Nicholas Fainlight | Business Development Associate, Hartford, CT

Nicholas Fainlight is an aspiring finance professional.

Category: Nicholas Fainlight Page 4 of 6

Create Strong Client Relationships Nicholas Fainlight

6 Tips for Creating Strong Relationships with Your Clients

By

On December 5, 2018

In Career, Finance, Nicholas Fainlight

No matter how much experience you have in your industry and working with clients, you should constantly be improving how you interact with your clients. There are always ways to strengthen the relationship you have with your clients, especially if you’re a financial advisor or in some similar position where you’re closely working with clients to meet personal goals and make plans that affect their daily lives. If you’re some kind of a consultant with clients, you want to have as strong relationships as possible with them in order to best meet their needs and keep them happy. Here are some great tips on how to create strong relationships with your clients, regardless of your career.

Discuss their specific goals

When you first start working with a client, you need to clearly establish what their goals are and how you’ll work together to meet those. Your entire role revolves around how well you can help clients work toward their goals, so you need to understand what those goals are before you can make a plan to achieve them.

Keep your promises

If you tell a client you’ll get back to them by a certain date or that you’ll send them useful information or a draft of something you’re working on, stick to these promises. While sometimes situations arise where you may not be able to keep this schedule, be sure to communicate as quickly and clearly as possible. Clients appreciate this treatment and will trust you to do the best for them.

Be honest and authentic

In your dealings with clients, be honest with them. If they’re asking for a service or focusing on a goal you aren’t sure is realistic or you don’t have much experience with, tell them that. Never try to sell a client something they do not actually need. Whoever you work with will appreciate this type of integrity and you’ll create a close bond with your client.

Stay consistent

When you tell a client how your business operates or what you’re going to do for them, stay consistent with what you say. Do not change your tune from conversation to conversation; clients notice that. Remain consistent in how quickly you respond to their emails or calls and make sure all your communication is on a regular basis.

Remain thoughtful

Throughout your time working with your client, find small ways to be thoughtful in your interactions. These gestures could include checking in with them even if you do not have a specific reason to see if they have any questions or sending a card around the holidays. Letting clients know you’re available and think of them personally can help build a stronger relationship.

Regularly touch base

Finally, make sure you regularly touch base with your clients to discuss their goals and whatever you’re working on for them. Keeping them in the loop gives them agency over the project and creates a great relationship with lots of easy communication.

Address Workplace Conflict Nicholas Fainlight

5 Tips for Successfully Addressing Conflict in the Workplace

By

On November 21, 2018

In Career, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate

Unfortunately, you can try your hardest to stay out of conflicts at work and remain a neutral party, but sometimes, no matter what you do, you could find yourself caught in the middle of work drama. This issue is particularly prevalent if you’re in some kind of management position and have to address disputes between employees or work with difficult people. Use these tips to find ways to successfully address conflict without losing your cool; with this advice, you’ll be able to resolve the conflict to the best of your ability and avoid exacerbating it.

Evaluate the situation

Whether the conflict is between you and someone else or between two other people and was reported to you, the first step you take should be to sit back and take time to reflect on and evaluate the situation. You’re going to have your view of the situation, but it’s important to think about whether you missed an important aspect of the issue or if there’s something valid in someone else’s interpretation of what’s happening. In order to successfully resolve, you need to carefully evaluate what’s happening and think about how to move forward.

Get all sides

You can wait to evaluate the situation until you get all sides of the story or you can take the time to think through it before talking to people if you feel the need to calm down about whatever is happening. You’ll eventually need to speak to the person or persons involved in the conflict and get everyone’s side of the story in order to effectively resolve it.

Remain calm

Whenever you talk to the people involved in the conflict or think through it on your own, you need to work on remaining as calm as possible. If you become too heated, it’ll exasperate the situation and make it much more difficult to reach a solution. Learn techniques to remain calm, even in the face of stressful conflict.

Find a neutral party

While you absolutely should not go around your workplace spreading news about the conflict, you should find a neutral party who can be involved in the resolution of said conflict. Human resources is often great for this issue, but if you’re in a management position, you might be the person someone else came to for the neutral party. You need to find someone who can listen to all sides of the conflict and help everyone communicate effectively.

