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

Discover How to Be the American Express for Visas During the last eight years, James Sheldon* has served his Uncle Sam in Athens, Tokyo, and the Sinai Desert. And he did not even have to go through basic training. Sheldon was working as a foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State. Foreign service officers are America's diplomacy corps. They typically are generalists who perform a multitude of duties across the globe - issuing visas, protecting U.S. citizens overseas, accompanying foreign officials, reporting on diplomatic issues, and conducting press conferences for ambassado... view article details

Reaping the Benefits Every morning Jay Fox wakes up at 4:30 to tend his 20-acre farm. Cleaning chicken coops, tilling fields, and hand-weeding three large gardens can't wait for the sunrise. There's no snooze button and hardly any sick or vacation days when it comes to working with nature. "It's all seasonal work. What you do on the farm depends on the season," said Fox. "You can be doing anything from spreading manure to weeding a garden to baling hay depending on the time of the year." Although Fox works long hours practically every day, he gets to enjoy the many perks of tilling the beautif... view article details

Spin Doctor The flight leaves in an hour. One journalist is on the line while another is on hold. Red-eyed from lack of sleep, you put your reading glasses back on as an aide hands you the results of the latest poll. It's the life of communications consultant Michael Goldman, who has advised many of the Democratic presidential candidates of the last few decades. After years of serving politicians including Pres. Clinton, Sen. Bill Bradley, and Sen. Ted Kennedy, Goldman is rarely starstruck. Ironically, it's heroes from earlier in life who have provided Goldman the rare thrill on meeting for t... view article details

Job description Engineers research and develop solutions to technical needs in society. They design products, materials, machinery, factories, systems, structures, and much more. Their main work lies in ensuring efficiency, and working to constantly improve the quality of all aspects of life. They also analyze the impact their projects have had on the environment and society. Most engineers specialize in a certain area, there are more than 25 specialties recognized by professional engineering societies and each area has many divisions. Engineers will also sometimes choose to specialize in a s... view article details

It is perhaps the most popular New Year's resolution, right up there with losing weight, quitting smoking and going back to school. And right now your current employees are attempting to upgrade to greener pasture. As the calendar turns to a new year, many people set their sights on job-hunting. But why? We've compiled a list of reasons for leaving a job below. A recent Salary.com survey, taken by more than 2,400 people, sheds some light on why employees leave and who will be job searching this January and why. See what you're up against as an employer and use this information to understand ... view article details

For a lot of us, filing taxes is only slightly more fun than having a fender bender, and not quite as exciting as a major dental procedure. No wonder we put off wrestling with the 1040 form.But even at this late date, there's plenty of help out there to get your tax return filed correctly, and on time--whether you have a professional prepare it or do it yourself.1. Don't rush 'Do not compromise the tax return by rushing to get it completed,' says Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, based in Parsippany, N. J. 'A lot of people do this -- and they leave money on... view article details

Workplace Flexibility is Increasingly Important Flexibility rated as one of the top perks people look for in a job. Whether you're a parent looking for a better work/life balance, or simply someone who wants to cut down on commuting time and costs, more and more jobseekers are actively seeking out workplace flexibility.Here’s a primer of the three most common forms of workplace flexibility that can help you balance family and life demands with your career.3. Compressed Work Weeks Compressed work weeks involve working longer hours each work day, but then earning extra days off... view article details

Do You Have a Blueprint for Job Search Success? Like a brand-new day, 2015 is peeping over the horizon, promising changes to come. Now’s a great time to pause in your job search, set new goals, and find ways to keep established goals fresh as you map out where you want your career to go in the new year.Question: do you have a 2015 career blueprint? And why would you need one, anyway? Well, working without a job-search plan can set you up for a lot of frustration and can stall forward motion in your career. Instead of losing ground trying to figure things out willy-nilly, pause now and... view article details

How do you promote yourself while adding value to others? How can you do so successfully across generations?I just had the pleasure of chatting on Twitter with personal branding guru Dan Schawbel, bestselling author and managing partner of Millennial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm. Schawbel and I tweeted about what he describes as “the new rules in the new workplace” in his latest book.Check out what he says about taking your career into your own hands, differentiating yourself, and targeting your audience.(In case you don't use Twitter, the @ symbol before our names is just th... view article details