Earlier this month, pay transparency laws went into effect in Washington and California, requiring employers to list pay ranges on job listings. Later this year, New York state will also follow suit. These laws, already in place in Colorado, are one way that states are combatting wage gaps —including racial and gender pay gaps. In fact, the gender pay gap was cut by 45% in organizations that disclosed pay compared to those that didn’t. As more states, including South Carolina and Massachusetts, begin developing pay transparency laws, this could soon become the new norm. 

Here’s what you need to know about the new pay transparency laws effective this year.

California: At the beginning of this year, California’s labor code began requiring employers with more than 15 employees to list salary ranges on job postings, even for postings on third-party websites. 

Employers are also required to share pay ranges for an employee's current position, upon request — which is likely to put the cat among the pigeons... Home to many powerful companies — like Apple and Wells Fargo — and to millions of employees, California's pay transparency laws could soon become the new normal across states. 

Washington: Similar to California, Washington now requires employers with more than 15 workers to share salary information on job postings — both internally and on third-party sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn — thanks to the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. Furthermore, company benefits, like health care, retirement benefits and sick leave, are also required on job listings. These requirements are effective whether the applicant will fill a position in person or remotely.  

Rhode Island: Rhode Island has also required further pay transparency from employers. According to Rhode Island’s Pay Equity Act, if requested, employers are required to provide pay ranges for job listings if "inquired about". However, they don't have to list these ranges outright on job listings. Employers will also be required to disclose salary ranges before an employee is hired or before they change positions. 

New York State: New York state’s transparency laws will go into effect in September of this year. Starting in September, New York employers are required to share pay ranges for job listings. This applies to employers with four or more workers. Pay transparency laws have been in effect in New York City since November 1, 2022, which made it the largest municipality in the U.S. to codify pay transparency.

Buttressing your resume with a new skill is one of the best ways to make a modest financial investment pay big returns. One study found that, depending on the skill and the worker’s previous education and job, some holders of short-term (typically defined as taking 6-18 months) credentials earned 65% more than otherwise equivalent colleagues.

If you just need to learn a new skill, there are plenty of free options, including online classes available through your public library or on platforms such as Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, LinkedIn and Udemy. And many colleges offer free auditing opportunities to groups such as veterans or those over age 60.

But if you want to prove to employers that you’ve really mastered a new skill, you’ll need a certificate or credential program that requires you to pass proctored tests. Almost all of those come with a cost.

And just like any other investment, these are no slam-dunk. One recent study found that about half of the short-term credential programs accredited to award federal financial aid failed to increase earnings enough for students to recoup their costs within five years. And Credential Engine, a nonprofit that is monitoring the field, says that there are now more than 967,000 different credential programs – a number that can overwhelm prospective students.

The experts suggest winnowing by these three factors:

Field: A recent analysis of thousands of job postings by labor market analytics firm Lightcast found growing demand for data visualization, social media marketing and data analysis skills, even for jobs that didn’t have such technology requirements as recently as 2016, such as in human relations or marketing.

Provider: Because the whole point is to impress employers, you’ll want a program with a good reputation in the field you’re targeting. That varies by industry, so it pays to get guidance from managers in your company or at your dream employer. Look beyond name colleges. Lightcast has found that employers also value certifications from trade associations such as the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) and companies such as Amazon.

Mode: The biggest waste of money is to invest in a program you don’t finish. So you have to be realistic about time demands and the boredom factor. Online self-paced classes offer the most convenience and are typically lower cost. But Dhawal Shah, CEO of Class Central, a search engine for online courses, who has taken other shorter online courses, ended up dropping out of a long, tough statistics course offered by edX. “Six months is a long time to do something hard on your own,” he explains.

For the disciplined, the University of Washington offers an Essentials of Cybersecurity certificate through edX at a cost of $716.40. Alternatively, Coursera offers a specialization certificate in data visualization from the University of California, Davis. Coursera, which charges as little as $49 a month, says the program should take about six months, bringing the cost to under $300.

Getting human support doesn’t have to break the bank. Coastal Carolina Community College offers a blended online and in-person program to help you prepare for an entry level CompTIA techie test, known as A+. The tuition and books expense for locals is just $306, though you’ll also have to budget for transportation. The test runs another $246, still bringing your total cost to well below $1,000.

In the latest Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, our editors offer advice on how to spend, save and invest $1,000. Get other smart tips:

• Add small-caps to your porfolio
• Use fractional shares to buy small amounts of pricey stocks
• Open an account with a low-cost roboadviser
• Lend money to a good cause

Beth Hendler-Grunt is the president of Next Great Step, a career-counseling firm for recent college graduates, and author of The Next Great Step: The Parents’ Guide to Launching Your New Grad into a Career.

New college graduates will be looking for jobs at a time when many employers are desperate to fill openings. How can they take advantage of these favorable labor conditions? Before applying for a job, recent graduates should really think about the skills they have and what they’re really good at so they can explain to an employer the value they can bring to a company. A lot of young adults will say things like, “I’m a hard worker,” but that’s not a skill. Think about the top three things you want to be known for, and be able to share an example of how you demonstrated that skill.

A lot of young adults go to the online jobs boards and send out 100 applications because they think, The more job applications the better. That’s not how to get a successful outcome. Target and research the kinds of companies you want to work for. Once you go down that path, the company will be more excited to interview you because you’ve taken the time to figure out how you can help them be successful.

