The Cities With The Highest Wages

Posted on February 6, 2012 by E. James

The jobs trends website payscale.com just released their list of the cities with the highest wage increases in the fourth quarter of 2011. Here are the cities that topped the list:

1. Houston, Texas. Houston led the list, with a 2.2% increase in wages throughout Q4 of 2011. Houston has now returned to the heights of 2008, its pre-recession levels. Houston has a wide variety of industries, but the one that has contributed the most to the wage increase is the booming oil and gas industries. However, Houston has more than oil to offer. As the largest city in Texas, it also has strong aeronautics and health industry offerings. In addition to wage increases, the Houston job market added 75,800 new jobs over the course of 2011. Unemployment in Houston is 7.3 percent, which is below the national average.

2. Miami, Florida. Miami saw a wage increase of about 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Despite high unemployment in Florida, Miami has seen job growth in computer and IT sectors, and in the logging industry.

3. Chicago, Illinois. These two cities tied at about 1.7% wage increase in the fourth quarter. Although both cities were hit hard by the recession, they have shown significant wage increases in recent months.

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Common Myths About Starting Your Own Business (Part 2)

Posted on February 5, 2012 by E. James

I could never learn all the skills it takes to run a business. The truth is actually somewhere between “Yes, you can,” and “You actually don’t have to.” The reality is that online trainings are often free or extremely affordable, and you can learn almost any skill on your computer, iPod, or TV these days. Additionally, there are many time-consuming tasks such as bookkeeping and tax preparation that can be accomplished either by hiring a local expert (or “outsourcing” the work you trust to a site like guru.com or elance.com) or by purchasing special software to assist you. These arrangements must be factored into your initial budget, but they will pay off very quickly by saving you time to focus on the skills you are best at.

Self-employment puts you at a greater risk of being put out of business. The truth is that running your own business is a much more flexible position than being an employee. As a business owner, you are in control of how your work interfaces with larger market forces, allowing you to diversify. As an employee, you are generally paid to do one job and one job only, and when that job is no longer needed, you can quickly find yourself becoming expendable. Once your business is up and running, you can add to it whenever and however you choose. Entrepreneurialism is, by its very nature, a more versatile enterprise than other forms of employment.

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Common Myths About Starting Your Own Business (Part 1)

Posted on February 4, 2012 by E. James

Starting your own business makes you more vulnerable financially. When you have a steady job with a regular paycheck, it’s tempting to thinking that the entrepreneurial route is much riskier. While there is a certain amount of truth in this, the brutal facts of today’s economy is that no employee is 100% secure in a salaried position. Even high-level executives are only a “you’re fired” away from having to look elsewhere. As an entrepreneur, you do assume more risk, but you also assume a much greater amount of control, so much that it often puts you in a more secure position than working as an employee. Also, being the head of your own company allows you to move the company’s money around, meaning that you can grow your business during the good times and shift more revenue into salaries during lean times, a luxury that employees never have.

Starting your own business is prohibitively expensive. Although it’s certainly true that some large enterprises require enormous amounts of start-up funding, an often overlooked fact is that many others do not. In today’s internet age, starting a company costs about $10/year to register a domain name and about $100/year for basic hosting services. From there, you can build using your initial revenue, not your investor’s pocketbook. This model works especially well for blogs and information-based products that have no overhead such as printing, manufacturing, or shipping. You can begin selling your knowledge as an eBook or blog post today, using advertising or paid subscriptions for revenue, and then use your revenue to print physical books down the road to sell on your store, so to speak. You can even add Amazon products to your store via the Amazon affiliate program, and start making money immediately for selling other people’s products.

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Why You’re Not Getting That Job (Part 2)

Posted on February 3, 2012 by E. James

CNN recently offered a special report on small mistakes that can lead to big losses in your job search. Here is a selected review inspired by their most helpful tips:

4. Are you focusing on the company, or on yourself? Address your cover letter to your prospective employer by focusing on what the company needs and how you can offer it. Many applicants make the mistake of focusing on themselves and what they stand to gain. As in any relationship, coming off narcissistic can be a deal breaker.

5. Are you tracking your own accomplishments? In order to stay successful throughout your career, you must think ahead by keeping your resume well-maintained and up-to-date. Each time you receive an award or commendation, be sure to add it quickly and thoroughly to your resume. Otherwise, it can be very difficult to remember all your accomplishments down the road.

6. Professional contact information. Make sure you give your prospective employer the most accessible and professional way to reach you. Have a professional email address and a clear, professional voicemail outgoing message. Whatever you do, do not give out your phone number at your current place of employment. That shows that you are taking paid time out of your current job to look for work, which is very unprofessional.