Have a conversation

Finally, in order to actually resolve the conflict, you need to have a conversation about it. Gather everyone involved together and calmly talk out the issues. In some situations, it may be better to first talk to people individually and make sure it’s safe to have a group conversation. The key to effective conflict resolution in the workplace is to remain calm and communicate openly in order to reach a solution as a team.

Increase Network Nicholas Fainlight

How to Increase Your Network

By

On November 8, 2018

In Career, Education, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate

Throughout your career, you’ll come to realize that people heavily rely upon their professional networks. Even if you’re only at the beginning of your career, you likely already have a fairly extensive network, from high school, college, and any jobs or internships you held during that time. In the professional world, your network is how you can find out about new opportunities, ask questions about an industry, city, or company you’re interested in, or even find a place to live. It’s beneficial to continuously work on strengthening and increasing your network of connections, so here are some tips on how to do so.

Create an online presence

As you start to increase your network, it’s time to create an online presence for yourself. Think of how you’d like to portray yourself online and what you want your personal brand to say about you. Create profiles like LinkedIn and Twitter and then make sure they’re professional; you don’t want a possible future boss or coworker to see the uninformed tweets you sent in high school. An online presence also provides you with a way to keep track of the people you meet as you enhance your network.

Attend lots of events

If you live in a city, there are going to be plenty of networking and professional development events around you. Many local governments organize events for professionals in the area in order to encourage them to connect. There are also plenty of groups that meetup that share a common interest or hobby. Find some of these groups online and then attend meetups to get to know new people. You can also try tapping into your alumni network in the area; colleges are usually more than happy to help with this step.

Learn to talk to strangers

As you attend networking events, you’ll need to learn how to talk to people that you don’t know very well. Make sure you do not spend too much time talking about yourself; learn to ask other people questions. While you are looking to enhance your professional network, do not write someone off simply because you don’t see a way they can help you. It’s important to be polite to people; you could strike up a friendship or you might be able to help them out in some way.

Follow up afterwards

Finally, once you start meeting new people, follow up in some form. Whether it’s simply sending a request on LinkedIn or you decide you want to get coffee or lunch with someone, follow up within a few days. Networking events are great for the initial meeting, but you’ll need to take the initiative afterwards to further the connection.

Develop Professional Skills Nicholas Fainlight

7 Professional Skills You Should Develop

By

On October 13, 2018

In Career, Education, health, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate

No matter what industry you work in or where your career ends up going, it’s important to work on developing your professional skills. Far too many people avoid developing professional skills until after they start working, which can negatively impact their career and the way coworkers and supervisors view them. Without developed professional skills, it can even be challenging to get a job in the first place. Here are some of the most useful professional skills you can develop that’ll help your career.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is a skill that takes time to develop and many people do not have. In any environment, being able to approach an issue critically is vitally important. There are some situations where you need to set your personal emotions aside and look impartially at the task at hand. Critical thinking is how you solve issues in business, whether with your product, services, or within the office.

Negotiation

Negotiation is an important professional skill, especially when it comes to positioning yourself to get what you deserve. When you’re up for a raise, negotiation is the skill that helps you get a great salary. You can also negotiate benefits, promotions, business deals, and plenty of other details throughout your career.

Time management

Any job requires a significant amount of time management; most people feel as though they’re overworked. However, the reason many people feel overworked is simply because they do not know how to properly manage their time. You need to become skilled at prioritizing tasks and getting them done in a timely manner in order to move on to other projects. Without time management, you’ll find it’s difficult to successfully work in many environments.

Responsibility

No one wants an irresponsible employee. You need to learn how to be responsible and display that to your supervisor. Be willing to take on additional projects or work that needs to get done. Own up to mistakes you make and stay focused on what you’re doing. Being responsible at work shows you’re a reliable employee; that opens up many more career opportunities.

Work ethic

You can have stellar professional traits, but if you lack a work ethic, you won’t thrive in your career. You’re going to come up against periods in your professional career where you don’t feel like working or feel burned out. It’s at these times that you need to tap into your work ethic and get done what needs to get done. Push through the difficult times and work hard; it’ll pay off later.

Hunger to learn

A desire to continuously learn helps you immensely throughout life. Even once you’re finished with your formal education, you need to keep finding new topics to nurture your brain. Whether it’s formal degrees or taking classes online or simply teaching yourself a new skill, any kind of continual learning helps you out.

Creativity

You might not be able to clearly teach yourself creativity, but it’s something you can practice. Surround yourself with people, experiences, and objects that inspire you. Take time to understand art and the creative aspects of your job. If you take time to try to be creative, you’ll improve your skill.