Is networking still important? What’s the best way to do that when many managers are still working from home? LinkedIn is a great way to network, but instead of just going on LinkedIn and asking to connect, take a few minutes to look at someone’s profile. Once you connect, you should have access to their e-mail. Send them an e-mail telling them that you’re interested in the work they’re doing and would like to speak with them. Many people are willing to give you 15 to 20 minutes on the phone or on Zoom if you’re thoughtful about it and explain what you’re looking to accomplish. Also, many graduates underutilized their alumni network. People love to talk to fellow alumni.

Speaking of Zoom, any advice for job seekers who are asked to conduct an interview through Zoom or a similar virtual tool? Some companies are using one-way interviews to screen job candidates. Instead of a call from HR, they’re sending a link to job candidates and telling them to go on video and record answers to three questions. There’s no one on the other end. It’s very stressful, but it’s a big money saver for employers. But whether it’s a one-way or two-way interview, be prepared. Practice recording yourself answering questions and to see what you look like. You want to have eye contact, and to do that you need to look into the camera. Don’t have a messy bed in the background. Don’t put your back to the window because your face will be darkened. Dress the same way that you would for an in-person interview from head to toe, because dress is also a state of mind. We’ve heard crazy stories where employers have asked people to stand up to see if they have on pajama bottoms.

What are the biggest mistakes new grads make in job interviews? The first mistake is that they don’t prepare enough. They research the person who is interviewing them but don’t research the company. With the resources we have now, it’s so simple: Type the name of the company in Google and then type “in the news.” Are they public? Who is the CEO? What’s their latest stock price?

The second mistake is that job candidates get nervous and ramble, or they don’t listen to the actual question. People aren’t going to hire you if they can’t talk to you.

We tend to overlook the amount of information and assets we have on the web, including social media and networking websites (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), frequent-flier miles, online credit card and bank accounts, subscriptions, photos, etc. What happens to all these accounts, and their value, when we pass away?

Most family members may not have a clue what we have floating out in cyberspace, and accessing or deleting accounts can be tricky for family members if they don’t have your login credentials. Each website has its own requirements and legal processes for dealing with death, which can be quite cumbersome. But there are a few actions you can take in advance to make this easier for your loved ones to navigate. And if you are in the one wading through the process after a loved one dies, read on for some tips to help get things done.

1. Make a list of everything you access online and the login credentials

In addition to having your estate planning documents in order, it makes sense to compile a list of all your online accounts, their user names and passwords. This includes bank accounts, credit cards, bitcoin, PayPal, email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music, Spotify, Shutterfly, Match.com, frequent-flier accounts, etc. It’s a lot, but it can be done bit by bit. Each time you log on to an account, just add it to the list. You can make a list of your online accounts using a password manager or a password-protected Excel spreadsheet and update it one a quarter or once a year.

Taking this first step to compile a complete list is important, because these accounts can potentially hold value. Accounts such as Amazon, iTunes and PayPal may have monetary value stored on the apps, which could be passed to heirs. There are exceptions, such as with an iTunes music collection, which is non-transferrable and gets deleted when you pass away. If you have a “family” sharing account through Amazon, you may be able to circumvent this for certain content. Credit card points and frequent-flier miles all have different rules depending on the company.

Beyond monetary value, your digital life could have sentimental value as well. Facebook and online photo storage accounts can hold a trove of family memories and posts you might like to see preserved after you are gone.

2. Determine what you would want done with each account

Once you have your list of online accounts, you need to decide what you want to happen to each one when you’re gone: Some you may want to save, while others you may want to ensure are closed once you die. The decisions you make will form the basis for creating your “digital will.”

Any online account that holds funds that can be withdrawn or can be used to make purchases should probably be closed or frozen (bank accounts, credit cards), but others could safely be left open if monitored. Many email accounts, for example, have a provision where if they go unused for a certain period of time, they will eventually close automatically. You would probably want to close accounts that could fraudulently be used since the owner is no longer monitoring the account. Most online providers will want a copy of the death certificate to close the account.

Meanwhile, the current Facebook policy once someone dies is to memorialize the account — certain private information is removed from public view, and the page becomes accessible only to friends. Facebook allows you to name a “legacy contact,” which is a person you select to care for your account after you pass away, and the account is memorialized.

If you would rather see your Facebook account be deleted, you can arrange for that yourself. Just follow Facebook’s directions to change your settings. If you don’t do that yourself, it can be difficult for a family member or friend later on to completely remove an account after your gone — unless they have access to your password.

Other social media accounts may provide similar options, so you may want to check into what each site offers. For instance, Twitter has strict privacy policies, and will rarely allow anyone to access the account belonging to someone who is deceased without a death certificate, power of attorney, a court order or an executor’s testament. Twitter has an online form that can be used to deactivate the account of a deceased user or someone who is incapacitated, but it may not be easy.

3. Assign someone you trust as online executor of your digital will

Now that you’ve decided what you want done with each account, it’s time to put your wishes in writing. You would want to work with your attorney on adding the correct language to your estate documents based on what you want to happen. This can be an attachment to your documents or a clause. Many clauses are fairly general and only reference what digital assets cover and may provide access to only your executor, trustee or power of attorney. If you want to get more specific as to who can access certain accounts, you may need to add additional detail.

