Dear Annette,Do you have any holiday gift ideas for the office?SantaDear Santa,This is my favorite time of year, as thinking of gift ideas for others always reminds me of me. One December years ago I received an ostrich from a client after helping him survey his New Zealand ranch. I had to get rid of him after Dickie became allergic. The ostrich stayed for five years.Narrowing down the wish list is always so difficult. A year or two ago, the Mednikow catalog had a $575,000 diamond ring on its front cover, complete with a little cutout so you can try the ring on for size. Difficult to duplicate... view article details

Most of us loathe the very idea of doing our U.S. personal income taxes, not because we expect to get fleeced each April 15 (or 16) but simply because we don't know an adjusted gross income from a standard deduction. For the many tax code illiterates among us, Salary.com has combed through the Internal Revenue Service website, taking inspiration from Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly's book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance, to come up with a checklist that may help simplify your tax-filing experience. Taxable and nontaxable income To get things started with the very basics, bel... view article details

High-Paying Jobs You Might Not Have Ever Heard Of You do WHAT for a living?? A couple of years ago we combed through our vast database of more than 4,000 jobs and picked out 11 of the oddest among them that paid a decent salary. To this date it's one of our most-read pieces. So we figured it was time for Round 2. Some of these were left off the list last time around and some of them are new jobs that have been added to our jobs salary library since the first article was published. But unless you're someone who already works in these occupations, most of you will be saying "Huh? I didn't kno... view article details

Survey Results: How Has Our Readership Been Affected by Recent Layoffs? With the unemployment rate continuing to rise dramatically in recent months (now up to double digits in some states) Salary.com asked its users how they have been affected by the recent changes in the job market. We had over 4,000 respondents of which a larger than expected number answered they had been laid off in the last 6 months. Read on to see some of the trends.The national unemployment rate for January was 8.1% This means that nationwide 8.1% of employable individuals have reported that they are out of wo... view article details

Job description Psychologists and counselors study the human mind and behavior. Generally, they also make a living trying to help people understand and overcome their troublesome emotions and behaviors. Psychologists apply their knowledge in many different areas, including health, management, education, law, and sports. Psychologists and counselors must have strong communication skills and be able to quickly assess emotionally charged situations. They must be able to learn new methods and skills on an ongoing basis. They also need to be interested in people and the functioning of the human mi... view article details

Flexible Workplaces Becoming the Norm When looking for a job, you're likely focused on what type of position you'd like to land and probably not paying attention to hiring trends or hiring manager surveys. In fact, you may not even know that a relatively recent Flexpaths-LinkedIn Virtual Think Tanks study suggested 'flexible' workplaces would become inevitable by 2015 because employers recognize their targeted employees expect some flexibility when it comes to their jobs. Many Workers Will Sacrifice Money for Flexibility Are you one of the 42 percent of working adults who wou... view article details

'Safe travels'...at every goodbye these days, it seems, it's the same benediction. Beyond wishing each other well, what else can travelers do to play it safe in the air and in other countries? How can travelers overcome their reluctance to get back on the horse...or the plane? The U.S. State Department offers these tips on traveling safely to other countries.Before you leave...Read the consular information sheet for your destination country, which describes local conditions travelers can expect. Find out about any travel warnings or pertinent public announcements in case there are any perceive... view article details

The 7 most affordable US Cities Want to move to a city where the cost of living is relatively low to start your first job? Still struggling with where to move and how to afford living on your own in a city in the United States? Find it exhausting to take all the factors—the price of food, price of apartment renting, price of cars, and the price of clothes—into consideration when you try to find the cheapest place to live? This article takes into account the cost of housing, food, transportation, healthcare, utilities, taxes, and childcare and provides a list of cities with t... view article details

Grab your lozhkas and drink of choice (and toast to brighter days for the U.S. Team) -- The 2018 FIFA World Cup is finally here! The great games began on Thursday afternoon as host country Russia defeated Saudi Arabia 5-0 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. As the tournament unfolds, so will rambunctious debate about the top players in the world. We’ll leave those rankings to you and your brethren as you stumble to the sports pub. But, based on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Soccer Players and Highest-Paid Athletes, we’d like to show you the money the world’s greatest soccer players are earning for their eff... view article details

Q. I have been running a small startup company for almost four years. Four of us are consulting to the company in various executive roles. I'm the founder and president, handling a wide range of duties, but mostly in business development. I have the skill set and experience of most directors of business development or higher positions. My role has also exposed me to areas in which business development professionals are not typically involved.In considering other employment opportunities, how do I know which executive level I qualify for given my diverse background? Will companies discount my s... view article details