Diplomacy is defined as "tact and skill in dealing with people." While it's always a good idea to be diplomatic in all your personal and business dealings, it's especially important when you are resigning from a job. The world is much smaller than we sometimes think, and with all the company mergers, consolidations and acquisitions, it's best not to burn bridges.
When you're leaving a job, it's not the time to finally give an irritating co-worker a piece of your mind. The co-worker or supervisor you've despised could wind up as your boss somewhere down the career road.
Here are a few tips to take into consideration before you announce your resignation.
1. Always use professionalism and courtesy in announcing your intention to leave the company.
2. Advise your direct supervisor first. Then tell colleagues and department staff.
3. Don't boast to co-workers about your new position, salary, office or company car. Instead, thank them for their support and friendships and exchange contact information to stay in touch.
4. Write a professional letter of resignation. No need for lengthy explanations, you can simply state that you are resigning from your position to pursue other interests or opportunities. Whether you loved or hated your job or your supervisor, the outcome should be the same: a brief, respectful letter stating your intention to leave.
5. Give your employer advance notice so that they can begin to make arrangements for your replacement. Generally acceptable notice is two to four weeks. Work with your current and future employers to set a time frame that works for both them and you.
6. Offer suggestions for your replacement by putting your supervisor in touch with colleagues you know and respect. Share resumes of qualified candidates or recommend a valued co-worker for your position.
7. Finish the job. Don't leave projects half completed. Provide a list of projects and review what can or needs to be completed before you depart.
8. Don't leave your desk or office in disarray. Take a day to organize your materials for your successor.
9. Offer to train your replacement. This may require that you come back for a few hours or a day once you leave the company. If you leave before a replacement is hired, make yourself available to answer questions in person or over the phone.
10. Don't disappear. Avoid short-timer's attitude and stay an active and contributing member of your team during your last days at work. Work hard and do your best to leave a good and lasting impression.
11. Avoid naysayers and don't badmouth the company. Once others know you are leaving, they may seek you out to share their feelings of discontent. If you want to leave on good terms, don't be associated with disgruntled or unhappy employees.
12. Use your exit interview time wisely. Regardless of what you are told, this is not the time to trash your boss or your boss's boss. If you haven't discussed your concerns about work situations in the past, don't use the exit interview as an opportunity to reveal them for the first time.
13. Negotiate your exit package wisely, but don't be greedy or overly demanding. Politely ask for what you deserve, such as payout of unused vacation time, pro-rated bonuses, etc.
14. Leave the company assets behind. Don't walk off with supplies to outfit your new office. Unless you brought something from home or paid for that stapler with your own money, leave it on your desk.
15. Don't send boastful or sobbing farewell e-mails. If you choose to use e-mail to notify colleagues that you are leaving, provide your contact information -- these people are part of your network.
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
7 Practical Ways to Earn More by Working Less
Here is a great article on how to work more productively, courtesy of Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach.
The motto of my coaching business is Earn More, Work Less, and Enjoy Life! This is something every business owner wants, but they often feel it's too difficult to achieve.
Too many of us have been programmed by the employee mindset of working hours for dollars. Employees get paid by the number of hours they put in. Entrepreneurs get paid based on the value they create for others...whether they're actively working or not.
Here are 7 practical steps to begin on the road to earning more by working less.
#1 - Hire a Personal Assistant
Quit trying to be a one man (or woman) show. Even if you're currently a small business of just one person (such as a home business, life coach, or real estate agent), you can't do it all yourself.
Hire someone to help you with the routine tasks of answering emails and phone calls. Have them do secretarial work. Figure out what parts of your current work can easily be handled by someone else. Either hand it to a staff member or outsource it.
#2 - Eliminate the Time Vampires
Quit wasting your time. That short call you had to answer became a 30-minute delay. The email you once answered for a non-client has produced 10 additional emails and help requests from the same person ... who still hasn't purchased. That individual who stopped by your office for a quick word with you is still here after one hour.
Try putting an egg timer on your desk and remind yourself every call or contact needs to get to the point within the next 3 minutes.
#3 - Quit Working On Your Weaknesses
We're told to acknowledge and work on our weaknesses to be a well rounded person. Forget about it! Acknowledge your weaknesses, but quit trying to work on them. Build a team and hand off responsibilities where you're weak.
Concentrate on your strengths and giftings. You do what you do best. Hire out the rest. If you're horrible at writing, hire a copywriter. If you don't like administrative paperwork, hand it off to someone else who's qualified.
#4 - Raise Your Prices
I've helped many businesses develop their unique client focus. In a few cases, they were one of the lowest cost options. Yet this is NOT the unique client focus I prefer to have. It's the most difficult one to build a business on.
I'd much rather see you use one of the other 17 ways to develop your uniqueness in the marketplace. You'll often find that by raising your prices and focusing on a more upscale market segment, you'll eliminate many of the time consuming problems of your business.
#5 - Work One Less Day a Week
If you want to make more money, work one less day a week. It sounds crazy, but it has been proven time and time again. If you're currently working 6 days a week, drop to 5. If you're working 5 days, drop to 4. By removing one day from your schedule, you'll be forced to focus more on the days you're working. You cut the garbage out and get down to business. You'll quickly find that a lot of the things you used to think were essential weren't needed at all.
#6 - Take Time to Plan
Plan the schedule for your next day in the last 5 minutes of the day. Plan your schedule for next week on the last ten minutes of your last day of the week. Take out one day every quarter to plan the next 90 days for your business. This is only a small investment each day, but it pays huge dividends for what you accomplish. Of course you can purchase a time management course, but this is the simple basis of planning your time.
Decide on the essentials that must be done in the coming period. And always plan time to work on your business instead of just in your business.
#7 - Hire a Coach
It's so easy to keep following the status quo. I'm sure you've heard that one definition for insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. If you want to earn more while working less, you have to make some changes.
And the absolute best way to make these changes is bring in someone from the outside. They have a different viewpoint and experiences in helping other entrepreneurs just like you. A good business coach knows how to ask the right questions to help you discover exactly how to transform your business into a profitable business instead of just a low paying job.
Terry Dean is the president of MyMarketingCoach. Discover the 10 Key Strategies Any Business Owner Can Use to Earn More, Work Less, and Enjoy Life in a special free report by going to My Marketing Coach.
5 Ways to Make Money Online
5 Ways To Prevent Credit Card Late Fees
5 Ways To Buy Real Estate With No Down Payment
5 Ways to Stay Motivated in Your Work at Home Business
10 ways to get the most pay out of your job
The motto of my coaching business is Earn More, Work Less, and Enjoy Life! This is something every business owner wants, but they often feel it's too difficult to achieve.
Too many of us have been programmed by the employee mindset of working hours for dollars. Employees get paid by the number of hours they put in. Entrepreneurs get paid based on the value they create for others...whether they're actively working or not.
Here are 7 practical steps to begin on the road to earning more by working less.
#1 - Hire a Personal Assistant
Quit trying to be a one man (or woman) show. Even if you're currently a small business of just one person (such as a home business, life coach, or real estate agent), you can't do it all yourself.
Hire someone to help you with the routine tasks of answering emails and phone calls. Have them do secretarial work. Figure out what parts of your current work can easily be handled by someone else. Either hand it to a staff member or outsource it.
#2 - Eliminate the Time Vampires
Quit wasting your time. That short call you had to answer became a 30-minute delay. The email you once answered for a non-client has produced 10 additional emails and help requests from the same person ... who still hasn't purchased. That individual who stopped by your office for a quick word with you is still here after one hour.
Try putting an egg timer on your desk and remind yourself every call or contact needs to get to the point within the next 3 minutes.