For example, you may not want to allow certain family members access to your social media accounts, although you may trust them with the financial aspects.

In your digital will, you need to name a trusted family member or friend as your “online executor.” The easiest (although not the safest) way for the online executor to take action would be to provide them with the list you compiled in Step 1 of all websites and accounts you own and give them access to your login credentials to use once you are gone. Remember to update your list of credentials periodically if you make changes or update passwords, and make sure to explain where the information is located.

If you don’t want anyone to have access to your information while you are alive, a safer way to share your credentials is to give your online executor a copy of the document, but give the password to your attorney (or vice versa). The attorney will then give your executor the password only once provided with a death certificate so the information can be accessed.

What can you do if there is no documentation?

If no list of online assets has been left by the deceased individual, checking their email may be a good place to start as this could lead to clues on other accounts they may have. If you have access to their email account, it may make sense to keep email accounts open for a while as you will be able to monitor received emails. You can also look through saved or archived emails and potentially find username and password confirmations or be able to send the lost passwords for other accounts to that email address.

That being said, you need to be mindful of the laws involved. As Fidelity warns: “Laws on both state and federal levels prohibit unauthorized access to computer systems and private personal data. These laws serve to protect consumers against fraud and identity theft, but they also may create virtually insurmountable obstacles for family members trying to gain access to the digital assets and information of a deceased loved one. The law is evolving to keep up with the rapidly changing online world, but much in this area is still unclear. For that reason, it’s essential to ensure that your estate plan gives your fiduciaries the authorization they need to access any necessary digital data.”

Be advised that if the person hasn’t given you access to their email accounts, trying to gain it after they are gone could be next to impossible. Email providers are strict about such requests, often demanding a court order to consider them.

Aside from email, looking through credit card statements can also be helpful in determining any active online accounts that may be paid for by automatic debits, such as iTunes or Netflix subscriptions.

Since planning for online accounts is a relatively new development, speak to your attorney about the best way to handle your current situation as each state and each website has its own legislation on who can legally access your online information.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

The check for $4,870 took Patty Remmell by surprise. Remmell, 66, expected to receive $1,217.50 as a 50% deposit on a writing project she was completing for a new contact who had reached out to her on LinkedIn. Then the contact sent an email explaining that his organization wanted her to complete a second project and had processed payment for both together. Satisfied, Remmell deposited the check and finished work on the first project. A few days later, her contact emailed to say the company had changed direction, and he asked her to refund the overpayment. "I freaked out," she recalls. "I don't like monetary messes. It makes me nervous."

Her bank account showed that the funds from the deposited check were available to withdraw, so she sent the organization $2,435 for the canceled project via CashApp at her contact's request. Then he asked her for another $1,217.50, half the payment for the first project. When he kept nagging for the payment, without acknowledging that she had submitted the project or sending feedback on her work, she grew suspicious and asked a group of colleagues for a gut check. "It's a scam," one responded.

Sure enough, the check bounced a few days later. "I'm now overdrawn in my savings account by over $3,000 that I can't cover," she says. "I feel like an idiot."

Remmell isn't alone. The FBI estimates that seniors lose more than $3 billion each year to scammers. In 2020, the Better Business Bureau saw a 25% increase in scams reported by consumers because the pandemic is giving fraudsters new ways to prey on people. Almost 1 in 2 reports involved financial loss, an all-time high. "Scammers adjust the scams according to what's in the news," says Katherine Hutt, national spokesperson for the BBB. "The people who are most vulnerable to scams are people who live alone or don't have anybody to talk things through with and who are in some way financially vulnerable."

Although seniors are pretty savvy about scams, they also lose the most money because "the scams that tend to target them are the high-ticket scams," Hutt says. Adults older than 55 were hit hardest by scams that involved romance, online purchases, travel, job offers and investments, roughly in that order.

Scams You Must Look Out For

No sooner do people catch on to a scam -- like a caller claiming to be from the IRS -- criminals change tactics. Although the details of the next scam will differ, there are definite patterns that can help you recognize a scam no matter the context.

Remmell, for example, fell prey to an overpayment scheme. That's when you're expecting to receive a certain amount of money for a product or service, but the check or money order arrives for a larger sum. "Any time somebody overpays you for anything, whether a couch on Craigslist or job, that's a red flag for a scam," Hutt says. "Overpayments like that just don't happen in real life."

The fraudsters are counting on your ignorance of the check-processing system. When you deposit a check, your bank begins a convoluted process of transmitting that check image -- often through clearing-houses -- with the bank that holds the account on which the check was drawn. By law, banks must make the first $200 of a check and the first $5,525 of certain types of checks, like cashier's checks, available the next business day. The first $5,525 of other checks must be available within two business days and larger checks generally by the seventh business day.

Most people mistakenly believe that once a check clears, the money belongs to them, but it depends on the bank. Some banks may take longer to spot a counterfeit check, fake signature or insufficient funds for the account that paid you and later negate your deposit. You may not learn that the check bounced until many days, or even weeks, after you believed the funds were yours to spend.

In the meantime, scammers will ask you to return the "overpayment" using a different method, such as Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, a gift card, wire transfer or money order. Those payment methods won't let you claw back funds the way a credit card will, so your money is lost the instant you click "send."

