Ways to Gain Negotiating Leverage Even When the Salary is Fixed Is it fair for a company to offer a job with a non-negotiable salary? Sometimes life isn’t fair. This is especially true in the job market, where one person might quickly land their dream job and increase their salary by $10,000, while the next person might be unemployed for months, be forced to tap into their savings, before finally taking an unfulfilling job at a low salary. I recently came across the following question: “How fair is it for a company to offer a job with a non-negotiable salary? It is considered an entry-lev... view article details

'Bonds come in many shapes and sizes. Those issued by the government include T-bills, Treasury notes and Treasury bonds. Municipal bonds are issued by a city, county, state, school, or park district for constructing roads, bridges, schools, libraries, airports, and so on.'    Now that the roaring bull that was the stock market has been put out to pasture, let us turn our attention to bonds and bond mutual funds. With investors accepting the sad reality that stock values can drop as fast as they may rise, bonds beckon as a lower-risk alternative - albeit one with a less exciting growth potentia... view article details

Mortgage Size   The first and biggest hurdle to buying your own home is money. Few buyers, if any, try to buy a home without financing because it just doesn't make sense. In addition to the relatively low price of credit in America, why would anyone pass up substantial mortgage interest tax relief? Then there's the opportunity cost. Even the most financially secure among us won't want to tie up hefty capital in real estate when it could be spread across several investments in a diversified, well-planned portfolio.Typically, home buyers pursue a loan in amounts of 80 or 90 per cent of the purch... view article details

Do you think you are underpaid for the work you do? Have you recently received a pay raise and been disappointed at the increase amount? Would you like to unload on your boss for undervaluing you? Before you lose your cool and say something you may regret, follow our advice on how to prepare for and conduct a successful salary negotiation.Step One – Understand Your Role Make sure you understand your role and responsibilities and how your position contributes to the organization’s success. You and your employer will need to agree on your jo... view article details

Job hunting is a nerve-racking process. Scouring LinkedIn for opportunities, waiting by the phone for employers to call, and sending out countless résumés to people who may never read them is a huge pain.But as any HR professional will tell you, the best time to look for a job is when you already have one. When you’re happily employed, your negotiating power skyrockets and you're more likely to be wooed by hiring managers with higher compensation, better benefits, and stock options. That's where passive candidacy comes in.Passive candidates are people who aren’t actively looking for a job but ... view article details

Will Increasing the Minimum Wage Hurt or Help Employees & Businesses? For many American workers, minimum-wage employment was a temporary, teenage condition, as we bussed tables or answered phones or cleaned rooms for tiny paychecks before moving on to more financially rewarding work. However in 2011, 3.8 million American workers -- most of whom were out of their teens -- earned the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour or less, according to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And recently, debate has heated up about whether the government should raise the minimum wage, increasin... view article details

As pay equity becomes an increasingly pertinent topic in HR circles and American culture at large, pay transparency has received particular attention as a way to help eliminate the gender and racial wage pay gaps. In the U.S., aside from federal laws pertaining more broadly equal pay, pay transparency statutes differ by state and are relatively underdeveloped. Since pay transparency is still uncommon in American jurisprudence, folks may be surprised to learn about pay transparency trends overseas. Here are four initiatives occurring in some of the most affluent countries in the world: Norway, ... view article details

70% of people believe they have above average leadership skills. This effect is called the Superiority Bias. (Sometimes, it’s called The Lake Woebegone Effect, Illusory Superiority, or The Better Than Average Effect). It is one of many cognitive biases that prevent us from seeing ourselves and others clearly. Everyone has a set of unconscious biases that support their view of the past, present, future, and how the world works. These unconscious ideas are based on our own perspectives and experiences. We believe that our own perspective is correct and applies to others the same way it works fo... view article details

The Research Status of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Vaccine The novel coronavirus pneumonia has spread to more than 160 countries and regions worldwide, and the virus has no specific medicine so far. Under these circumstances, the research and development of a vaccine is very important. Presently, many companies have participated in the research and development of vaccines, but four vaccine giants' attitudes toward coronavirus pneumonia vaccine are ambiguous. So now, the question becomes: which companies and institutions are involved in vaccine research and developme... view article details

Recent budget constraints have left states having to cut funding left and right, higher education is no exception. The College Board recently released statistics that not only reveal some dramatic tuition increases, but the lull in enrollment for four-year institutions. These factors may indicate a possible demand for learning alternatives such as online education and community college.According to the College Board's findings, public four-year institutions have raised their tuition 6.5 percent higher than the previous year, averaging $7,020, not including room and board. Previously, the avera... view article details