Amy Lindgren

Is your job search dragging on too long? Since this isn’t a favorite activity for most people, it seems likely the answer would be yes, regardless of how long you’ve been at it.

You probably won’t find agreement on how long a job search “should” be — or even a consistent answer for how long searches usually go. There’s just too much variation in how people conduct their searches, as well as differences in the markets they target.

Even so, I can provide an answer for how short a search could be, given the right approach. That would be 12 weeks. Or three months. Or of course, 90 days. I’m not teasing; just restating the timeframe from different perspectives. These all being the same amount of time, I’ll use the 12-week model to describe an efficient and productive short-term search.

Beginning with the elephant in the room: Is it really possible to choose an end date for finding a job? Yes, in fact, that’s the whole point of this approach. The end date lets you maintain a pace while also pausing at strategic points to troubleshoot.

If you think there’s a catch, you’re right. In a short search with a determined timeframe, you must take control of all aspects. This means limiting or eliminating online applications and the use of job boards.

Why? Because online processes remove rather than enhance your control: When or whether appropriate postings appear; whether the postings are real; how quickly someone responds to you — if at all; how long the applications themselves will take … it’s almost as if the system were designed to remove your personal agency and make you feel helpless.

Luckily, you won’t be giving up much of consequence when you let go of this process. People are frequently surprised — but not shocked — to learn that online job applications produce far fewer offers than direct contact with employers. I say not shocked for two reasons. First, most job seekers have already experienced the frustrations of an online search. And second, when pressed, nearly everyone can recall having received an offer from a contact.

What’s wonderful about the direct contact approach is that you can control nearly every step, from whom you contact and when to how frequently you follow up and what information you share at each stage. Most importantly? You control the pace, which means you can pour on the steam and achieve results more quickly.

This is another key difference from an online search, where more applications do not correspond to improved results. Explaining why would take too long, so I’ll leave that to another day. For the moment, you’ll just have to believe there’s a reason someone who has sent 2,200 applications online hasn’t had 22 times more interviews and offers than someone who sent 100.

If you’re ready to trade online applications for a process that actually works, read on.

In the direct-contact method (most frequently called a targeted job search), success depends on preparation. Since you’ll be reaching out to actual people rather than responding to ads, you need a list of people to contact. But in order to make that list, you must first identify your job goal, or target — hence the “targeted” job search name.

Here are the preparation steps in sequence: First, choose a job target. Next, identify organizations that likely use people in that capacity. Finally, find and contact individuals who work in your chosen area in each organization, ideally at the management level. Somewhere in the middle, you’ll need to create a résumé focused on your overall job target.

I’ll pause while you figure out which cuss words to use for what I just said. I’m making it sound so simple! It’s not as if you just need to introduce yourself to somebody in your field and ask if they need help, is it?

Well, actually, that is the crux of job search: Making a match between someone who needs help and the worker who can supply it. Going directly to managers simply reduces to its essence what has become a needlessly complex process.

In last week’s column, I explained the importance of approaching the job search like a project. Since a project by nature has an end date, it’s the perfect concept to use. Next week I’ll wrap up this three-part series by filling in the steps for a 12-week search. In the meantime, give some thought to your job target and the places you can imagine doing that work.

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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.

By PAUL WISEMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has identified what he sees as an all-purpose fix for what ails America: Slap huge new tariffs on foreign goods entering the United States.

The former president and current Republican nominee asserts that tariffs — basically import taxes — will create more factory jobs, shrink the federal deficit, lower food prices and allow the government to subsidize childcare.

He even says tariffs can promote world peace.

“Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,’’ Trump said this month in Flint, Michigan.

As president, Trump imposed tariffs with a flourish — targeting imported solar panels, steel, aluminum and pretty much everything from China.

“Tariff Man,” he called himself.

This time, he’s gone much further: He has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.

This week, he raised the ante still higher. To punish the machinery manufacturer John Deere for its plans to move some production to Mexico, Trump vowed to tax anything Deere tried to export back into the United States — at 200%.

And he threatened to hit Mexican-made goods with 100% tariffs, a move that would risk blowing up a trade deal that Trump’s own administration negotiated with Canada and Mexico.

Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity. They are especially alarmed by Trump’s latest proposed tariffs.

This week, a report from the Peterson Institute for International Economics concluded that Trump’s main tariff proposals – assuming that the targeted countries retaliated with their own tariffs — would slash more than a percentage point off the U.S. economy by 2026 and make inflation 2 percentage points higher next year than it otherwise would have been.