There's a common denominator to some scams: peer payment apps. Don't send money to someone by Venmo, PayPal or another cash app unless you've met them in person. "If you hear gift card, any sort of cryptocurrency, bitcoin, stop," says Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support with AARP. "If anyone instructs you to go to a store and purchase something or deposit money, that's a huge red flag. No legitimate business operates that way. No government agency takes payments via prepaid gift cards or bitcoin."

Instead, don't refund any overpayments if you're paid by check. If you receive an overpayment, don't deposit the check. Ask for a check in the correct amount. If you must send money, always pay with a credit card. Federal law protects credit card users from fraudulent charges. Your maximum liability is $50 if you fail to report your card lost or stolen. It's zero if you report a loss before any fake charges are made.

Credit cards can also protect you when you're shopping online. Internet-based shopping scams topped the BBB list of the riskiest scams overall, costing a median $96 in damages and tricking people 79% of the time. Online purchases can turn out to be fraudulent in a number of ways: counterfeiting, nondelivery or inferior merchandise. "Either the product isn't what it claims to be, or there isn't any product at all; they're just taking your money," Hutt says.

Often, you're led to fraudulent websites by an ad that pops up while you're browsing or on social media, says Nofziger. Because the advertising on Instagram and Facebook usually targets your interests, you may click on the ad without thinking. "A lot of people are buying off social media, and they're not vetting the company," Nofziger says. "If you are looking to purchase something online, take the name of the company, put it into the search engine and write the words 'scam' or 'reviews' or 'complaints' after it to see what other people are saying." Make sure it's a legitimate company before buying anything from it, she says. The same precautions apply for travel deals to exotic destinations. Bottom line, Hutt says: "You're not going to get what you see in the pictures."

The proliferation of dating apps has given scammers another forum besides online shopping where they can create fake profiles and cast out lures. "Romance scams are increasing because due to quarantine, people are feeling more lonely," says Satnam Narang, staff research engineer at cybersecurity firm Tenable.

The pandemic also makes it harder to tell if someone's reluctant to meet because the person is a germophobe or a scammer. A reluctance to meet is one of the signs of a fake dating profile. "There's always a reason they can't meet right away, some excuse, but they want to talk," Hutt says. "One of the big red flags is that they want to get off the app quickly."

Once you start texting and talking by phone, the person may seem romantic and sincere but also drops hints about problems with paying bills. Before long, you're sending them cash. You think you're developing this romantic relationship with someone, and you want to help them, Narang says. "It's so pervasive and so disgusting how heartless these scammers are."

Or perhaps your budding romantic interest wants to send you a gift or asks you to receive money for them, which could lead to an overpayment scam. Another ploy is to ask for your help cashing a check, moving money or buying prepaid gift cards.

The scammer may offer to let you keep a cut of the funds, perhaps turning you into what's known as a money mule, which is someone who helps move illegally obtained funds, often to defraud other consumers. You become the means for the scammer to move money from one scam to another, Hutt says. "The scammer might say, 'I'm getting some money wired to me at this Western Union; can you pick up the cash at this location and take it to a different location to wire it to me, and keep $200 for yourself.'"

Personal Information You Must Protect

You may know to protect your Social Security number and birth date, but what about other information in certain circumstances? Would you hesitate to give your banking information to a new employer who wants to pay you by direct deposit? What about handing over your Medicare number for a free DNA test that could alert you to health risks?

All of these tactics can open the door to identity theft. A scammer who has your banking information or Medicare number can sell that data to other criminals, who may use it to steal your identity, racking up debt in your name or raiding your bank account. AARP has tracked scams starting with a phone call asking you to verify your Medicare number, perhaps because of a change from paper to plastic cards or to add a chip to the card, Nofziger says. The scammer may use the pandemic as an excuse.

Because Medicare no longer uses Social Security numbers for identification, people may feel comfortable giving out their Medicare number. Not so fast, Nofziger says. "That number needs to be protected as if it were your Social Security number." She points out that criminals will seek payment from Medicare for a health care service they claim you received. "If something is charged against your number, that's on your record as a service rendered."

Some people are savvy enough not to click on a link or attachment, or to hand out information when called on the phone. But what if the caller asks you to visit a website that looks like a legitimate business? Or you get an email asking you to call a number that seems legit? "This is becoming a new trend," says Narang, noting that sophisticated scams often involve professional-sounding call centers.

With work-from-home the new norm, it's harder to sort out real from fake employment offers. When that so-called new employer, whom you've only met on email or LinkedIn, asks you to fill out a job application with your address and other pertinent details, you could be setting yourself up for identity theft.

How to Protect Yourself

Criminals are smart, but you can be smarter. Experts recommend putting in place the following policies that can protect you and sticking to them no matter how legitimate a request or opportunity seems.

Protect your phone. Smartphones are tiny computers that live in our pockets but can access much of our personal information. These devices need to be protected as vigilantly as you do your home, which you lock whenever you leave. Your phone's passcode works the same way. Set one up so that only you can unlock your phone. To make sure that thieves don't get in by the back door, only download apps that you've vetted.

Take advantage of the options from cellular providers and manufacturers to send unknown numbers directly to voice mail. "On your smartphone, you can go into your settings and have any unknown number go straight into voicemail," Nofziger says. "Put your contacts in your phone with their name so if your granddaughter is calling you, you see it's your granddaughter." If you have an older family member who may be vulnerable, help them set up these protections.