Learn During Grad School Nicholas Fainlight

How to Learn as Much as Possible While in Grad School

By

On September 30, 2018

In Career, Education, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate

Learn During Grad School Nicholas Fainlight

Grad school can easily be the most intense experience most students face. A far cry from the course load of undergrad, graduate school often takes current students and prospective students by surprise with its challenges. Even if you went to a rigorous undergraduate college, grad school is completely different and very focused on your specific area of study.

Some grad students are often too overwhelmed to take full advantage of their grad school experience. However, students with the right mindset and study strategies will find grad school to be more rewarding than they ever thought possible. Read on for four ways to learn as much as possible as a grad student and make this time in your life just a bit less stressful.

Know your strengths

The first step to getting more done when in grad school is to know your strengths when it comes to productivity. Students that are well aware of their studying habits and schedules are better prepared to succeed in grad school. By identifying a schedule and pattern for when you’re at your most productive, you’ll be able to stay on top of your school work as easily as possible.

Focus on reading smarter

While many students in grad school attempt to read as much as possible, this method isn’t always an efficient way to study. Instead, students should try to read smarter by focusing on reading with a purpose in mind. This goal requires students to actively internalize the material they are reading rather than simply speeding through it. Moreover, when reading for a specific reason, such as for a research for a paper, if the material is irrelevant, it is inefficient to keep reading.

Make grad school about learning

Grades are important but aren’t a significant factor in the long run. While grades are what help a student get accepted into a particular program, once they are in grad school, they must shift their thinking to focus on learning. When pursuing your profession outside of grad school, the knowledge you have learned is what truly matters.

Choose opportunities wisely

Many grad students find themselves overwhelmed because they load their schedule with too much. Instead of trying to do everything, focus on specializing in a specific area. In grad school, it is especially important for students to truly zero-in on one thing that they want to focus on in their professional lives.

Getting through grad school requires a well thought out strategy. Take these suggestions into consideration when searching for balance while navigating grad school.

Involved New City Nicholas Fainlight

5 Ways to Get Involved in a New City

By

On August 2, 2018

In Career, Education, Finance, Nicholas Fainlight

Whether you’re moving to a new city for work or school, it’s important to get involved in your new home. You might think you’ll be okay and are planning on focusing on your job or academics and believe you can meet people organically, but you’ll enjoy the experience much more if you put your best foot forward as soon as you move and take steps to get involved in the city as much as possible. Connecting with other people, joining organizations, and starting new hobbies makes your transition much less stressful.

Find online communities

One of the easiest ways to get involved in a new city is finding an online community you can join. Whether it’s a forum for new people in the city, a local discussion board, or a Facebook group, there are plenty of ways to find out more about the social aspects of where you’ll be living and begin to make some friends. Even if you simply want to ask some questions about living in the new city, online communities are a great place to start.

Join a networking organization

Most cities have some kind of networking organization you can join, especially if you’re a young professional or college student. These organizations are a wonderful way to meet other people, get involved in local events, and simply learn some new skills or information. You can find these groups using Facebook or simply Google the name of your city and “young professional organization.”

Volunteer

If you’re looking for ways to give back or are passionate about a specific cause, there are plenty of opportunities in any city to volunteer. Look up local philanthropies and then contact them about volunteer opportunities and how you can get more involved. You’ll meet other passionate people who want to give back to the community.

Participate in community events

You can volunteer for community events or you can simply attend them. Just going to community events helps give you a feel for what your new home is like and it provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with locals. At most local community events, you’ll also find plenty of organizations and businesses from the area handing out information about what they do and how you can get involved. Take advantage of what’s happening in your new city and get involved as soon as possible.

Start a new hobby
Starting a new hobby can be incredibly beneficial; you’ll learn new skills and have something to focus on that’s productive. You can also search out local groups that share this hobby, which is something you can do for a hobby you’re already familiar with as well. You’ll meet people you have at least one interest in common with and you can attend meetings or events related to your hobby.

School Foreign Country Nicholas Fainlight

4 Tips to Prepare for Attending College in Another Country

By

On July 18, 2018

In Career, Education, Nicholas Fainlight

Lots of people study abroad in other countries, but a lot fewer people actually attend college and receive their degree in a foreign country. For college students from the United States, whether you’re looking to gain an undergraduate degree or are researching grad schools, there are many great options outside of the country. Sometimes, foreign schools even cost less (or are free) when compared to schools in the United States. If you’re planning on attending college in a different country, here are some tips to make this journey as easy as possible.

