Stephen Coburn / Featurepics.com

Have you ever found yourself competing for a job with your significant other?

With more and more couples meeting at work, it’s bound to happen: You and your spouse end up in the running for the same job. Have you ever applied for the same job as your husband or wife? If so, we want to hear from you. Please include some details about the situation and how it turned out, plus contact information so we can get in touch.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to students at Dhaka International School.

For women and their careers, it’s often not about what they do but how they look. More proof of that came last week.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made headlines around the world not for anything she did but because she appeared without makeup on a trip to Bangladesh.

“Hillary Clinton addresses ‘au naturale’ liberation,” said political blog The Drudge Report, while trend site Styleite.com declared that Clinton “just wants to be normal and do things like wear her hair in a scrunchie, party with her girlfriends and go out without a stitch of makeup.”

The kicker was England’s Daily Mail, which said Clinton’s moment sans makeup made her look “tired and withdrawn.”

Similarly former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks drew angry comments Friday not just for her role in a phone hacking scandal but for her appearance, especially her curly red hair, when she testified before a British government inquiry led by Lord Justice Leveson.

AFP/Getty Images

Former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks, testifies at the Leveson Inquiry.

Here are some of the popular Brooks tweets for the day:

• A date for your diary / Rebekah Brooks, at the inquiry / Hair and temperament, fiery / Words, liary
• Rebekah Brooks. We get it. You have lots of curly red hair, but wearing Orphan Annie's dress to the Leveson hearing? Seriously?

There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to Brooks' hair, called Rebekah Brook's hair is so big because it's full of secrets.

It goes to show that no matter how high up in business or politics a woman gets — or how hard she falls — in the end the focus is often about how she looks and not what she does.

“We’re still held to a double standard,” said Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who produced the 2011 documentary “Miss Representation” about the underrepresentation of women in powerful positions.

“It’s tragic,” she said. “We have an obsession with women’s looks. Unfortunately our culture has bought into this whole double standard that a women’s value is her beauty not her capacity to lead.”

The Look: Hillary Clinton doesn't care if you see her without makeup

Women certainly feel the pressure to look good. Nearly half of women don’t feel good about themselves unless they’re wearing makeup, according to a study released this year by the Renfrew Center Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on eating disorder research and treatment.

The online study, conducted by Harris Interactive for Renfrew, polled nearly 1,300 adult women and found 44 percent "have negative feelings when they are not wearing makeup," including feeling self-conscious, unattractive or that something is missing. Only 3 percent said going without makeup made them feel more attractive.

“Wearing makeup to enhance one’s appearance is normal in our society and often a rite of passage for young women,” said Adrienne Ressler, national training director for Renfrew and a body image expert. “There is concern, however, when makeup no longer becomes a tool for enhancement but rather a security blanket that conceals negative feelings about one’s self-image and self-esteem.”

Many women trying to climb the ladder of success believe they need to enhance their looks or face career doom.

“This goes to the heart of what we still see in the work world today,” said Nancy Mellard, general counsel for business services company CBIZ, which offers a program to develop of women professionals through focused leadership, mentoring and networking. “Whether you’re coming up the career path or at the height of your career like Clinton, we still see women, certainly more than men, judged on appearance not accomplishments.”

While blatant discrimination in the workplace is less common than it was 20 years ago, she said, there are still subtle biases that may be hardest to combat.

TODAY Style: Kathie Lee, Hoda dare to bare (their faces)

One study sponsored by the Women’s Media Center and She Should Run, a group advocating for more women in public leadership, found that sexist comments about female candidates, including critiques on appearance, lead voters to question how effective they would be.

Often the people bashing how women look are other women. “We’re some of the worst,” Mellard said.

Newsom agreed. “It speaks to our own insecurities. We are complicit and have also bought into this, and the only way to change things is for women to start seeing each other more as sisters and supporting, not judging each other.”

Judging each other based on looks, however, is a reality we all have to face because there’s a "beauty benefit" for men as well as women in the workplace.

“Research by economists has shown that ‘beautiful people’, both men and women, have higher pay than less attractive people, holding constant many other factors about the individuals,” said Anne York, associate professor of economics at Meredith College’s School of Business. “So it really does pay for everyone to look good for work.”

“In the case of Hillary Clinton, though, it was quite ridiculous to me that when she went with a natural face, which millions of men do every day, that it made the news with close-up photos of her face," she added. " While her appearance made a lot of news, I don’t think that is necessarily bad if it can start a conversation on accepting more women with a natural appearance.”

Of course, men can fall victim to image-bashing as well.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s hoodie has been a hot topic on social media lately. But unlike attacks on Clinton’s face or Brooks’ hair, there’s little fear hoodiegate will undermine the main power base in the business world today – rich white guys.

Related:

Have you and your spouse ever competed for the same job? 

Facebook IPO pits Wall Street suits against the hoodie

Mike Segar / Reuters

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg delivers a keynote address at a Facebook's marketing event in February 2012.

IBM recently named Virginia Rometty as its the first female CEO, and Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg is on her way to becoming one of the richest women in technology when the company goes public.

But despite these noteworthy feats by these female leaders, the number of women chief information officers at U.S. corporations has declined for the second year in a row. It hit less than 10 percent this year, and about one-third of CIOs report they have no women in management positions working for them, according to a survey released Monday by Harvey Nash, a recruiting firm.

“There’s an overall skill set shortage in U.S., across men and women, as far as the IT space,” said Anna Frazzetto, Senior Vice President of Technology Solutions, Harvey Nash USA. But, she added, this has become even more pronounced among women, creating a growing underrepresentation problem for women in technology.

A number of factors are contributing to the dearth of women, she said, including that the industry isn’t thought of as the most social or exciting out there, and that not enough young women are choosing to study technology when they go to college.

Discrimination and preconceived notions about women’s commitment to their jobs also is contributing to the problem, she added.

The lack-of-women dilemma isn’t just a corner office issue. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprised only 25 percent of all computer-related occupations last year, pointed out Jenny Slade, a spokeswoman for the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Women represented about 25 percent of computer and information systems managers; 38.6 percent of web developers, and 19 percent of software developers. 

Have you and your spouse ever competed for the same job?

In 2011, women made up only about 18 percent of those getting bachelor's degrees in computer and information sciences, a percentage that's held steady for the past four years, she said.

“Unconscious bias” against women in IT is a big problem, she said, and “women don’t always know what the trajectory is to obtain a leadership role.”

A study done by the Center in 2010 found that “56 percent of women in technology leave their employers at the mid-level point in their careers.”

There are a number of factors causing women to leave, said Slade, but the top reasons were bad relationships with supervisors; feeling they were not on the fast track to promotion; feeling they don’t get credit for their work and a hostile work environment.

One women who made it to the top of the IT biz is Patricia Andersen CIO at Apartments.com. She said she was lucky to have worked for companies in her career, including Waste Management, that didn’t discriminate against women when it came to women and technology roles.

“I really haven’t worked at a place where gender was an issue in moving up,” she explained.

Apartments.com, she added, is looking to get even more women in management and one focus of the strategy will be mentoring.

“I’ve had several mentors through my life,” she noted. The mentors helped her learn one of the most important skills you need when it comes to climbing the ladder of success, she said, “how to handle political situations.” 

Given the job market these days, you may be surprised to find that some people actually are quitting their jobs.

Not only that, but they’re giving some pretty creative reasons for why they won’t be coming to work anymore.

Staffing firm OfficeTeam recently asked senior managers to tell them some of the more unusual reasons people have given for quitting their job.