Build in safeguards. Use strong, original passwords for different accounts, especially financial accounts, Narang says. That way, if one gets hacked, the others remain secure. Consider password management software, which makes it easier to use complex passwords, so that you don't have to remember random strings of digits. Install security software on your devices, like an antivirus program or encryption. "Make sure you have two-factor authentication on your account," he says, so that even when you put in the password, you have to verify that it's you with a code you receive by text message or a security app on your phone.

Switch to a better device. Consider using an iPad or tablet instead of a laptop or desktop as they can offer more avenues for entry from viruses and scammers.

Review privacy settings on social media. Make sure your information is only visible to those you choose. Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms will walk you through the steps to change your privacy settings, or ask a younger relative to help you.

Wait and talk. One of the best protections we have is a gut check with a family member or friend. Before you make a purchase or send money, ask someone you trust what they think. Whenever you buy yourself time to think about a request, you're more likely to recognize a scam. Just because someone calls or emails you doesn't mean you owe them your time. "Being assertive is not being rude," Nofziger says. "That is a stranger calling into your home using your phone that you pay for. It's OK to say no."

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: The seniors leaving campus this spring are graduating into one of the worst job markets in recent memory.

With the unemployment rate expected to exceed 20% in the coming months and the U.S. now officially in the grip of a recession, employers are rescinding job offers, delaying start dates and freezing hiring.

At the same time, COVID-19 is forcing much of the recruitment process to go virtual, upending the career fairs, campus recruitment visits and other services that many students rely on to find their first jobs after graduation.

According to a survey conducted in June by the National Association of Colleges & Employers, 9% of employers are revoking offers to recent college graduates and 33% are delaying start dates. And as of the end May the number of internships on ZipRecruiter was down 31%.

For graduates, then, the message is simple: Be realistic and be ready. The job market will get better, and you should be prepared for when it does. The question you should ask yourself is this: How do I use the next few months to be ready to take advantage of the job market as it comes back to life? Here are some specific ideas to help put you on the right path.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Right now, that dream job in the city, working for that dream company, might not happen. But that’s OK. There are still jobs out there. It just might take more work and more flexibility to find them.

It’s all about keeping your options open because there are more jobs and internships available than many realize. It's just not true that nobody's hiring. It’s important to be open to a wide range of opportunities. The best first job out of college is the one that exists! Contact your college’s career service centers to get advice on available jobs and internships. Also, there are a wide range of websites that list jobs that are coming open for recent college graduates. Examples include: Indeed.com, careershift.com, LinkedIn.com and

Idealist.org.

My advice would be to start with your alma mater. Many colleges are finding that their alumni and parents are very willing to create opportunities on the fly. It’s just a matter of reaching out and asking. You can do this in two ways:

• First, make sure you are communicating with your college’s career center to ask what they are doing to help recent alumni. Also, remember that friends, family members and even your faculty can be helpful.
• Second, use LinkedIn and/or your college's alumni networking platform or directory to find alumni in your city or profession of choice, and reach out to ask if they will talk with you.

Before you get on the phone, make sure you do a quick Google search of the person and the company where they work. You don’t need to be an expert on them, but you should be familiar with their career and place of work.

Once you get the person on the phone, ask them to talk about their career. How did they get started? What was their path to their current job? What mistakes did they make? What advice do they have for you? People like to share their life journey. Before you end the call, ask them if they know of any openings and ask them to suggest somebody else for you to call (and ask for an introduction to that person!).

Be ready to act on the opportunities that arise. Is your résumé up to date? Are you doing all the right things in terms of building a personal brand? A personal brand is the story you tell about yourself and that you want others to tell about you. Your brand is shaped by the skills, experiences and competencies that shape you and your personality. In truth, there has never been a better time to build relationships. There is a lot empathy for recent college graduates in these unprecedented times.

Also, if you had a job or internship that was rescinded, periodically stay touch with the hiring manger. Send them an email. Call their office and set up a quick phone call check-in. If those don’t work, send a letter. Show you are still interested, earnest and ready to go when they are.

If there is a position or firm that you are excited about, spend extra time tracking the company on their social media, website and other publications. That way when you connect with the hiring manger you can incorporate that information in your check-in emails.

While it is not a particularly great time to be looking for a job per se, it’s never a bad time to develop new skills. There are so many new and different ways to develop career-related skills that weren't available even five or 10 years ago, including the growth of career service centers on college campuses.

This also includes new career training offerings on platforms like LinkedIn and Microsoft as well as massive open online courses (MOOCs) that can provide specialized training at low cost or for free. Check out these options at IDEO U and Inside Sherpa.

This is great news for recent graduates as employers are more focused on skills and credentials, and less concerned about what degree you have and where you went to college. Now is the time to skill-up and bring more to the table.

So, this summer students should figure out how to add to their skill sets. The truth is employers are going to be very sympathetic to this graduating class. And at some point in the next six months, employers will go from not being able to focus on recent graduates to desperately needing them.

Work on your virtual skills. Think ahead about where you would do a virtual interview. You need a quiet room and make sure you know what is on the walls and what the person at the other end will see. Get somebody from your college career service center (or an alum or family friend) to do a mock virtual interview. Zoom, FaceTime and other platforms make this easy and important.

