Brace Yourselves...Career Advice is Coming Most people watch HBO's Game of Thrones for the rich characters, swordplay, and to see how the warring factions will end up determining who is the rightful King of Westeros. After all, George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world is a complex and intricate realm of love, deceit, backstabbing, and wonder that captures the imagination of millions.But if you look closely, there is some legitimate career lessons in the show that can be applied to the real world.From King Robert’s laziness to the perils of working for a bad boss (I’m looking at you Joffrey)... view article details

Stand Out in a Crowd Hiring managers see thousands upon thousands of resumes every year. That's why job seekers have to stand out in a crowd if they harboring any hope they'll be hired.When you're writing a resume, what you don't know can hurt you. John Kalusa is a nationally recognized writer who speaks about corporate sales, recruiting, and personal career management. With over 25 years of experience as a strategic recruiting, human resources, and sales and marketing management leader in start-ups and Fortune 250 companies, he's well qualified to comment on what the hiring manager w... view article details

Discouraging predictions of lower salary hikes coupled with a tough job market have increased the already growing number of people returning to school. Numbers have been steadily growing because of increased educational requirements in the job market and the fact that on average a higher level of education translates into a higher annual salary. Salary.com's calculations for 2003 placed bachelor's degree holders at an average salary of $43,000, and master's degree holders at $53,000 (see earnings chart below). Therefore many professionals assume it is logical to go back to school, just as many... view article details

Benefits can significantly increase the value of the compensation package. The costs for providing benefits such as health insurance, retirement , training, vacation and personal days, and other perks could be a significant percentage of each employee's salary.      Beyond Compensation  Compensation is more than just base pay. It is a total package that should address your overall well-being - financial, physical, emotional, even spiritual. As companies compete for talent in tight labor markets, many are rolling out better benefits to attract and retain the best workers. Companies often strive... view article details

The Career Coward's Guide to Career AdvancementHello and welcome to Salary Talk, the official podcast of Salary.com.We'll be bringing you interviews with renowned authors on all things related to salary, job hunting, career coaching, negotiations, resumes and more. The podcasts---which will run between 15-25 minutes in length---are available free of charge. You can listen to them while on the site or download the interviews to your mobile device and listen later.Our inaugural interview is with Katy Piotrowski, M.Ed., author of the Career Coward's book series.She has been a career counselor in ... view article details

 It's not your parents' workplace anymore - nor their dress code. Gone are the stuffy three-piece suits and conservative skirt sets of times past, replaced with a canvas of khaki on which a world of individuality is expressed, as if to say, 'Trust me: I'm casual.' In some corporations and industries, it's Casual Friday every day of the week. Yet even with today's relaxed standards, it's still not a good idea to show up for work in torn shorts and a baggy tee shirt. Especially if you deal directly with customers, the way you express yourself to the world is far more important than the true you ... view article details

Beautiful? Brilliant? Bathing? Though he won't disclose what the B stands for, the secret of Philip B. is Botanicals. This 37-year-old, self-described medicine man turns ordinary and extraordinary ingredients into deliciously scented luxury liquids for hair and body.As an aspiring hair expert, Philip suffered a childhood injury chasing the cat down the stairs for a 'haircut.' By 14 he was already working at a salon, and it wasn't long before his name started gaining recognition. But it wasn't enough.'I wanted to live in LA and be a hairdresser to the stars,' he said. With two twenty-dollar bil... view article details

How Will Expiring Tax Cuts Affect You? It has been just a few blessed weeks since April 15, when we all emerged from stacks of 1099s and W-2s and declared ourselves ready to forget about taxes for another year. Not so fast. The tax cuts put in place during the previous administration are heading for expiration at the end of this year if Congress doesn't act. Almost everyone agrees that at least some of the cuts should be extended, but the right and the left have profound disagreements about how to proceed. So what does this mean for you? While you should always rely on a tax professio... view article details

I've been trying to wrap my brain around the value (or not) of the new Facebook Jobs app. I've been reviewing some white papers written for recruiters and I'm just not sure...yet. Question #1Don't job seekers already have hundreds, if not thousands, of places to seek out jobs? Besides the name boards (Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, SimplyHired, Dice, Vault, LinkUp, etc.), company boards, government boards, trades, local and community job boards -- do we really need more places to post and/or locate jobs?The only platform with absolute, proven value right now per the recruiting community is Li... view article details

Dear Heather,Over the past three years I’ve developed a friendship with a co-worker. We’ve weathered a lot, both at work and in our personal lives. I respect him tremendously and appreciate how easily we’ve been able to relate to one another through administrative upheavals, divorces and the like. There has always been an underlying spark in our relationship, but we’ve been careful not to ignite it, as I am technically his superior (he’s an adjunct teacher in a separate department and could probably teach elsewhere). I’m also recently separated and still in the process of sorting through the e... view article details