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Answer Want Ad When Changing Careers To Financial Planning

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BRUCE R. VANDEVENTER
235 W. Maple Avenue | Santa Monica, California 90401
H: (213) 451-2402 | C: (213) 457-9994 | bvandeventer@example.com


Mr. Mike Warner
IDS Financial Services, Inc.
500 IDS Tower
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402

October 22, 20––

Dear Mr. Warner:

Please consider me for a career with IDA as a Personal Financial Planner. I feel that I meet the requirements of your ad in The Wall Street Journal, as briefly outlined below:

  1. Independent—I have relied on my own work and research to come up with solutions and strategies used in my personal and financial decisions. I look before I leap.
  2. Self-motivated—I achieved an M.S. in Geology, and am pursuing an MBA in the evenings, emphasizing Finance.
  3. Strong desire for achievement—In the last few months I've contacted 110 oil companies on three separate occasions in pursuit of career opportunities. This demonstrates commitment, persistence, and strong goal orientation.

As you can see, my background is geology. Due to a strong recession in the oil and gas industry, it will be difficult for me to continue in my trained profession. Therefore, I have decided to pursue financial planning as a career.

My MBA emphasizes Finance, particularly investments, and I've undergone my own personal financial planning. I'm familiar with the steps of financial planning (the need for adequate insurance, having three to six months cash or liquid reserve, etc.), so I'll be able to use my own experience to help others.

I manage my own investments, involving such diverse items as rental real estate, oil and gas limited partnerships, real estate limited partnerships, growth and tax-exempt mutual funds, stocks, and equipment leasing programs.

I'm interested in discussing financial planning opportunities with IDA, and I'm looking forward to talking with you soon.

With good wishes,

Bruce R. VanDeventer

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William S. Frank, M.A.,
            President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.