Be sure to test the technology before the interview. Some platforms may require app downloads or have a more detailed log-in process. You’ll want to do all of this in advance so you’re ready to go at interview time.

This job market represents an opportunity for new graduates to show employers what they’re really made of, to prove that they are resilient, creative and that they know how to deal with the challenges that life throws at them. Use the summer months to build a narrative about how you turned this time period from a challenge to an opportunity.

That alone will speak volumes to future employers.

This downturn is temporary, however painful. The job market will return, employers will soon need help and entry-level candidates will again be well positioned to jump on those opportunities. My message is to remain positive, be realistic when looking for work and be ready to go when things start to turn around.

With the right skills and the right attitude, this coronavirus summer might prove to be a net positive in the careers of today’s graduates that sets them up for success for years to come.

Whether you’re running a small business, promoting your professional work or showcasing a hobby, your online presence can be crucial to reaching an audience. But building that presence can be daunting. Social media accounts, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, are a good place to start, but a dedicated website that gives you more control over design, content and features can be a powerful tool.

Hiring a professional to design and build a site for you generally costs from a few hundred dollars for a simple personal page to several thousand dollars for a customized small-business site. But building a website no longer requires specialized skills such as coding or graphic design, says Joe Pollaro, a vice president at website builder Wix.com.

Do-it-yourself services, such as Duda, Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly, Wix and WordPress, make it easy to build a website. The services generally allow you to focus on the content—pages, text and images—while they oversee the technical aspects, such as your domain and web hosting, which connects your site to the internet.

The service that will be best for you depends on what you want to do with your site. Most, including Squarespace, Wix and WordPress, have broad appeal, while Shopify specializes in e-commerce, packing in features to help you manage sales. Most companies offer a free version, but you’ll generally need to pay $10 to $40 a month for a service plan (websites with a shop tend to pay on the higher end) that gives you access to additional storage and features and allows you to remove ads that the site builder places on your pages to promote itself.

Create a domain name. To get started, you’ll need to stake a claim to a domain, the URL for your website. Registering a domain name is simple and often costs $10 to $20 a year. Most website-building services will register a domain name for you (and may include a free year of domain registration).

Some services add their name to your web address (yoursite.sitebuildingservice.com). In that case, for a more polished look, cut the middleman from your URL by using a domain registrar, such as GoDaddy.com or Namecheap.com. You’ll still pay roughly $10 to $20 to register your domain for a year. But you may need to jump through some hoops, such as extending the registration by a year or paying a fee to use the domain name with your website builder.

And if you can’t come up with a catchy name for your website that hasn’t already been taken, many sites have a search feature to scope out an available name.

Decide on a design. Before you start adding content to your site, choose a template offered by the website-building service to use as a framework. As you consider your options, get ideas by visiting sites similar to the one you’re creating. Or use filters on the website-building service’s site to find a template that fits your needs. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can customize its look by adding images, changing the color scheme or moving blocks of text.

You’ll usually have the option of editing the template heavily. But for the cleanest look that makes it easy for visitors to navigate your site, you’ll generally want to avoid making big changes. After you’ve set up the basics for your site, you can expand what you’ve built, adding pages and features, such as animations and videos, an online store, or a gallery of your work.

If you have a normal corporate job and don’t own a website, you may be thinking you don’t have to worry about protecting digital assets. Heck, you may even think you don’t have any assets online!

The reality, however, is that you do have digital assets — even if you don’t know it.

Even something as simple as a username and password can open the door to a broad range of personal information that’s valuable to you or your family.

And if that username and password get into the wrong hands, you may wind up in a situation that results in a huge financial loss or a mountain of hassle and stress.

To find out about the best ways to protect your digital assets in an increasingly complex world, I recently interviewed Professor Jamie Hopkins on my retirement podcast, Stay Wealthy.

What is a Digital Asset?

A recent study from McAfee claims the average American has over $55,000 in digital assets. Keep in mind, however, these assets are not necessarily ones that can be bought or sold. The $55,000 figure represents the average monetary value these assets can be worth to a consumer and the people who love them.

But what is a digital asset exactly?

According to Hopkins, a digital asset could be any type of online information you have stored on the web or in the cloud.

A few examples include your emails, your social media accounts, your LinkedIn account, or a website for your business. Hopkins says it’s common for people to have up to 100 accounts with usernames and passwords at any given time — and sometimes significantly more.

Why are digital assets so important?

These assets do have value, and it’s important to ensure there’s a process for handling them if you suddenly pass away. Unfortunately, digital assets are not always accounted for in regular end-of-life documents like a will. As a result, Hopkins says he’s seen situations where someone he died but they continued “living” on Facebook due to the simple fact their family couldn’t access their account.

Imagine what happens then. Random people continue wishing them “Happy Birthday” and tagging them in posts without realizing they’re gone. This kind of situation is upsetting for the family, of course, which means having access to the account information to close it down does hold some value for them.

On the business side of the equation, preserving digital assets is just as important. If you set up an email account for a business under your name and you die, current laws make it difficult to transfer that email account to the business or anyone else.

Also, note there’s risk involved in letting your digital assets linger once you’re gone. For example, there’s a chance someone could access a username and password for your email account then use that information to hack into other accounts like a bank account or credit card. All of a sudden, someone starts racking up charges on a credit card the surviving spouse didn’t even know about.

