If You Want a Signing Bonus, Try a Little Honesty Negotiating, in and of itself, can often be difficult and unpleasant for many. But if your financial situation is dire and you desperately need money, it becomes even more tenuous. So what do you do when a company finally shows interest, but you need upfront cash for a variety of reasons? Should you just keep quiet and thank your lucky stars you have an offer, or is it reasonable to attempt to negotiate a signing bonus? Jack Chapman, our salary negotiation expert, fields this real-life question this week and comes up with an unexpected, yet sim... 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

Every workplace--and every department--has difficult people. In the first part of this article, you met five common difficult personality types, and learned strategies and tactics for dealing with them. In this article, Part II, you'll meet five more.By the end of this article you'll know exactly what to do to neutralize even the most annoying of co-workers.The Complainer Meet Nellie Negative. Nellie constantly whines, complains, and points out the downside to every situation. Complainers distrust everyone around them, and have a knack for maligning even the best intentions o... view article details

Power, influence, status, recognition, ambition and reward -- as much as we might hate to admit it, the stuff that makes a fast-track career exciting and fun can be the very things that can also do it in. Set any negative connotations aside and face it -- office politics, and playing to win, can make all the difference. In this, the first in a two-part series, we'll examine how to position yourself for the game you'll have to play at some point, like it or not!1. Play with a purpose As with all things work related, you should ... view article details

Productivity bonuses have their roots in the days when manufacturers rewarded hourly workers for speeding up their work pace. For instance, a worker who finished rolling 100 packages of shrink-wrap would earn a productivity bonus because an increase in personal efficacy meant a greater rate of output - and more profit - for the company.No longer confined to hourly workers, productivity bonuses are now being used throughout the payscale as rewards for performance and efficiency.In a survey of 783 employees across diverse companies, 20 percent of executives said they are seeing productivity rewa... view article details

This summer, Americans were paying, on average, $4.09 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline to fuel the vehicles they rely on to get to and from work everyday. This represents an increase of $1.14 over the same time last year.Salary.com™ set out to calculate just how much the escalating cost of commuting to work is eating into the average worker's take home pay. To accomplish this, we established some reasonable criteria.The average worker travels, round-trip, 29 miles each day. Vehicle fuel economy varies, but we will assume an average fuel efficiency rate of 18.8 miles per gallon. We will... view article details

Failure to Adapt to the New Working World Will Leave You in the Unemployment Line by 2020 Times Are Changing While the year 2020 may feel futuristic, in reality it's just around the corner. Will your career be prepared to fly into orbit, or will it stall on the ground? We’re predicting 10 global trends we believe will shape the future workforce. In addition, we'll share tips and hints that help you plan for and respond to these trends. Read on to make sure you'll be considered relevant and not a relic. 10. Global Talent Seeking As countries continue to invest in emerging economies -- spec... view article details

The Only Thing Worse Than Making a Hiring Mistake Is Not Catching It In Time Getting through the hiring process can be exhausting and time-consuming. We’ve been there and we get it. You found someone with a great resume, who has most of the skills needed, and seems like he’d be a good fit with your company culture. Yet once he starts work, you notice things are…off. The harsh reality is sometimes the person you saw in the job interviews isn’t the same person who ends up working for you. Granted, it’s important to recognize the learning curve in effect and everyone deserves a fair shake. But at... view article details

Thanks to Technology, Many Jobs Will Be Fully Automated in the Near Future Going, Going, Gone You know all those movies where the robots become sentient and start to rise up against humans? Well, turns out it might not be as much hyperbole as we originally thought. Technology is advancing at lightning speed, and if it strikes people in certain professions there's a pretty good chance they could be out of a job. If you work in a profession that lends itself to potential automation, the possibility of machines doing your job faster and cheaper is a real threat. But could robots, machines, and... view article details

The Top 9 Hottest Jobs during the Pandemic Affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, businesses of all shapes and sizes are finding it difficult to operate smoothly. Many employees find themselves out of work due to social distancing and others have transitioned to a work-from-home model and are relying on technology and the internet to collaborate with colleagues and get things done. Not surprising, internet-related hot jobs are in suddenly in great demand during coronavirus outbreak. If you are looking for a new job and have the skills and knowledge needed, the time is right f... view article details