Mark Abadi

Euromonitor International released its <a id="4b0a5990-cafb-3681-a118-a58813750485" href="https://blog.euromonitor.com/top-100-city-destinations-2018-the-irresistible-draw-of-cities/"> annual ranking of the most visited cities </a> in the world this week, measuring the appeal of some of the world's most famous destinations to international travelers.

The UK-based market-research firm looked at 600 cities worldwide and ranked the 100 that attracted the most international tourists in 2017, and projected estimates for 2018 using part-year data.

Read more : <a id="927f675c-2d98-3a4b-a37f-2eb8db4fda49" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-places-to-visit-december-2018-10?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> 13 places to visit in December for every type of traveler </a>

Seven American cities made the cut this year, led by New York City, which attracted more than 13 million tourists in 2017, good for eighth in the global rankings.

Meanwhile, Asian cities dominated the top of the list, comprising seven out of the top 10 most popular cities. One Asian tourism powerhouse retained its title for the eighth consecutive year, leading the world with nearly 28 million international visitors.

Read on to see the biggest urban tourism hotspots in the world:

<a id="22cf3694-729d-329f-a589-cd8df33372b5" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-destinations-in-the-world-travelers-top-cities-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest#/#31-barcelona-spain-1"> See the rest of the story at Business Insider </a>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-private-villa-resort-thailand-tourism-beach-luxury-photos-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Millions of tourists flock to Bangkok every year, and now a resort 2 hours outside the city has been named the world's 'best private villa' for $150,000 a week</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-nyc-new-world-trade-center-freedom-tower-photos-2018-10?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">NYC's new One World Trade Center dominates the skyline — but I went inside and it didn't look like the bland, traditional office building I was expecting</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christies-nyc-magnificent-jewels-69-million-blue-diamond-ring-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Christie's NYC sold more than $69 million of precious jewels in a single night and more than 25% of it came from one blue diamond ring</a> </li></ul>

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The 31 most popular cities in the world for travelers

The days of one-page résumés may be numbered.

Although <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-remove-from-resume-2017-5?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="04d9f243-ceb0-355f-ad65-49fb742de7d7"> conventional wisdom </a> holds that young job seekers should limit their résumés to a single sheet of paper, experts are slowly beginning to acknowledge the benefits of a second page.

In a recent experiment, résumé-writing service ResumeGo found that hiring managers were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-length-two-pages-or-one-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="e00ebe2f-4ae2-31ff-ab29-de73c80744d2"> more than twice as likely to prefer two-page résumés </a> to those that are just one page. The results held up for managerial-level résumés all the way down to the résumés of entry-level workers — the group that is most cautioned against exceeding one page.

Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-length-two-pages-or-one-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="882823de-6569-312f-ae3a-ba24b74a6193"> 482 hiring managers looked at nearly 20,000 résumés and found the classic advice to limit your résumé to one page might be wrong after all </a>

The surprising results could possibly be attributed to the different expectations for today's entry-level workers, said career-advice expert and consultant Amanda Augustine of <a href="https://www.topresume.com/" id="dbcc094d-b4b8-30d6-a21b-b94dd8bad4ac"> TopResume </a> .

"The theory was that the earlier you are in your career, the less information you’ll have to incorporate into this important document. So, naturally, as an entry-level professional, your goal should be to craft a one-page résumé," Augustine told Business Insider.

But that's hardly the case anymore. Many young people today are entering the workforce with more experience under their belts to satisfy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/entry-level-job-requirements-2014-2?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="60ae3172-0db5-3f8b-a19b-5b8f6f918641"> increasingly harder-to-meet job requirements </a> , Augustine said.

"From internships to co-ops to freelance gigs, students are securing work opportunities to explore career paths, build their skill set, and help them meet the one-to-three-years' experience requirements that many 'entry-level' jobs now demand," she told Business Insider. "They’re also more likely to have résumé boosters such as personal blogs or online portfolios, group projects, volunteer work, and relevant campus activities to share."

"If you have worthwhile information to share with employers that will boost your candidacy, you should include it, even if that means adding a second page to your résumé."

Dana Leavy-Detrick, a résumé coach with <a href="https://bklynresumestudio.com/" id="bd64e866-91c1-393c-a0f5-5238797b123b"> Brooklyn Resume Studio </a> , said although she still recommends entry-level workers stick to one page, she's not surprised the general consensus is starting to change.

