“I’m a hiring manager at a local company looking to fill several positions. I’ve noticed that about two-thirds of our applicants don’t send cover letters while about a third do. While I feel a little guilty about it, I have ...
Read More »Are cover letters really necessary? Hiring professionals have differing opinions
Investment acumen or inside information? 
If you had known, in early 2020, that you might be working from home during a multi-year, global pandemic, would you have bought Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (Zoom)? Zoom had not yet become a household word when, during the first ...
Read More »The importance of female mentorship, leadership, and innovation in banking 
In my 10 years at Tompkins and 35 cumulative years in the banking field, I’ve witnessed the industry undergo several revolutionary changes — the automation of transactions, the evolution of technology, and most recently, the shift to all-virtual routine interactions. ...
Read More »Inflation: How did we get here and what can be done about it? 
If you’re in your 50s – o.k. early 50s – you probably remember a time when a gallon of gas cost less than a dollar, when a gumball cost a penny and when a giant shopping cart of groceries cost ...
Read More »Buffalo Bills have rich history of marvelous nicknames
This scribe has always loved catchy nicknames, so I was intrigued when the Buffalo Bills selected someone known as “The Punt God” in the sixth round of the recent NFL Draft. Matt Araiza earned that divine moniker after booming an ...
Read More »Will 2022 be the year of the vacation home? 
With some COVID-19 restrictions relaxing and others already lifted, the smell of tourism is in the air. Demand for leisure travel is skyrocketing, and the booking pace for travel in the northern hemisphere spring is 49% higher than this time ...
Read More »Making financial decisions: Responding vs. reacting 
“I don’t control life, but I can control how I react to it.” —Macklemore Isn’t life grand? Ok, let’s be honest — life can be pretty amazing. However, it’s no secret we’ve all experienced those times in life where it ...
Read More »ROC on Tech conference draws worldwide attention to Rochester’s technology aptitude 
We are so proud to have hosted the ROC on Tech conference, which was held April 13th in the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center. This year’s conference was a total sellout, and we even managed to squeeze in ...
Read More »Consumers and economists alike keep close eye on inflation, interest rates, and Europe 
Economic growth is expected to slow for the first quarter of 2022, with estimates for GDP currently hovering around 1% after finishing 2021 at 2.3%. If GDP estimates are correct, it will be our lowest quarterly reading since the second ...
Read More »Does U.S. immigration favor Democrats or Republicans? 
Contemporary discussions about the political impact of immigration in the U.S. are based on three seemingly immutable points.
Read More »A thoroughbred racehorse whose impact was not lost on us
It seemed like a good deal at the time – a rattletrap Ford van with more than 100,000 miles on the odometer in exchange for a promising thoroughbred whose family tree included Man o’ War, Native Dancer and the father ...
Read More »Boomerang employees: tips on how to welcome team members home 
Every manager at every level has experienced it — that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach when one of your valued team members walks in and resigns. With today’s “Great Resignation” continuing full force, chances are you’ve experienced ...
Read More »Spring cleaning: Considering program sustainability 
There has never been a better time to consider the sustainability of your program activities and take action to address unsustainable programs. Whether your organization is in an unusually strong financial position because of COVID relief funds or in an ...
Read More »Are you discriminating against employees with caregiving responsibilities? 
As the world enters year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued a warning to employers of yet another risk to their businesses: caregiver discrimination claims. It is no surprise that the pandemic has ...
Read More »A simple game for investors: How would you play? 
Some years ago, financial author and advisor, Bill Schultheis, devised a simple game to illustrate the difficulty faced by investors who try to outguess the stock market and the utility of knowing the odds of success. The game called “Outfoxing ...
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