#3 - Quit Working On Your Weaknesses
We're told to acknowledge and work on our weaknesses to be a well rounded person. Forget about it! Acknowledge your weaknesses, but quit trying to work on them. Build a team and hand off responsibilities where you're weak.
Concentrate on your strengths and giftings. You do what you do best. Hire out the rest. If you're horrible at writing, hire a copywriter. If you don't like administrative paperwork, hand it off to someone else who's qualified.
#4 - Raise Your Prices
I've helped many businesses develop their unique client focus. In a few cases, they were one of the lowest cost options. Yet this is NOT the unique client focus I prefer to have. It's the most difficult one to build a business on.
I'd much rather see you use one of the other 17 ways to develop your uniqueness in the marketplace. You'll often find that by raising your prices and focusing on a more upscale market segment, you'll eliminate many of the time consuming problems of your business.
#5 - Work One Less Day a Week
If you want to make more money, work one less day a week. It sounds crazy, but it has been proven time and time again. If you're currently working 6 days a week, drop to 5. If you're working 5 days, drop to 4. By removing one day from your schedule, you'll be forced to focus more on the days you're working. You cut the garbage out and get down to business. You'll quickly find that a lot of the things you used to think were essential weren't needed at all.
#6 - Take Time to Plan
Plan the schedule for your next day in the last 5 minutes of the day. Plan your schedule for next week on the last ten minutes of your last day of the week. Take out one day every quarter to plan the next 90 days for your business. This is only a small investment each day, but it pays huge dividends for what you accomplish. Of course you can purchase a time management course, but this is the simple basis of planning your time.
Decide on the essentials that must be done in the coming period. And always plan time to work on your business instead of just in your business.
#7 - Hire a Coach
It's so easy to keep following the status quo. I'm sure you've heard that one definition for insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. If you want to earn more while working less, you have to make some changes.
And the absolute best way to make these changes is bring in someone from the outside. They have a different viewpoint and experiences in helping other entrepreneurs just like you. A good business coach knows how to ask the right questions to help you discover exactly how to transform your business into a profitable business instead of just a low paying job.
Terry Dean is the president of MyMarketingCoach. Discover the 10 Key Strategies Any Business Owner Can Use to Earn More, Work Less, and Enjoy Life in a special free report by going to My Marketing Coach.
5 Ways to Make Money Online
5 Ways To Prevent Credit Card Late Fees
5 Ways To Buy Real Estate With No Down Payment
5 Ways to Stay Motivated in Your Work at Home Business
10 ways to get the most pay out of your job
Monday, February 26, 2007
10 Ways to Score Points with Your Boss
Following years of in-depth field research, I thought that I would share the following pointers as to how you can work to develop your career and ensure that you get noticed by the powers that be in your company. These pointers are by no means foolproof but, with a little imagination, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can reinvent yourself with the absolute minimum of effort.
Though these pointers are very much tongue in cheek, I think we could all think of a colleague who we could probably relate a number of these points to - I certainly know I can….
1. Have a Passion for Your Job.
Try telling the boss that you could do a better job than them on account of the fact that you cannot help but have noticed that they seem to achieve very little in their role. Explain how you feel that perhaps this is not a role best suited to them and that how, in your modest opinion, you feel that they are letting the company down. Just so they know that you are being genuine, discuss possible alternative roles with them outside of your present organisation that have significantly less responsibility. You could even give them a list of job sites they might like to visit.
2. Take Ownership.
I the unlikely event that you mess-up, assume full responsibility for hiding any relating evidence and, for bonus points, use the situation to show initiative. For example, instead of hiding the evidence in your filing cabinet why not slip it into your manager’s cabinet whilst he’s at lunch?
3. Be Customer Driven.
Be honest with your customers, tell them that they can get a cheaper deal/better service elsewhere and, if possible, provide them with the relevant contact numbers and/or web address. To gain additional points, try disassociating yourself from your company completely and apologise for the fact that they have no doubt had to sit on the telephone in a queue for four days listening to the same piece of music for a product/service that ultimately you wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.
4. Deliver More Than You Promise.
Always promise significantly less than you know you can deliver. That way you can still impress without overly exerting yourself.
5. Develop a Healthy Belief in the Impossible.
Try to convince yourself that you will eventually be offered the dream job you have set your sights on and that you are only treading water in your present role.
6. Polish Your Writing Skills.
Pick on one of your colleagues at random and then write them an email assassinating their character whilst employing as many adjectives as possible.
7. Ask Questions.
Ask your boss whether he actually intends to do any work today or whether he only delegates everything for an easy life and to cover the fact that he probably couldn’t even do your job anyway.
8. Be On Time.
Make it clear to your employer from the outset that you have always been at least half an hour late in every role you have ever taken and then turn up at twenty-five minutes past nine having pre-crumpled your shirt in the stairwell and grossly misaligning your tie. For the full effect slap yourself about the face a few times so you genuinely look like you have completed a marathon and then sit at your desk lambasting the state of public transport.
9. Develop Your People Skills.
Pick a member of the opposite sex from your team at random and then spend at least six months making their life a complete misery. Then, at the next office party, set your sights on getting off with them whilst explaining to them that you consider yourself to be wholly misunderstood by everyone you come across. Even if they let you get to first-base you’ll be able to pat yourself on the back knowing that at least one person in the office no longer thinks you’re a complete dork.
Though these pointers are very much tongue in cheek, I think we could all think of a colleague who we could probably relate a number of these points to - I certainly know I can….
1. Have a Passion for Your Job.
Try telling the boss that you could do a better job than them on account of the fact that you cannot help but have noticed that they seem to achieve very little in their role. Explain how you feel that perhaps this is not a role best suited to them and that how, in your modest opinion, you feel that they are letting the company down. Just so they know that you are being genuine, discuss possible alternative roles with them outside of your present organisation that have significantly less responsibility. You could even give them a list of job sites they might like to visit.
2. Take Ownership.
I the unlikely event that you mess-up, assume full responsibility for hiding any relating evidence and, for bonus points, use the situation to show initiative. For example, instead of hiding the evidence in your filing cabinet why not slip it into your manager’s cabinet whilst he’s at lunch?
3. Be Customer Driven.
Be honest with your customers, tell them that they can get a cheaper deal/better service elsewhere and, if possible, provide them with the relevant contact numbers and/or web address. To gain additional points, try disassociating yourself from your company completely and apologise for the fact that they have no doubt had to sit on the telephone in a queue for four days listening to the same piece of music for a product/service that ultimately you wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.
4. Deliver More Than You Promise.
Always promise significantly less than you know you can deliver. That way you can still impress without overly exerting yourself.
5. Develop a Healthy Belief in the Impossible.
Try to convince yourself that you will eventually be offered the dream job you have set your sights on and that you are only treading water in your present role.
6. Polish Your Writing Skills.
Pick on one of your colleagues at random and then write them an email assassinating their character whilst employing as many adjectives as possible.
7. Ask Questions.
Ask your boss whether he actually intends to do any work today or whether he only delegates everything for an easy life and to cover the fact that he probably couldn’t even do your job anyway.
8. Be On Time.
Make it clear to your employer from the outset that you have always been at least half an hour late in every role you have ever taken and then turn up at twenty-five minutes past nine having pre-crumpled your shirt in the stairwell and grossly misaligning your tie. For the full effect slap yourself about the face a few times so you genuinely look like you have completed a marathon and then sit at your desk lambasting the state of public transport.
9. Develop Your People Skills.
Pick a member of the opposite sex from your team at random and then spend at least six months making their life a complete misery. Then, at the next office party, set your sights on getting off with them whilst explaining to them that you consider yourself to be wholly misunderstood by everyone you come across. Even if they let you get to first-base you’ll be able to pat yourself on the back knowing that at least one person in the office no longer thinks you’re a complete dork.
http://nexus404.com
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Top 15 ways you can help your career
Most career advice you receive focuses on the big picture: how to get ahead, how to “win,” and such things that are on a much larger scale than the daily grind that most of us face. In fact, it is that day to day grind that pulls down many of us - we go to work, come home exhausted, and often feel as though we’re just spinning our wheels.
