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Focus On What You Bring to the Table to Get Ahead at Work

We all want to impress our employers, whether it's during an interview or trying to work our way to the top. Focus on the unique benefit you bring to the table and use it to your advantage.

Sometimes the best way to be visible at your job is to use what you bring to the table, or be better than the competition at one skill or task. Bonnie Marcus of Women's Success Coaching explains how effective this approach is when aiming to be an asset:

I have found in my years of coaching women on how to promote themselves that the most effective way to establish the credibility and visibility they desire without the backlash is to focus on their value proposition (the unique way they do their work that adds value to the business). Once they understand this, they can offer to help others achieve their business goals based on what value they know they can add. Instead of talking about past accomplishments – which might be interpreted as bragging – if they position themselves as having the potential to solve ongoing challenges in the business, it establishes them as a leader who is willing to work for the benefit of the organization and not for self-gain.

While Bonnie's specific audience is women, this advice is valuable to anyone who wants to establish and maintain positive impression at work. Evaluate your job and what you can uniquely bring to it, and then work to promote yourself through that.

5 Ways to Promote Yourself at Work – Without "Bragging" | LinkedIn via Entrepreneur

Photo by Nguyen Hung Vu.

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Cyber Monday Deals On Airfares Can Take You Somewhere Warm This Spring

By now, most people are familiar with the savings that can be had on "Cyber Monday." Today, the first Monday after Thanksgiving is the biggest online shopping day of the year, and retailers are offering huge product savings. Airlines are in on the action too, so let's take a look at some of the deals to be had.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is offering discounted airfares as well as vacation packages to places like Hawaii and Mexico. Some sample airfares include Seattle to San Jose for only $49 each way, Seattle to Denver for $99 each way, and Oakland to Honolulu for only $159. Vacation packages start at only $197 per person from Portland, Oregon for airfare and 3 nights in Las Vegas. You can also go from San Diego or Los Angeles to Los Cabos for 3 nights for only $495 per person. How does Hawaii sound? You can get round trip airfare and 3 nights on Maui for only $573 per person. To take advantage of this sale, you need to book by December 8th, and fly between January 11th and March 4th, 2015.

American Airlines

American is having a sale on vacation packages as well, though theirs is a bit more cryptic than Alaska's. You choose your vacation package, then enter a promo code (BFCM2014) when you check out. Upon doing so, your discount savings will be revealed on the payment page when you spend $1,250 or more. You have to book through AAVacations.com, not American's normal AA.com reservation site. The sale ends today (Monday 12/1). On American's promo, you can book as far in advance as August 20, 2015, though some blackout dates do apply.

Delta Air Lines

Delta's Cyber Monday sale feels even more shady. On their site, they promote Cyber Monday Deals, but there are no promo fares listed. You're supposed to just take them at their word, then click the Book Now link and hope that you're actually getting a discount. Your travel must begin between January 6th and March 26th, 2015, and the sale ends today.

United Airlines

United is discounting fares to Europe and India by 15 percent, today only. They're also offering 10 percent pff everything in their United Shop, using a promo code (HOLIDAYFRIENDLY).

Today only! Save 15% on Economy fares to Europe and India. #CyberMonday Book now: http://t.co/d8zPKoXSlR http://ift.tt/1vck2s0

— United (@united) December 1, 2014

Southwest Airlines

Southwest doesn't have any sales specific for Cyber Monday on their site, but they have some good fares to Mexico and the Caribbean. For example, you can get Atlanta to Cancun for $150 each way, or Baltimore to Nassau for $100. You have to book these by Thursday, for travel between January 8th and March 6th. Their Vacations site does have some pretty good package deals, including up to 45% off at a new all-inclusive Riu Palace Antillas on Aruba, and up to 65% off at Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean.

As you can see, most of these sales are for travel within the next few months, to some pretty warm places, which is exactly the kind of travel you want to be doing within the next few months. If you see more out there, even from international airlines, send them my way and I'll add them to the list. My email address is below. If you took advantage of one of these deals, share with us what you bought.

Paul Thompson is a aviation journalist with over 13 years of experience working in the airline industry, who maintains the website Flight Club for Jalopnik.com. You can contact Paul to submit story ideas, your own "Plane Porn" photos, and comments regarding this or any other aviation topic via email at Paul@Jalopnik.com

Firefox Gets an Instantaneous Video Chat Feature, Better Search Bar

The latest version of Firefox is here, bringing an updated, easier-to-use search bar and a signup-free, no-plugin-required video chat feature.

In Firefox 34, when you search for something in the search bar, you can click on a search engine's button to search directly on that site, rather than having to open up a different dropdown menu. It's a small change, but a convenient one.