Knowing we’re at risk, what can we do?

I asked Hopkins about your next best steps, and here’s what he said:

No. 1: Meet with an Estate Planning Attorney

Hopkins says new laws were introduced two years ago that allow you to create a plan to protect digital assets, including giving a financial planner or family member access to all your accounts. If you have never met with an estate planning attorney — or you last met with one more than two years ago — the most important thing you can do is set an appointment and sit down to take care of these important issues.

Keep in mind that laws require you to state specifically that your heirs have rights to your digital assets upon your death. Meeting with an estate planning attorney to get this wording into your final documents ensures your digital assets won’t be left in limbo once you’re gone.

No. 2: Keep Track of Accounts, Usernames and Passwords

If you were to suddenly pass away, would your spouse know how to access accounts set up solely in your name? Would they even know what accounts you have?

Chances are, they probably wouldn’t, unless you kept track of this information somewhere.

Fortunately, there are some digital estate planning tools that let you store that information in a secure way. Some services even let you set it up so your loved ones will receive an email with information on how to access your accounts when you die. Everplans is a digital asset management platform in this space.

No. 3: Set Up an External Hard Drive

If you don’t like the idea of storing your usernames and passwords with a third-party company, you can consider storing that kind of information in an external hard drive that you connect to your computer. Fortunately, this option is usually inexpensive since you can buy an external hard drive for a few hundred bucks or less.

No. 4: Use a Password Manager

A password manager like Dashlane or LastPass can be a valuable tool when it comes to keeping your personal information and passwords secure. Most password managers will store all your usernames and passwords for multiple accounts while letting you set up a “master password” that lets you log into every digital asset you own.

Some password managers, like Dashlane, will also alert you when one of your accounts may be susceptible to theft, such as after a major data breach.

No. 5: Create a Letter of Instruction

A final low-tech way to protect your digital assets involves creating a letter of instruction that explains how your heirs can access all your digital accounts. This letter may not grant them legal access per se, but it can help them get started with some basic information on the accounts you actually own and how to log in.

Also consider using a legal advance document that lets you inform your family of your final wishes — including the access of your digital assets. A service like Five Wishes can help you compile this information and format it as a living will your family can use in the event of your death.

The bottom line is this: If you’re reading this article right now, you have digital assets. And, in the wrong hands, those assets are extremely valuable. While talking about stocks, bonds and mutual funds can be fun, having a plan for all of your assets that lives longer than you should be at the top of your financial planning to-do list.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Thanks to the Internet, most companies provide you with the option to receive electronic statements, set up auto payments or pay your bills online. Many businesses are in favor of these methods and support online account management and paperless billing. It’s less expensive, more convenient and more environmentally friendly for them to send out bills via email than it is to mail them to each customer.

One issue with this type of account management is what will happen with these accounts when you die or become incapacitated? Without physical evidence of your bills or statements for your accounts, how will your successor trustee or family members be able to manage your bills or finances when the time comes? How will they know about bills due or money owed if they are unable to access your email or online accounts?

Online profiles with personal information, pictures and contacts are increasingly used by all of us. These include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. How are these accounts or digital assets handled upon your death or incapacity?

Your estate plan should be designed to make the administration process as easy as possible for your loved ones. This includes making it convenient to manage your assets upon your incapacity or death and saving them the hassle of sorting through your paperwork to collect assets and pay your bills. Without specific provisions in your estate plan and careful planning, access to this critical information can become difficult for your family or loved ones.

Federal law regulating access to digital property does not yet exist. At this time, 29 states have established legislation or laws to protect digital assets and to provide a deceased person’s family procedures and rights to manage those accounts and assets after death.

On Jan. 1, 2017, the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (the “Act”) became effective in California. California is one of the many states in the U.S. to adopt this law, which establishes a process for allowing your executor, trustee, power of attorney or court-appointed conservator to access your online accounts after your death. This act also allows you to designate some (or portions) of your account as “off-limits” after your death. This act has been added to the California Probate Code sections 870 – 884. Other states have established separate laws which differ from the Act. The states that have adopted either the Act or other similar laws or legislation include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey (in progress as of May 1, 2017) New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania (in progress as of Nov. 19, 2015), Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. As laws continue to change this list may change from time to time. Please check with your local legislative branch to determine if your state has enacted this Act.

Your Durable Power of Attorney and your trust instruments should include provisions consistent with California Probate Code sections 870 – 884 or the versions, if any, in effect for your state. These sections provide for naming a fiduciary to act on your behalf for these critical accounts, assets and profiles.

In today’s digital world, most of our financial transactions and communications occur online. Photographs, websites and Internet profiles are now almost expected for all of us. You can do almost anything online, and many people choose to do so. These accounts have limited access with protected passwords, which can create problems when the account holder dies because no one has access to their passwords. Planning now can save a lot of heartache later.

What do you do if you are not in a state of jurisdiction with protective laws? Who gets access to your Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter account when you die? In the absence of protective legislation, those accounts or assets are governed by the terms of the service agreement when the account was opened. Under these agreements, family members would need confidential identification information and passwords. Consider the following steps:

1. Inventory Your Accounts.

Document an inventory of the accounts including login IDs and passwords. That information should be maintained in a secure location.