7. Asking questions. When an interviewer gives you an opportunity to ask questions, take advantage of it. Saying you don’t have any questions about your potential job communicates a lack of interest. Your interview should not come off as disinterested or perfunctory. Make sure your interviewer sees how engaged you are and how much you care.

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Why You’re Not Getting That Job (Part 1)

Posted on February 2, 2012 by E. James

CNN recently offered a special report on small mistakes that can lead to big losses in your job search. Here is a selected review inspired by their most helpful tips:

1. Proofread for typos! Rarely is your cost to benefit ratio so steep as it is when proofreading for typos. It only takes a second to create a typographical error, and only a minute to identify and correct it, but if you leave typos and misspellings in your professional documents, the effects can last a lifetime. Your cover letter and resume are the portal through which potential employees get to know you. Typos are the fastest way to close a door, even before it fully opens.

2. Presentation. Most companies make their policies regarding dress code and professional presentation very clear. If you want to seal the deal, you need to look like you already work for you prospective employer. You interviewer is trying to imagine you in the job you’re applying for, and you need to make his or her job easier by looking like you’ve already got it. Similarly, give the same amount of attention to your documents that you give to your dress and coiffure. High-quality resume paper and professional-looking formatting don’t require a lot of extra time and money, but they can pay off big.

3. Speaking badly about a former boss. This advice applies to business as much as it does to dating. Just like speaking badly about an ex on a first date can be off-putting (“Is that how he/she is going to talk about me if we break up?” your date is probably thinking), badmouthing a previous employer can leave your interviewer wondering how you will represent their company if and when you leave.

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The Ins And Outs Of Dating Your Coworkers

Posted on February 1, 2012 by J. L. Eisenberg

romantic office place While most people warn to avoid dating your co-workers like the plague, a recent survey from Glamour shows that almost 41% of Americans have been involved in some sort of romantic relationship with a co-worker. This high number is understandable – after spending so much time with your co-workers, it’s only natural that you find you have a lot in common.

If you find that you’ve hopelessly fallen for one of your co-workers, it’s possible to make a relationship work out. So long as your love interest works at the same level as you (aka no supervisors or underlings), it’s legal for you to date. Although it may be difficult to disguise your relationship in the office place, it’s important to draw a sharp line between your life in the office and your life outside of it. Not only will this prevent other co-workers from gossiping, it will make things easier should you break up.

If your paramour is a supervisor or an underling on the other hand, it’s a whole different story. Many company codes prohibit dating somebody at a lower or higher level than you because it creates a conflict of interest. Even if you don’t think you’re giving preferential treatment to your significant other, other workers may take it that way and become disgruntled. Another problem commonly run in to is the risk of sexual harassment claims – if the couple breaks up, the underling may claim sexual harassment regardless of its veracity. Since there’s no way to prove that your significant other didn’t just succumb to your advances in order to keep his or her job, cases such as these usually end with the underling walking away with a huge chunk of money, not to mention your professional reputation.

If you’re determined to date a co-worker, you need to be absolutely sure that you can both keep your professionalism around each other regardless of your personal situation. Ideally, it will lead to a healthy, long-term relationship. Be sure to confirm that this is the end goal for the both of you before putting yourself in a situation that could easily damage your professional life.

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The Dangers Of Overdependence

Posted on January 31, 2012 by J. L. Eisenberg

Older worker mentoring younger worker Within an office environment, there are many types of relationships. There are the bosses that you can barely stand to sit through a meeting with, and those whom you don’t know what you would do without. If you’re particularly close to one of your superiors, stop and consider whether he or she is a mentor or a crutch. A mentor is somebody who will help you to succeed based on your own merits; whereas a crutch tries to help you by taking care of things that you feel unconfident about. If you find that you have a friend who you go to for help with every little problem, you may be hurting your career by your overdependence.

If you think you’re overdependant on one of your co-workers but don’t want to hurt his or her feelings by pulling away from their offers of help, try weaning yourself away slowly. Pick one of your current projects and stop asking your friend for advice with it. If you find yourself truly stuck, reach out to somebody else in the office. In this way, you can discuss less and less work-related issues with him or her and instead focus on your outside-of-work friendship.

If your crutch notices you pulling away from his or her work-related assistance, explain that you feel like you’re ready to try projects on your own, thanks to his or her previous guidance. Be sure to make it explicit that you’re very grateful for his or her help – you don’t want him or her to think that you’re pulling away out of malice.