Arguably cooler is the new Firefox Hello feature, which allows you to start an instant video chat with anyone, on any browser, with no signup or extra plugins required. Just click the Firefox Hello button (if you don't have it, here's how to find it), send the link to your friend, and when they click it, you'll get a video chat session right away. It works with any browser that supports WebRTC (such as Chrome and Opera), and in our tests worked very well. In fact, it's one of the most convenient ways to start a video chat we've ever seen—as long as one party is using Firefox.

You don't need to sign up or install a plugin to get it working, though if you sign up, you can manage a list of contacts (or import them from Google). Check out the link for more info on the latest update.

Firefox Notes (34.0) | Mozilla

The Best Things to Buy In December

Feeling the cold yet? Winter is coming, and so are the holidays—which make for some pretty great deals to round out the end of the year.

Every month, we look back at the best times to buy anything during the year, and pull out items each month to remind you what's coming. Obviously, none of this is to say you should go on a shopping spree—but if you've been holding off for a lower price on something, these are the things that get the sale treatment in December. And if you're shopping today, be sure to check out the best Cyber Monday deals available right now.

All Autumn

• Cars: New car models come out in the summer, which makes the end of the year a great time to buy a car—as long as you're willing to get last year's model, say Consumer Reports,Bankrate, and Dealnews. Deals should be even better in October than they were in September. Make sure it's not better for you to lease a car instead of buy, and if you're looking to get a good deal, you can save some money by haggling or (if you're evil)screwing with the car salesmen.
• Cookware & Kitchen Accessories: Anyone who's walked into a mall in October knows that the holidays get earlier and earlier every year, which means the sales start now! Cookware is one of the more popular things to start early say Bankrate and Dealnews, so check out Consumer Reports' cookware buying guide, our five must-have kitchen tools, and give your kitchen a makeover.
• Digital Cameras: Cameras see some nice deals early in the year, but if you need one now, you'll probably see another round of deals coming off the latest announcements. According to Digital Photography School and Digital Camera HQ, check out older models for a lower price.
• Gas Grills and Air Conditioners: Just like in September, most stores are trying to get rid of their summer gear. As Forbes says, no one wants to store the stuff no one is buying—it's cheaper to just sell it at a discount. So if you have the space to store it, stock up on your grills, air conditioners, and other summer-only items now.
• Plants: Most plants aren't going to survive the harsh winter ahead, but if you have an indoor garden or greenhouse going on, Real Simple and Dealnews recommend picking up your new plants cheaply as the weather starts to cool down.
• Toys & Games: Places like Toys R Us are starting to ramp up their holiday sales, sonow's a good time to get kids' stuff at a discount—whether for Christmas gifts or not.
• Wedding Supplies: As beautiful as it is, winter isn't exactly prime wedding season for most people, which means planning one gets a lot easier. Find a venue, negotiate services, and buy or rent supplies for much less as the fall and winter go on say Bankrate andDealnews. Just don't go overboard—you can do a lot of trimming on your wedding budgetif you know where to look.

December

• Champagne: New Year's is coming up, and that means champagne is actually going to get cheaper, according to Sharon Castillo, director of the Office of Champagne USA. In this case, the high demand means companies are trying to undercut their competitors to sell more during this peak time.
• Golf Clubs: As you might expect, it's not exactly the best month to go play a round of 18 holes, so golf clubs are going to be on sale right now. New England Golf Monthly points out that they'll probably be last year's models, so you won't be getting the absolute latest and greatest, but if you're hunting for a deal, now's the time.
• Pools: You may not be looking to go for a dip in the cold winter, but it's a good time to get that pool set up for summer. A number of pool installers have blogged about the fact that winter is the best time to buy a pool, mainly because no one else is buying them, so they need to keep prices down in order to keep up work. And, since they're doing so much less work in the winter, it's often of higher quality, too.
• Televisions & Other Electronics: You should see sales continue after Black Friday and through the holidays. Though if you can wait, February is probably a better time than now to buy that new TV.
• Tools: Like we said last month, tools are on sale during the holiday season. If you shop around, you can probably find some good holiday sales on tools, so it's a good time to buy—particularly if you want to winterize your home before the cold really sets in. Check out our guide to stocking the perfect toolbox and our list of the DIY home repairs you can do yourself while you're at it.

We'll be posting updates for you guys every month, so you're aware of the deals going on all year round. If you're curious to see what's coming up, you can always check out our full best time to buy guide to see the entire year at a glance. And, if you know of any deals we didn't mention, share them in the comments below.

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