Choose your school carefully

The first step to take once you decide you’d like to look at colleges abroad is to carefully research the schools you’re looking at. Do not simply choose a school because it’s in a county you’d like to visit and you have a high chance of getting accepted. Much like schools in the United States, where you decide to earn your degree is important and can affect your employability in the future. Research the schools and learn as much as possible, such as how current students like the school, what it’s reputation is, and what your specific department would be like. Consider reaching out to current professors and students and asking any questions you may have.

Research the area

No matter where you’re thinking of attending school, even if you’ve already visited that country or city, research the area. You’ll be living there for at least a year, so you’re going to become immersed in the area and culture. Work on learning the native language beforehand, discover the history of the area, and check out the pop culture of that country. The more you understand when you start school, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Remember to take time to sightsee and travel the local area once you’re in school so you don’t miss out on anything.

Connect with locals

Once you get to your new home, and even before, find time to connect with the locals. Join groups or clubs or simply find an online forum where you can get to know some people and what life is like in the area. Remember to connect with other students as well because many of them will probably be from the country the school is located in.

Plan out what you’re taking

While you’ll be in a foreign country for a significant amount of time, it’s important to not overpack. Strategically plan out what you’ll be taking with you and research what people have found most useful when studying abroad in this country. Remember that you can always buy toiletries once you settle in, so avoid taking up space with something you can simply get once you arrive.

Young man in graduation robes facing auditorium, nicholas fainlight preparing for grad school

6 Tips for Getting Ready to Head to Grad School

By

On June 21, 2018

In Career, Education, Finance, Nicholas Fainlight

Once you’ve been accepted to graduate school, you might think it’s time to relax and that you can approach grad school like you did your undergrad college. However, grad school is vastly different from your previous college experience. You’re studying something much more specialized and are in an even more competitive program. You’ll have to work harder and produce higher level work in order to excel in your grad program. It’s important to remember that grad school is a much more professional environment than undergrad; you’re entirely focused on progressing your career and have a narrowed view of what you want to study. This focus doesn’t mean that grad school can’t be fun, it just mean you need to prepare for it differently than you did undergrad.

Network

Since grad school is all about getting ready for the future, take time to network before and during it. Attend local networking events over the summer and take advantage of any opportunities to connect with people from your school. The sooner you get to know professors and fellow students, the better.

Learn about the school

Once you’ve chosen your grad school, take the time to learn more about it. What’s the town or area around it like? How’s the campus? What are the classes and professors like there? Try to find current students to talk to or blogs to read. It’s never too early to start thinking about what classes you’d like to take or what organizations you’ll get involved with.

Choose where you’ll live

Some grad schools do not offer on-campus housing so it’s up to you to find your own place to stay while in school. Others do offer housing, but it’s often your responsibility to seek out your options and decide where to stay. The last thing you want is to show up on the first day with nowhere to stay.

Increase your knowledge

Before getting to grad school, it’s beneficial to increase your knowledge of the subject you’ll be studying and any other areas that could be useful. Take time to catch up with recent news and developments in your chosen field of study. Refresh yourself on the basics and do some research to find out if there’s any material you should know that you haven’t previously studied.

Get prepared

In addition to being prepared as far as your studies go, making sure you’re practically prepared is important too. Once you decide where you’re living, do you have all the essentials you’ll need for your new home? Do you have clothes that are appropriate for the climate? Are all of your papers in order? Make a list of everything you’ll need and tasks you to complete before starting grad school to be sure you don’t forget anything important.

Create some goals

Finally, set aside time to create a few goals for yourself. You’re entering grad school and need to have a plan for what you’ll do these years and afterwards. Are there specific internships you’d like to apply for? What do you want your career to look like once you’re done with school? Setting long-term goals helps you stay focused and organized during grad school.

 

White tabletop, calendar, cup of coffee, nicholas fainlight managing your schedule as young professional

4 Tips for Handling Your Schedule as a Young Professional

By

On May 28, 2018

In Career, Nicholas Fainlight

When you’re in college, you might think that you have a busy schedule and you’re prepared to juggle obligations and run on limited sleep. However, once you graduate and become a young professional with a full-time job, you’ll realize that you’re incredibly busy, but it’s different from what you experienced during college. When you’re in college, you have a clear path and schedule; you take classes at specific times, you have regular meetings, you do stuff with your friends who live nearby.