Once you liberate yourself from your dependence on a crutch, you may find that your job suddenly gets a lot harder. It may be difficult at first, but if you hope to continue advancing your career, you need to prove that you can excel at the job you’ve got without any support, for there’s certain to be even less the higher up you go.

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Working While Pregnant

Posted on January 30, 2012 by J. L. Eisenberg

Pregnant woman smiling If you’ve been trying to have a child, finding out that you’re pregnant is a great feeling. Unluckily, it may provoke some less-than-ecstatic feelings in your co-workers. Whether they assume that you’ll turn in to a weepy bundle of pregnancy stereotypes or are worried about having to cover for you during attacks of morning sickness, it’s important to manage your pregnancy such as not to put any undue burden on your co-workers and boss.

If your wishes and health allows you to continue working through the majority of your pregnancy, do your homework on the options available to you. Go over the company’s maternity leave policy and decide when you want to leave and return in advance – this way you can time your departure to create the smallest possible ripple as well as give your boss plenty of time to find and train a replacement.

While you’re still working, you must make it absolutely clear how large and how challenging you expect your assignments to be. If you find yourself struggling with your regular job, ask your boss if you can temporarily transfer to a less challenging position. She or he would rather have you doing well in a lower position than putting out shoddy work in your current one. If you feel that you can perform as well as ever despite your pregnancy, make sure your boss and co-workers know that you don’t expect to be treated any differently. Although you may think this should go without saying, many people will subconsciously treat you as though you’re less competent unless you make it clear that your pregnancy will not affect your performance at work.

When you’re ready to have your baby, the right preparations can ensure that you will be able to relax and enjoy this time without worrying about how it will affect your prospects at work. Enjoy it!

Turning Your Review Into A Raise

Posted on January 29, 2012 by J. L. Eisenberg

raise in pay It’s been a productive 2011 for you, and your performance review was all congratulations and slaps on the back. But did you come out of that office with a promotion, bonus, or raise? If not any of the above, here’s how to turn those congratulations to cold hard cash.

Before you walk in to your boss’s office, make a list of all new things you would like to take on in the new year. Don’t be afraid to be ambitious – if you see a project that needs a new manager, write it down and be prepared to explain how your 2011 performance qualifies you for the job. If there are no openings that you can see, pick a couple areas of interest and come up with some projects that you could spearhead on your own.

When you ask for your promotion, raise, or bonus, don’t use your 2011 performance as justification. The raise should not be a reward for good behavior, but compensation for the additional work you will take on in 2012 that your work in 2011 has qualified you for. And don’t be afraid to ask – once you’ve secured some additional responsibility in the office, it will feel natural to ask for your compensation to be raised to reflect your additional duties.

If your office is strapped for cash or otherwise can’t offer you any additional monetary compensation, don’t drop your bargaining chip entirely. Suggest that instead of money the company could offer you more vacation days or a bigger office. Whatever you do, don’t let your employer increase your workload without some type of compensation. Being seen as a pushover will set a negative precedent for raises or bonuses to come.

Even if you don’t leave the meeting with a new nameplate and the corner office, don’t be discouraged. Whatever new responsibilities you have been assigned will give you a great way to further your case for a promotion in 2013.

What We Can Learn From Margaret Thatcher

Posted on January 28, 2012 by J. L. Eisenberg

parliament house, London If you haven’t already seen it, The Iron Lady, a film about the life of Margaret Thatcher, came out in theaters at the end of December. The biopic tells the story of her life from young adulthood to her eventual decline into dementia. Margaret Thatcher’s transformation from a young idealist into one of the most powerful figures of the 20^th century is an example that many working women today continue to emulate.

When Mrs. Thatcher decided to run for leader of the conservative party, her advisers changed everything about her except her pearls – from her manner of speaking to her dress and the way she carried herself – to more closely resemble that of a man.

While Mrs. Thatcher did what she had to do to get elected in the male-dominated political system of the time, is it healthy that so many women continue to follow her power-suited example?

Margaret Thatcher was able to take power of a masculine political world by becoming more masculine herself, under the guise of sounding and appearing more “powerful.” Power on its own is not a gendered word, yet many insist on treating it as such. For women on their way up the corporate ladder, The Iron Lady is a good reminder of the dangers of accepting a masculine definition of the word. Mrs. Thatcher always wore her pearls and carried her handbag, reminding women everywhere of the power of a feminine touch. In today’s world, women may carry their femininity in to the office place by more than just a string of pearls, and, like Margaret Thatcher, change the paradigm of what it means to be a powerful woman.