"A two-page résumé often makes sense as the best way to present a larger amount of information without sacrificing the readability," she told Business Insider. "Forcing the résumé onto one page will negatively impact the readability, but also encourage you to cut out details that might actually add value to your narrative."

Both experts cautioned, however, that entry-level workers shouldn't exceed one page if they don't have the work experience to back it up.

"If you’re new to the workforce and don’t have a lot of information to support your candidacy, filling your résumé with fluff to reach the two-page length can actually hinder your chances of landing a job," Augustine said.

"The real takeaway is that entry-level candidates should no longer feel compelled to shrink their résumé's font sizes and margins to meet a one-page limit. Instead, employers would rather review two pages of relevant information that is visually appealing than try to squint to read a one-page one that's crammed with tiny print."

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resume jobseeker hiring job fair career fair unemployed unemployment

Entry-level workers need more experience than ever to get a job, and it could upend one of the biggest rules about writing a résumé

If you're trying to impress a business client with a nice gift, think again before you send over a fruit basket, gift card, or bottle of wine.

According to gift-giving expert John Ruhlin, the best gift you can give a client is something a little more unusual: a paring knife.

Ruhlin would know. As a 20-year-old college student in 2000, he began selling Cutco knives, and found that the famous cutlery sold even better when framed as a potential business gift. He eventually built his company, the Ruhlin Group, around the art of corporate gift-giving, with Cutco as one of his partners. He wrote the book " <a id="cc0ee51c-5fde-3f4e-acea-bdad16224dda" href="https://www.amazon.com/Giftology-Increase-Referrals-Strengthen-Retention/dp/1619614332"> Giftology </a> " in 2016.

Gift-giving is sometimes treated as an afterthought in the corporate world, but Ruhlin says a thoughtful gift to a client can increase a company's referrals and lead to long and meaningful relationships.

"Our whole goal is to get something in somebody's hands where you're remaining top-of-mind and triggering that memory of it being given by that particular person," Ruhlin told Business Insider.

"Most people only focus on business-oriented things when they're doing gifting, or they focus on consumables and gift cards and crap that's not very thoughtful," Ruhlin told Business Insider. "A knife is one of those things that's generic enough that you can give it to anybody, but it's useful and unique enough that it kind of hits people off guard."

"It flies under the radar, it doesn't feel too flashy, but it's one of the things that you end up using."

Read more: <a id="bd410b89-1e9f-355e-a0f2-86d062acb2d7" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/study-how-to-give-better-gifts-2016-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Here's why we're all so bad at giving gifts people actually want </a>

Ruhlin learned from his Cutco days that a good gift communicates that you value not only the recipient, but their inner circle, too. It's best to target areas of their lives where you know they spend lots of time with people close to them — like the kitchen.

"Whether you make 50 grand a year or $5 million a year, the hub of everybody's house, the intimate place of their house when they host friends and family, is the kitchen," Ruhlin told Business Insider. "You're either a foodie, you host people, or you're cooking for your kids, or whatever, whether you're in New York or whether you're in Idaho."

As it turns out, Ruhlin's gift idea could end up saving you a few bucks, too. A Cutco paring knife <a id="f47c1d84-f911-3deb-a6e9-fea93523797a" href="https://www.cutco.com/search/searchResults.jsp"> retails between $65 and $72 </a> , according to the company's website, while other leading brands such as <a id="bc921a78-b34c-392b-ae6b-3683f3e34bf9" href="https://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-Carbon-Steel-Paring/dp/B005YC1R24"> Wüsthof </a> , <a id="b3da126e-3e22-3dd1-a296-c34f5a1eac86" href="https://www.amazon.com/Global-GS-38-3-Western-Style-Paring/dp/B000A386PS"> Global </a> , and <a id="acdeab37-501d-37de-af66-f0e15ba0cd8c" href="https://www.amazon.com/Mac-Knife-Professional-Paring-4-Inch/dp/B000N5DNZG"> Mac </a> have slightly more affordable options. Meanwhile, a gift fruit basket can exceed $100 from companies such as <a id="4ca11e58-c844-3ec9-ae55-7270ddb4a5bd" href="https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/assorted-fruit-basket-large-thanks/?pkey=cfood-sets&amp;isx=0.0.5769"> Williams Sonoma </a> or <a id="ba39ae23-3652-3e41-a85a-c267bb075993" href="https://www.harryanddavid.com/h/gift-baskets-tower-boxes/all-occasion-gift-baskets/24495?categoryId=400151486"> Harry and David </a> .

