Finding the house of your dreams is a cinch if you have the money. You can buy where you want, the size and style you want, you can even tear it all down and remodel how you want. 'I've taken out pristine, custom-built $100,000 kitchens to replace them with pristine, custom-built $150,000 kitchens that looked a little different,' said John C., a building contractor from Marina del Rey, California. 'Not that they seemed like the kind of people who spent much time in a kitchen anyway.' Staying within your means For the rest of us, buying a home is a knotty process of checks and balances. Ironic... view article details

Here Are Some Things Your Boss Never Needs to Know About You or Your Life Keep Personal Info Personal Discrimination in the workplace is illegal. It's also despicable and certainly not anything we condone. In an ideal world, the details of our personal lives wouldn't matter nearly as much as our performance and productivity on the job. But the cold, hard truth is employers may still make decisions based upon details of an employee's life. From judging workers based on Facebook photos to thinking twice about promoting someone with kids or a chronic illness when another employee is free of ... view article details

The interview is an essential aspect of the recruiting process, but it can also be a nerve-racking experience for job applicants. After all, you want to make a good first impression in your interview in the hopes of landing the job! Of course, you don’t have to be too nervous as an interviewee. When a company invites you into the office for an interview, it proves that they think you could be a good match for the job – and that you could also be a good fit culturally for the organization. From the organization’s perspective, the purpose of the interview is simply to compare you with other app... view article details

 “The most wonderful time of the year” can seem like anything but when you're worried about family get-togethers, endless gift lists and shrinking budgets. And if you do not celebrate any holidays during this time, you can end up feeling like an outsider.To top it off, there's often no respite at the office, which can be fraught with potential faux pas and pitfalls during the holiday season. Aside from planning your annual vacation for this particular week, what's an employee to do to avoid feeling like a holiday humbug?Here's our gift to you -- a checklist for maneuvering through the murky mi... view article details

We all had one of those days! You can find your keys. You spill coffee all over your brand new shirt. Your car gets hit in the parking lot. But what happens when these things coincide with one of life’s most stressful situations: The Job Interview . . .Caught Sneaking Off Interviewer: 'I once had a candidate come to be interviewed while he was supposed to be on company business in a completely different area. While he was being interviewed a truck crashed into his company car and crushed it. He had a hard time explaining to his boss why he was not where he was sup... view article details

Employers across the country proudly claim their unwavering support of our uniformed military members. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of public, private, nonprofit and cooperative organizations with the sole mission of placing veterans in gainful employment when they return to civilian life. There are official DoD transition programs that ensure members considering separation do so with eyes open, and help prepare them for the physical, mental and cultural shift they will face. Yet despite all this, the unemployment rate for young veterans is currently pushing 30 percent.These men and women... view article details

If you're actively seeking a new job, there is little doubt you've incorporated some use of social media into that search.For years now we've had the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Now Google has entered the market with Google+. So, which social media site is the best for helping you find a new job?Before you begin, you have to understand the two primary ways you can use social media while job hunting.The most obvious way to use social media is to advertise who you are and what you bring to the table.Social media is great for this because there is so much content being created and ... view article details

With sites like Salary.com employees have access to the equivalent of a Kelley Blue Book for jobs. The availability of online compensation information has leveled the playing field between employer and employee when it comes to negotiation and job offers. Employers who are confident in their pay practices should welcome these new data sources, as they provide external validation that their compensation is competitive with the market.Before there was online salary data for everyone, disappointments and disconnects like these were common.* The irrelevant request. Employee: I need 10 percent more... view article details

'Salary.com uncovered 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.'  Are you considering moving to a new town? Maybe your earnings just aren't up to par with the cost of living in your current city. Perhaps you're even having trouble finding a job. If so, it may be time to look at one of the cities at the top of Salary.com's Salary Value Index. The compensation experts at Salary.com uncovered the top (and bottom) US metros for building personal net worth, taking into accoun... view article details

Have you always been passionate about pursuing a career in education? There are many different roles that come with nice paychecks for you to explore in this realm. Using Salary.com data, we provided the average salaries of 10 in-demand jobs in the education space. We also provided job description summaries so you can determine if your skillset matches up: 1) High School Teacher Average salary: $59,639 What you’ll do: Prepare lesson plans, instruct adolescents, and evaluate and monitor student performance. This role requires a bachelor's degree and 2-4 years of experience in the field or in a ... view article details