A company's pay structure is the method of administering its pay philosophy. The two leading types of pay structures are the internal equity method, which uses a tightly constructed grid to ensure that each job is compensated according to the jobs above and below it in a hierarchy, and market pricing, where each job in an organization is tied to the prevailing market rate.A company needs job descriptions for all its positions so that people know where they fall within the organization. A pay structure helps answer questions about who's who, what each person's role is, and why people are compen... view article details

Your bedroom closet redo might have happened during a last-minute quest for clothing donations at tax time. But now it's easier to get dressed for work and less likely that you will grab the navy blue jacket to wear with your black pants.Hold that thought. Mull it over as you sip your coffee, chiding the driving faux pas of your fellow commuters. Could this spring cleaning moment have other applications? What if you were to clean and organize your workspace? Here are some de-clutter tips that might just get you promoted. Or at least help you find your daily planner. Do a drive by Chec... view article details

Just like an interview, a job offer can tell you a great deal about a potential employer. An offer can reveal how serious the employer is about the offer, how valuable you are to the company, and most importantly, whether you should make the move.You'd be wise to think over an offer carefully and negotiate if necessary. Your goal is to make sure the compensation and benefits in your job offer exceed or at least meet your current status.Jobs are customarily offered over the telephone or in person. The employer should offer more than just, 'Congratulations, you've got the job.' He or she should ... view article details

You Bought the Compensation Analysis, Make Sure You Understand It It is important to understand the terminology used to express the statistics presented in compensation analyses. The terminology used expresses both the nature of an employee's pay and where the levels of pay fit within the continuum of the employee's peer group. Making the most of your answers can involve any of the following: Interpreting Your Answers Base(Base pay) The fixed portion of compensation paid for an employee's fulfillment of a job's essential functions. Base pay does not include differentials, premiu... view article details

Politics in the Office is Inevitable In a perfect world, this article wouldn't have to be written. When it comes to politics, reasonable people would agree to disagree, cast their ballots in private without fanfare, and then go back to office small talk. But during this election season in the most politically divisive time in recent memory, that's just not in the cards. So the question isn't whether or not people should talk politics at work, but how to survive talk of the election during office hours.It's hard to escape politics these days. As Election Day nears, the political ads ar... view article details

Sometimes It's Not Them -- It's You We all have friends (or maybe YOU are the friend and just don’t realize it) who have been job-hunting for what seems like an eternity. They look through the help wanted ads, scour job boards and go on their fair share of interviews, each time thinking they 'nailed it.' But their optimism is soon broken by the hammer blow of rejection, and they’re still unemployed.Which begs the question, why?There are a thousand different potential reasons. Some are valid, others arbitrary. But even though employers will likely never reveal the true reasons behind t... view article details

Grinding Out the Daily Grind It is the solid white line between work and the rest of your life. The daily two-part trek that either bookends your workday with orderly support or allows it to spill outside of its designated boundaries. Your commute. The most public personal time of your day with equal opportunities for audio inspiration and visual horror, depending on how often you pass random self-groomers and texters in the slow lane. Will you arrive at work primed for your 9AM, or deafened by the nonstop chatter of a ride share pal? Will the PM drive be an easy segue into home life ... view article details

By Jane Lee Monday March 7, 2011 'Both fortune and love befriend the bold.'Ovid's words ring as true as they did 2,000 years ago. So do Shakespeare's: 'Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises.'And there, as they say, lies the rub. It's easy to take a risk when you have nothing to lose, but when the dream depends on betting your bank account, your fame, or even your very life, even the proudest thrill seekers can succumb to caution's warm embrace. Ronald Heifetz, leadership expert and professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, likes to say ... view article details

Paul Levy and Farzana Mohamed have written a book to help new arrivals to the job marketplace, college students and others who have been offered a position but are not quite sure how to negotiate the terms of their job with their new prospective employer. They start their book, How to Negotiate Your First Job, with this story:Karim, soon to be a college graduate, was stunned into inaction, paralyzed by an unforeseen opportunity. In the midst of a recession, with an unemployment rate topping 9 percent, he had been offered a job.The e-commerce company at which he had just spent the summer as a s... view article details

Brace Yourselves...Career Advice is Coming Most people watch HBO's Game of Thrones for the rich characters, swordplay, and to see how the warring factions will end up determining who is the rightful King of Westeros. After all, George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world is a complex and intricate realm of love, deceit, backstabbing, and wonder that captures the imagination of millions.But if you look closely, there is some legitimate career lessons in the show that can be applied to the real world.From King Robert’s laziness to the perils of working for a bad boss (I’m looking at you Joffrey)... view article details