One of the most important and generous benefits a company can offer is tuition reimbursement, a contractual arrangement between employer and employee that outlines specific terms under which the employer may pay for the employee's continuing education. Today, tuition reimbursement benefits are also called tuition assistance, and vary greatly from company to company. It generally takes a solid, well-established company to be able to offer what could amount to $10,000 per semester or more for eligible employees. So don't look for too many startups to include tuition assistance as a regular part... view article details

Comedian John Ramsey has a humorous bit where he complains, “I’m tired of being treated as a second class citizen because I believe in unicorns. I don’t understand why unicorns are so magical, it’s just a horse with a horn. A seahorse exists and that’s 50% fish, 50% horse! I’m just talking about something that is 99% horse, 1% cooler horse.”In the working world (often at startups), there is some debate about whether unicorn employees exist and how much time you should spend looking for them when hiring. A unicorn employee has been described as an “A Player,” a natural leader that is highly ski... view article details

While conducting my full time job search during a down economy immediately after graduating from college, I took a part time job working at a Staples office supply store to earn some extra spending money. It was there that my older co-worker Steve gave me some interesting career advice.As we closed down for the night on a Wednesday, we talked about our weekend plans. I told him that I was a little bummed out that my friends were all getting together on Friday night, but that I had to work, and then I was working again all day Sunday and wouldn’t get to watch football. Meanwhile, he said that h... view article details

Be an Ant, Not a Grasshopper*  Most people know they should invest for the future, but at least half would like to do better. In a Salary.com poll about investments in the company retirement plan, 44 percent of respondents said they contribute, but could do better; 13 percent know they should invest, but have other priorities; and 41 percent said they contribute the maximum. Just 3 percent reported not having a retirement plan. If you're gainfully employed and reasonably satisfied with your career, there are few good excuses for not taking advantage of this benefit. If you've got access to a c... view article details

Salary Negotiation Email Can Help You Get A Raise- Just Ask Rebecca! The Importance of an Email People send a lot of emails. In fact, the Radicati Group noted that nearly 269 billion emails are sent every single day. However, another study showed that only 14% of work emails are "important". So when is an email important enough that it’s worth $11,000? Answer: When it’s a well-crafted counter-offer to a job offer. Let’s take a look at three common questions job-seekers have. Should I Negotiate My Salary? There are dozens of reasons why people don’t indulge in salary negotiation, such as: They... view article details

From CNN Money and the compensation experts at Salary.com MONEY Magazine and Salary.com have unveiled an exclusive list of the 50 Best Jobs in America. MONEY and Salary.com started by analyzing government and private data on industry growth and compensation levels. But in an improving employment market in which workers are looking for more than just a paycheck, MONEY and Salary.com dug deeper, surveying 26,000 workers about their job satisfaction and grading careers based on factors such as stress level, flexibility, creativity and ease of entry into and advancement within the field. These ca... view article details

To Apply or Not to Apply... Have you ever been combing the online job boards and stopped dead in your tracks when you run across the perfect job? It’s in your field for a company you’d love to join doing the work you’ve been hoping to get into.But then you scroll down and your enthusiasm dampens.The 4-page job description starts listing some skills you don’t have. Or it asks for 10 years of experience and you’ve only got five. Soon you find yourself on that all-too-familiar fence of “should I apply or not,” and you’re not sure if you should even bother getting your hopes up. So, what’... view article details

It's mom appreciation time Of course there's no putting a value on the myriad responsibilities in a mom's day. Between all the listening, teaching, cleaning, cooking, driving, fixing, loving and lecturing she does on any given day, every mom is absolutely priceless.That said, it is nice to know one's worth, and we're not talking in messy kisses, macaroni necklaces, dandelion bouquets or Popsicle stick frames. We're talking in cold, hard cash.You might be surprised at what moms would be making if they received a paycheck every week.For all you do, this survey's for you At Sala... view article details

You’re probably in a fantasy football league. If your league is really competitive, you’ve probably spent a lot of time researching the best players for your team by buying magazines, studying depth charts, analyzing position rankings, or soliciting advice from experts on Twitter.If all this is true, you’ve probably heard of Dave Richard.As the Senior Fantasy Writer for CBSSports.com, Dave has a job most sports fans and stat-obsessed fantasy football geeks envy---he gets paid to watch professional football and then discuss it. Dave is paid to pick out the best players in the NFL and estimate h... view article details

Dear Annette,What is the best way for a new employee to remember the other employees' names? I will be starting a new job in a few weeks as the payroll manager so, of course, I have to get names down very quickly. I sometimes have a problem remembering names. Help! Guess WhoDear Guess Who,It's the sheer volume of people waiting inside the theater, not lack of confidence in the film, that makes a movie star's stomach flutter on the way to her premier.And so it is with a new job. You arrive, walk into the office, and notice that every coworker you meet has a nickname, first name, last name; some... view article details