If you want to get ahead in your career and in your life, you need to start small and look at the immediate things you can do to help out your situation. If you’re sitting out there at your desk, tiredly wondering if there’s something better that you can be doing with your life, start with these fifteen tips that you can start executing immediately that will lead you down a path towards a better career.
Make a list of all of the things you did today/this week/this month to help your organization, and file them away.
Whenever you have a few spare moments, make a list of all of the things you are actually doing at work. Date them and provide specific examples. When you’ve made this list, drop it in a folder and let it sit there until your next performance review - or the next time you ask for a raise or a promotion. I do this regularly, which has allowed me to build up extensive positive documentation about my career.
Send a thank-you note
If you’ve recently been assisted in your career or personal development by someone, spend a few moments and send that person a handwritten thank you note. The respect, kindness, and personal touch of a handwritten thank you creates an indelible positive mark in your favor in the recipient’s mind, which can do nothing but help you out in the long run.
Work on your writing skills
For me, The Simple Dollar is actually an active part of improving my own writing. Starting a blog related to a work-related topic that interests you is a good way to practice your skills. Don’t be lazy with it, though; focus on writing strong material that will engage others, because without it, you’re not really improving your skills at all, merely regurgitating facts.
Design some classy business cards for you
I have a small pile of business cards that are just for me (actually, they’re for The Simple Dollar), not for any firm I represent or work for or anything else. I drop these regularly, as envelope enclosures and in face-to-face opportunities. These cards are a reflection of me and what I wish to represent to people, and by getting quality ones, I create a positive impression on the recipients. Don’t go for the office store perforated ones, either; get them professionally done and in a high quality.
Send a quick contact email
Got any professional contacts that you haven’t touched base with recently? Send them an email letting them know what you’re up to - and ask them what they’re up to. By this, I don’t mean clients - I mean professional acquaintances in the same field as you (contacting clients should be a regular part of your workflow). A quick email to the people you met at conferences last year can be a very good thing, as you never know if they might have a great opportunity available that could really help you out.
Suggest a solution to a persistent workplace problem
This is especially true for smaller things, not necessarily big enterprise-wide issues. Are people always complaining about the printers? Spec out an additional printer and ship a proposal for a new printer by your boss. Workplace tensions between two people? Figure out how to most discreetly move them far apart from each other, write it up, and ship it off. The key is to make the solution as complete as possible, so that the boss can tell you saw a problem, looked into how to solve it, and came up with a solution on your own.
Pick up the phone and make a call
Keep in touch with what’s going on in the organization as a whole so you can be more informed when meetings occur. Pick up the phone and give someone else a call to see what you can learn, or take a stroll through different parts of the workplace to find out what others are up to. Don’t make a nuisance of yourself, but be aware of what is going on, how it can affect you, and how you might be able to leverage that to get ahead.
Work on your language skills
Are you a non-native speaker of the language in your workplace? Spend your spare time working on the finer points. I find that listening to audiobooks and podcasts is an incredible way to pick up on the nuances of a language given that you already know the basics. If you don’t know the basics, seek out some audio courses on that language and get started. For myself, I’ve found that a great way to pick up a foreign language is to read a translation of a work I’m already very familiar with, such as Harry Potter.
Make yourself more presentable
It always helps to have a clean, fresh impression. I keep a few hygiene products in my traveling bag at all times: underarm deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, some mouthwash, some facial cleanser, a comb, and some cologne. I make sure to clean myself up at least once a day, and often twice a day, when I have a few free moments. That way, I look freshly scrubbed at the 3:30 PM meeting - and having just washed my face vigorously, I feel more awake.
Polish your resume
There’s never a bad time to give your resume a bit of a touch up. Make sure it has plenty of action words and documents specific results that you’ve produced. In fact, your personal work documentation is a great way to look for ideas to spiff up your resume.
Read something on topics you plan to be facing in the future in your career
Don’t waste your time reading PerezHilton (unless you work for People magazine or something); instead, find resources that are related to your job and focus on those. If you spend your spare time at work browsing the web, at least spend that time browsing items that can potentially further your career.
Prepare some comments in advance for your next meeting
Got a meeting later? Instead of dreading it, look at it as an opportunity to shine. Look at what the meeting agenda is and prepare some notes and thoughts that you can present during them. If you’re going to sit through someone’s presentation, find out what it’s going to be about and do some preparatory legwork in advance so you can ask a few astute questions.
Work on your public speaking skills
This seems like it would be difficult to do right now, but it’s not. Merely listen to the work of great public speakers on the internet, burn yourself a CD or two of speeches that really inspire you, then play them in your car on the way home and practice speaking along with them. You’ll learn a great deal about how to enunciate words to get your points across and influence others.
Clean your work area
Not only will this create a better impression of you in the eyes of others, you may also come across important materials that you thought were missing or lost. It’s also good to start (or enhance) a document filing system when you do this, so you can quickly find materials.
Figure out where you want to be in five years - and create a plan for getting there
Spend some time visualizing where you want to be, then think about what it’s going to take to get there. From there, keep breaking down each piece in the process until the pieces are things you can do quickly - and start doing them. Every mountain climb is just a series of steps, after all.
20 Easy Ways to Advance Your Career
10 Easy ways to supercharge your new job
Top 5 Easy Ways To Make a Career Change
10 Ways To Use Speaking to Further Your Career Goals
Source: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
20 Easy Ways to Advance Your Career
To survive and thrive in today's competitive environment, it is not just what you know. You also need to be competent. You must stand out from the crowd - be memorable, impressive, credible, trusted and liked.
"Success is never a destination - it is a journey."- Maya Sullivan
1. Exceed expectations; deliver results on a or head of time.
2. Manage your time effectively.
3. Create a career plan with goals and training requirements.
4. Move away from day-to-day operations.
5. Develop strong rapport with colleagues, senior managers/executives.
6. Get a mentor, accept guidance in your career.
7. Know your organization's goals vision, values, business strategies.
8. Create opportunites to further own/business goals.
9. Solicit feedback and assess the decision for purposes of continuous improvement.
10. Communicate effectively to people at all levels of your organization.
11. Build and maintain relationships with individuals who might impact your work.
12. Plan, prioritize and organize your work.
13. Manage own emotions and reactions.
14. Balance the demands of your personal and professional life.
15. Give yourself quarterly reviews, identify your accomplishments.
16. Become your own sales team, market your abilities.
17. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning.
18. Be decisive and action oriented.
19. Commit to excellence and professionalism.
20. Be self-disciplined.
Career Opportunities
About The Author
Cecile Peterkin is a trained Career/Life Coach and speaker whose work centers primarily on middle managers and their various challenges. She also works with individuals who are ready to move forward, take action, achieve goals and experience overall life improvement, both in personal and in career.
Cosmic Coaching Centre
www.cosmiccoachingcentre.com
Monday, February 5, 2007
8 Easy Ways To Cope In A Hostile Work Place
Do you get stressed out at the thought of going to work every morning?
Does the thought of spending eight or more hours at work each day get you all wound up and sweaty?
Do you constantly find yourself wishing that Monday mornings were Friday evenings?
Does the mere thought of interacting with your boss or co-workers leave you feeling emotionally drained?
If these feelings have nothing to do with your ineffectiveness at work, then you are probably in a hostile work place.
What makes a work place hostile varies largely, but it’s commonly attributed to having a bad boss (this could be an understatement), co-workers who drive you up the wall, and an ineffective Human Resource Department, among other things.