As a young professional, you’re spending at least eight hours at your workplace and then have a limited amount of time for your other plans. It’s up to you to plan your own schedule. You have to coordinate with friends’ schedules, find volunteer opportunities, discover networking groups and events, and make up your mind on what should be a priority and how you want to spend your time. For college students who thrived on being involved, having so many options on top of working full-time can feel a little overwhelming. Here are some tips on how to handle your young professional schedule and make sure you’re doing what you really want to do.

Prioritize events

The first step to take for managing your new, busy schedule is to prioritize your commitments and what you want to get involved in. If there’s a cause particularly important to you, make a charity that works with it your main philanthropic focus instead of trying to get involved with a variety of organizations. If you want to spend time visiting your family above everything else, plan around those visits. Decide what your focus is and how you want to spend your time and then work around those events.

Get plenty of rest

When you’re spending hours at work, going to the gym, attending a networking event, volunteering, and hanging out with friends, you probably feel like you cannot waste a second of your day sleeping more than necessary. However, being well rested is key to being able to manage a busy schedule; you’ll feel more inclined to stick to commitments and excel at work if you’re not short on sleep.

Talk to your friends

If you’re struggling to find time to fit in all the activities in your schedule and hang out with your friends or significant other, talk to them. Find out what each others’ schedules are and consider participating in events together. Attending a networking event together can be fun and help you branch out from your comfort zone. Volunteering together is a great idea and can be something you make a regular occurrence. It’s harder to stay in touch with friends once you graduate, so make the extra effort.

Plan ahead

You’ll feel much more on top of your schedule when you make the effort to actually plan ahead. Take time at the beginning of each week to look over your schedule so you’re aware of everything that’s happening in the week ahead. You don’t want to be caught off guard by an obligation or event you forgot. Add meetings and events to your phone’s calendar so you get reminders and write them down in a physical planner. You’ll be (and feel) more organized and do not have to stress about remembering everything.

Group of people sitting around a table with an open laptop and graphs and papers, Nicholas Fainlight improve credit score

4 Tips for Improving Your Credit Score

By

On April 29, 2018

In Finance, Investing, Nicholas Fainlight, Technology

Once you graduate college and begin your life after school, you likely realize how important a credit score is for various decisions. You may have had to deal with issues relating to your credit score beforehand, but it’s certainly something you must pay attention to now. Your credit score affects whether or not you can open credit cards, get a car loan, or get approved for a mortgage. Many landlords also want to know your credit score to see how reliable you are when it comes to making payments. You may have a low credit score or not much credit at all, but there are certainly steps you can take to build it into a respectable number. However, you need to understand that it takes time and hard work to reach an excellent score.

Open accounts with credit

For many recent graduates, you might not have much credit at all, which leads to a low score. The first step to take is opening accounts that utilize your credit; the earlier you take this step, the better. There are plenty of student credit cards out there that are easy to get approved on, or ask your parents to add you to one of theirs. Even using the card a few times a month and then immediately paying it off helps improve your credit score. Be aware that opening new forms of credit means a credit report will be pulled for you to be approved, which often temporary drops your credit score a few points. This drop is completely normal and goes back to what it should be within a few months.

Make payments on time

Something that seriously damages your credit score is making late payments. Even a single late payment on credit can lower your score. If you’ve been notorious for this issue and it’s what caused your score to be so low, change your methods starting today. Set alerts for when your payments are due or even set up automatic payments so you don’t have to worry about forgetting at all.

Regularly check your credit score

If you want to really make a difference in your credit score, you need to be aware of any changes to it, whether positive or negative. The more you familiarize yourself with the score and see fluctuations, the better able you are to make decisions that impact your finances. It’s also important to regularly check your credit score so if a fraudulent account is ever opened in your name, you can report it as soon as possible and prevent it from seriously affecting you. Credit Karma is a great resource to use and can be downloaded as an app on your phone.

Pay off debt

If you want to see immense improvement to your credit score, pay off current debt. Even paying off a single debt can boost your score several points. Make larger payments than required and avoid paying more interest than you have to. While paying off your debt, consider using the debt snowball method in order to receive the maximum benefit.

Page 4 of 6

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén