There are four ways to invest in gold.

1. Gold Mining Companies
2. Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)
3. Local Gold Bullion
4. Online Gold Bullion

Gold Mining Companies

Purchasing the gold mine company stock is an excellent way to get in the gold game without being fully exposed to the ups/downs of the gold market. If you invest in a good mining company it will have growth potential (especially if gold is going up) and the ability to sustain itself through down periods. Gold mine stock, however, is still susceptible to speculators and short investors. Make sure you understand the company's balance sheet and long-term financial outlook before investing in it. At a minimum make sure you understand the company's balance sheet and long-term value.

Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)

I recently stumbled across ETFs when I was trying to find a method to invest in commodities and specifically buy minerals directly. ETFs are an excellent way to directly purchase a commodity without dealing with special investment firms. Essentially an ETF is a mutual fund that you can trade like a stock through a regular investment firm. The price of the ETF share is directly proportional to the price of gold at that time. In fact, most gold ETF funds normally own gold that directly relates to the price of their shares. The benefit with investing in an ETF is that you own gold without having to worry about safely storing it. A negative with ETFs is that they are taxed by the IRS as collectibles, not like stocks and mutual funds and thus, ETFs do not benefit from long-term capital gains. After 1 year with a stock or mutual fund the long-term capital gain kicks in and the maximum tax rate is 15%, whereas with an ETF it continues to be 28%.

Local Gold Bullion

If you'd like to own gold directly there are numerous options. You can purchase gold bullion (e.g., coins, bars and other items) or purchase gold jewelry. The latter is particularly beneficial because you can own gold while still being able to use it. Personally I took the route of investing in gold coins. I found it quite fun to buy a “piece of history” and have a long-term investment at the same time. There are two big negatives with holding gold directly. First, you require a safe place to store your gold and keep it away from the criminal element, and secondly it can be somewhat difficult (and expensive) to buy and sell gold directly. You can purchase gold coins from online auction sites (e.g., Ebay), and gold bars from brokerage sites such as http://kitco.com. The greatest advantage with having real gold on hand is that you can have immediate access to it. For the paranoid, gold is a safe bet if society goes to hell in a hand basket. Some folks have dollar bills stuffed under their beds and some have gold coins. Given how the dollar has been plummeting lately I greatly prefer the latter.

Online Gold Bullion

If you want to own gold directly but don't have a safe place to store it or don't want to be charged expensive fees then an online bullion brokerage may be best for you. The concept with the online bullion traders is that they store bullion at their secure vaults. When you purchase gold it is not shipped to you, but rather stored in their vault. You can purchase more gold or sell it at anytime and they will immediately give you the $ for the current rate of gold being traded at that time. A small transaction fee will be applied (normally in 10s of dollars). The process is very fast and secure. There are quite a few online gold brokerages out there but most seem to specialize in the acquisition of gold bars/coins. One online brokerage I particularly like is bullion vault. This website allows you to buy gold directly and have it stored in one of their three vaults: New York, London or Zurich. The website is very secure, intuitive and easy to learn. One of the coolest features of Bullion Vault is that you will receive a free ounce of gold when you signup.

I hope this article has helped educate you on the different gold investment options. If you have any questions please let me know, I'd be happy to help out.

1. This may be obvious to most folks, but make sure you clean yourself up for an interview.

   Shave, shower, put on deodorant, do whatever it is that would make you look (and hopefully smell) better than normal. This is partially because you want to look good in front of the interviewer, but more importantly it is also because you want to “feel good”. Doing well in an interview is all about being prepared mentally and physically.

2. Make sure you get a good nights sleep!

   You want to be bright and alert for the next day's interview. If think you might have trouble sleeping than read up on some good sleep relaxation techniques. There are many good ones and they work really well.

3. Make sure you arrive to the interview at least 15mins ahead of time!

   I have interviewed many a good candidate that was completely frazzled because they were a mere 5mins late. Don't add undue stress on your day, arrive early.

4. Eat a good breakfast.

   You will need that energy later in the day. Likewise, throughout the day make sure to take opportunities to have a snack and at lunch time relax and eat a good meal. This will help keep you alert, and also will show the interviewer(s) that you have a well balanced diet and take care of yourself.

5. Mentally prepare yourself for the interview!

   I can't stress this enough; make sure that mentally you are prepared to talk about yourself, your experiences, and your skills. Good interviewers will smell bullcrap a mile away. If you faked something on your resume or aren't prepared to go in-depth on your history you're going to have a long and painful day.

6. Mentally prepare yourself to work for the company!

   Once again, this is absolutely essential. Don't walk into company A without the faintest clue on what they do. If you really want the job than research the company, the product line, the position, heck even the type of employees that work at the company.

7. Give the interviewer the impression you would do “anything” for the job.

   Per #6, research the company extensively (even study at night). If you show a desire to work at the company the interviewer will reciprocate and want to hire you on.

8. Be open, direct and honest; in fact be terribly honest.

   If you don't know the answer to a question tell the interviewer, “sorry I don't know the answer to X but I definitely am interested in learning about X”.

9. Show emotions!

   Smile, frown when you concentrate, rub your chin, talk, open up, and show the interviewer you're human.

10. Be confident!

    Remember that they wanted to interview you because they are impressed with your experience and skills on your resume. You've already gotten through the hard part (which is to get an interview), now you just need to show them the person behind the paper.