Here are 8 survival tips to help you cope in a hostile work place until the tide turns in your favor:
1. Work on yourself.
As irritating as the situation may be, learn to contain yourself. Develop an internal coping mechanism like counting to ten before you respond to an annoying or insensitive comment.
Draw strength from a higher power. Pray, meditate and do whatever it takes to get yourself together, calm and composed.
2. Keep reminding yourself why you are at the job.
Why are you working in that company? Are you there for the money, experience or for personal fulfillment? What are you hoping to achieve? Whatever the reason, let the objective you want to achieve give you the strength to survive each day.
3. Don’t mix business with pleasure.
If you can help it, draw the line between your private life and your life at work. Sometimes unnecessary socialization at work provides the ammunition that makes your work environment even more unbearable.
A little gossip at the copy machine with a co-worker can be the beginning of a nightmare.
4. Be courteous and professional.
Conducting yourself in a professional manner seals the lips of those who want to capitalize on your unprofessional behavior to make your life a misery. Before you respond to annoying e-mails, or speak to your boss or co-worker about frustrating issues, calm down, take a deep breath and avoid the temptation to escalate the matter.
5. Learn what not to do.
Since life is always about making progress and getting better, consider your work environment as the best teaching arena to learn something about yourself, learn what not to do, learn what not to say and also who not to trust in future.
If you are planning to start your own business or be in management, consider this a good place to learn about how not to treat employees or how to be a good boss!
6. Look within yourself and be creative.
It's amazing how a hostile work place can bring out the best in you. What you are experiencing may force you to look deep within yourself to explore your life from a new perspective. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you learn about yourself and this may prompt you to expand your range in terms of what you want to do in life.
When you have reached the end of your rope, start focusing on what matters most and expect better things for yourself.
7. Stand up for yourself.
Do not keep silent about the hostility. Speak up for yourself, defend your actions when necessary, talk to someone who might listen to you, record your complaints with Human Resources and do whatever is necessary to set the record straight. Even if the results of your action are not what you expect, it really feels good to know that you are standing up for yourself and letting your voice be heard.
8. Jump ship!
Stay on the look out for better opportunities elsewhere so that when your job situation gets so bad and unbearable, and after you have exhausted all options, you can get the courage to be good to yourself and jump ship!
By: Caroline Jalango
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Caroline coaches women, provides strategies and solutions, motivates and helps women who want to do better for themselves, create and live, meaningful, happier, productive, improved and purpose driven lives. Visit www.dobetterforyourself.com and SIGN UP for your FREE "do better for yourself" mini e-course designed to help you develop and maintain the momentum to do better for yourself and get the results you want!
Does the thought of spending eight or more hours at work each day get you all wound up and sweaty?
Do you constantly find yourself wishing that Monday mornings were Friday evenings?
Does the mere thought of interacting with your boss or co-workers leave you feeling emotionally drained?
If these feelings have nothing to do with your ineffectiveness at work, then you are probably in a hostile work place.
What makes a work place hostile varies largely, but it’s commonly attributed to having a bad boss (this could be an understatement), co-workers who drive you up the wall, and an ineffective Human Resource Department, among other things.
Here are 8 survival tips to help you cope in a hostile work place until the tide turns in your favor:
1. Work on yourself.
As irritating as the situation may be, learn to contain yourself. Develop an internal coping mechanism like counting to ten before you respond to an annoying or insensitive comment.
Draw strength from a higher power. Pray, meditate and do whatever it takes to get yourself together, calm and composed.
2. Keep reminding yourself why you are at the job.
Why are you working in that company? Are you there for the money, experience or for personal fulfillment? What are you hoping to achieve? Whatever the reason, let the objective you want to achieve give you the strength to survive each day.
3. Don’t mix business with pleasure.
If you can help it, draw the line between your private life and your life at work. Sometimes unnecessary socialization at work provides the ammunition that makes your work environment even more unbearable.
A little gossip at the copy machine with a co-worker can be the beginning of a nightmare.
4. Be courteous and professional.
Conducting yourself in a professional manner seals the lips of those who want to capitalize on your unprofessional behavior to make your life a misery. Before you respond to annoying e-mails, or speak to your boss or co-worker about frustrating issues, calm down, take a deep breath and avoid the temptation to escalate the matter.
5. Learn what not to do.
Since life is always about making progress and getting better, consider your work environment as the best teaching arena to learn something about yourself, learn what not to do, learn what not to say and also who not to trust in future.
If you are planning to start your own business or be in management, consider this a good place to learn about how not to treat employees or how to be a good boss!
6. Look within yourself and be creative.
It's amazing how a hostile work place can bring out the best in you. What you are experiencing may force you to look deep within yourself to explore your life from a new perspective. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you learn about yourself and this may prompt you to expand your range in terms of what you want to do in life.
When you have reached the end of your rope, start focusing on what matters most and expect better things for yourself.
7. Stand up for yourself.
Do not keep silent about the hostility. Speak up for yourself, defend your actions when necessary, talk to someone who might listen to you, record your complaints with Human Resources and do whatever is necessary to set the record straight. Even if the results of your action are not what you expect, it really feels good to know that you are standing up for yourself and letting your voice be heard.
8. Jump ship!
Stay on the look out for better opportunities elsewhere so that when your job situation gets so bad and unbearable, and after you have exhausted all options, you can get the courage to be good to yourself and jump ship!
By: Caroline Jalango
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Caroline coaches women, provides strategies and solutions, motivates and helps women who want to do better for themselves, create and live, meaningful, happier, productive, improved and purpose driven lives. Visit www.dobetterforyourself.com and SIGN UP for your FREE "do better for yourself" mini e-course designed to help you develop and maintain the momentum to do better for yourself and get the results you want!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Top 5 Easy Ways To Make a Career Change
By Perri Capell
Many people find it difficult to change careers because they think they have to do it in one big leap. But you can start by taking small steps that will lead you where you want to be professionally, without losing significant income or disrupting your family.
Here are five ways to make the transition.
1. Build on functional skills. If you like using your core skills and knowledge, consider transferring them to a different industry or field.
Lucinda Wright was a marketing executive for Battle Creek, Mich., cereal maker Kellogg Co. for nine years, rising to vice president of marketing for natural and frozen foods. She then started a consulting business that helped companies with marketing issues. Meanwhile, she volunteered at her graduate business school, the Eli Broad School of Management at Michigan State University. In 2004, when the school needed a new director of career services, Ms. Wright was offered the job.
She now markets the school's M.B.A. program and helps students market themselves to employers. "I'm applying my experience and knowledge to new targets," says Ms. Wright, who is 43.
If this type of career change might work for you, identify your key functional skills and experience and repackage them in a resume aimed at the new field. Next, think of employers to approach and network to learn of possible openings.
2. Return to school. This can help you enter a new field that requires educational credentials that differ from your current background.
After earning an engineering degree, Joe Flerlage joined Underwriters Laboratories Inc. in Northbrook, Ill., and worked his way up the ladder to become an engineering group leader. But he dreamed of becoming a lawyer and decided to attend the DePaul University College of Law at night while continuing in his engineering job during the day.
He commuted to class in downtown Chicago after work and studied at night and weekends and during lunch. After three years in law school, he resigned his engineering job to join a law firm. He finished his last year of law school while working as an associate at his current firm, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, a 120-attorney firm in Chicago.
This strategy isn't right for everyone because of the time it requires, says Mr. Flerlage, now 38. However, he says he made more money immediately as a law associate than he did as an engineer with nearly 10 years' experience.
3. Start a parallel career. This is a career that begins while you continue in your former field.
After relocating to New Orleans for her husband's career 1997, attorney June Coldren needed to pass the state's bar exam before she could practice. Meanwhile, she helped her husband set up and run a consulting firm serving oil-and-gas companies.