Managers reported that employees had quit to watch a soccer game or take in a movie, because they needed to feed their dog and because they wanted to join a rock band, reality show or beauty contest.

For others, the office atmosphere was literally too much. The 1,300 employers surveyed offered all sorts of sensory-related reasons their employees had quit.

Among them:

"He quit because he didn't like the way the office smelled."

"One employee didn't enjoy the cafeteria food."

"An individual did not like the sound of file cabinets being slammed."

"A person quit because he hated the carpet."

"One worker did not like the colors of the walls."

"The employee quit because the office building was unattractive."

Readers: Tell us the crazy reasons you or one of your co-workers have given for quitting a job. Enter your comment below or on our Facebook page.

Nanine Hartzenbusch / for msnbc.com

Jennifer Moss stands in the kitchen of her Boiling Springs, S.C. home on Thursday May 10, 2012. Her unemployment benefits recently expired.

The improving employment situation in South Carolina should be good news for Jennifer Moss, offering hope she can find finally land a job after a year and a half without work.

But in a way, it’s been another blow. The single mother of three kids is one of hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed Americans who still haven’t found work - and now also find themselves without an unemployment benefit check.

That is because the falling jobless rate in many states has reduced the number of weeks jobseekers can collect unemployment benefits.

So-called extended benefits were eliminated Saturday in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. The same thing already had happened in April in states including South Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Tennessee.

That leaves a minority of states where workers are eligible for that last round of benefits.

The extended benefits provide an additional 13 to 20 weeks of unemployment payouts on top of other extra payments that were made available as part of federal legislation passed in the aftermath of the worst recession in decades. The full package gave some jobseekers up to 99 weeks of unemployment payments.

The precise benefits depend partly on the unemployment rate by states, and in many states the rate has been moving down.

For example, California has one of the nation's highest jobless rates at 11 percent, but that is down from 11.9 percent in August. South Carolina's rate of 8.9 percent has fallen from 10 percent last October.

Nanine Hartzenbusch / for msnbc.com

Moss stands outside her home with her three children, from left, Jami Moss, 5, Josh Moss, 6, and Jenna Moss, 9. A single mother, she's worked hard to hold onto her home during her long stint of unemployment.

Moss, who lives in Boiling Springs, S.C., lost her job doing clerical work and flight scheduling for a small corporate flight department in October of 2010, the same week her divorce was finalized. She had worked in hospitality and other fields, and she’d never had trouble finding a job before.

The weak economy made everything different. Since losing her job, Moss said she’s applied for countless jobs and had maybe 10 job interviews, but nothing has worked out.

“There are many sleepless nights where at 2 or 3 in the morning I might be on a website … applying for jobs,” said Moss, who is 40.

To support herself and her three kids under age 10, Moss has relied on unemployment benefits and SNAP, also known as food stamps. She’s also enrolled in a government program that is helping her cover her mortgage payments.

But Moss received her last unemployment benefit May 1, after South Carolina became one of the states to lose extended benefits because of a dip in the unemployment rate. Her mortgage benefit also is set to expire this summer.

“I’m hopeful that the job will be forthcoming very soon, with everything that I’ve got out there,” she said. “But I’m not above doing what’s necessary, meaning a yard sale or selling jewelry or things of that nature.”

Beyond South Carolina, other states, including Alaska, Indiana and Oklahoma, have recently cut back unemployment benefits even further because those states’ unemployment rates have improved. In Indiana and Alaska, jobseekers are eligible for a maximum of 47 weeks of unemployment assistance, while in Oklahoma the maximum amount is now 34 weeks. The Oklahoma jobless rate is 5.4 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but Indiana's rate is 8.2 percent, about the same as the 8.1 percent national average, and Alaska's is still elevated at 7 percent as the economy recovers slowly.

Nationwide about 12 million people are out of work and actively seeking a job. About 5.1 million of those are considered “long-term unemployed,” meaning they have been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer.

What’s more, one big reason the unemployment rate has been falling is because many people are giving up on finding a job or not entering the labor force to begin with. People not actively seeking a job are not counted as unemployed by the BLS.

“We’re adding jobs, but just enough to keep up with growth in the normal working-age population, not enough to start really putting the backlog of unemployed workers back to work,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, which focuses its research on low- and middle-income workers.

The labor force participation rate, or the percentage of Americans over age 16 who are either working or looking for work, fell to 63.6 percent on April. That’s the lowest level in more than three decades.

Moss, in South Carolina, has relied on her religious faith and church for emotional support, and said that both her and her ex-husband’s family have helped out with some expenses, such as birthday parties for the kids.

With money so tight, Moss said she and her kids joke about how they’ll get the Polly Pocket toys and other things they want when the family wins the lottery.

Of course, Moss isn’t even buying any lottery tickets these days.

“No, Lord no,” she said. “There’s not even enough pennies to roll together to get a lottery ticket.”

Many are in the same boat. At least 200,000 people will lose their last set of unemployment benefits because of the most recent wave of expirations in May, on top of about 130,000 who lost benefits in April, the National Employment Law Project estimates.

Claire McKenna, a policy analyst with NELP, which advocates for the unemployed, said some who lose eligibility for extended benefits may still qualify for 10 more weeks of payouts if they meet certain criteria.

But many people will find themselves without a job or unemployment check.

Dan Maloney, 41, has a law degree, an MBA and years of experience in the insurance industry, and yet he’s been without a job since June of 2010.

Maloney, who lives in Dover, N.J., said that in his specialized field, he’s found fierce competition for the few available jobs.

He thinks employers may see his degrees and experience and think he’s overqualified.

Some days he regrets getting his advanced education. Other days Maloney admits he just feels worn down. His unemployment benefits will expire at the end of the month.

“You definitely hit a point where it becomes – you feel defeated,” he said. “There are days you want to give up.”

Mary Rojas, 43, also has an advanced education and speaks several languages. She said she lost her job doing customer service for Spanish-speaking customers at a law firm in Fort Lauderdale in late 2010 and hasn’t been able to find a job since.

Her unemployment benefits are set to expire this month.

Rojas, who lives in Pompano Beach, Fla., found out she was pregnant soon after losing her job, and she said that made it hard to land a job.

Her baby is now eight months old, and she still has had no luck finding something that pays enough to cover the cost of child care for her baby and her six-year-old. She estimates she has applied for 200 or 300 jobs.

In April, her family received another blow when her husband, a chef, lost his job.

One day last week, the couple was shopping for groceries and fretting about how they would get enough money together to pay the rent.

“I’m in tears, honestly, just wondering how we’ll get that amount,” she said.

But Rojas said she was still holding out hope that her degrees and work experience will eventually land her a job.

“I don’t want to give up,” she said.

Out of work for a long time or just worried about the dismal job market? Join us Wednesday for a live web chat with economy reporter Allison Linn. Sign up for the chat scheduled to take place 10:30 am ET here.

Maybe you chose your home state because you born there or have family there, or just because you think it’s a nice place to live. Or maybe you moved there for a better life.

A study out this week from Pew Charitable Trusts finds that where you live matters a lot in terms of whether you can achieve the American Dream of moving up the economic ladder.

The study was good news for residents of New York and New Jersey and not as cheery for those who live in Louisiana and South Carolina.

About 8,000 readers took our poll on the topic, with about half saying they do think there’s a chance to move up the economic ladder where they live. The article also prompted a heated debate about whether things really are so tough in the South, and if so whether politicians and partisan politics are to blame.

