By Blair Bedford

As a career woman, being prepared for almost anything is key to landing the job you want, keeping and growing in the job you have, or moving on to the next job of your dreams. Another key to career success is putting everything around you in perspective, from the company you keep to the items you keep with you on a daily basis that can be last minute life savers.

What’s in your purse might seem like a personal matter, but making sure you are prepared professionally could begin and end right with what you have in your tote, satchel, hobo, bucket or shoulder bag. Things like your cell phone, keys and wallet are essentials in your purse for your everyday life, but keep these items in mind when you put your career success in perspective.

Business cards

Business cards are a necessity for any professional to carry around at all times. Whether you are hitting the gym, the office or even the bar after work, keeping your professional business card on you wherever you go (and plenty of them) helps you network successfully whenever the opportunity comes across. You never know when someone will surprisingly ask you the question outside of a networking event: “Do you have a card?” If your company doesn’t have the option to order business cards for you, many websites help you design and create your own for easy networking-on-the-go.

(Wall Street Journal) — The nation’s new consumer watchdog agency, the subject of much banking-industry angst, plans to release a report Tuesday with some favorable news about giant credit-card issuers: Banks have eased up on credit-card rate increases and turned more consumer-friendly over the past year.

“Leaders in the industry deserve credit for moving in the right direction,” Elizabeth Warren, a White House adviser in charge of setting up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, plans to say in remarks prepared for a Tuesday credit-card conference.  Ms. Warren said that “much of the industry has gone further than the law requires in curbing repricing and overlimit fees.”  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report represents the agency’s first research on the credit-card market.

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