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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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.

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Promotions

Posted on January 25, 2012 by J. L. Eisenberg

Road to Success As the new year dawns, promotions season kicks in. Companies who are evaluating and revamping their yearly goals are likely to move personnel around to fulfill new needs, thus opening up spots for promotions. If you’re just sitting in your cubicle watching everyone around you pack their things for the corner office, it’s clear that something’s wrong. Here are a few possible reasons that you haven’t gotten that promotion yet, and what you need to do to break the rut.

The number one thing to ask yourself is whether or not your boss knows you want a promotion. Although you may think it’s obvious that you don’t want to be sitting around in your tiny cubicle for the rest of your life, your boss will assume you’re happy where you are unless you tell him or her about your ambitions. Now is a good time to bring this up with your boss if you haven’t yet – with all the goal-setting going on, getting you on a management track is just one more thing to add to the mix.

If you have managerial ambitions, be sure to make them clear to your boss before you start telling your co-workers about them. If everyone but your boss knows that you’re applying for the new position that just opened up, it can make you seem overconfident. Your boss is the best resource you have when it comes to getting a promotion – make sure you take advantage or his or her suggestions and advice.

Finally, don’t try to start doing a managerial job before you’ve actually got it. You may think that you’re proving your leadership skills to the boss, but you’re really just disrupting the office dynamic and making life harder for yourself with all the extra work. Focus on doing great in the job you’ve got, and you won’t be overlooked the next time promotions season rolls around.

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Negotiating Your Holiday Bonus

Posted on December 23, 2011 by J. L. Eisenberg

Holiday Bonus As the holiday season approaches, it’s not the annual office party that’s on everybody’s minds. For over three quarters of workers, a Harris poll shows that cash bonuses are preferable to anything else that they’re likely to be offered over the holidays. But did you know that your bonus is usually negotiable? With these tips, you can negotiate your way to a cash bonus that will make the holidays truly merry.

1. Focus on results, not on methods. Your boss isn’t interested in hearing about all the overtime you put in, but rather what good it did for the company. Prepare a list of new clients you’ve brought in, deals you’ve made, and other beneficial things you’ve done for the company in the past year.

2. Put a cash value on your work. With tip #1, it helps to be able to put a dollar figure on your accomplishments. “I’ve single-handedly made $2 million for this company over the past year” sounds a lot more bonus-worthy than “I’ve put in 200 hours of overtime.”

3. Know what you’re looking for. Do some research on what people in similar positions have been paid in the past by your company, and on what the industry standard for year-end bonuses is. Be able to point out to your boss how your work is comparable to the work that got somebody else a giant bonus in a past year.

4. Get your timing right. If you haven’t already scheduled a meeting with your boss, you might have to hold off on applying this advice until next year. Management makes decisions about holiday bonuses at least a month in advance of when they’ll be given out, and if you wait too long to make your pitch your bonus may already be set in stone.

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Taking A Job That’s Beneath You

Posted on November 16, 2011 by R. A. M.

Even as we note the first wee signs that jobs might be coming back a bit, you may still be on the outside looking in and wondering what you can do to shake up your employment seeking game. One thing you might consider, if you haven’t already, is to take a job that you once thought beneath you.

You may still feel that way, or you may be coming around to the realization that times have changed dramatically, and a lot of the Old Thinking won’t help you now. There is no doubt going to be some sense of humility, even shame, in accepting a job you thought you had left behind for good on your career trajectory, but you can also make it fun by devising a winning strategy that will actually land you that job.

Another way to look at it? It’s a process, a way in which you get to have a do-over. Maybe it is rather like going home. There is a certain pleasure in returning to an old position and seeing how you handle it a second time around. Think of riding your old bike from childhood.

Also, some businesses may actually warm up to you, noting that you’re willing to start smaller with them and work your way up. And don’t you trust yourself to do that? Work your way up? You’ve done it before. You can do it again.

Negotiating Your Salary

Posted on September 17, 2011 by J. L. Eisenberg

Hand counting money It’s always the most uncomfortable part of a job interview: getting down to the nitty-gritty on what your salary, benefits, and perks should be. There’s always a delicate line to toe in this area because while being too aggressive could cost you the job, taking the first offer you get could end up costing you millions of dollars in lost salary over the course of a lifetime.

As much as we’d like to pretend it’s not, salary can be a deal breaker. It’s in both your and your potential employer’s interest to know whether or not you’re financially able to take the job before you go through seven rounds of interviews, so get it out in the open early. Somewhere in the course of the second or third interview is a good time to start talking salary; if you start too early in the hiring process it will make it seem like you’re more interested in the money than the position.

To bring up the topic of salary without seeming too overbearing, preface it by reminding your interviewer that the last thing you’d want to do is waste his or her valuable time on a candidate who wasn’t a perfect fit. With that said, ask your interviewer for permission to ask a few difficult questions. If they know what’s coming, it will put both of you more at ease.

When you finally get a job offer, keep in mind that most companies initially offer less money than they’re ultimately prepared to give you. You are expected to negotiate your salary so make sure you end up getting paid no less than you’re worth. To determine your own worth, however, is slightly more difficult. Remember that worth to a company is more than just the big 3—experience, education, and skills. Other things like enthusiasm for the position and geographic location may also factor in, and pointing those things out can push salary negotiations in your favor.

Ultimately, your dream job should be your dream job for reasons other than the money. That being said, it never hurts to try to get the most compensation you can for doing what you love. Even an extra $500 a year can make a difference in your quality of life, so why not give salary negotiation a try?