Some readers argued that economic success boils down to one thing: Hard work.

“Upward mobility is accorded to people who go after it. Want to work 9 to 5 in your home town, and hang with you high school friends? Forget about upward mobility,” one reader wrote.

Whether or not you’ve made it up the economic ladder, chances are at some point you’ve taken on debt. Another story this week noted that some Americans seem to be taking on more debt again, either by choice or necessity, after cutting back sharply on borrowing over the course of the recession and weak recovery.

The monthly increase in debt appeared to mostly be to fund education and new vehicles, but there also was some increase in credit card debt. Still, most readers who took our poll said they just say no when it comes to credit cards.

Many readers said they now use credit cards only if they know they’ll be able to pay off the balance at the end of the month. Others said they were skipping the plastic to focus on their financial health.

“Haven't used credit in about a year. Our plan is to pay off debt, including student and car loans, before buying a house or anything else,” one reader wrote.

Still, with the economy still weak, some readers said they’ve had no choice but to rely on credit cards.

“Still have to borrow from Peter to pay Paul until our income improves to where it used to be before 2005, if that ever happens,” one reader wrote.

Getty Images

Men expect to find work quicker if they lose their jobs, but feel less secure in their jobs than women.

Most everyone is worried about the job market in general, and with good reason. The unemployment rate has been higher than average for years, and improvements have been painfully slow.

But it turns out, the specifics of what they're worried about differ for men and women.

A new survey from Randstad finds that men are more likely than women to say the economy has had a negative effect on their career plans. Fifty-one percent of men feel that way, compared to 41 percent of women.

Men also are more likely to say they feel left behind in their careers, with 39 percent of men complaining that the economy had that effect compared to 31 percent of women. Men are also slightly more likely to be extremely worried about losing their jobs.

But the Randstad survey of about 3,000 full-time workers, which was conducted in February, finds that women are more jittery about what would happen if they actually did lose their jobs.

Women are slightly more likely than men to say they don’t think they could find a new job right away that they would want to accept.

In addition, women expect that it would take them longer to find a new job. The average amount of time women said they think it would take to find a new job is 5.4 months, compared to 4.7 months for men.

Kate Gallagher Robbins, senior policy analyst with the National Women's Law Center, said women may be more worried about finding a new job because they are seeing other women lose good-paying jobs in fields such as the public sector, and either strggling to find new work at all or taking a job that pays less.

"They’re really not hearing may good stories about women’s jobs right now," Robbins said.

On the other hand, men -- and particularly young men -- may feel particularly hard hit because the early part of the recession was so hard on them, she noted.

During the recession, men were losing jobs at such a fast pace that some dubbed it a “mancession.” But as the economy officially went into recovery, meaning it was slowly growing again, men started seeing job gains at a much faster clip than women. Only recently have things started to even out. 

The unemployment rate for men was 8.2 percent in April, down from a high of 11.2 percent in late 2009. For women, the unemployment rate was 8 percent in April, down from a high of 9 percent in late 2010.

It turns out there are other ways in which men and women react differently to work stress.

A separate study from the University of Calgary, which was also recently released, found that high levels of job strain increased the risk of depression in full-time male workers, but not of full-time female workers.

On the other hand, women who felt unappreciated in their jobs had a higher risk for depression, while the researchers didn’t see the same correlation for men.

The results were first reported by MyHealthNewsDaily.

TODAY's real estate expert Barbara Corcoran discusses how using bright colors in your home decorating can help attract buyers to your home. 

Where you live may be hampering your economic potential.

If you live in New York, New Jersey or Maryland, chances are your prospects for moving up the ladder of financial success are better than if your home is in Oklahoma, Louisiana or South Carolina.

A study by the Pew Charitable Trust called “Economic Mobility of the States” paints a gloomy picture for many southern states when it comes to whether residents there are likely to have better economic mobility. But many states in the Northeast seem to fare better when it comes to things like average earnings growth.

“When it comes to achieving the American Dream, it matters where you live,” said Erin Currier, project manager of Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, released Wednesday.

The report looked at average earnings for workers ages 35 and 39, and measured those earning from 1978 through 1997. Researchers then looked at how those rose and fell a decade later when the same individuals were 45 and 49.

To measure economic mobility, the researchers looked at absolute mobility – average earnings growth over time – and upward and downward relative mobility – measuring people’s rank on the ladder relative to their peers. 

Here’s a breakdown on the economic mobility winners and losers:

• Eight states, primarily in the Mideast and New England regions, have consistently higher upward and lower downward mobility compared to the nation as a whole: Maryland, New Jersey, and New York have better economic mobility than the national average on all three measures investigated; Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Utah have better mobility than the national average on two measures.
• Nine states, all in the South, have consistently lower upward and higher downward mobility compared to the nation as a whole: Louisiana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina have worse economic mobility than the national average on all three measures investigated; Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas have worse mobility than the national average on two measures.

Several factors propel economic mobility, said Nikolai Roussanov, professor of finance at the Wharton School of Business.

“For the bulk of the population, education is the main driver of upward mobility; accessibility to education and educational opportunities,” he said. “But, it’s also determined on how you apply the education, what sort of careers people go into.”

Beyond education, he added, entrepreneurship has the potential to enrich individuals. “The ability and willingness of people to start their own businesses and take risks is a big driver of wealth mobility,” he said.

And just because you don’t live in a region with better overall economic mobility doesn’t mean you won’t succeed, he said. “Even in areas where there is limited access to education there could be people taking big risks, and they can be successful and move up,” he said.

The Pew numbers tell an interesting story on where the better job opportunities may be, and it seems employers also see the potential.

Another study on mobility, this one from national moving company Atlas Van Lines, found that the Northeast is the top transfer location for companies relocating employees.

Atlas reported earlier this month that: “The Northeast is now the top destination of transfers (42 percent) followed by 2011’s top destination, the Midwest (37 percent) and the South (31 percent). The West remains fourth in relocation numbers (26 percent).”

If your company isn’t willing to move you, or you don’t have a job yet, it might be a smart idea to consider relocating yourself to a state offering more potential when it comes to upward economic mobility.

The Pew study also found those individuals who moved out of the state where they were born had “better mobility outcomes on average.”

To find out how your state fared in the study go check out Pew’s interactive map.

Just as speed dating adds more stress to the search for a mate, speed interviewing is sure to make the job hunt more tense.

Yes, speed interviewing.

In at least one extreme example, workers are being given just one minute to sell their skills to a hiring manager. If they fall short, they are out the door.

That’s the approach MediConnect Global has been taking with its interview process. Even though it may sound like a nightmare for some job seekers, it has worked out great for the medical records company and some lucky employees who passed the test.

When Zane Davis, 34, a client services representative, interviewed at Mediconnect two years ago, he was told before the meeting that he’d have less than a minute to pitch himself to a panel of company managers. “I had never heard of a company doing these speed interviews,” he said.

Davis, who had been a welder and was looking to change careers, said, “They wanted to know why they should hire me within 30 seconds or so.”

When he got to the company’s offices in Salt Lake City, Utah, there were 12 other job candidates waiting for the quick why-you-should-hire-me interview spiel. He recalled everyone else had flashcards they were studying, but he decided to focus on being confident and highlighting the skills he could bring to the table.

“I don’t remember what I said, but it worked,” he said. The company called him back for about five minutes of follow-up questions that day, and about a week later he was offered the job. “It’s kind of a nerve-racking experience, and very humbling.”

