Why You Should Bank on Taking It to the Bank When asking for a raise or promotion, many people ask the wrong way and ask for the wrong reasons.The wrong way to ask is to walk into your boss’ office and beg for a raise, demand a raise, or give an ultimatum. The wrong reasons to justify an increase are excuses like you need the money for rent, you heard that a friend of yours makes more than you, or you want to buy that new Jaguar convertible you saw on TV.In fact, if you’re like many Americans, even if you get that raise, you’ve already spent the additional money before it even clears ... view article details

More than 70 percent of America’s workers are still living paycheck to paycheck according to a recent American Payroll Association poll. And current tough economic times have everyone wondering what they can do to stretch their paycheck a bit further. We’ve compiled a list of what we feel are ten of the best ideas to help stretch your paycheck. With a little extra effort, you can yield some big savings.1. Stop buying bottled water Americans spend a staggering amount on bottled water - $15 billion last year. Name brands in small bottles can cost more than $10 per gallon while tap wate... view article details

Workers Are Negotiating Less Often We love all things salary negotiation. It’s our business, our passion, and the reason our company exists. But it’s not enough for us to love it, we need you to love it as well.Unfortunately, many of you aren’t convinced of the importance of negotiating your salary.For the last few years we’ve conducted a survey to determine how often people negotiate, when they negotiate, and why they’re afraid of negotiating. It culminates in our annual Salary Negotiation Week, in which you can pick up some great tips on salary negotiation tactics. This year, we sur... view article details

Going Out With a Bang We’ve all been there.You’re at a job you no longer enjoy. In fact, some days you can barely muster up the will to drive to work. The mere thought of having to deal with your awful boss and plod through the drudgery of Monday morning seems to loom over you and ruin your entire weekend. In short, you hate your job. And you’ve decided to quit.But how do you plan on doing it?Most people give the standard two-week notice in writing. But for a select group of employees who didn’t feel the bare minimum was good enough, quitting also became a matter of sending a message.... view article details

Which Jobs Are on the Rise? As the last chapter of 2013 is written, we once again turn our sights on what’s to come in the new year. And as it turns out, 2014 has a lot to offer in the way of new job growth.We looked into our own Salary.com crystal ball and then referenced sources like the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine which fields are slated to enjoy the most growth over the next few years. So if you’re currently unemployed and searching for a job, or if you’re unsatisfied and hoping to change careers, the first thing you need to do is see if your job is on this list.8. ... view article details

In the mid 1990s I took a job at a growing startup. The delineation of talent at the office was pretty clear: Four partners (President, VP/Technology, VP/Sales, VP/Marketing) and four employees (Video producer, Graphic Designer, and two Application Developers).Then there was Martin.Martin didn’t work at the home office in Boston, he worked somewhere near the mountains of Utah. For the first few months I only heard rumors of who he was and what he did. I heard he lived in an impossibly small apartment, slept on a small mattress on the floor, and owned only a handful of personal items. I heard h... view article details

When Early Isn't an Option How does a night owl who arrives at work after noon each day succeed in his career?The first story in this series covers the basics about a type of circadian rhythm disorder called delayed sleep phase syndrome (also DSPS, or delayed sleep), which half a million Americans suffer. In the second story, a writer with delayed sleep says she felt like death holding down a 9-to-5 job, and ultimately felt better when she began freelancing. In this third story, you’ll meet Tom Lemmon, a software engineer at a top Internet company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lemmon, ... view article details

Survey Reveals Top Employee Time Wasters at Work A Facebook status update here, a Tweet there and finding that perfect dinner recipe on Pinterest. These days, most jobs require a computer, and workplace distractions are plentiful. But how much time do employees waste visiting personal websites that aren't work-related? And on a more philosophical note, what should we consider to be time wasters at work? We surveyed more than 3,200 people from February to March 2012 to find out the biggest time wasters at work. In this era of constant connectivity, we are slaves to our laptops, smartphones, and... view article details

Let’s get a few things straight from the start:My kids (ages 18, 16, 7) are the most important thing, along with my wife, in my life. I love them so much it hurtsI work damn hard to make a lot of moneyI really don't care what anyone else thinksIt has taken me decades to understand the importance of #3As 21st century fathers we are in a double bind. We are suppose to be providers, making tons of money, and yet at the same time be hands-on dads. If feminism was born out of the desire of women to leave home and be treated equally in the workplace, giving rise to the Super Woman phenomenon in whic... view article details

Working Hard or Hardly Working? A Facebook status update here, a Tweet there and maybe you find that perfect dinner recipe on Pinterest. In this day and age most jobs require a computer, most computers have the Internet and distractions to workers are plentiful. But how much time do employees waste on visiting personal websites that aren't work-related during the day? And on a more philosophical note, should that really be considered a 'waste' of time?We surveyed more than 3,200 people from February to March 2012 to find out.Blame It on the Internet As you can probably imagin... view article details