After she passed the bar, Ms. Coldren did pro bono work to learn more about the law field in Louisiana and explore whether to join a firm or start her own firm. Meanwhile, she helped with the paperwork for her husband's company at night. When her husband accepted a full-time job, he urged her to continue with the consulting business.
Ms. Coldren decided to take his advice and learned the oil-and-gas industry from the ground up. Ten years later, her firm, Cenergy Corp., has logistics services and consulting arms that contract out rig and wellhead supervisors, geophysicists and other exploration-and-drilling professionals.
If you keep your day job, while working weekends or at night in a second profession, be careful not to antagonize your primary employer, since companies don't always view moonlighting favorably.
4. Make an internal move.
If you like your current company, consider a change of jobs there that launches your career in a new direction. Identify unfilled needs -- perhaps things others don't want to do -- and volunteer to do them while in your current job. You may be saddled with extra work temporarily, but it may get you into the new area or a promotion.
"Seek new learning opportunities and ways to expand your skills," says Arlene Hirsch, a Chicago career counselor.
5. Go cold turkey. Suppose you don't want to stay in your current job another day longer. For you, quitting outright to enter a new field may be an option, especially if you can survive temporarily without an income.
Deborah Bolin wasn't making enough money as a photo-journalist in Dallas and grew tired of working side jobs to pay the bills. She quit to get her real-estate license and became a mortgage broker to learn the home-sales industry. In three months, she made $60,000, more than she had ever earned in a year, says Ms. Bolin, who is 53. She has since moved to Monroe, La., and is selling real estate full time.
Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach
-- Ms. Capell is a senior correspondent for CareerJournal.com.
Many people find it difficult to change careers because they think they have to do it in one big leap. But you can start by taking small steps that will lead you where you want to be professionally, without losing significant income or disrupting your family.
Here are five ways to make the transition.
1. Build on functional skills. If you like using your core skills and knowledge, consider transferring them to a different industry or field.
Lucinda Wright was a marketing executive for Battle Creek, Mich., cereal maker Kellogg Co. for nine years, rising to vice president of marketing for natural and frozen foods. She then started a consulting business that helped companies with marketing issues. Meanwhile, she volunteered at her graduate business school, the Eli Broad School of Management at Michigan State University. In 2004, when the school needed a new director of career services, Ms. Wright was offered the job.
She now markets the school's M.B.A. program and helps students market themselves to employers. "I'm applying my experience and knowledge to new targets," says Ms. Wright, who is 43.
If this type of career change might work for you, identify your key functional skills and experience and repackage them in a resume aimed at the new field. Next, think of employers to approach and network to learn of possible openings.
2. Return to school. This can help you enter a new field that requires educational credentials that differ from your current background.
After earning an engineering degree, Joe Flerlage joined Underwriters Laboratories Inc. in Northbrook, Ill., and worked his way up the ladder to become an engineering group leader. But he dreamed of becoming a lawyer and decided to attend the DePaul University College of Law at night while continuing in his engineering job during the day.
He commuted to class in downtown Chicago after work and studied at night and weekends and during lunch. After three years in law school, he resigned his engineering job to join a law firm. He finished his last year of law school while working as an associate at his current firm, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, a 120-attorney firm in Chicago.
This strategy isn't right for everyone because of the time it requires, says Mr. Flerlage, now 38. However, he says he made more money immediately as a law associate than he did as an engineer with nearly 10 years' experience.
3. Start a parallel career. This is a career that begins while you continue in your former field.
After relocating to New Orleans for her husband's career 1997, attorney June Coldren needed to pass the state's bar exam before she could practice. Meanwhile, she helped her husband set up and run a consulting firm serving oil-and-gas companies.
After she passed the bar, Ms. Coldren did pro bono work to learn more about the law field in Louisiana and explore whether to join a firm or start her own firm. Meanwhile, she helped with the paperwork for her husband's company at night. When her husband accepted a full-time job, he urged her to continue with the consulting business.
Ms. Coldren decided to take his advice and learned the oil-and-gas industry from the ground up. Ten years later, her firm, Cenergy Corp., has logistics services and consulting arms that contract out rig and wellhead supervisors, geophysicists and other exploration-and-drilling professionals.
If you keep your day job, while working weekends or at night in a second profession, be careful not to antagonize your primary employer, since companies don't always view moonlighting favorably.
4. Make an internal move.
If you like your current company, consider a change of jobs there that launches your career in a new direction. Identify unfilled needs -- perhaps things others don't want to do -- and volunteer to do them while in your current job. You may be saddled with extra work temporarily, but it may get you into the new area or a promotion.
"Seek new learning opportunities and ways to expand your skills," says Arlene Hirsch, a Chicago career counselor.
5. Go cold turkey. Suppose you don't want to stay in your current job another day longer. For you, quitting outright to enter a new field may be an option, especially if you can survive temporarily without an income.
Deborah Bolin wasn't making enough money as a photo-journalist in Dallas and grew tired of working side jobs to pay the bills. She quit to get her real-estate license and became a mortgage broker to learn the home-sales industry. In three months, she made $60,000, more than she had ever earned in a year, says Ms. Bolin, who is 53. She has since moved to Monroe, La., and is selling real estate full time.
Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach
-- Ms. Capell is a senior correspondent for CareerJournal.com.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
10 Easy ways to supercharge your new job
by JOE HODOWANES, Special Sections Correspondent
When a U.S. president enters office, the entire Washington, D.C., press corps talks about the administration's first 100 days, which is a critical time for the party in office to gain momentum behind major legislation.
OK, so you're not the newly elected president of the United States. That means you have about 30 business days to make your first impressions at your new company and get the momentum going.
What follows are several activities and suggestions compiled from the book, "How to Land the Job of Your Life" by Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, and Doug Hardy. These helpful hints can assist you in making a seamless transition into your new job.
1. Before you start a new job, write five strengths and weaknesses from your last job. Privately determine that you're going to change one or two of those weak behaviors in your next job. They don't have to be big changes. For example, are you always late to meetings? Decide to change that from day one at your new job. In those first few weeks, always be on time for your meetings.
2. Start with an on-the-job assessment. If you're a replacement, make a list of the things the former occupant of your position did right and wrong (you'll have to ask around). If it's a new job, make a list of all the reasons why the position was created.
3. Develop one new work habit that will make you more productive. Perhaps it's an organizing habit you already practiced in your job search: You've always put sticky notes all over your computer as reminders. Change to an electronic to-do list in the new job.
4. The great management teacher Peter Drucker suggests this powerful habit: Just before beginning a new job, write down what you expect will happen. Then check that statement three months and then a year later. You'll get a reality check on where you are and are not effective.
5. It's a great time to start working out, start eating better or learn a new skill. You've just proven to yourself that you can make positive changes happen in your work life, so why stop at that?
6. Set up a 10-day check with your boss. Say, "I've been working on the following five things. Do you feel that I'm spending my time in the right places?" This gives your boss the opportunity to say, "I'd really like you to be spending more time on this…" This isn't a formal performance review. You're just finding out if you're on track. Do this again after 30 days.
7. Keep a "brag book." Write down all of your accomplishments above and beyond the call of duty. What did you do? When did you do it? What were the results? When it comes to creating a resume in the future or being asked by a potential employer for your corporate accomplishments, this brag book will give you the ability to quickly produce what you have achieved.
8. Find a mentor. Look for an experienced person who has been with the company for a few years. Have regular conversations about what is going on in the company. Your boss may be a candidate for this role, or it may be someone in another part of the company.
9. Be sure to thank everyone who helped you in your job search. Call or write to them personally. Also, send e-mail updates to your personal network every four to eight weeks. These notes can be informal; the idea is simply to stay in touch. And don't forget to thank executive recruiters, employment counselors and employment coaches.
