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

A federal program designed to help jobless veterans find work is proving very popular with its target audience, according to numbers released this week by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.The VOW to Hire Heroes Act, signed into law in November 2011, calls for the creation of a program that pays for unemployed veterans to receive training in fields where skilled workers are in high demand, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. The resulting Veteran Retraining Assistance Program, or VRAP, began accepting applications on May 15.In the six weeks since VRAP launched, the program has... 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

So says this week's Salary Talk guest, Kevin Hogan, the author of the international best-selling 'The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say 'Yes' in 8 Minutes or Less.' Hogan has spent his life delving into the subtleties of persuasion and discovering how to influence people in every way possible. And today, he's sharing his secrets with all of you. For instance, did you know people are more than twice as likely to say yes to your request if you've spoken it into their right ear? And your chances of positively influencing someone increase exponentially in dim lighting. Conversely, peo... view article details

Most self-help books tell you all the things you need to start doing if you want to be successful. Which is why James Waldroop's 'The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back: Overcoming the Behavior Patterns That Keep You From Getting Ahead' is not your run-of-the-mill self-help book.Waldroop is this week's Salary Talk guest and he sits down with Aaron & Wendy for a rather unusual conversation. Instead of doling out tips on what people should begin doing if they want to succeed, Waldroop's book is a list of bad habits people need to STOP doing if they want to get ahead. And some of those bad ... view article details

Getting ahead at work and becoming a leader isn't just about hard work. You have to be able to relate to people, read them and their emotions and win them over. And that goes for people above you and those you eventually hope to have working under you. You truly need to have 360 degrees of influence.Harrison Monarth wrote the book '360 Degrees of Influence: Get Everyone to Follow Your Lead on Your Way to the Top,' and is this week's guest on the podcast. Monarth talks about influencing people at all levels, knowing your audience and why understanding and possessing emotional intelligence are v... view article details

Why is it so important to negotiate salary following a job offer? There are millions of reasons. Literally.People who don't negotiate salary could miss out on between $1 and $2 million over the course of their careers, according to Robin Pinkley, a professor at Southern Methodist University and author of 'Get Paid What You're Worth: The Expert Negotiators' Guide to Salary and Compensation.'Aaron and Wendy tap into Pinkley's expertise on everything from negotiating with people of different cultures to figuring out why women are so hesitant to negotiate salary compared to men. She gets into spec... view article details

A lot of people are out of work and have been out of work for a long time. That means a lot of job hunters have spent months -- and unfortunately years in some cases -- looking for a new job. And as everyone who's ever been in that position will tell you, it's no fun. But while times certainly are tough and that directly contributes to not finding employment elsewhere, chances are you're not maximizing your hiring opportunities by doing the little things that make a huge difference during a job search.Alan DeBack is the author of 'Get Hired in a Tough Market: Insider Secrets to Finding and Lan... view article details

So you've got a job interview. The only problem is hundreds of other people are going for the same position. So how do you stand out?William Arruda says the answer is personal branding.Arruda, a personal branding expert and author of Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand, is this week's guest on Salary Talk, and tells Aaron and Wendy the fastest way to separate yourself from the pack is to figure out who you are, what you're good at and maximize your strengths. While most people think of branding as creating a fake image, Arruda says the key to personal branding is 'permission t... view article details