Why You Should Bank on Taking It to the Bank When asking for a raise or promotion, many people ask the wrong way and ask for the wrong reasons.The wrong way to ask is to walk into your boss’ office and beg for a raise, demand a raise, or give an ultimatum. The wrong reasons to justify an increase are excuses like you need the money for rent, you heard that a friend of yours makes more than you, or you want to buy that new Jaguar convertible you saw on TV.In fact, if you’re like many Americans, even if you get that raise, you’ve already spent the additional money before it even clears ... view article details

Don't Be Short-Sighted Life in 2013 moves fast. Some would say too fast. Our tweets are only 140 characters, social videos on Vine max out at 6 seconds, and we’d all like to get six-pack abs in just a few minutes. What surprises some job-seekers when they learn about salary negotiation, is that sometimes the entire conversation around your future compensation is wrapped up in just a few short minutes, but can have a lasting impact for years to come.If you’re not prepared, it can fly by in an instant. If you don’t have the right approach, you leave money on the table.Here are two cruci... view article details

How was your day at work today?Odds are, it was pretty routine. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading this on a Monday or Tuesday or Friday, chances are that you did mostly the same thing… answered a bunch of emails (that looked like the same emails you answered last week), went to some meetings, talked to your boss about that project, and maybe met with some clients. Routine.The problem with having a hamster-wheel routine, is that you look back in a few months or a few years and find that you’re stuck doing the same exact thing every single day.However, if you ask a mentor or an older professio... view article details

Networking is Essential Industry conferences offer outstanding opportunities for networking. They’re ideal places to meet new people, catch up with those you already know and -- if you plan it right -- introduce yourself to your next employer. But that's easier said than done, especially if you're new to the conference scene or you've never been taught any networking skills. But whether you're an extrovert who fits naturally into any situation or someone who has a hard time meeting and talking to new people, networking is a necessary skill if you're looking to get ahead.With that in m... view article details

Is your paycheck not stretching far enough? Are you considering moving to a new town? 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 cities for building personal net worth, taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average. This year's list also factored in qualitative measures including diversity of industry, education level of the cities' population, proximity to post s... view article details

Competition is Fierce As you progress throughout your career, may you have the good fortune of consistently being the unanimous, nobody-else-comes-close, top candidate for every job that you apply for. Perhaps it’s because your talent and expertise is undeniable. Maybe friends or old co-workers continually reach out to you to join them in their latest venture. Some of you might wisely take the path of least resistance by seeking out jobs through referrals so that you don’t have to compete with the masses.For everyone else, you're probably facing a very competitive job market. Let’s fa... view article details

A few years ago, the Internal Revenue Service challenged the tax deductions a college professor took for losses he reported in his business as a book author.'They came in and said, 'OK, prove to us it's a business,'' recalled Joseph Newpol, a certified public accountant and tax attorney who advised the professor on how to deal with the IRS's scrutiny.'We showed them the history of his book writing activity and demonstrated that he didn't have income for several years,' recalled Newpol, who is also a professor in the tax and personal financial planning department at Bentley College in Waltham, ... view article details

Everything -- Including Work Friendships -- In Moderation Some people say you shouldn’t be friends with anyone at work. Others say being extremely close with coworkers is necessary because it increases employee satisfaction and productivity. But why can’t there be a middle ground?When you spend 40+ hours a week with the same people over the course of several years, chances are you’re going to bond with a few of them. And that’s a good thing in our book – in moderation. Let’s face it, the American workplace is a competitive environment and that can be toxic for friendships. You’re ther... view article details

Which Coworkers are the Most Annoying? Coworkers. Good ones can be the reason you stay at a job, while horrible colleagues can make every day in the office a living hell from which you’d like nothing more than to escape.If you’ve spent a few years in the ranks of the working class, you’ve no doubt experienced a cornucopia of annoying coworkers. But have you ever wondered which ones are the worst of the bunch? We did, and so I drew on my own experiences and polled other Salary.com workers to come up with the nine most annoying types of coworkers on the planet.See if you recognize anyon... view article details

The entire job interview process is a bit of a crapshoot. There. I said it.From the endless networking and formal application process to interviewing with multiple people and negotiating your salary, there are a lot of things we’re told we “should do.” The problem is, if you don’t end up getting the job, you usually have no idea why.Did I lack the proper experience?Was my outfit too formal or too casual?Did I confuse the third interviewer with my Google Android analogy?Did I have a rogue piece of salad stuck in my teeth from lunch?Did I just get beat out by a better candidate?It’s an environme... view article details