Want Help Getting a Raise?

Whether you have been working at a company for a while or are about to go on that first interview there are do's and don'ts that you need to know. After all you don't want to seem pushy but you do want what you want. So, do you really want that raise? Here's the list according to Reader' Digest.

1. Don’t lie, but don’t tell.  Do not reveal your current salary until you absolutely have to. Leave the space on the application blank or write “To be discussed in person,” Vault.com’s Jason Levin says. Say, “I’d like to focus on the opportunity here and whether it’s a good fit.”

 

2. Make them name the number first. Pam Lassiter at Freemoneyfinance.com recommends ducking when the question comes. Tell the interviewer that the pay systems at the two companies differ: “I’m sure you pay competitively. What did you have in mind?”

 

3. Be general at first.  Lee Miller, author of “Get More Money on Your Next Job…in Any Economy,” says, “The phrase to use is ‘my total compensation.’” That way, you can include upcoming raises, bonuses, 401(k) matches, and other benefits without overstating things. Lassiter suggests giving a broad range that includes all these things and then asking what the company’s own package looks like.

  4. Be specific when you’re pushed.  When their patience is flagging, tell them what they want to know, Lassiter says. Then, smiling, ask what salary and compensation they have in mind.

Do you have any tips for getting the salary you want and feel you deserve under any circumstances? Do you have any tips for people such as myself who have been out of work for a period of time and feel like there is nothing out there fitting our experience that is willing to take a chance and pay a little extra?

Game Time! (Get Involved and Have Fun)

Firstly, I would like to post something I found on the facebook profile page of one of my favorite (former) radio dj's. It made me laugh, but it explains how so many of us who are unemployed (and have been for a while) feel!

Kris Stevens I've now become a burden to society. So unless you want to keep paying my unemployment benefits, I suggest you hire me. (ok, I'm done venting)

Ok, now it's Game Time!

Let's play a game. It's called the alphabet game. We are "going to the park" and each person brings the first person, place, or thing that comes to their mind. The first person starts with A, the next B, then C, etc. When playing in real life (a great way to pass time) each person is to repeat everything said before them beginning with "I'm ...going to the park and I'm going to bring..." A, B, and C. If they forget anything they lose the game and start a new game with the letter A. 

 

A fun variation on this game is what I like to call "The Game That Never Ends" This is because it has the potential to go on forever! The first person starts with A and whatever letter that word ends in the next person begins with. This time you don't repeat everything said before you because this variation can last very long and most of the time you will repeat letters quite a few times although you still are not to repeat words. 

 

For example, I'm first and I say "I'm going to the park and I'm going to bring an apple." The next person says "I'm going to the park and I'm going to bring an elephant." The third person then must come up with a word that begins with "T."  You are absolutely aloud to look around for things beginning with that letter. It is a great help when you get deep into the game and repeat letters multiple times.
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I'll start and well play the original game so the second person with start with "B."Don't forget repeat everything said before you!

I'm going to the park and I'm going to bring an apple.

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 4)

We'd like a thank-you note right away.

E-mail is fine for this and has the advantage of arriving faster, but handwritten notes are still appreciated (and are increasingly unusual so will stand out). And if there are multiple interviews, send a thank-you note each time.

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 2)

We pay attention to the small stuff.

Frequently, I see candidates act as if only “official” contacts—like interviews and formal writing samples—count during the hiring process. They’ll send flawless cover letters and then check up on their applications with sloppily written E-mails with spelling errors. Or they’ll be charming and polite to me but rude to an assistant. I pay attention to how quickly a candidate responds to requests for writing samples and references, and even how fast he or she returns phone calls.

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 1)

We actually want you to be honest.

I see too many job applicants who approach the interview as if their only goal is to win a job offer, losing sight of the fact that this can land them in the wrong job. Think of it like dating. This means being honest about your strengths and weaknesses and giving the hiring manager a glimpse of the real you, so he or she can make an informed decision about how well you’d do in the job.
Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search, and management issues. She's also the author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Leader's Guide to Getting Results.

