do the math for you. By organizing and tracking your expenses, you'll avoid spending more money than you're making.

It's easy to get into a rut when dressing for work, but you don't need to deplete your paycheck to create a new look. If you invest in core pieces first and build the rest of your wardrobe out over time, you'll end up with classic yet stylish work attire that'll make you feel confident and professional.

Source: careerbuilder

5 ways you'll use algebra in your career

Remember that time during an already painful adolescence, when tears slowly fell on the pages of your evil algebra book, and you scratched your head thinking, "When will I ever use this in real life?" Whether as a teen, college student or parent trying to help kids with homework, most of us are guilty of cursing the creator of linear inequalities, quadratic equations and functions.

Guess what? Algebra is actually quite useful, and it can be especially valuable in the workplace. Here are five ways you'll use algebra in your career.

1. Proving your worth as an employee
In today's resource-strapped corporate environment, it is more important than ever to prove the worth of your work. What did you work on today, and how did it make the company money? This is where algebra comes in.

Kara Sutton, new-media specialist at ReYrD, a cash-back loyalty program provider based in Denver, uses algebraic equations daily to calculate the return on investment of her social-media, print and online advertising and email-marketing campaigns.

"These numbers justify my work at the company and ease the tensions that can arise around budget," Sutton says. "I can prove to [the CEO] that each new customer is worth, say $100, and that to gain that customer, it costs maybe $5. That $5, multiplied by the number of new customers we are aiming for, is my budget. I can show that we make, for example, $95 for each $5 spent. No one can argue with that."

2. Solving clients' problems
No matter what your job is, your central function -- directly or indirectly -- is to solve clients' problems or meet clients' needs. That is how your company makes money, and it's what you get paid to help achieve.

Joshua Kuehler, founder of Internal Consistency, a human-resources consulting firm based in Chicago, shares an example of how algebra can help you provide value to your clients by solving their problems.

"I analyze data collected from surveys, generally employee-related surveys such as engagement, performance, opinion, training, etc.," Kuehler says. "I use a statistical analysis called regression to determine what drivers or predictors impact an outcome -- for example, turnover. A result of this regression analysis is an algebraic equation."

Here's what it might look like: Turnover = 1.213 + 0.75 (relationship with manager) + 0.22 (professional development) + 0.13 (skill alignment).

"I can then plug in numbers to predict the turnover. This enables clients to ask, 'What if we focused on managerial relationships as a means to reduce turnover?' This analysis has yielded the biggest 'ah-ha's' from clients and gives them strategic insight as to where they should invest resources."

3. Creating efficiency
Matt McCormick runs JCD Repair, a small business that performs iPhone, iPod and iPad repairs in Chicago. Throughout the shop's five-year history, effectively tracking and keeping efficient levels of inventory on hand has been a struggle.

"It's been a nightmare keeping enough parts in stock without tying up too much cash in inventory," McCormick says. "In addition, our business has been doubling every year, so getting our inventory right is like hitting a moving target."

Then McCormick figured out how to use algebra to help him solve his business problems and run his shop more efficiently. "About a month ago, I completely redid our inventory system using an online tool that we built that uses an algebraic formula to keep track of how much inventory we've been using and predict how much we will use. To help fine-tune the system, all of the inputs are variables that we can tweak as we try to perfect it. While it's only been a month of usage, the system is working out great so far."

Dan Cassidy, CEO and founder of Inspiyr.com, a lifestyle website for men, also uses algebra to keep his business running productively and profitably.

"Working in digital publishing, we use algebra on a daily basis," Cassidy says. "Tracking important KPI's [key performance indicators] such as visitation, engagement and revenue statistics requires at least a basic level of algebra in order to determine trends" and decide what steps to take next. By using algebra to continually gauge the performance of his site, Cassidy can make decisions that will help improve the site and run a more profitable business.

4. Making sound decisions
Too often, people make important decisions based on nothing but intuition and subjectivity. Throw a little algebra into the equation, and you can take your decisions from high-risk to calculated and sound.

