Q. I started with my present company in Raleigh, NC, in February as an HR assistant on a temp-to-hire basis at a salary of $25,000. In March, the company hired me full-time and increased my salary to $28,000.At the time I came on board, our HR director resigned. We were without an HR director for about two months. Then the benefits generalist turned in her resignation. I took the initiative to learn her job in less than two weeks.At my performance review, the new HR director complimented me on taking the initiative to learn the benefits generalist's job and on how quickly I caught on. She then... view article details

Q. I am a creative director with a mid-sized Internet development company (200 people). I oversee a department of 10 graphic designers, programmers, writers, and interface architects. Is it uncommon for one of my department members to be compensated more than I am? A. It doesn't happen often, but from time to time a supervisor may make less money than an employee who reports to him or her. When an employee earns more than his or her supervisor, it is normally because the employee's technical skills are worth more than those of the supervisor. For instance, employees who have very strong techn... view article details

Q: A nonexempt employee was given the duties of an exempt employee upon the exempt employee's retirement. The nonexempt employee had been acting in this capacity for over four years. Does the employer lose the ability to classify this position/employee now as exempt? Is there a time limit?A: Generally, it is not the employee who determines whether a job is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); it is the tasks being performed in the job that do or do not warrant the exemption.You did not mention what tasks the previous employee was performing when he or she left the company. It could... view article details

Q. My performance review is coming soon, and I would like to learn more about the do's and don'ts of performance reviews. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.A. The review process is normally broken down into two parts. The first is spent discussing your overall performance during a defined 'performance period.' The second part of the process is how much you will receive based on your performance.I always advise managers that employees should never be surprised by their review. The purpose of a performance review is just that: to review an employee's performance. In other words, your manag... view article details

Dear Annette,My boss talks to other employees about employees. Is this an accepted practice? He claims to be quite educated in new management styles. However, I do not feel as though I should know that he is thinking about firing his secretary, also known as my coworker. Sincerely, Rather Not KnowDear Rather Not Know,Perhaps like me you recall the era when information was the currency of fabulousness. How much energy and time used to go into hiding and discovering secrets? How many Saturday and Sunday mornings has my dog Dickie spent sniffing around the back doors of my little Beverly Hills ne... view article details

Comedian: Getting Started Comedian Salaries | Comedian Jobs | More Dream Jobs Getting Started Have you ever joked around with your friends or co-workers and thought, "Wow, I am pretty funny, maybe I can take this show on the road?" Zach Sherwin, a member of the sketch comedy group The Late Night Players, did. The difference is he actually followed through on the thought. Like many popular stand-up comics and comedy groups today, The Late Night Players started pretty accidentally. Sherwin says that he "had this group of friends in college and we used to crack each other up all the time". They ... view article details

Q: I am putting in my resume for a manager's position that has just opened up in the store where I am a sales associate. I have been in retail for about five years and with this company for about six months. I have a degree in textiles, apparel and merchandising and a minor in business administration. The manager who is leaving speaks very highly of me. The median salary for my area is about $36,000. Should I ask for less because I have no management experience? Or should I ask for a range of $32,000 to $36,000 and see what they offer?A: If the median salary is $36,000, that means the candidat... view article details

Greetings Jack,I interviewed with a university office today; for a Licensing Associate position in Technology Transfer.This requires MBA, skills in business, science, and heavy communication with cold calling, together with database management, etc. I have all of these and more (PhD and MBA), and my experience in science is 10+ years and in business is 2+ years.Someone who I know and works with the director of that office, told me that the base salary was to be $55,000, but that the director was also planning to raise it to $75,000. The interview went well. They are planning to fill the positi... view article details

With the Labor Department reporting that the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is the highest it has been in seven years, is there such a thing as a “recession-proof” job? Probably not, but there are some careers that may survive the current economic crisis better than others. The key is to focus on work that continues even when most people do not have extra discretionary money to spend. So what are some in-demand jobs in a slow economy?Accountant Now more than ever, companies are paying attention to the bottom line. They need good “bean counters”, whether they are fres... view article details

Q: My company recently decided to eliminate company cars as a perk for any employee. Since they have always maintained that the benefit was "part of my compensation," I want to ask for a comparable amount of salary increase as a replacement for the loss. I've done a substantial amount of research and cannot find any good rules of thumb for determining the value of a company car benefit. How likely am I to get them to simply cover the cost of my monthly car payment on the replacement vehicle? Any ideas on the value of such a benefit? A: You may not be able to receive the monetary value of your... view article details