10. Finally, check in with yourself. At 100 days, assess the big picture. You're the CEO of your own life, so ask yourself important career questions such as how you're doing toward achieving your goals and do you like this company.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
Joe Hodowanes is a career strategy adviser in Tampa. Readers of The Tampa Tribune are qualified to receive a résumé critique, as well as a price quote if you decide that your résumré should be rewritten. For a risk-free telephone evaluation, e-mail your rrésumré to jmwanes@jmwanes.com or fax it to 813-264-9203. For questions, call Joe at 813-264-9172 or visit www.jmwanes.com.
When a U.S. president enters office, the entire Washington, D.C., press corps talks about the administration's first 100 days, which is a critical time for the party in office to gain momentum behind major legislation.
OK, so you're not the newly elected president of the United States. That means you have about 30 business days to make your first impressions at your new company and get the momentum going.
What follows are several activities and suggestions compiled from the book, "How to Land the Job of Your Life" by Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, and Doug Hardy. These helpful hints can assist you in making a seamless transition into your new job.
1. Before you start a new job, write five strengths and weaknesses from your last job. Privately determine that you're going to change one or two of those weak behaviors in your next job. They don't have to be big changes. For example, are you always late to meetings? Decide to change that from day one at your new job. In those first few weeks, always be on time for your meetings.
2. Start with an on-the-job assessment. If you're a replacement, make a list of the things the former occupant of your position did right and wrong (you'll have to ask around). If it's a new job, make a list of all the reasons why the position was created.
3. Develop one new work habit that will make you more productive. Perhaps it's an organizing habit you already practiced in your job search: You've always put sticky notes all over your computer as reminders. Change to an electronic to-do list in the new job.
4. The great management teacher Peter Drucker suggests this powerful habit: Just before beginning a new job, write down what you expect will happen. Then check that statement three months and then a year later. You'll get a reality check on where you are and are not effective.
5. It's a great time to start working out, start eating better or learn a new skill. You've just proven to yourself that you can make positive changes happen in your work life, so why stop at that?
6. Set up a 10-day check with your boss. Say, "I've been working on the following five things. Do you feel that I'm spending my time in the right places?" This gives your boss the opportunity to say, "I'd really like you to be spending more time on this…" This isn't a formal performance review. You're just finding out if you're on track. Do this again after 30 days.
7. Keep a "brag book." Write down all of your accomplishments above and beyond the call of duty. What did you do? When did you do it? What were the results? When it comes to creating a resume in the future or being asked by a potential employer for your corporate accomplishments, this brag book will give you the ability to quickly produce what you have achieved.
8. Find a mentor. Look for an experienced person who has been with the company for a few years. Have regular conversations about what is going on in the company. Your boss may be a candidate for this role, or it may be someone in another part of the company.
9. Be sure to thank everyone who helped you in your job search. Call or write to them personally. Also, send e-mail updates to your personal network every four to eight weeks. These notes can be informal; the idea is simply to stay in touch. And don't forget to thank executive recruiters, employment counselors and employment coaches.
10. Finally, check in with yourself. At 100 days, assess the big picture. You're the CEO of your own life, so ask yourself important career questions such as how you're doing toward achieving your goals and do you like this company.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
Joe Hodowanes is a career strategy adviser in Tampa. Readers of The Tampa Tribune are qualified to receive a résumé critique, as well as a price quote if you decide that your résumré should be rewritten. For a risk-free telephone evaluation, e-mail your rrésumré to jmwanes@jmwanes.com or fax it to 813-264-9203. For questions, call Joe at 813-264-9172 or visit www.jmwanes.com.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
10 ways to get the most pay out of your job
A lot of people assume that more pay can come only from winning a promotion, or finding a new job elsewhere. But there are ways, large and small, to put more money in your pocket each week. Separately, these strategies may not be enough to change your life. But put several together, and they start adding up.
"It's nickels and dimes that can get you to a dollar," says Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson & Associates, a New York pay consultant. "A thousand here and there can add up to real money."
Here are 10 tips from compensation experts, human-resources managers and employees on how to beef up your pay.
1. LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS
You may work harder than the people around you, but your annual raise and bonus award may still be lower than theirs. That's because your co-workers are getting more of the right things done than you and making sure their boss is aware of it.
"To say it concisely, the main way to increase your paycheck is to do a good job and make sure the right people know about it," says Craig Schneier, executive vice president, human resources, for Biogen Idec Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company.
The best performers received raises averaging 9.9 percent in 2005, compared with 3.6 percent for average performers and 1.3 percent for poor performers, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm in Lincolnshire, Ill. Thanks to compounding, those differences translate into a lot of money over time.
Hewitt offers the example of three hypothetical employees, each hired in 2001 at a salary of $50,000. They then received salary increases related to their performance. After five years, the poor performer earns $52,807, the average performer makes $57,821, and the top performer earns $72,078. (Hewitt calculated the final salaries based on actual increases for the three types of performance since 2001.)
What's more, don't assume you know what your manager expects, and don't be afraid to ask. You must understand exactly what he or she thinks is outstanding performance in your position, says Laury Sejen, practice director of strategic rewards for Watson Wyatt, a global compensation consulting firm.
Have two meetings with your manager, she advises. At the first, ask how you can earn the maximum amount of pay over time at your company. This can tell you what career goals to shoot for. At the second, ask how you can receive the highest salary increase.
"Some organizations struggle to set objectives," says Ms. Sejen. "You can take the responsibility to have it clarified."
Write down what you both agreed to and give your boss a copy, says Steve Gross, head of rewards consulting in Philadelphia for Mercer HR Consulting. At the end of the year, you can use this list to discuss how well you performed against your goals.
"Now you both have a scorecard for the performance review, which makes it easier for your boss to recognize your performance," Mr. Gross says.
You don't have to brag to get a top-dollar raise. Simply citing your accomplishments will set you apart "because a lot of people don't take the time to do it," says Paul Dorf, managing director of Compensation Resources Inc., an Upper Saddle River, N.J., consulting firm. He adds that if you have no significant contributions to list, "you probably shouldn't be seeking more money."
2. BET ON YOURSELF
Having a bonus tied to performance goals and hitting them can get you more money annually. More than 95 percent of companies offer a chance to earn annual bonuses to executives, while 80 percent offer them to managers, 68 percent have plans for professionals and 54 percent award them to clerical and technical workers, according to Mercer HR.
Target bonus awards vary by industry and company type, but a typical bonus for an employee earning $50,000 might be 10 percent of salary, while someone earning $75,000 in salary might have a 15 percent target bonus and a $100,000-a-year employee might have a 20 percent target, Hewitt reports.
The key to receiving more bonus money is superior performance. If you meet your goals, you should receive your target bonus amount. But at some companies, if you exceed the targets set for you, you may receive an award that exceeds your target bonus. At Biogen Idec, for instance, high-performing employees can receive up to 200 percent of their target bonus amount, says Mr. Schneier.
In the mid-1990s, Eric Herzog was director of marketing for a computer-hardware-storage company in Silicon Valley that paid its senior executives salaries only. Mr. Herzog says he wanted the potential to earn more money, so he told the chief executive officer that the company might be more successful if it created an annual bonus plan for executives that was tied to revenue and profit goals.
He explained that every executive had the ability to influence profits and that the plan could be designed so that bonus awards would be distributed only if the company made more money. Having all six of the company's executives in the plan was key, because then they would aim toward common goals, Mr. Herzog says he told the CEO.
The CEO agreed and created a bonus plan tied to revenue and profit objectives. "We hit the goals, and I received 20 percent over my base pay," says Mr. Herzog, now a vice president of product management, channel marketing and communications for Maxtor Corp., a computer-hardware-storage company in Scotts Valley, Calif.