On top of that, if the cutlery is top-quality, you can virtually guarantee that it's going to get used.

"Most people have crappy tools in the kitchen because they got them, you know, from somebody when they got married or whatever," Ruhlin said.

"So I would tell people, if you send something that’s best in class, that's better than anything that they currently have, they’ll use it. Especially if it's a utilitarian, practical item."

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A CEO who's been giving clients paring knives for 20 years is still convinced it's the perfect gift

Are you a dynamic blue-sky thinker who's hungry for success and can think outside the box?

You might not identify that way, but buzzwords like those are examples of the type of language you'll see in job listings across the US.

As it turns out, certain buzzwords are more popular in specific parts of the country. <a id="00cb3b05-d38b-3ec8-a4d3-215f5c06f32b" href="https://adview.online/c/jargon-jobs/#/by-place/us-states"> AdView recently analyzed </a> hundreds of thousands of job listings on Indeed.com and found which buzzwords are more likely to turn up in every US state.

The experiment revealed that Alabama job listings were most likely to include the phrase "work hard, play hard," and listings in Virginia were most likely to seek "laser-focused" candidates.

Read more: <a id="18323a51-d5bf-3412-a43a-355d05f51e2f" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-job-listing-words-2018-5?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> The same words that make a job irresistible in one city can scare away applicants in others </a>

Alaska and North Dakota listings were the most likely to recruit "wizards," AdView found, while recruiters in Hawaii seemed to prefer the word "ninja." Meanwhile, the dreaded corporate-speak "synergy" was disproportionately popular in two states — Georgia and Indiana.

The results follow research done by Textio, a startup that analyzes language performance to improve hiring. Earlier this year, Textio found that certain words like "synergy," "fast-paced," and "cool," when used in job listings, <a id="db91fe64-77a4-3010-ac03-77fd59dfedc4" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-job-listing-words-2018-5?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> attracted top candidates in certain cities better than others </a> .

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popular buzzword in job listings every state

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New Yorkers recognize Roosevelt Island as <a id="a6e4504d-9b90-3002-a528-86b68dcc34ce" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roosevelt-island-new-york-city-hidden-gem-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> one of the city's best-kept secrets </a> .

Sitting in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, the narrow strip of land beckons visitors with quiet streets, peaceful parks and gardens, and incredible views of Midtown skyscrapers.

The island is also home to a unique form of transportation — the <a id="16281d71-4ff8-3d3e-ae70-1bc2943ed06c" href="https://rioc.ny.gov/302/Tram"> Roosevelt Island Tramway </a> . The aerial tram takes passengers back and forth between the island and Manhattan, rising 250 feet above the city in the process.

For $2.75 — the same price as New York subway or bus fare — passengers get a front-row seat to some of the best views of the city from a perspective most residents don't typically get.

Opened in 1976, the Roosevelt Island tram is one of just two aerial commuter trams in the United States. It transports 2 million workers, students, residents, and curious tourists a year.

I took the tram last week and discovered why it's one of the best, and most affordable, tourist experiences in New York.

<h1> Heres what its like to ride the Roosevelt Island tram: </h1>

<h1> Roosevelt Island is one of New York Citys hidden gems. </h1>

<h1> The narrow strip of land is nestled in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. Its just two miles long and 800 feet wide. </h1>

<h1> Residents and visitors consider the island a peaceful escape from the bustle of city life. </h1>

<h1> Part of the fun of visiting Roosevelt Island is getting there. Although you could take a city bus or subway, the most exciting way to reach the island is by the Roosevelt Island Tramway. </h1>

<h1> The aerial tram takes passengers from the Midtown Manhattan station at 59th Street and 2nd Avenue … </h1>

<h1> … and drops them off at the Roosevelt Island terminal near the center of the island. </h1>

<h1> Throughout the four-and-a-half-minute journey, passengers get front-row seats to some of the best views of the city from angles you dont typically see. At its highest point the tram is 250 feet in the air. </h1>

<h1> The spectacular views make the tram ride a tourist activity in and of itself. </h1>

