Before You Relocate, Pick the Strategy That Makes Sense for You On a cold January day many years ago, Eric was visiting his parents and sat down for a nice Sunday night dinner. He had an announcement. After living his entire life on the east coast, he declared that he wanted to find a new job in a different part of the country. By the end of the summer, he wanted to live in one of his target cities: Seattle, San Francisco, or Austin. His parents, who had always been supportive, listened intently. His mom chimed in, “That sounds exciting. When you get a job offer, make sure you negotiate for... view article details

It might not be fair, but the way you look plays a part in how much you’re paid. Looks Do Matter Discriminating against people based on their physical appearance is wrong -- both morally, and in many cases, legally speaking. The way you look usually has no bearing on how you’ll perform in your job, and in a perfect world everyone would be judged solely on his/her merits. But the harsh reality is this isn't a perfect world, and discrimination -- whether intentional or inadvertent -- still plays a role in the workplace. And while it should never be condoned, job seekers and employees need to be ... view article details

It's All in How You Present Yourself First impressions aren't everything, but...well, sometimes they are everything.Hiring managers might not ever admit it publicly, but first impressions often help drive hiring decisions to a large degree. In a new survey from CareerBuilder, employers opened up about job interviews -- specifically how bad body language negatively influences their decision on moving forward in the interview process. According to the nationwide survey which polled more than 2,100 hiring and human resource managers, nearly half -- 49% -- of employers know within the fir... view article details

Is Your Boss Actually Terrible? Everyone thinks they have a terrible boss, but how do you know if it's actually true.Do you like your job and company but dread your boss? Are you constantly taking the fall for your boss because of decisions you didn't even make? Do all of your coworkers agree with you regarding your assessment of your supervisor? Or could it be YOU who is the problem, not your boss?It's important to determine because most people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses. So if you can pinpoint your boss as the cause of the majority of your distress -- especially during the jo... view article details

Here's Everything Your Assistant Wants to Tell You But Can't Administrative assistants (aka executive assistants, or secretaries if you're stuck in the Mad Men days) are essential for any successful business to run properly. They epitomize the phrase 'in the trenches' because they're the ones getting their hands dirty by doing all the things that need to be done that no one else can do quickly and efficiently. All the creative planning and brainstorming is great, but it's the administrative professionals who turn pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams into reality.But because they're so reliable ... view article details

Going to work can be stressful enough on its own. But throw in the stock market's rollercoaster ride of late and you have a host of people ripping their hair out and getting closer and closer to the proverbial ledge. Whether you work on Wall Street or you're agonizingly watching the value of your investments ebb and flow with each shift in the market, there is no escaping the fact that this is a period of tremendous stress and uncertainty.Even if you're not on Wall Street and you don't have a portfolio to worry about, work stress affects nearly all of us. So how do we deal with it... 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

A pay philosophy is a company's commitment to how it values employees. A consistent pay philosophy gives the company and the employee a frame of reference when discussing salary in a negotiation.The goal of a pay philosophy is to attract, retain, and motivate employees. For companies in the private sector, this usually requires a competitive pay philosophy. For companies in the public sector, this means a well-rounded philosophy, with a focus on benefits and work life.Companies attract, motivate, and retain through total compensationThe purpose of a good compensation philosophy is to attract, ... view article details

Men and Women, Work and Life As we enter the time of year between Mother's Day and Father's Day, Americans also find themselves caught in the middle of shifting norms when it comes to gender, work, and life.Men still earn more money than women, but more women than men are graduating with college degrees. The last few years have seen vastly more men laid off from their jobs due to the economy, while more women than ever before are entering the workforce. On the homefront, stay-at-home parenting duties are no longer strictly relegated to women. The number of stay-at-home dads is rising ... 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