Katherine Wertheim, a fundraising consultant in the Los Angeles area, used algebra to make a more cost-efficient business travel decision.

"I needed to travel from my home in Ventura, Calif., to San Francisco, which is about 700 miles round trip," Wertheim says. "I wanted to calculate whether renting a car for a 24-hour trip would make sense. So I had to figure out, given the cost of gas, what improvement in mileage I would need to justify the cost of renting a car. Since my car at the time was a '66 Mustang convertible that got 15 miles to the gallon highway, I easily saved enough money in gas to justify the cost of the rental, not to mention wear and tear on my car."

5. Making career and financial choices
Algebra can also help you make better personal career and financial choices. John Graves, editor of The Retirement Journal, offers several examples of career questions that can be answered using algebra.

• How much should you be saving for retirement?
• Should you pay down a credit card or build up your savings?
• If you make x, with potential of y as a bonus, how much time will you have to spend to earn y?
• Is your sick time more valuable as cash or as time off?
• Should you take a lower-paying job with greater future income potential or the higher-paying repetitive job?

Algebra is more than just a cruel joke played on us by math teachers. Maybe it's time to end the feud with algebra, brush up on some basic concepts and start thinking about how it can help you be a better employee or business owner and a more efficient individual.

Source: careerbuilder

Benefits of remote workforce outweigh challenges

While managing remote teams presents plenty of challenges, finding workers with the right skills isn't one of them at Wells Fargo.

Wendy McKoy, senior vice president and head of talent acquisition for the technology and operations group at Wells Fargo, says that enabling employees to work remotely makes "recruiting 10 times easier, [because] we can source where we know the skills are available."

McKoy recently discussed, via email, the challenges and benefits of having a remote workforce.

Q: What benefits does a remote workforce offer your organization?
A: The benefits are numerous for both the employee as well as the employer. Our employees are able to save money on work clothes, commuting costs and eating lunches out. The time it saves them results in great work/life balance. As a company, we benefit from reduced real-estate costs as well as more engaged and productive employees.

Q: What are the challenges?
A: The biggest challenge would certainly be the lack of face time, which can affect relationships. Our employees don't always have the benefit of bumping into someone in the hall and asking how their weekend was or if they watched the last episode of "American Idol." We have to be more intentional about taking time to connect on a personal level when we meet over the phone.

Q: How does the option to work remotely contribute to your ability to recruit?
A: When a hiring manager is open to a telecommuting arrangement for a new hire or flexible with where workers may be located, it makes our job recruiting 10 times easier. We can source where we know the skills are available.

Q: What special accommodations do you need to make for remote workers?
A: In today's virtual environment, a phone and an Internet connection are crucial. Everything else depends on where they are and what the situation is.

Q: Does your organization do anything to enable remote workers to meet in real life?
A: Absolutely. We get together at least once a year as a work team for a face-to-face meeting. There, we do some team-building activities so everyone can try to connect on a personal level. We also have regular video conferences, which enable us to see everyone in real time on the video monitors in their work locations.

Q: Are there rules around who can and can't work remotely?
A: We have guidelines we share with our managers and our team members to help them determine if a remote work arrangement would be viable in their situation. Each situation is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Q: What percentage of your workforce has flexible work arrangements?
A: Approximately 70 percent of my team has a flexible work arrangement, whether it is a full-time telecommuting agreement or working hours that better accommodate their commutes or kids' school schedules. I am a big advocate of flexible work arrangements. To me, it's a simple decision, and the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

Q: When it comes to recruiting, what do you look for in an employee who will be working remotely?
A: Because remote employees work without direct supervision the majority of the time, it is critical for them to have strong time-management skills, goal orientation and the ability to deliver on results. Some people have a hard time in a remote environment while others thrive in it. You need to understand if they have been successful in the past in environments where there is some ambiguity and how they have delivered on their goals.

Source: careerbuilder