It's hard to increase the size of your target bonus once you've accepted a job. But when negotiating with a new employer, you might be able to swap a higher salary for a larger target award amount, Ms. Sejen says. Suppose the employer offers you a $100,000 salary and a target bonus of 10 percent of salary. You could counteroffer that you'd take a $95,000 salary if your bonus-award target was 20 percent of it. Your annual target pay then would be $114,000 instead of $110,000. "An employer might be willing to change the pay mix," Ms. Sejen says.
3. SEEK FINANCIAL ADVICE
Executives who are skilled at running their companies often aren't so skilled at managing their own finances. Many could benefit from financial counseling so they know what to do with their stock options, restricted stock plans and other long-term incentives, says Mr. Dorf of Compensation Resources.
"Most executives, if pushed, would say they are financially challenged when it comes to doing their own deals and could use a financial counselor to advise them," he says.
One little-known Internal Revenue Service regulation allows executives to pay tax on the value of restricted stock when they receive their grants. This may help lower capital-gains taxes when you sell the stock.
A counselor can also help you determine when it's most beneficial to exercise stock options and whether to do so with cash or trade stock you already own. Using appreciated stock to exercise options may be better than using cash, because you reduce your taxable gain on the existing shares, notes Mr. Dorf.
"I estimate that 75 percent of the executives I know do not know what they earn from year to year because it's coming from so many sources," Mr. Dorf says. "They could be smarter about it."
4. LEARN ABOUT SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AWARDS
Many employers pay one-time bonuses to employees who bring in new business or refer candidates for hard-to-fill company jobs.
After taking a break from the work force, Deirdre Carey joined Kel & Partners, a Westborough, Mass., marketing-services company, as director of client services last year, accepting a salary that was lower than her prior pay. After her employer offered all employees a 15 percent commission for landing new clients, Ms. Carey brought in a $10,000-a-month account, garnering a $1,500-a-month salary increase for 12 months, or $18,000 total. "I'm already starting to work on some other new business," she says.
Company owner Kel Kelly says six of the firm's 15 employees also have earned the commissions.
Special bonuses also may be awarded to employees who accomplish something that's unusual for their positions. Companies often call these "spot" awards, and about two-thirds of U.S. employers offer them, according to Mercer HR.
Typically, a pool of money is set aside annually to allow managers to give out spot awards at their discretion. The amount awarded might range from $100 to six figures, although some companies give gift certificates or other noncash items, says Mr. Gross.
So, find out whether your company has a spot-award program. If it does, learn what your manager thinks it takes to get one. Mr. Gross says that at a previous employer, he gave his secretary a $1,000 bonus for bringing in a new client, which he viewed as exceptional behavior for someone in her role. "It's the event based on the expectations for that person," Mr. Gross says.
5. CHANGE YOUR TAX WITHHOLDING
Taking home a bigger paycheck may be as simple as having less tax withheld. One sign that your current deduction is too high is getting a big refund from Uncle Sam on April 15, says Tim Jones, vice president, global human resources, for IXIA, a Calabasas, Calif., technology manufacturer.
Your goal is to have your company deduct only what you will owe the government. "Otherwise you are loaning money to Uncle Sam," says Mr. Jones.
Unless you say otherwise, your federal withholding filing class determines your state filing class. You can change either anytime by visiting your human-resources department.
Be careful not to have too little money withheld, or the IRS may fine you, says Art Kaufman, a tax accountant in Monmouth Junction, N.J. The IRS requires at least 90 percent of your upcoming tax bill to be deducted, he notes. (The IRS offers a withholding calculator at http://www.irs.gov/individual.)
After joining the Abelson Group, a New York-based public-relations firm, four months ago, account director Liz Erik asked a professional to do a tax projection to determine how much she should have taken out for taxes. She changed her election and now receives $150 more per pay period, or $300 more a month, than when she started.
6. TAKE THE FREE MONEY
Many employers will match the amount you contribute to a 401(k) retirement savings account, up to a certain level. The company's matching amount might be, say, half of your contributions up to 6 percent of your salary. At minimum, employees should contribute enough money to get the maximum free matching money, Mr. Jones says.
While having money deducted for a retirement account reduces the size of your paycheck, the free money and the tax-free account growth will pay off. Still, only about 75 percent of eligible employees participate in their companies' 401(k) plans, reports Hewitt Associates.
At Biogen Idec, for instance, not all employees are in the 401(k) plan, even though the company offers a 2-for-1 match on employee contributions up to 3 percent of their earnings, says Mr. Schneier. He declined to disclose the percentage of employees who don't participate.
Discount stock-purchase plans that allow employees to buy company stock for less than the fair market price also translate into free money. Typically, employees receive a 15 percent discount on the stock's trading value, which means that unless they are required to hold the stock for a few months, they can sell it immediately and receive the gain.
7. PAY FOR AS MUCH AS YOU CAN WITH TAX-FREE INCOME
Many companies offer employees flexible-spending accounts that can be used to pay for commuting, health-care and child-care costs with pretax income. The enrollment period, when employees sign up for the accounts and say how much they want deducted from their pay, usually occurs in the fall. Employees receive the untaxed money after submitting their expenses to their companies or a third-party administrator.
The potential for savings is significant. An average employee might owe 28 percent in federal, state and Social Security taxes, says Craig Copeland, a senior researcher for the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington. Such workers would have to earn about $14 of taxable income to cover a $10 expense. By having a fund of pretax money, they can keep the $4 that would go for taxes.
The more money you can set aside, the greater the saving. For instance, an employee who has $5,000 in pretax income deducted to pay medical or child-care bills would save $1,400, he notes.
But it's important to know that you'll forfeit any unused funds, so you have to be careful when deciding how much to have withheld. Participating also means less take-home pay initially. Employees benefit at tax time because their federal taxable income is lowered by the deducted amount.
Cathy Summers, an account director for Shift Communications LLC in San Francisco, has $1,500 deducted annually to cover parking and daily commuting cost from Walnut Creek to the city's downtown financial district; $2,000 taken out for medical expenses; and 5,000 for child-care costs. When she submits receipts, the expense reimbursements are automatically deposited in her bank account.
She estimates that she realizes about $200 in extra income monthly due to the plans. "As a single mom raising a 5-year-old son," she says. "I'm always looking for ways to stretch my dollars."
8. ASK FOR A PAY RE-EVALUATION
You may be able to boost your salary outside of annual salary increases just by taking on more responsibility or being assigned to a department where employees doing the same thing are paid more.
Or, if you're a valued worker and the market suddenly heats up for people with your skills, the company may want to raise your pay to ensure it retains you. This was the case with information-technology employees for a few years beginning in the late 1990s.
"The outside world was moving so quickly that some companies were giving IT workers raises every six months," Mr. Gross says.
Such salary adjustments are akin to getting a promotion-based increase without the promotion, says Ms. Sejen. Companies set aside funds every year for this purpose, but employees must have justification for receiving unscheduled raises, she says.
Following a downsizing at his former employer, a technology-consulting firm, Derek Messulam met with the company's CEO, who said two remaining units were going to be merged into a group Mr. Messulam already managed.
One of the firm's youngest vice presidents, Mr. Messulam knew through the grapevine that he was underpaid relative to his peers and that in light of the increased responsibilities, he could expect a pay review and a possible increase.
He decided to see if he could squeeze a larger raise than the company may have been planning by taking an unconventional approach. When he sat down with the human-resources manager, he told them he didn't want a raise. This prompted concerns that he might be leaving, Mr. Messulam says. "The result was to shift the negotiation from a conversation centered on money to a passionate discussion of the great things the management team would accomplish," he says.