2. Create an Online Vault.

This would be a place to keep passwords, identification or login information and other sensitive information. Two options are available through Everplans or Dropbox.

3. Establish a Detailed Digital Asset Plan.

This plan would have a clear, specific statement of intent about who would gain access to what information. This statement of intent should address all accounts, past, present and future.

4. Carefully Select Your Trustee, Executor or Representative.

When making your decision, consider the private and confidential information that will be accessible. Oftentimes, the information embedded in the digital assets is highly personal and confidential.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Mystery shopping is a great way to earn extra cash. And a message with an offer to work as a mystery shopper sent via the professional networking site LinkedIn might seem like a legitimate opportunity. But, unfortunately, it’s the latest approach scammers are using to target victims.

Scammers have long used e-mail and traditional mail to promote bogus mystery shopping jobs, says Rich Bradley, president of MSPA North America, the trade association that represents mystery shopping business owners. But now in a new twist scam artists posing as IntelliShop, a legitimate MSPA North America member, are sending bogus mystery shopping offers to LinkedIn members.

“This is a relatively new approach,” Bradley says, but the con is the same. The LinkedIn scam, as well as virtually all mystery shopping scams, takes one of two basic forms. In the first and simplest, potential victims are asked to pay upfront to become mystery shoppers. The scammer keeps the cash but no job materializes. In the second and more complicated, victims are asked to cash a large check, then use part of the money to shop at certain stores, keep a portion of the cash and wire the remainder back to the bogus mystery shopping agency. But in the end, the check bounces and the victim is responsible for covering the amount of the fraudulent check. The scammer, of course, pockets the portion that was wired back and disappears.

Bradley says that MSPA North America’s bylaws prohibit its members from asking mystery shoppers to pay upfront for an assignment. And no legitimate firm would send a check prior to the completion of a mystery shopping evaluation—or even an unsolicited message to recruit mystery shoppers, he says.

MSPA North America urges consumers who have received unsolicited LinkedIn messages about mystery shopping to report them to LinkedIn. Never respond to unsolicited messages asking you to be a mystery shopper or click on any links within the e-mail, which could lead you to a fraudulent Web site or download malware onto your computer.

To find legitimate mystery shopping opportunities, you can search for an assignment with an MSPA North America member. Most industries including retailers, restaurants, physician practices, financial institutions and even government agencies use mystery shoppers to evaluate their customer service. Assignments can range from visiting an establishment and filling out a short questionnaire to in-depth evaluations that can pay several hundred dollars, Bradley says. It’s advantageous to sign up with several firms to increase your chances of getting assignments, he says.

For more legitimate money-making opportunities, see our stories about 25 Ways to Earn Extra Cash and 10 Great Work-at-Home Jobs.

When you sit down for a job interview, assume that the people on the other side of the table have run a Web search on you and peeked at your social media pages. Even if you’re not looking for work, keeping your online persona clean will serve you well when a recruiter, business contact or even your current employer looks you up.

Orchestrate your search results. Knowing what’s out there is the first step. See what pops up when you search your name with Google, and set up a Google Alert of your name to monitor the Web for its use. You’ll get an e-mail notification each time new information involving your name appears in the search engine.

Your biggest concern should be what appears on the first page of Google search results, which is as far as many people will look. Try to push positive content you’ve created to the top, especially if something unflattering about you turns up. For example, build a Web site—WordPress is a popular platform for beginners—using your name as the domain, if it’s available. Post your résumé and any articles or papers you’ve written, says Mary Ellen Slayter, a career expert for job-search site Monster. Making insightful comments on articles you’ve read and blogging in your area of expertise can help make your search results shine, too. If other people with the same name are competing with you for top Google results, you may want to differentiate your name—say, by using a middle initial.

Clean up your social media profiles. Any public pages you have on social networking mega sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, will likely rise to the top of search results for your name. You don’t necessarily need to sterilize your pages, but you should delete any offensive comments that you or anyone else has posted on your page. Photographs of you enjoying time with friends and family show a well-rounded life and personality. But pictures of you grasping drinks at bars and parties—especially if you have just graduated from college—could be problematic.

Deactivating your social media accounts to remove compromising information is tempting, but it could backfire, Slayter says. A Web search for your name may end up yielding more negative or irrelevant content—for instance, sites listing your name and address or your online reviews of restaurants and hotels. And a potential employer may be suspicious of your behavior or unimpressed if you disappear from the map.

Harmonize with the “real” you. Besides ferreting out red flags, employers want to see how well a job candidate’s online presence matches the rest of the candidate’s profile, says Lida Citroen, owner and principal of LIDA360, which specializes in reputation management. Your cover letter and résumé may sell you as energetic and Web-savvy, but a languishing LinkedIn page won’t support it. As you build your online presence, think about how you want people to perceive you, and try to be authentic. (But not too authentic. Peppering curse words throughout blog posts probably isn’t a winning idea.) “It’s a lot easier to be you than to be someone else,” Citroen says.

Face the music. Prepare a response to questions you may receive about any unfavorable material on the Web that you can’t remove—scandalous photos, a criminal record, blog posts from detractors. Often, a potential employer is as interested in how you reply as in the issue itself, Citroen says. You could explain what you learned from a business failure or describe how you’ve developed since an incident during your college years.