5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

I'm currently unemployed. Have been since just before Christmas. As of today I will start posting a series of entries that are career/job related. Hopefully, if any of you my followers/ readers are unemployed these blog entries will help in some way with your search.

5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

By Alison Green

Posted: May 24, 2010

No one likes the form letters that employers use to deliver the news that you didn't get the job: They're impersonal, they don't have any real information about why you lost out, they say you were impressive when obviously you weren't impressive enough, and so forth. How are job-seekers supposed to become better candidates when these canned letters don't give them any useful feedback?

[See 15 essentials for getting hired.]

Here are five common reasons companies use these maddeningly vague rejection letters:

1. They're afraid of being sued. Many companies are under orders from their lawyers not to get into the reasons for job rejections, in case a candidate doesn't like the explanation and decides the "real" reason must be discriminatory.

[See why job seekers should volunteer.]

2. They don't want to deal with candidates who get angry and try to debate the decision. Everyone who does hiring has stories about rejected candidates who wouldn't stop arguing the decision, and some who got so angry that they were scary.

3. The reason you were rejected is an awkward one. It's one thing to explain that you needed stronger writing skills or more bookkeeping experience. But most people don't want to have to explain that you seemed like a jerk, or crazy, or not very bright.

[See 5 lame but common interview answers.]

4. They don't have time. Offering up thoughtful feedback to every rejected candidate could be a job unto itself, and ultimately that's not what hiring staffers are there for.

5. They did tell you the reason and you don't believe them. A lot of times "you were really great, but someone else was a better fit," is just the truth.

All that said, you have nothing to lose by writing back and asking for feedback after you get that vague rejection E-mail. If you do it well (politely, non-defensively) and you have an interviewer who wants to help, you just may get some helpful advice.

UPDATES

1) i received my sync cord in the mail and installed the "optional" software that most did not have but was actually needed! I hope to either tomorrow (after babysitting) or saturday to begin uploading all the photos from on my phone :-) then update that cookie blog entry! :-) :-)

2) Regarding yesterday's 1st blog entry from Mashable:

HPOA Jenny Was a Fake!

Yesterday, we fell in love with “Jenny,” a young woman who quit her job through a series of amusing whiteboard messages. Alas, this one was too good to be true. “Jenny” is really Elyse Porterfield, an aspiring actress from Glendale, California.

The prank was created by brothers John and Leo Resig for their humor site, theCHIVE.com. Peter Kafka from AllThingsD grew suspicious of the story yesterday and did some digging. Porterfield has also tweeted confirmation of her role in the stunt.

A word from Jenny (16 Photos)

Author: John

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We couldn’t have pulled this one off without the help of this adorable young woman. You’ll see in the coming days she’s as smart as she is sexy. Leo and I will now return to our bottles of Jim Beam and enjoy the rest of this wild ride…

Chive On,
John

Woman Publicly Outs Boss for Playing "FarmVille" at Work

As posted on MASHABLE

August 10, 2010 by Lauren Indvik

 

Yesterday morning, a woman named Jenny announced that she was quitting her job through a series of messages written on dry erase boards, which she photographed and e-mailed out to her entire office of roughly 20 employees. Those photos — and a wildly amusing supposed backstory — have since found their way to the Internet.

The boards reveal that Jenny overheard a phone conversation in which her boss called her a “HOPA” (Hot Piece of Ass), effectively inspiring her to leave — and to take revenge via the dry erase board messages. But Jenny decided to take things a step further by disclosing not only her boss’s misconduct, but also how he spends his time online, since he both monitors his employees’ online activity and gave her access to the monitoring software.

The boards reveal exactly how much time Jenny’s boss spent trading stocks, reading tech news and, yes, playing FarmVille. It looks like Bulgarian city councilman Dimitar Kerin won’t be the last employee to get canned because of his FarmVille addiction.

We’ve reached out to confirm the authenticity of the backstory (which, could just be a well-orchestrated but nonetheless funny prank), which originally appeared on theCHIVE, but you can enjoy the full comedy in the gallery below:

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