<h1> A single ride on the tram costs just $2.75 — the same as subway or bus fare in New York. </h1>

<h1> Passengers swipe their Metrocards and pass through the turnstiles just like they would with the subway or bus, too. </h1>

<h1> A new tram arrives every 7 minutes during rush hour and every 15 minutes during off-peak hours. It runs from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. or 3:30 a.m. depending on the day. </h1>

<h1> The crowd is usually a mix of work commuters, tourists, Roosevelt Island residents, and students and faculty of Cornell Tech, the engineering graduate school that opened on the island in 2017. </h1>

<h1> The interior of the trams resembles a wide subway car with fewer seats. Each car can fit up to 109 passengers, plus one attendant. </h1>

<h1> On my recent trip, I met Greg Paravati, whos been a tram attendant since the system first opened 42 years ago in 1976. Unlike subway conductors, tram attendants stand alongside passengers and can interact with them throughout the ride. </h1>

<h1> He told me the best part of his job is meeting interesting people and getting to know the regular commuters. Hes struck up good friendships with some of them and hes even been invited to some of their weddings. </h1>

<h1> Even though it was a cloudy day when I took the tram, I still got an impressive view of the East River separating Manhattan and Queens. </h1>

<h1> Several tourists were documenting their experiences, and many a selfie was taken. </h1>

<h1> As we descended into Manhattan, the tram passed surprisingly close to apartment buildings and offices. </h1>

<h1> By the end of the ride, we were hovering right above Midtown traffic. </h1>

<h1> My ride was perfectly smooth — it was a windy day, but I didnt feel any shaking at all. </h1>

<h1> The tram is one of just two aerial commuter trams in the US (the other is in Portland, Oregon). It has transported 30 million passengers, mostly without incident, since it first opened in 1976. </h1>

<h1> But there was a notable incident in 2006 in which dozens of passengers were stuck hanging over the river for six hours after the cable system lost power because of a mechanical failure. </h1>

<h1> Rescue personnel were eventually able to bring the passengers back to land in wire rescue gondolas. No one was injured in the ordeal. </h1>

<h1> If the Roosevelt Island tram looks familiar, you may be recognizing it from a memorable scene in "Spider-Man" from 2002. Its also been featured in the movies "City Slickers" and "Nighthawks." </h1>

<h1> Amazingly, many New Yorkers arent even aware the tram exists. But those who have taken it know its part of what makes Roosevelt Island such a nice change of pace from city life. </h1>

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One of New York City's most affordable tourist experiences is a tram that takes you 250 feet above the city for the price of a subway fare

How much is a good first impression worth?

For John Ruhlin, it's $3. At least that's how much he pays for each one of his business cards, which are square and made of solid aluminum.

While many people treat business cards as an afterthought, Ruhlin said his pricey metal cards are an investment that has led to increased referrals for his company the Ruhlin Group, which advises on <a id="4413a2bc-7c7e-3821-a6dc-7dd96d9a6f4a" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-gifts-client-gifts-knives-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> the art of corporate gift-giving </a> .

When done well, Ruhlin wrote in his 2016 book " <a id="edb3d4ad-287f-305a-ae2b-21dbe05338e9" href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FT16BPM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1"> Giftology </a> ," a business card can spark conversations that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

In the book, Ruhlin recalled an interaction with a former CEO of Lowe's in which Ruhlin was describing his business, but the CEO was "completely glazed over, barely listening."

That all changed when Ruhlin asked to exchange business cards.

"He slowly looked down at the card, up at me, down at the card, and up again, before exclaiming, 'This is the coolest fricken card [except, he didn't say fricken] I've ever seen! What do you do again?" Ruhlin recalled.

Read more: <a id="8efcbe16-46d7-3416-a021-8b630e61b392" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-design-an-awesome-business-card-2014-7?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Here are the secrets to a great business card </a>

Ruhlin said he gets plenty of criticism for shelling out so much on business cards. No manufacturer he contacted had ever created such an expensive card, he said. But he didn't go broke from making the cards — in fact, business went up after he started handing them out.

For Ruhlin, it's all about keeping his company at the top of his potential clients' minds.

"It's an ironic question because I see companies spending $10 on a brochure that will inevitably end up in the trash can," Ruhlin wrote in the book. "To me, a three-dollar business card is a tremendously good investment because I know for a fact that the recipient will show it to twenty other people before he or she gets home. Plus, when I follow up with an email and write 'Metal business card' in the subject line, people know exactly who I am, when we talked, and what we talked about."

