America's Future Foundation

Distinguish Yourself: Get to the Point!

Roger Custer 02 November 2015 AFF, Career Advice, Elevator Pitch, interviews, Professional Development

Whether you are giving an elevator pitch, doing a job interview, tweeting, or answering a question, getting to the point is essential. In today’s fast-paced culture, people expect a quick

Distinguish Yourself: Use Time Wisely

Roger Custer 06 October 2015 AFF, Career Advice, organization, Professional Development, Time management

In economics, we discuss the allocation of scarce resources. Those discussions generally focus on guns and butter, labor and capital, or other economic-speak but don’t cover our personal resources. You

Distinguish Yourself: Admit Your Mistakes

Roger Custer 10 September 2015 AFF, Career Advice, Dale Carnegie, growth, life, Mistakes

The bad news is that you are going to make mistakes. The good news is that you can distinguish yourself by admitting your mistakes and learning from them. However, that’s

Distinguish Yourself: The Importance of Speaking Clearly

Roger Custer 10 August 2015 AFF, Career Advice, Communication, Professional Development, speaking clearly

Um, so, you know, um, I think…um, yes, this is a professional advice column about how you can distinguish yourself by speaking more clearly without using filler words. Most people,

Distinguish Yourself: Keep Reading

Roger Custer 14 July 2015 AFF, Career Advice, Professional Development, Reading

Education doesn’t end when you graduate from college. One way to distinguish yourself is to keep reading throughout your life. Morton Blackwell, president of the Leadership Institute, writes, “People who don’t

Avoid These Common Email Mistakes

Roger Custer 03 June 2015 AFF, Career Advice, Email etiquette, Email mistakes, networking, Professional Development

Email is today’s preferred method of communication. It often speeds delivery, simplifies projects, and saves money. However, there are common mistakes you can avoid by spending a few extra minutes

How To Take Initiative for Career Networking

Roger Custer 01 April 2015 AFF, Career Advice, networking, Professional Development

I regularly meet job seekers and others who will search in the near future. Often they ask for help but are not specific or persistent, which causes missed opportunities. On

The Magic Formula Revealed: Determining the “Right Salary” for a Job Application

Claire Kittle Dixon 21 November 2014 AFF, Career Advice, Claire Kittle Dixon, Free the Future, Professional Development, Salary negotiations, salary tips, talent market

If there’s one topic everybody wants to know more about, it’s salary. (Well, that and where socks go when the dryer eats them.) My friend Alex in Kentucky requested that

You Are Never Done Working Hard

Isaac Morehouse 10 September 2014 Advice, AFF, Career, Career Advice, Career Development, entrepreneur, Free the Future, Isaac Morehouse, Job Advice, liberty, networking, Professional Development

One of my favorite stories is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. The plot involves residents of hell taking a day trip to heaven. The interesting thing is that most of them

The Perfect Job is a Myth

Patricia Simpson 18 August 2014 Career Advice, dream job, Internship Advice, Job Searching, Leadership

“Land the job that gets you here so you can work to get the job that keeps you here.” I tell this to every current intern or job-seeker who wants

Career Advice