Vice President Kamala Harris has dismissed Trump’s tariff threats as unserious. Her campaign has cited a report that found that Trump’s 20% universal tariff would cost a typical family nearly $4,000 a year.

But the Biden-Harris administration itself has a taste for tariffs. It retained the taxes Trump imposed on $360 billion in Chinese goods. And it imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.

Indeed, the United States in recent years has gradually retreated from its post-World War II role of promoting global free trade and lower tariffs. That shift has been a response to the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, widely attributed to unfettered tree trade and an increasingly aggressive China.

Tariffs are a tax on imports

They are typically charged as a percentage of the price a buyer pays a foreign seller. In the United States, tariffs are collected by Customs and Border Protection agents at 328 ports of entry across the country.

The tariff rates range from passenger cars (2.5%) to golf shoes (6%). Tariffs can be lower for countries with which the United States has trade agreements. For example, most goods can move among the United States, Mexico and Canada tariff-free because of Trump’s US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

There’s much misinformation about who actually pays tariffs

Trump insists that tariffs are paid for by foreign countries. In fact, its is importers — American companies — that pay tariffs, and the money goes to U.S. Treasury. Those companies, in turn, typically pass their higher costs on to their customers in the form of higher prices. That’s why economists say consumers usually end up footing the bill for tariffs.

Still, tariffs can hurt foreign countries by making their products pricier and harder to sell abroad. Yang Zhou, an economist at Shanghai’s Fudan University, concluded in a study that Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods inflicted more than three times as much damage to the Chinese economy as they did to the U.S. economy

Tariffs are intended mainly to protect domestic industries

By raising the price of imports, tariffs can protect home-grown manufacturers. They may also serve to punish foreign countries for committing unfair trade practices, like subsidizing their exporters or dumping products at unfairly low prices.

Before the federal income tax was established in 1913, tariffs were a major revenue driver for the government. From 1790 to 1860, tariffs accounted for 90% of federal revenue, according to Douglas Irwin, a Dartmouth College economist who has studied the history of trade policy.

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Tariffs fell out of favor as global trade grew after World War II. The government needed vastly bigger revenue streams to finance its operations.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the government is expected to collect $81.4 billion in tariffs and fees. That’s a trifle next to the $2.5 trillion that’s expected to come from individual income taxes and the $1.7 trillion from Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Still, Trump wants to enact a budget policy that resembles what was in place in the 19th century.

He has argued that tariffs on farm imports could lower food prices by aiding America’s farmers. In fact, tariffs on imported food products would almost certainly send grocery prices up by reducing choices for consumers and competition for American producers.

Tariffs can also be used to pressure other countries on issues that may or may not be related to trade. In 2019, for example, Trump used the threat of tariffs as leverage to persuade Mexico to crack down on waves of Central American migrants crossing Mexican territory on their way to the United States.

Trump even sees tariffs as a way to prevent wars.

“I can do it with a phone call,’’ he said at an August rally in North Carolina.

If another country tries to start a war, he said he’d issue a threat:

“We’re going to charge you 100% tariffs. And all of a sudden, the president or prime minister or dictator or whoever the hell is running the country says to me, ‘Sir, we won’t go to war.’ ”

Economists generally consider tariffs self-defeating

Tariffs raise costs for companies and consumers that rely on imports. They’re also likely to provoke retaliation.

The European Union, for example, punched back against Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum by taxing U.S. products, from bourbon to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Likewise, China responded to Trump’s trade war by slapping tariffs on American goods, including soybeans and pork in a calculated drive to hurt his supporters in farm country.

A study by economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Zurich, Harvard and the World Bank concluded that Trump’s tariffs failed to restore jobs to the American heartland. The tariffs “neither raised nor lowered U.S. employment’’ where they were supposed to protect jobs, the study found.

Despite Trump’s 2018 taxes on imported steel, for example, the number of jobs at U.S. steel plants barely budged: They remained right around 140,000. By comparison, Walmart alone employs 1.6 million people in the United States.

Worse, the retaliatory taxes imposed by China and other nations on U.S. goods had “negative employment impacts,’’ especially for farmers, the study found. These retaliatory tariffs were only partly offset by billions in government aid that Trump doled out to farmers. The Trump tariffs also damaged companies that relied on targeted imports.

If Trump’s trade war fizzled as policy, though, it succeeded as politics. The study found that support for Trump and Republican congressional candidates rose in areas most exposed to the import tariffs — the industrial Midwest and manufacturing-heavy Southern states like North Carolina and Tennessee.