Ruhlin uses the same logic to justify his company's letterheads, which, like his business cards, are a solid sheet of aluminum engraved with his company's information. Those cost $9 a pop, Ruhlin says. His company hand writes messages on them in Sharpie.

"This is another area where cost per impression comes into play," Ruhlin said. "Generally speaking, most companies won't blink twice about spending money to print their logo onto a cheap tchotchke. Why not invest that money in something innovative that will get people talking and create multiple positive impressions?"

"It's not necessarily about spending more money. It's about beingsmarter about spending money."

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A CEO who pays $3 each for his metal business cards says people think he's crazy, but it's been one of his smartest moves

Venture capitalists turn down thousands of offers a year from prospective investors.

But every now and then, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cold-email-advice-2017-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="4da2910c-da1b-3212-aeb9-7ac0d1ef5fc1"> cold email </a> will get their attention and lead to a response.

Take it from Arlan Hamilton, a 38-year-old venture capitalist who built her own firm in 2015 from the ground up. The self-made VC spent countless hours watching videos about investing on YouTube and reading books about the business at Barnes and Noble before launching <a href="https://backstagecapital.com/" id="203f6158-cc72-366d-a513-311314d62b4a"> Backstage Capital </a> , a firm that invests in women and minority entrepreneurs.

Today, Backstage Capital has invested in more than 100 startup founders, and recently launched a $36 million fund for black female founders, <a href="http://time.com/money/5454728/arlan-hamilton-backstage-capital/" id="a12221a0-c989-3fe2-a384-87ffb49a348f"> according to Time </a> .

The formerly homeless Hamilton doesn't fit the stereotype of a typical investor, and in 2016 <a href="https://medium.com/@ArlanWasHere/this-is-how-long-your-cold-call-intro-email-to-me-should-be-1b2d8e135ff9" id="ae73e9f9-34ea-34d7-a044-14e2951fc933"> she wrote a blog post </a> about how other aspiring entrepreneurs can stand out in a VC's inbox.

In the blog post, titled "This Is How Long Your Cold Call Intro Email to Me Should Be," Hamilton said she gets between 50 and 100 emails a day, most of them from people seeking funding.

Hamilton gives an example of the ideal email that would get her attention: It's two paragraphs long, contains a brief description of who the writer is and what makes them unique, explains what they want the email to accomplish, and provides details about why they're writing to her in particular.

Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cold-email-advice-2017-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="3a0d14d2-d62c-3116-aec7-4f91a734e0b6"> A CEO and former Googler explains 3 steps for crafting the perfect cold email </a>

The key part, Hamilton said, is the brevity.

"What happens when they’re too long? I skip over parts, I scan, it loses its punch, I save for later, and have a hard time coming back to it," Hamilton wrote.

Hamilton said learning how to write the perfect cold-intro email is a skill that takes practice: "I used to write absolute novels to people when I was first emailing strangers. I mean, just … the longest, life-story-telling emails ever," she said.

But she eventually developed a rule that led to better results — write out whatever you want to say, and then "cut at least 50%" of it.

"Make it personal, but get to the point," said. "Leave room for more later. Make it an exchange, and not an allegory."

<h1> Read Hamilton's entire sample email here » </h1>

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DON'T MISS: A business school professor who studied 20,000 startup founders says 'going ugly' can be the key to a successful partnership — or marriage

A venture capitalist who launched a $36 million fund explains exactly how to write the perfect pitch email to a VC

It's human nature to want to avoid tough conversations.

But the most successful people know that skirting around uncomfortable subjects just makes things worse in the long run.

That's what <a id="d8d11d1c-77ba-3ed9-a486-0ea150147ba0" href="https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/noam-wasserman"> Noam Wasserman </a> , a professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California, discovered after almost 20 years of studying 20,000 startup founders.

Wasserman <a id="070088b3-050d-3acb-aaa8-3270f25ddd2f" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-life-lessons-we-can-learn-from-successful-startups-1543201800"> wrote about the lessons he learned </a> from his research in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, and he said they apply to both business and life itself.

The professor wrote that the best startup founders he studied had a tendency to approach tough discussions head on — "going ugly," as he calls it.

