Dear Annette, What should I do at a business lunch when a client has food on his face or clothing and doesn't seem to notice? Say something? Suffer? Find another client? From,No thanks, I already ate Dear No Thanks, My dog Dickie and I never have so much as a picnic without our People. Without them, who would reroute the ants or top our passionfruit salads with gold leaf? Presentation is everything, which your client will understand when he sees himself in that trendy bistro’s restroom mirror. Not good. Your job is to make sure he never knows how briefly he compromised his own fabulousness if ... view article details

As the new White House administration focuses on revamping the nation's healthcare system, now may be the best time to get prepared for the new career opportunities on the horizon by obtaining an online health degree. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stating that there is a critical shortage of healthcare workers in what is considered to be the country’s largest industry, it makes sense to invest in a new career by taking an online medical billing course or even going that extra step to achieve an online healthcare degree.There are all types of jobs in this field, including health insu... view article details

Q: I have been working as a human resources assistant for the last two and a half years. Although I had no human resources experience when I started, I have now learned almost every aspect of my job (at least according to my job description) and have acquired even more responsibilities. I have attended numerous HR seminars and have taken a few evening business courses on my own.I'm also the unofficial supervisor for a two-person department. Technically, my manager is the manager for this department, but because I am bilingual I have become responsible for hiring, firing, and daily management. ... view article details

May was something of a stagnant month for the country's slow jobs recovery, according to numbers released last week by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.The national unemployment rate in May was 8.2 percent, essentially unchanged from the prior month. The long-term unemployed made up more than half of this number, with 4.6 percent of the workforce reporting that they have been jobless for more than 15 weeks. With an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent, men were more likely to be out of work than women, who had a jobless rate of 7.9 percent last month.However, the unemployment numbers go up s... view article details

The stock market is thriving and the rest of the economy is slowly strengthening. But despite this good news, the number of workers planning to delay retirement is soaring, according to a new report by The Conference Board, a business research organization based in New York City.In 2012, 62 percent of survey respondents aged 45 to 60 said that the recent recession has made them consider postponing retirement, up significantly from 42 percent in 2010.Job losses, pay cuts, and significant declines in home values were among the major factors driving these planned delays, the report concludes. Wor... view article details

The annual salary review season is upon us and employers are struggling to manage salary increases against a backdrop of continuous economic turmoil. We decided to take a look at what employees can expect for merit increases in 2009 as ever worsening economic developments come to light and threats of layoffs continue to be reported. According to a survey of online readers conducted by Business & Legal Reports (BLR) in late October, an increasing number of employers are considering making changes to their current pay budget plans for 2009. Approximately 39.9% of organizations responding to the... view article details

New London topped our list with salary ranges above the national average, a low cost of living, and a low unemployment rate. Are you living beyond your means? Is your paycheck not stretching far enough? Perhaps you're even having trouble finding a job. Maybe it's time to jump a plane to one of the cities at the top of Salary.com's 'Salary Value' index. We found the top (and bottom) US metros for building personal net worth (taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average). Median base pay was correlated across more than 2,500 different benc... view article details

Q: Do I have a right to view the compensation band for my title?I've just been promoted to MIS manager and I know my new base salary is $22,300 less than the minimum starting salary for my title. Online market surveys support this claim. I can't admit that I have seen the comp band for my title because it would aversely affect the person who showed me.My boss refuses to discuss my salary, except to say I don't have enough experience and he doesn't expect as much from me as others with my title. What are your thoughts?A: I'm not an attorney, but I don’t know of any law that requires a company t... view article details

When it comes to unemployment, the new year is looking a whole lot like the old one.The first unemployment report of the 2013 showed the jobless rate lingering just under 8 percent for the fifth straight month, even as the country's employers add jobs. The national unemployment rate in January was 7.9 percent, representing some 12.3 million jobless, according to numbers just released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In September, November, and December, the rate was 7.8 percent; in October it was 7.9 percent.A year ago, in January 2012, 8.3 percent of the workforce was out of  a job.... view article details

The national unemployment rate dipped down to 8.1 percent last month, slightly below July's 8.3 percent and a full point lower than the August 2011 rate of 9.1 percent, according to numbers released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Good news, right? Well…To count as 'unemployed,' a person must be looking for work. So when the unemployment number drops, that could mean people have found work or it could mean they have simply stopped trying, discouraged by the challenging job market. And it seems that last month those who gave up had at least as much impact on the overall rate as tho... view article details