Which tower fan is best?

The right fan can both make you feel cooler and help regulate the temperature in your house, preventing those random hot or cold spots.

A tower fan is a space-saving option that is specifically designed to produce impressive results. For example, the Vornado Whole-Room Air Circulator Tower Fan will not only increase the comfort level of your home but may also help you save money on your energy bills.

What to know before buying a tower fan

Does a tower fan have a blade?

While some models are labeled as “bladeless,” tower fans have blades hidden in the base that rotate to push air. The inner rotating column of fins pushes the air out through the vents to create a powerful, circulating current.

What are the advantages of having a tower fan?

A tower fan has a sleek and stylish design, and unlike a box or pedestal fan, it is compact and can fit in small spaces. Because of its uniform size throughout, a tower fan will not be top-heavy like a pedestal fan, making it more stable. Tower fans are generally quieter than other fans, producing a more consistent stream of white noise. Many new models are high-tech devices with advanced filtration methods, removing odors and allergens from the air.

Do I need an oscillating tower fan?

There are two general types of fans: cooling fans and circulator fans.

Cooling fans are designed to be aimed at an individual, creating a breeze that travels across the skin and clothing and cooling the body. If there is more than one individual in a room, you will want a tower fan that oscillates to ensure everyone feels the breeze.
Circulator fans create a powerful stream of air that penetrates deep into a room. This stream circulates the air, similar to the way a pump moves water through a pool. As the air travels, hot spots mingle with cold spots, creating a consistent temperature throughout the room. This can help keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter; these fans work regardless of an oscillating mode.

What to look for in a quality tower fan

Range of speeds

Fans with ranges of speeds are great for comfort and season regulation. In the winter, a circulator fan should be set on low, while it should be set on high in the summer.

Quiet operation

If you want a tower fan that can be used while you sleep or watch TV, you will need one that runs quietly. If the noise level of your tower fan interferes with your daily activities, you won’t use it as often as you probably should.

Additional features

Some higher-end tower fans have multiple functions. You can get models that purify, heat or humidify the air.

Dimming controls

The display on most tower fans is bright enough to be clearly seen from across the room. At night, however, the blue light could become an annoyance. If you plan on using your tower fan in the bedroom, make sure the display can be dimmed – unless you’d like it to double as a nightlight.

Remote operation

Many tower fans can be controlled remotely either by a remote or a corresponding app. These features allow you to control the fan from across the room.

How much you can expect to spend on a tower fan

A tower fan can cost as little as $40 or as much as $200 (sometimes more). For the best quality at a reasonable price point, you can expect to spend between $80 and $120.

Tower fan FAQ

Where is the best location for a tower fan?

A. If you want a tower fan for cooling off, then you will need to position it so it blows on you. However, if you want to circulate the air in a room, position the tower fan so it is blowing toward the wall at the opposite side of the room. To achieve the best results, clear a path so the air can travel across the open space without any obstructions.

Are tower fans safe?

A. Most tower fans are equipped with many safety features. Tower fan blades are either covered by a grill or hidden in the base of the fan, making it nearly impossible to get your fingers caught. The best tower fans also have an automatic shut-off feature that stops operation if the fan is ever knocked over.

What’s the best tower fan to buy?

Top tower fan

Vornado Whole-Room Air Circulator Tower Fan

What you need to know: This Vornado fan is powerful enough to provide the type of circulation needed to regulate room temperature.

What you’ll love: This fan’s technology pushes the air up to 100 feet, making it suitable for larger rooms. It has an auto-off timer and four speed settings so you can customize operation, and it comes with a remote control for convenience.

What you should consider: A few users noted their fan developed a soft whine over a relatively short period.

Top tower fan for the money

Lasko Oscillating Tower Fan

What you need to know: This Lasko Tower Fan is a top model at a great value.

What you’ll love: This space-saving fan has three speeds, oscillation and a nighttime operating mode. The built-in timer lets you control when the fan shuts off, even if you fall asleep.

What you should consider: While affordable, this fan is louder than some users expected.

Worth checking out

Arctic-Pro Oscillating Tower Fan

What you need to know: This model is best for the individual looking for a feature-packed tower fan on a budget.

What you’ll love: This 42-inch tower fan has a pedestal that can be used to raise the fan. The LED display is easy to read and can be dimmed at night so it won’t disturb your sleep. The remote can be stored in the top of the unit so it doesn’t get misplaced when not in use.

What you should consider: The assembly instructions for this fan can be difficult to interpret.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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