"In a hypercompetitive environment, there is little wiggle room for balky products or ineffective team members," Wasserman wrote for The Journal. "As a result, the best founders move quickly to identify and deal with any problem areas they see, despite the natural inclination to avoid tension-filled issues."

Read more: <a id="36d62e6a-4188-3ceb-abbf-32aa32c04889" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/having-a-difficult-conversation-with-your-boss-2014-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> How to successfully have a difficult conversation with your boss </a>

In one case he studied, two of the three cofounders of a software startup had doubts that the third founder would remain with the company. The third founder had just become a father, and they suspected he might take his ownership stake in the startup and leave for a more stable job, leaving the company unable to attract a good replacement.

To cover their bases, the founders "went ugly" and drafted a plan about what would happen in such a scenario.

"It was a tough conversation, but it paid off," Wasserman wrote. "When the new father decided that he couldn't found a venture while founding a family, the company had a deal ready to go. The co-founders reclaimed his ownership stake, used his shares to lure a replacement executive and, down the road, attracted a buyer."

But "going ugly" is more than just good business advice — it can help in personal relationships, too.

Wasserman said one of his students had a habit of "going ugly" on first dates, refusing to tiptoe around awkward topics like income prospects and where he wants to live.

<a id="913f0342-b5ef-3386-aa4e-e84a6fa7b55c" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-sign-a-prenup-before-marriage-2018-10?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> Prenuptial agreements </a> are another example of how "going ugly" can benefit both parties in a relationship.

"Just as in the entrepreneurial world, agreements like these can strengthen relationships by surfacing issues early, revealing people's true intentions and motivations and clarifying expectations while adjustments can still be made easily," Wasserman said.

<h1> Read the full Wall Street Journal article here » </h1>

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A business school professor who studied 20,000 startup founders says 'going ugly' can be the key to a successful partnership — or marriage

Giving gifts to your loved ones is a staple of the holiday season.

But if you're trying to make a good impression on a business client, the holiday season is the worst possible time to buy them something.

That's according to John Ruhlin, an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-gifts-client-gifts-knives-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="af3d922f-fcd5-3328-a276-f27bc24dd16d"> expert in corporate gift-giving </a> and author of the book " <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Giftology-Increase-Referrals-Strengthen-Retention/dp/1619614332" id="cc0ee51c-5fde-3f4e-acea-bdad16224dda"> Giftology </a> ." Although the subject is something of an afterthought in the business world, Ruhlin claims that strategic gift-giving can help increase a company's referrals and lead to more meaningful relationships with clients.

Ruhlin has <a href="http://ruhlingroup.com/" id="85f5b85e-1b00-3872-a20d-91fcf5b2db67"> consulted with companies </a> such as Wells Fargo, Shell, and sports teams like the Chicago Cubs and Orlando Magic on the art of gift-giving. He said the holidays are one of three occasions in which you should avoid gift-giving.

"I don't send one gift from a business perspective between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or Thanksgiving and year-end, because i feel like it's the noisiest and most-cluttered time of the year," Ruhlin said <a href="http://johnruhlin.com/success-podcast-tips-for-great-gift-giving/" id="c5511887-d6c9-37ed-ad30-4177c13e6214"> on the podcast "Success Insider" in 2016 </a> . "So we do our gifting the other 11 months out of the year."

The idea, he explained to Business Insider, is that your clients will be so overwhelmed with token gifts during the holiday season that yours will have little chance of standing out. In other words, it's a time of year when gifts are expected from every angle.

"We teach people, don't send gifts at Christmas, at anniversaries, or birthdays, so no 'ABC' gifting," Ruhlin told Business Insider.

Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-gifts-client-gifts-knives-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="b56cc99c-3f8f-334c-a9fd-ebab8753ffa5"> A gift-giving expert has been giving clients paring knives for 20 years, and he's convinced it's the perfect gift </a>

A better strategy, Ruhlin said, is to give on occasions where gifts aren't typically exchanged between business associates: think Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, or the Fourth of July.

"On Valentine's Day, send a gift that says, 'We love working with you!' On St. Patrick's Day, send one that says, 'We're lucky to have you as a partner!'" Ruhlin wrote in "Giftology."

"There are a million and one national holidays to choose from. For instance, send a pizza along with a high-end pizza stone and slicer on National Pizza Day. It can be so easy if you are willing to open your eyes to the possibilities."

