Tutor profile: Jeremy R.

How do you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

I continue to grow as a leader in the workforce development space by asking my colleagues during training about the challenges and triumphs they've had in similar roles. I realize that my colleagues come from all different backgrounds and classroom experiences, and I try to soak up different learning strategies or classroom activities or share what's working for me I also ask my students about the classroom experience! The feedback helps me identify whether I need to change my teaching strategies, use different classroom visuals, repeat a lesson, or even bring in a different subject matter expert. These strategies help me to become a well-rounded instructor and ensure that I can assist my students in achieving their goals!

What's the best way to start my personal finance journey?

The biggest aspect when it comes to goal setting, be it for personal finance or anything else is to ask yourself "Why am I doing this?" Once you establish your "why" you can then start building your roadmap towards achieving your goal. For personal finance, I'd recommend for you to first consider your reason for starting. Do you want to eventually own a car? Do you want to get out of debt or own a home? An example here could be that you might want to build your credit to apply for an auto loan. What would make the goal more achievable is if you start visualizing the vehicle and give yourself a timeline to get your credit in order. Doing so holds you accountable for realizing your goals. Then start taking action towards your goals. This is most important. You can research this on Google or by asking your family or friends for an answer. Because I worked for a bank before, I know what you'll either apply for a credit card (if you don't have one already) or pay off any outstanding past-due debt. Once you feel that your credit is strong enough to apply for an auto loan (could take months or years), you're by all means ready to achieve your goal.

What's the biggest factor to look for when applying for a job?

Believe it or not, the answer here is NOT money... Now I am not saying to do all your work for free. There's a time and place for that. But now there's so much to consider in a job offer that is often overlooked by first-time job seekers... aspects like work-life balance, commute, work from home rights, paid-time-off, and health benefits that one does not consider. So the biggest factor when looking for a job is the overall fit between you and the job. You know your limits and what you will or won't do. If you prefer working from home and want to work for a small company, don't go applying for an Amazon warehouse position just because it pays $3 an hour. You will end up resenting your job and ultimately feel uninspired to do great work. Be honest with yourself and your job expectations... while no job is perfect, if you're patient and conduct your job search looking for the best fit, you'll find better opportunities without resenting your job.