While quick back-to-back, rapid-fire interviews with multiple candidates have been a fixture at job fairs, tactic is unusual within the  confines of company offices.

Many job seekers have reported a growing trend in the opposite direction, with employers putting applicants through endless hours of interviews. (I recently wrote about the phenomenon.)

“We have not received much pick-up amongst our clients in regards to speed-dating type interviews,” said Bob Kovalsky, senior vice president for Adecco Staffing. “The process that the majority of our clients uses is one that’s a bit more comprehensive.”

But using the speed-dating type format is not unheard of.

Booz Allen Hamilton uses “a technique where candidates can go from table to table to meet with interviewers who represent differing capabilities of the firm,” said James Fisher, a spokesman for the consulting firm.  “This helps us ensure that we’re making the best match of candidate skills and job opportunities.” 

In a post on the jobs website Glassdoor, one anonymous job seeker likened it to "speed dating."

“I don’t know that we would use the term ‘speed dating,’” Fisher said.

In situations where employers want to churn through lots of applicants quickly, some hiring managers are using the tactic, said Jay Meschke, president of recruiting firm EFL Associates.

He’s not convinced, however, it’s a smart move. “Sure people want applicants to meet with as many people as possible in a short amount of time, but what can you learn in a few minutes?”

Quite a lot, according to MediConnect CEO Amy Rees Anderson.

About two years ago, she heard about speed dating and thought it might be a great way to review many job applicants in a short time. While she began by giving candidates just 30 second to pitch themselves, she ultimately decided one minute was best.

“The purpose of that minute is to get a sense of their confidence, personality, ability to represent themselves,” she said.

Before the candidates make their brief presentations, the company has them complete skills, IQ and personality tests. “By the time they come for the interview we’ve got a pretty good profile of them,” she explained.

Sometimes applicants are nervous, she said, but the managers don’t hold that against them. Too much confidence can get you booted. “Someone that came in was so overly aggressive about why we should hire him, and when his time was up he refused to leave,” she said.

Two memorable applicants, she said, did something out of the ordinary. One candidate brought in 5-hour Energy drinks because he thought the managers conducting the interviews might be tired. And another applicant pulled out a huge stack of dollar bills, laid them on the table before his pitch, and picked them up when he left. “It caught our attention, made us remember him,” she said.

Verisk Analytics Inc. bought MediConnect in March. Officials from the parent company recently asked Anderson to walk them through the speed-interviewing process because they’re considering expanding the technique.

It’s not just about the words they say, or how creative they are, Anderson said. “You get a sense of the person,” she said. “They come in and tell us about themselves.”

Jason R. Henske / AP

Dartmouth College graduates Greg Agron and John Agbaje laugh as Conan O'Brien delivers the commencement address in 2011. New research finds that college grads with business degrees may face better job prospects.

If you are heading off to college in the fall and looking to get the most bang for your buck, you may want to major in business.

IBISWorld, an industry analysis firm, took a look at fields that are expected to see the most growth in the next five years. Then, they looked at which of the most popular college degrees a person would need to get a job in those industries.

The analysis found that business grads had the most positive outlook through 2017. That’s because business graduates are most likely to work in industries where higher-than-average job and wage growth are expected.

Those fields include commercial banking, reinsurance carriers and human resources. Jobs typically held by business degree holders pay an average $70,000 a year, which is expected to rise to $77,000 by 2017, IBISWorld said.

A degree in health sciences also is likely to serve you well. The IBISWorld analysis found that job growth in health-related fields such as primary care, dentistry and nursing care will be about on par with the overall economy, but wages will grow at a slightly faster rate.

The outlook is less promising for people who major in social sciences, history and education.

Other research has shown that college graduates are more likely to be employed if they choose a major with a specific career path, including business.  But that research, from Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, was more bullish on education because of the projected low unemployment rate in that field.

If you don’t have a head for business or an interest in health care, that’s not necessarily a reason to fret. Other research has shown that just going to college should give you a leg up in life over those who don't.

The unemployment rate for people with a college degree or higher was just 4 percent in April, compared with 8.1 percent for the general population. College grads also are likely to make more money than their less educated peers.

Related:

The upside to not saving for your child’s college education

Yes, college degree has value – try $1 million

Legislation that would give workers broad protection from the prying eyes of employers was introduced in both houses of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. Both bills would make it illegal for employers to force workers or candidates to divulge social media passwords, similar to legislation nicknamed SNOPA, which was introduced last month. But the new Password Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.. goes even further, extending such limitations to smart phones, private email accounts, photo sharing sites and any personal information that resides on computers owned by the workers.

But Blumenthal's proposal -- and its companion in the House, introduced by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo. -- is narrower in some ways than the Social Networking Online Protection Act(SNOPA) introduced April 27 by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N. Y. SNOPA extended similar protections to elementary, high school and college students. Under the Password Protection Act,  students would not be protected.

Still, Calabrese said his organization will work to include students before any proposal reaches a vote in Congress.

"Students are clearly the target of a lot of social media monitoring," he said. "We think students should have the same rights as everyone else. We'd like to see the best of both of these pieces of legislation combined."

Blumenthal, who has been publicly critical of firms that have requested employee Facebook passwords, said legislation is needed to protect workers.

“Employers seeking access to passwords or confidential information on social networks, email accounts or other protected Internet services is an unreasonable and intolerable invasion of privacy,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “With few exceptions, employers do not have the need or the right to demand access to applicants’ private, password-protected information. This legislation, which I am proud to introduce, ensures that employees and job seekers are free from these invasive and intrusive practices.”

Bradley Shear, a Maryland lawyer and activist who has helped draw attention to the issue, said he "applauded" the efforts of legislators who introduced the Password Protection Act, but was also concerned that students not be left behind as the legislation works its way through committee.

"Hopefully all the different interested parties will come together to find a solution that covers everyone," he said. "This is something that won't go away unless it's handled now."

The Facebook password issue has been bubbling up for years — in 2009, a Maryland state employee complained that he was required to provide his Facebook password during a job interview. But the subject has gained much more attention in recent weeks, after several news reports, including an msnbc.com investigation.

*Follow Bob Sullivan on Facebook.
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David Bach

The stock market turmoil of the past few years has spooked many of you looking to invest and save for retirement.

But it’s time to get unspooked, advised David Bach, personal finance expert and author of numerous money management books, during a live web chat Wednesday where he took readers questions about retirement planning.

He had a spirited exchange with one reader who saw little value in stock market investing at this point, and had little confidence in financial planners or the U.S. economy.

Jeff wrote:

What if the stock market just goes side ways for the next twenty to thirty years and compound interest ends? Have fun saving for retirement then. All of these models financial planners have blow up. And the reality of it is most American will be totally screwed. Then what?

Bach said:

The reality is, Jeff, that the plans haven't totally blown up. In fact, according studies, people that have stayed the course since the stock market crashed after the recession are now UP, and have seen their 401(k) accounts go from the mid $40,000 levels to the mid $70,000 levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up over 100 percent in the last four years from the bottom. We've just lived through one of the fastest stock market corrections in our lifetime. The bond market continues its historic bull market, and has produced annual returns of double-digit proportions. Municipal bonds last year were up over 15 percent. So, good financial planning and consistent savings have helped Americans survive and prosper through this recession. If you believe the stock market is going to stay flat for thirty years, then you should be focusing all of your savings on paying down your debt (specifically your mortgage).

And Jeff countered:

Over the last ten years the market has been side ways. Yes, pick the low point to the current run up to distort reality. Look at Japan. That could well be the future of the U.S. Good luck saving enough for retirement with out compounding.

To that, Bach added:

People save weekly and monthly and quarterly and annually. You my friend are the one distorting the facts. People didn't pile into the stock market ten years ago and then never add to their retirement accounts. And bonds have done extremely well. So has gold, silver and on and on. People are making money investing. If you don't believe it to be true, then don't invest. You can simply spend everything you make, live paycheck to paycheck and then get on live chats like this one and just complain the world is always going to be a terrible place. Sounds like a tough way to live however. I would rather bet on myself to win and bet on America.

Bach’s frank money advice touched upon everything from when to start taking disbursements from retirement plans, to whether you should raid your retirement fund to pay for your kid’s education.

Here’s a transcript of the web chat:

You can follow Bach, author of “The Automatic Millionaire" and "Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom,"  on his Twitter account, or check out his website.

The Diamondback Sorrento starts at $300.

Spring weather has many people pulling their bikes out of storage and topping off the air in the tires for the first ride of the season -- or realizing it’s going to take a lot more than that to get a once-trusty ride on the road again. If it’s been a while since you looked for a new mountain bike, you may be surprised at the quality you can find in the $150 to $400 range. This segment of the market, once sparsely populated by Frankenstein’s monsters of mountain- and road-bike parts, is now home to nimbler models with many more speeds.

Below are Cheapism’s top picks for affordable mountain bikes.

• The Diamondback Sorrento (starting at $300) is lightweight yet heavy-duty, reviewers say, and also easy to put together. Its solid build and impressive performance attract repeat buyers. (Where to buy)
• The Trek 3 Series 3500(starting at $399) is the most expensive bike on our list and one of the only budget models available at specialty bike shops, as opposed to large chains and online outlets. Experts call it stable and agile and riders appreciate the disc brakes, a notable feature at this price. (Where to buy)
• The Schwinn Ridge AL (starting at $225) is a rare find: a low-cost women’s mountain bike that earns mostly positive reviews. The shorter top tube, narrower handlebars, and wider seat might seem like minor variations, but they make the bike safer and more comfortable for female riders. (Where to buy)
• The Genesis V2100(starting at $129) is exclusive to Wal-Mart. It’s the cheapest bike on our list yet the only one with dual suspension, a feature uncommon on budget models. Riders say the full suspension (on both wheels) makes for an exceptionally smooth ride. (Where to buy)

Even though they typically have front-only suspension, the best budget mountain bikes can tackle rough pavement and well-maintained trails. These are entry-level models, however, and many riders caution against pushing the limits of more demanding terrain.

Like most other low-cost mountain bikes these days, the models above have 21 speeds and aluminum frames. Aluminum is lighter but typically no less durable than steel; it’s also rust-resistant. An aluminum frame makes it easier to pick up speed and push, carry, or otherwise transport the bike.

A couple of the models on our list stand out for their brakes. The Trek 3 Series 3500 boasts disc brakes, which are generally reserved for higher-end mountain bikes. While standard V-brakes or linear-pull brakes work by pressing on the rims of the wheels, disc brakes surround the hubs of the wheels. The Genesis V2100 has a disc brake in the front and a linear-pull brake in the back.

One of the biggest trends in mountain bikes is toward “29ers” -- bikes with 29-inch wheels that roll more easily over obstacles. The Coloradoan reports that these now account for nearly a quarter of mountain bike sales, up from 10 percent at the end of 2010. Alas, this is one luxury none of our picks affords; all the budget models above have standard 26-inch wheels.

• More from Cheapism:
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• Cheap exercise bikes 

Companies that provide employees with generous benefits, including contributing more to retirement funds and absorbing health insurance hikes, are often financially healthier because of it.

A study released Wednesday found employers that offered substantial programs focused on the long-term financial health of their workers saw a host of business dividends as a result, everything from lower turnover to better customer service.

Harvard Business Review Analytic Services surveyed 58 of the 100 companies named to “The Principal 10 Best” list over the past decade and also conducted interviews with executives from 20 employers included on the list. Three quarters of those polled reported that benefits contributed to employee retention and 72 percent said they impacted employee loyalty.

The survey was commissioned by the Principal Financial Group, although companies studied did not necessarily use Principal services.

Despite the tough economy in recent years, firms in the study said they had maintained or increased their benefits packages, including raising retirement contributions in some cases. While some did have their employees pay more for health insurance benefits, the majority ate the increased costs.

Virtually all the firms agreed that they have a "strong sense of responsibility when it comes to providing benefits that protect the financial well-being" of employees and their families. When asked to identify the most significant thing they are doing to impact employees’ financial security, nine out of 10 respondents mentioned retirement programs and cited generous employer contributions.

The majority of companies surveyed also provided one-on-one financial help for employees for retirement planning and have added wellness programs.

As a result of the generous benefits, the employers surveyed said they saw a host of benefits, including:

• Enhanced recruitment
• Committed, engaged employees
• Excellent retention
• Deep organizational expertise
• Safe workplace practices
• Strong customer relationships

The question of whether these employers are more likely to have lucrative benefits because they’re successful, or they’re successful because they provide such perks, wasn’t answered by the study, said Luke Vandermillen, senior vice president of retirement & investor services with the Principal Financial Group. However, he said there is “a paternalistic feeling that cuts across these companies.”

The Harvard study shows great benefits are "not only good for employees, but good for those companies that provide well-rounded broad and deep benefit programs," he said.

Getty Images stock

A lot of you are scratching your heads about your 401(k), when you bother to think about it at all.

Most of you just don’t want to be bothered by your 401(k) plans even though you’ve signed up for them.

Although employers have been giving employees lots of paper work on these plans, providing education about them, and in many cases matching what workers put in, most workers aren’t taking full advantage of 401(k)s at work, according to two studies released this week by Schwab Retirement Plans Services.

About 54 percent of workers aren’t getting the most out of their employer-sponsored retirement investments, found one study by CFO Research Services, commissioned by Schwab, which surveyed 200 senior finance and human resources executives at large and mid-sized companies.

What’s driving the 401(k) apathy?

“Retirement planning is off in future, therefore it doesn’t get the time or attention it needs,” said Dave Gray, vice president of 401(k) client experience at Charles Schwab.

Many employees feel too busy and too financially ignorant to manage 401(k)s, found the other Schwab study, conducted by Koski Research. The study polled more than 1,000 workers enrolled in such plans nationally and found:

•  More than half (52 percent) say they don't have the time, interest or knowledge to properly manage their 401(k) portfolio.
•  Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) spend less than eight hours per year managing their 401(k) plan account.
•  Many (56 percent) do not review plan-related education materials they receive.

"It's not a good idea to neglect your 401(k) but you don't want to micromanage it either," advised Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com.

"The 401(k) is the primary vehicle for retirement savings for a majority of people working today," he explained. "This is long-term savings and it does pay to regularly revisit the account for purposes of rebalancing investments and making sure your investment strategy is still consistent with your goals and time horizon."

To combat the investing indifference, employers plan to boost their outreach to workers, including everything from printed materials to workshops, the CFO study found.

Are you in danger of losing unemployment benefits?

Clearly, not paying attention could do you future financial harm. Nearly one third of those surveyed said they didn’t even know about the fees they’re being charged in association with their plans.

You might think it’s better just to pull the plug on your 401(k) because you’re not getting the most out of it, or you could end up making poor investment choices, but Gray warned against that.

“I think any savings is better than no savings,” he maintained.

So, are you managing your 401(k), or is it on autopilot?

Unemployment benefit extensions are set to expire in several states, including California. Are you losing your unemployment benefits or have you exhausted all the benefits available in your state?

If so, we want to hear from you.

Please send us an e-mail including information about where you live, how long you've been looking for a job and when you will be losing your unemployment benefits. Don't forget to include your contact information so we can get in touch.

By Bill Briggs

Sure, speed kills. But new science suggests your sluggish slog from home to work (and back again) is slowly sucking the life out of you -- exit by excruciating exit. 

Commuters who log 16 or more miles each way on their daily haul to the job tend to pack plumper paunches and post higher blood pressure when compared to those with shorter excursions, according to the first research exploring the intersection of travel distances and health impacts.

Clogged roads seem to clog arteries, in part, by eating into potential gym minutes. Among folks who drive 16-plus miles to earn a paycheck, the prevalence of obesity is almost 9 percent higher while the rate of fitness is nearly 9 percent lower versus those who journey six to 10 miles, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (Those numbers are not adjusted for age or gender).

“Part of it is that people with longer commutes aren’t exercising as much. But there could be other factors like they’re eating (fast food) while driving or they’re getting less sleep because they don’t have as much discretionary time,” said Christine M. Hoehner, the study’s lead investigator and an assistant professor in the department of surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

By mapping the daily drives and dissecting the health scores of 4,297 residents from two Texas metro areas, Dallas and Austin, Hoehner and her colleagues distilled the mile-by-mile health hazards linked to sitting behind the wheel.

Take, for example, Body Mass Index -- a calculation of stored fat based on height and weight. (A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal). For every 10-mile increase in your driving distance, your BMI rises by .17 units, Hoehner said. So if you’re already on the cusp of an unhealthy BMI -- say at 24.5 -- adding 15 miles to your foray -- each way -- will nudge you into the danger zone.

The daily drive has taken a toll on Sharon Binford, part of the marketing and development team at an online office supply retailer. She has a roughly 30-mile commute to and from her home in White Plains, N.Y., and her office in Manhattan, spanning 1 hour and 20 minutes each way.

“I am more tired, so I think my mood and activity level have been affected” by the daily trek, said Binford, 25. Before she got her current job, she didn’t drive to work.

“Before, I would have avocados and tomato, or strawberry and yogurt, or eggs-and-bacon breakfasts. Now, I eat cereal in the mornings -- Special K Red Berries, but it’s still all carbs instead of almost none,” Binford said. “I used to spend about an hour running three times a week. Now, I try to occasionally squeeze in a half-hour run during my hour lunch break.”

Americans are, indeed, spending slightly more time collectively navigating to and from their jobs. In 2010, 8 percent of U.S. workers had one-way commutes of one hour or more -- up from 7.8 percent in 2009, said Brian McKenzie, a commuting analyst at the U.S. Census Bureau.

But the true traffic terrors are, of course, found on the local levels, especially in cities where far-flung suburbs offer more affordable housing. According to INRIX, a traffic information provider that ranks the worst municipal commutes, the most congested cities in 2010 were, in order, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. then Dallas/Fort Worth -- where Hoehner conducted much of her study.

And, hardly shocking to any fuming driver who routinely winces at an agonizing line of brake lights, Hoehner found that longer commutes are more likely to fuel stress levels.

“It’s about the chronic stress: daily exposure to traffic, the hassles of not being able to predict when you’ll arrive, and having no control over your time because of that traffic,” Hoehner said.

About one-third of the commuters Hoehner analyzed notched 16 or more miles getting to work. The prevalence of elevated blood pressure in that group was about 52 percent. Meanwhile, slightly more than half the drivers studied needed 10 miles or less to reach their jobsite or office. The rate of high blood pressure in that portion: about 45 percent.

So, honk if you hate the guy driving one car ahead -- and the other 500 beyond. They’re killing you.

Related stories: 

Working moms are happier, study finds

Working moms multitask way more than dads

Daily serving of red meat raises risk of heart disease

The financial shocks that began in 2007 prompted a lot of Americans to change their free-spending ways, especially when it came to taking on debt.

Several years on, some Americans may be reversing course, either by choice or necessity.

The Federal Reserve said Monday that Americans sharply increased their borrowing for big-ticket items like cars and education expenses in March and whipped out their credit cards more often.

Experts say the surprising increase of more than $21 billion in consumer borrowing may be a sign that Americans are feeling more comfortable taking on debt again. Or it could be that many are running out of other options.

With the economy still relatively weak, many say it’s doubtful that Americans have forgotten the harsh impact of the recession, financial crisis and credit crunch.

“I would hope that we as consumers have learned our lesson from the economic downturn that hey, we’ve got to watch our spending and spend what we can afford,” said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of lowcards.com, a credit card comparison website. “I would think a great number of people did learn that.”

But even with those lessons in mind, some Americans may feel they have to borrow money.

Paul Edelstein, director of financial economics with IHS Global Insight, said consumers may be taking out car loans because, after years of scrimping and putting off major expenses, they have little choice.

“People are in a position where they have to buy new cars,” Edelstein said.

Are you at risk of losing unemployment benefits?

Americans also may be rushing to take on student loan debt because they’re worried about a potential increase in the borrowing rate, he said. The interest rate on certain student loans could increase to 6.8 percent in July, from 3.4 percent currently, if Congress doesn’t take action.

It’s also possible that students are taking on new student loans faster than the old ones are being paid off thanks to the weak job market, said Alex Matjanec, co-founder of MyBankTracker.com, which provides information about banks, loans and credit cards.

Revolving debt – which is largely composed of credit card debt – accounted for about $5 billion of the increase in March. Still, total credit card debt is much lower than five years ago, before the recession, housing crisis and credit crunch changed people’s habits significantly.

Hardekopf said part of the reason for the March increase could be an aggressive push by banks to get people with good credit to use their cards more. He said banks have been pushing better incentives and rewards, although interest rates have not changed much.

Hardekopf also has seen an increase in credit card offers to higher-risk borrowers with lower credit scores. After years of tight credit they may be getting tempted by the more aggressive offers, he said.

Edelstein said he doubts people will go back to the free-spending, pre-recession days.

One big reason: Housing wealth, or a lack thereof. Before the housing bubble burst many Americans enjoyed the security of having a lot of equity in their homes. These days, with so many homes underwater, people are more likely to have to rely on their paycheck.

“You don’t have that cushion,” he said.

Have you ever had enough of the grind, and dreamed of chucking it all and live off the grid? No bills. No tax man. No boss. And no money.

Daniel Suelo did exactly that. Twelve years ago, Suelo had $30 to his name. He left it in a phone booth and walked away from normal society. He actually quit using money and appears relatively happy.

Our readers had a lot to say about this story. (Note to some of our readers: Not everything is about Obamacare. Really. Sometimes a story is just a story.)

“There's nothing wrong with being a little more self-sustaining and a little less consumer oriented. Few of us could do what Mr. Suelo has done, but I think his goal has some admirable qualities,” wrote one reader.

But another reader wrote: “Call it what you will but until he stops scrounging through societies leavings and accepting its charity he hasn't dropped out of anything. He's sponging, pure and simple.”

For the rest of us, working and making money is a fact of life. And Allison Linn’s story about the rising retirement age struck a chord. According to a Gallup poll, the average age at which Americans expect to retire is now 67. That’s up significantly from 1996, when people expected to retire at age 60.

We asked our readers to vote on their retirement expectations, and more than 22,000 responded: 50.3 percent of you said you expect to retire later than you thought and 17.5 percent of you thought you’d work until you died. Yikes.

The concept of retirement is an abstract one for most teenagers. Just getting employment is a struggle for most teens. Another Allison Linn story said that only about 25 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds currently are working, a drop of 10 percentage points from just five years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Our readers had a lot to say about this disappointing trend, too. “I just feel like if people spent as much time looking for a job as they do complaining, they would be far better off,” wrote one reader. 

By Chris Jansing, NBC News correspondent 

SPENCERVILLE --  Jennifer Ramirez remembers it so vividly: the excitement, at 15, of having her first boyfriend.  Then the fear, when she found out she was pregnant.

"I was in the tenth grade,” she said. “And I remember when I found out, it took me at least, like, two weeks to tell my parents."  

When she finally did tell them, they worried that Jennifer's dream of being the first person in her family to graduate college had ended.

"I had all these emotions going through myself. I didn't know what I was gonna do,” said Jennifer, who is now 23.  “I was so worried about school. I was just really scared."

The odds were certainly against her.  Less than two percent of girls who get pregnant before they turn 18 have a college degree by the age of 30.  But Jennifer knew it wasn't just her future at stake, it was her newborn son's, too.

So she began the uphill journey -- to raise Jordan while working and getting her degree at the University of Maryland at College Park. She says it was daunting, even, at times, overwhelming. Then she heard about Generation Hope.

The nonprofit is the brainchild and labor of love of Nicole Lynn Lewis, who was just a teenager herself when she got pregnant in 1998. But two and a half months after Nicole's baby girl was born, she started classes at William and Mary.

"And I was sitting in classrooms with, you know, people who were my age that were worried about, maybe the party that was going on Saturday night," recalled Nicole, who lives in Columbia, Md. “And I was concerned with, you know, what am I cooking for dinner? Am I gonna get to my daughter in time?

There were plenty of naysayers, who never thought she could pull it off.  But four years later, Nicole graduated. Then, when she was 29 years old, she founded Generation Hope in March 2010 to help other pregnant teens do the same.

The first-ever class has seven teen girls, chosen from 12 applicants. 

If they're attending a two year college they get $1,200 a year, for a four year school, it's $2,400. The very first application was from a girl who became pregnant at 12. "And that was a huge shock for all of us," Nicole said, still reeling from the memory.  "It really brought home for me the need for our program. Because I can't see telling a young woman who's 12 years old that her life is now over.”

And that was the message Jennifer Ramirez needed to hear.  She was willing to work to assure a better future for herself and her son.  Generation Hope's scholarship definitely helped ease her financial burden.  Still, it's the emotional burden, teen moms will tell you, that can be even worse.  So Generation Hope matches each teen with a mentor.

Suzanne Simpson, 49, is not the kind of person Jennifer would usually come across; a lawyer and president of the Howard County women's bar association in Maryland.  They both admit that the first time they met, they were both very nervous. Jennifer laughs now, remembering, "But when I saw her, she was wearing all this jewelry. And I was just, like, ‘Oh, we're a match made in heaven.’” 

And it turns out, though they're more than 20 years apart, their sons are almost the same age.  The boys play together.  They talk.  Jennifer calls Suzanne a role model. Suzanne says she gets back even more than what she gives.  And there's a lesson for everyone in their story, young and old.

"Everything happens for a reason," said Jennifer, with wisdom beyond her years. "So, take the good, and the bad, and make it great."

And so she has. Jennifer will get her college degree later this month.  In her heart, she said always knew she could do it.  Generation hope made sure she didn't have to do it, alone.

Visit http://www.supportgenerationhope.org/ to learn more.

Women are often told if they want power they have to speak up. So you’d think women leaders are chatting up a storm in boardrooms and in the halls of Congress.

Think again.

New research finds that even among women who hold powerful positions in government and business, they’re not making their voices heard as much as their powerful male counterparts, and for good reason.

“When women get power, talking a lot is seen negatively by other people,” said Victoria Brescoll, assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management. “They’re seen as domineering and controlling.”

Courtesy Yale University

Victoria Brescoll

Brescoll’s study of leaders and their vocalizing is titled “Who Takes the Floor and Why: Gender, Power, and Volubility in Organizations” and was published in the current issue of Administrative Science Quarterly.

In doing her research, Brescoll studied data from the U.S. Senate floor where the words spoken by all senators are recorded. She found that the most powerful male senators talked much more than powerful female senators.

In the study, she surmised that the difference could be a function of different genders having different ways of establishing rapport, “or because women are concerned about the potential backlash stemming from appearing to talk too much.”

The idea that women would be treated negatively if they did blab too much was supported by Brescoll’s additional research, where she had subjects rate hypothetical CEOs and politicians she created for research.

The women leaders who talked too much, according to the study, were rated as “significantly less competent and less suitable for leadership than a male CEO who was reported as speaking for the same amount.”

And both male and female participants in the study held this perception.

So should women leaders just shut up? No way, according to Brescoll.

“Women don’t do things because they anticipate a backlash, but that just reinforces stereotypes and becomes a collective action problem,” she stressed. If women don’t all join voices and start chattering away, she added, “then the stereotype will persist and we’ll continue to have this double standard at work.”

Time to start bending some ears, gals!

Baby Boomers have a lot of bills to pay these days. Most of those bills aren’t theirs.

They’re helping to pay medical and utility bills for their aging parents, and even buying groceries for their moms and dads. And on the flip side, they’re chipping in for everything from car insurance to rent payments for adult kids they thought flew the nest.

All these handouts are creating uncertainty among the boomers about what the future holds for their own financial well-being, according to a report by Ameriprise Financial released this week. 

The study, titled “Money Across Generations,” surveyed more than 1,000 affluent boomers, 300 parents of boomers, and 300 children of boomers, at least 18 years old, by telephone, and found tougher economic times all around for every generation. But the Baby Boom generation of about 77 million and born roughly between 1946 to 1964 is stuck between a family rock and an economic hard place. 

“Boomers are feeling the pressure financially and emotionally,” said Suzanna de Baca, vice president of wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial. “In many cases they’re sandwiched between children who are unemployed or struggling to pay down their student loan debt and aging parents who are facing complex health and financial issues. At the same time, they’re trying to prepare for their own retirement.”

About a quarter of boomers surveyed said they were saving for retirement, compared to 44 percent who were doing that in 2007, the last time this poll was taken.

And  because of the financial pull from both parents and kids, twice as many boomers are focusing on clinging to the retirement funds they already have, up from 12 percent in 2007.

“Family and personal values are important when making any kind of decision, but it can be difficult to prioritize our family members’ needs against our own,” de Baca said. “Unfortunately, unconditional financial support can threaten or even sabotage retirement goals and security. It’s important to have open conversations with your family about your current financial situation and evaluate your ability to meet your own goals before offering any kind of support.”

Here are some more findings from the study on what boomers are doling out:

• 58 percent of boomers reported helping parents in some way with purchasing groceries (22 percent) or paying medical expenses (15 percent) and utility bills (14 percent).
• 93 percent said they provided financial support for their adult kids, including college tuition or loans (71 percent), allowed them to move home and live rent-free (55 percent) or helped them buy a car (53 percent) and auto insurance (45 percent).
• 34 percent said providing financial assistance to their kids has slowed down their contributions to retirement savings, and 10 percent said aiding parents is keeping them from squirreling away.

While most boomers don’t regret backing their adult kids financially, they’re not sure all this financial handholding has helped their offspring prepare for the future. Nearly half of those polled said, “they worry that their children do not understand what it takes financially to prepare for retirement, and 35 percent express concern that their children have not learned responsibility when it comes to money.”

Is it time to cut the kids off?

Related stories:

 Delaying retirement for our families
 Gen Y’s upbeat thanks to mom and dad
 Moving in with your parents isn’t that bad 

Forget about business school. If you want to improve your business acumen, the best route may be to study a foreign language.

University of Chicago researchers have found that people make more rational decisions when they think things through in a foreign language, according to a study published in Psychological Science.

Normally people are loathe to risk what they have for the opportunity to make more.  And because of that they will pass up attractive business opportunities, says the study’s lead author, Boaz Keysar, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.

“We show that when people think in a foreign language they take more risks that are beneficial,” Keysar said. “They are less afraid of potential loss and that allows them to take advantage of risks that are worth taking as opposed to frivolous risks.”

As a general rule, humans tend to be quite risk averse, Keysar said.

When you’re mulling a question over in a foreign language you tap into the more analytical side of your brain, he explained. Thinking in your native tongue tends to be more tinged with emotion, especially fear.

To look at the impact of foreign language on decision making, Keysar and his colleagues rounded up 54 college students who were English speakers, but who were learning Spanish. Each student was given 15 dollar bills and told that they would have 15 opportunities to bet one of their dollars on a coin toss. If they won the toss they would get $2.50 back. If they lost, they would lose their dollar.

The bets were attractive because statistically the students stood to come out ahead if they took all 15, Keysar explained.

When the experiment was conducted in English the students took the bet only 54 percent of the time. When it was conducted in Spanish, they took the bet 71 percent of the time.

And that’s because students mulling over a bet in English allowed fear of losing a dollar get in the way of their taking a risk to make more. When they thought things over in Spanish they were better able to analyze the question rationally.

“And you realize that this was done with money we gave them,” Keysar said. “It’s not like they had to take it out of their own pockets. But there was still the thought that ‘I’ve got this dollar in my hand and do I want to risk losing it?’ They were thinking myopically about each bet separately. Somehow when they thought in a foreign language they were able to move back and take the bigger perspective.”

It’s not clear yet how these new findings can be implemented on an individual basis, but Keysar suggests that a company’s teams might use the foreign language test to see if members are making decisions rationally or whether there’s a fear of loss bias.

“You could divide the team into two groups,” he said. “Then have one make a decision in their native tongue and the other in a foreign language and see if they come to the same conclusion. If you see a systematic difference, it’s a good indication that some bias is influencing the decision.”

Alan Poizner / for msnbc.com

Nick Gentry, 18, has found summer work. Lots of other teens haven't.

Nick Gentry will be able to celebrate two major accomplishments this month: He’s graduating from high school and, after a very long job search, he has landed his first job.

That Gentry, 18, will be collecting a paycheck makes him a rarity in today's working world.

Only about 25 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds currently are working, a drop of 10 percentage points from just five years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The percentage of teenagers who have jobs, expressed as the ratio of employment to population, hovered between 40 and 50 percent for much of the 1980s and 1990s. The percentage began dropping about a decade ago, but the declines have been especially steep since the beginning of the Great Recession in late 2007.

With summer approaching and the job market showing signs of improvement, teens could have a better shot at getting hired than they have had in years. But it could take many more years for teens to resume working at pre-recession levels.

The April employment report, due out Friday, will offer more clues into how things will look in the coming months.

Part of the issue is that fewer teens either want to work or think they can get a job. The labor force participation rate, which measures both teens who are working and those actively seeking work, also has fallen sharply since 2000.

The White House pledged on Wednesday to help lower-income youth find summer jobs in a move likely to appeal to younger voters crucial to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

The initiative is in partnership with the cities of Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco and is meant to add 110,000 jobs, internships and mentorships to the 180,000 summer work opportunities for 16-24 year olds that Obama has promised to create for 2012.

Still, most teens are facing a job market in which there are fewer positions to be had. What’s more, many believe the jobs that are available are increasingly going to adults who are desperate enough to take a job that might once have gone to a teenager.

Gentry, who lives in Murfreesboro, Tenn., said he’s applied for jobs on and off over the past two years.

He finally got a break this spring when his mother, Brenda Gentry, helped him land a part-time job doing yard work for the company where she works in accounting.

“It was pretty exciting, finally getting one,” Nick said.

He plans to use his paycheck for car expenses and other incidentals and says he’s looking forward to not having to ask his mom for money.

“It’ll feel a lot better …because she works real hard to give us what we have,” he said.

Brenda Gentry’s other son, Wes Kirk, hasn’t been so lucky. Kirk, 16, said he’s applied at retail stores and fast food places, always trying to follow up in person with the manager. But so far, he hasn’t been able to get a break.

“I’ve had them say they’re interested, but no one’s ever called me in for an interview,” he said.

Who does, and doesn’t, work
The job market is unquestionably difficult for all teens, but experts say it’s especially hard for those who may need the money most: Teens from poor families and families in which a parent is out of work.

“It’s the opposite of what everybody thinks,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University.

Sum said the disparity is partly because many kids get jobs through family and community connections such as parents, neighbors or relatives.

That can also have a ripple effect: The likelihood of working increases significantly once a teen has already held a job, according to his research.

Other research backs up that disparity. Algernon Austin, director of the race, ethnicity and the economy program at the Economic Policy Institute, last year analyzed 2009 data on teens who were not attending school.

He found that 16- to 19- year-olds from poor families, whose income was below the poverty line, were less likely to be working than teens whose families had more money. That was true regardless of race or ethnicity.

“In terms of need, it is backwards,” he said.

The analysis of teens living below the poverty level, just above the poverty level and in middle-class households also found that at every income level, white and Hispanic teens were more likely to be working than black teens.

Austin said low-income and minority teens may not have family connections and role models that can help them land a job. They also may face other obstacles, some as simple as not having access to a car or public transportation to get to work.

“It’s all sort of interconnected – (a) web of disadvantage that makes it difficult to find work,” he said.

‘Nothing like making your own money’
Dominique Plain Bull, 19, landed her first job late last year after her mom helped her connect with a family friend who is a retail store manager. She’s working part-time while attending a community college in Huntsville, Ala., full-time.

Dominique’s mother, Shannon, said she’s glad her daughter found a job and is learning the value of being a good, reliable worker. But she’s also happy that her daughter didn’t work in high school and was instead able to focus on sports and academics.

That’s something Shannon, 35, missed out on because she had Dominique when she was just 15 and started working when she was 16.

“I was kind of wanting her to be a kid, because I wasn’t given the opportunity to have my childhood,” she said.

It can be tiring to work and go to school, but Dominique said she likes her job – and her paycheck.

“There’s nothing like making your own money,” she said.

For some teens who are working, having an entry-level job has provided a valuable life lesson along with a paycheck: It’s taught them what they don’t want to do with the rest of their life.

Moses Goldfarb, 19, didn’t have much trouble landing a job stocking shelves at a grocery store in Seattle in 2009, when he was still in high school. He graduated in 2011 and decided not to go straight to college.

After a year of working, however, he says he regrets that decision and is looking forward to going to school next fall to study film and TV production. A turning point came when he took an unpaid internship last summer working on the television show “Portlandia.”

The hours were long and the pay nonexistent, but he loved going to work every day.

Now, he says, “I want to leave my grocery store and retail days behind me and move on to bigger and better things.”

Reuters contributed to this story.

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