He added: "By doing this, we cut into any sense of entitlement because the gift never becomes an expectation. It's always a surprise, and it always makes an impact."

Better yet, don't even wait for a holiday to send your client a gift. Ruhlin recommends surprising clients with thoughtful gifts and random times of the year.

"Take that bottle of really good wine that you were going to give at Christmas time, and send it in the middle of the winter tundra of February instead," Ruhlin wrote in "Giftology." "I guarantee the response will likely be, 'That was the best gift! It was the only thing I got in the mail that wasn't a bill this week!'"

Gifting on these unorthodox occasions will help you stand out from the crowd, Ruhlin said, and signal to your client that you're treating them genuinely, and not because you have to. Over the course of a business relationship, those moments add up.

"Our whole goal is to get something in somebody's hands where you're remaining top-of-mind and triggering that memory of it being given by that particular person," he told Business Insider.

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A CEO who never sends client gifts at Christmas, anniversaries, or birthdays says he uses a different gifting strategy that's much better

During a <a id="0a998f81-8632-3ecf-abc2-75c7c4cea3d3" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/job-interviews?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> job interview </a> , you're expected to show off your best self.

But if you come off as a little too perfect, that's a turnoff for some employers.

In fact, one startup founder has a rule to weed out job candidates who seem a little too good to be true: If you've never failed, you're not getting the job.

"If I'm interviewing someone and they tell me they’ve gotten everything right in life, that's a red flag right there," David Steckel, the founder of the home-maintenance company Setter, <a id="d07d1b5f-81f6-3812-a930-ab6831cf8d96" href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6468498357802319872/"> wrote on LinkedIn </a> . "Because it means they’ve never gone out of their comfort zone. Never pushed themselves to the edge and beyond. Never faced an obstacle larger than their skill set."

Steckel said he drew his rule from <a id="d2562c5a-807b-3094-ae53-1b7ef58ba7f8" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/setter-restaurant-skills-waiting-tables-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> his own experience </a> as an entrepreneur. He cofounded <a id="77fcc453-d2e0-357b-a6d2-d1d9b5360700" href="https://setter.com/"> Setter </a> in 2015 as a way to help customers manage all their home-maintenance projects in one place.

This month, the Toronto-based company announced it <a id="1dffbc28-8998-3e87-a107-edc414a21f33" href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/setter#section-overview"> raised $10 million in Series A funding </a> . But the first iteration of the company, Steckel told Business Insider, was a failure that cost him $100,000. His problem was trying to do too much by himself, which led him to enlist cofounder and CEO Guillaume Laliberte.

Read more: <a id="b43f213f-7923-39dc-aff3-7d1fb9fa1630" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bizarre-interview-questions-unrelated-to-job-2017-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest"> 9 puzzling interview questions from real execs that seem to have nothing to do with the job </a>

Now, Steckel can relate to job applicants who can talk candidly about mistakes they've made in their careers.

"The type of person that I'm looking for in any role at Setter is comfortable talking about experience where a project has backfired, utterly failed, the outcome was the opposite of what was desired, or if they've just made a mistake that negatively affected a deal, customer, or opportunity," he told Business Insider.

As for the type of person they're not looking for? Steckel recalls one example that stands out.

His team was interviewing a potential hire and was asking him about times something went wrong on the job. The applicant's answers, to Steckel's disappointment, shifted the blame to his coworkers and supervisors.

"He never once used an example with 'I' as the subject that made a mistake," Steckel told Business Insider.

"This interviewee clearly believed that they never did anything wrong in their life. The ability to be humble is part of our culture, and this candidate was very focused on laying blame rather than learning."

The critical element is learning from your mistakes and being honest about them, he added.

"If you've played video games, you know you can never beat the boss on the first try. It might take 10, 50 or even 100 attempts," he wrote on LinkedIn. "What I’m looking for are the people who keep trying."

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A startup founder who's raised $10 million has a rule to weed out job candidates who seem a little too good to be true

As December nears and the year draws to close, travelers are looking for the site of their last big vacation.

Thanks to the popularity of Christmas and New Year's Eve vacations, December is often one of the most expensive months of the year to travel to the world's tourism hotspots.

Whether you want to indulge in the holiday festivities or escape to a sunny island paradise, there are endless options for travelers in December.