The company then designed new objectives for his role and offered Mr. Messulam a larger salary and bonus. "I was extremely satisfied," says Mr. Messulam, now a vice president at GE Capital Solutions, a unit of General Electric Co. in Danbury, Conn.
9. TURN DOWN BENEFITS THAT COST THE COMPANY
Lowering a company expense can sometimes translate into a larger paycheck. This is the case for employees who are paid to "opt out" of company medical-benefits plans because another family member provides coverage for them. The size of the payments usually varies depending on whether your health insurance was for a single person, couple or family. Your salary also will grow if you no longer have health insurance co-payments deducted.
You also might have grounds for a higher salary during initial pay negotiations by offering to forgo health benefits. Debbie Veney Robinson, a communications vice president with Communities in School Inc., an Alexandria, Va., nonprofit that helps kids stay in school, negotiated a $10,000 salary increase by offering to do without health benefits when she accepted her job in 2005. Ms. Robinson receives health-insurance benefits through her husband's plan.
"I said I would save them a lot of money now and in the future by not taking health benefits," says Ms. Robinson. "This allowed them to afford me and me to bump up my compensation a bit."
10. DON'T FORGET THE SMALL STUFF
Some employees don't take advantage of a plethora of benefits and freebies available from their employers, says Mr. Johnson, the pay consultant. "Read the manual where it tells you all these things," he says. "A lot of people have no idea what a company will or won't pay for."
Tuition reimbursement is offered at 85 percent of companies, while 30 percent match education or other charitable donations, according to Mercer HR. You may not have to take courses in your field to get reimbursed for educational expenses.
Some companies subsidize gym memberships. Nearly one-fourth allow employees to purchase products at a discount, while 19 percent offer discounts on movie or theme-park tickets and other entertainment events, Hewitt reports.
"You don't pay attention to those things until you are standing in line at Great Adventure," Mr. Johnson says, "and it's going to cost you $99 for each member of your family."
Source: http://kennethg.blogspot.com/
"It's nickels and dimes that can get you to a dollar," says Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson & Associates, a New York pay consultant. "A thousand here and there can add up to real money."
Here are 10 tips from compensation experts, human-resources managers and employees on how to beef up your pay.
1. LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS
You may work harder than the people around you, but your annual raise and bonus award may still be lower than theirs. That's because your co-workers are getting more of the right things done than you and making sure their boss is aware of it.
"To say it concisely, the main way to increase your paycheck is to do a good job and make sure the right people know about it," says Craig Schneier, executive vice president, human resources, for Biogen Idec Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company.
The best performers received raises averaging 9.9 percent in 2005, compared with 3.6 percent for average performers and 1.3 percent for poor performers, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm in Lincolnshire, Ill. Thanks to compounding, those differences translate into a lot of money over time.
Hewitt offers the example of three hypothetical employees, each hired in 2001 at a salary of $50,000. They then received salary increases related to their performance. After five years, the poor performer earns $52,807, the average performer makes $57,821, and the top performer earns $72,078. (Hewitt calculated the final salaries based on actual increases for the three types of performance since 2001.)
What's more, don't assume you know what your manager expects, and don't be afraid to ask. You must understand exactly what he or she thinks is outstanding performance in your position, says Laury Sejen, practice director of strategic rewards for Watson Wyatt, a global compensation consulting firm.
Have two meetings with your manager, she advises. At the first, ask how you can earn the maximum amount of pay over time at your company. This can tell you what career goals to shoot for. At the second, ask how you can receive the highest salary increase.
"Some organizations struggle to set objectives," says Ms. Sejen. "You can take the responsibility to have it clarified."
Write down what you both agreed to and give your boss a copy, says Steve Gross, head of rewards consulting in Philadelphia for Mercer HR Consulting. At the end of the year, you can use this list to discuss how well you performed against your goals.
"Now you both have a scorecard for the performance review, which makes it easier for your boss to recognize your performance," Mr. Gross says.
You don't have to brag to get a top-dollar raise. Simply citing your accomplishments will set you apart "because a lot of people don't take the time to do it," says Paul Dorf, managing director of Compensation Resources Inc., an Upper Saddle River, N.J., consulting firm. He adds that if you have no significant contributions to list, "you probably shouldn't be seeking more money."
2. BET ON YOURSELF
Having a bonus tied to performance goals and hitting them can get you more money annually. More than 95 percent of companies offer a chance to earn annual bonuses to executives, while 80 percent offer them to managers, 68 percent have plans for professionals and 54 percent award them to clerical and technical workers, according to Mercer HR.
Target bonus awards vary by industry and company type, but a typical bonus for an employee earning $50,000 might be 10 percent of salary, while someone earning $75,000 in salary might have a 15 percent target bonus and a $100,000-a-year employee might have a 20 percent target, Hewitt reports.
The key to receiving more bonus money is superior performance. If you meet your goals, you should receive your target bonus amount. But at some companies, if you exceed the targets set for you, you may receive an award that exceeds your target bonus. At Biogen Idec, for instance, high-performing employees can receive up to 200 percent of their target bonus amount, says Mr. Schneier.
In the mid-1990s, Eric Herzog was director of marketing for a computer-hardware-storage company in Silicon Valley that paid its senior executives salaries only. Mr. Herzog says he wanted the potential to earn more money, so he told the chief executive officer that the company might be more successful if it created an annual bonus plan for executives that was tied to revenue and profit goals.
He explained that every executive had the ability to influence profits and that the plan could be designed so that bonus awards would be distributed only if the company made more money. Having all six of the company's executives in the plan was key, because then they would aim toward common goals, Mr. Herzog says he told the CEO.
The CEO agreed and created a bonus plan tied to revenue and profit objectives. "We hit the goals, and I received 20 percent over my base pay," says Mr. Herzog, now a vice president of product management, channel marketing and communications for Maxtor Corp., a computer-hardware-storage company in Scotts Valley, Calif.
It's hard to increase the size of your target bonus once you've accepted a job. But when negotiating with a new employer, you might be able to swap a higher salary for a larger target award amount, Ms. Sejen says. Suppose the employer offers you a $100,000 salary and a target bonus of 10 percent of salary. You could counteroffer that you'd take a $95,000 salary if your bonus-award target was 20 percent of it. Your annual target pay then would be $114,000 instead of $110,000. "An employer might be willing to change the pay mix," Ms. Sejen says.
3. SEEK FINANCIAL ADVICE
Executives who are skilled at running their companies often aren't so skilled at managing their own finances. Many could benefit from financial counseling so they know what to do with their stock options, restricted stock plans and other long-term incentives, says Mr. Dorf of Compensation Resources.
"Most executives, if pushed, would say they are financially challenged when it comes to doing their own deals and could use a financial counselor to advise them," he says.
One little-known Internal Revenue Service regulation allows executives to pay tax on the value of restricted stock when they receive their grants. This may help lower capital-gains taxes when you sell the stock.
A counselor can also help you determine when it's most beneficial to exercise stock options and whether to do so with cash or trade stock you already own. Using appreciated stock to exercise options may be better than using cash, because you reduce your taxable gain on the existing shares, notes Mr. Dorf.
"I estimate that 75 percent of the executives I know do not know what they earn from year to year because it's coming from so many sources," Mr. Dorf says. "They could be smarter about it."
4. LEARN ABOUT SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AWARDS
Many employers pay one-time bonuses to employees who bring in new business or refer candidates for hard-to-fill company jobs.
After taking a break from the work force, Deirdre Carey joined Kel & Partners, a Westborough, Mass., marketing-services company, as director of client services last year, accepting a salary that was lower than her prior pay. After her employer offered all employees a 15 percent commission for landing new clients, Ms. Carey brought in a $10,000-a-month account, garnering a $1,500-a-month salary increase for 12 months, or $18,000 total. "I'm already starting to work on some other new business," she says.
Company owner Kel Kelly says six of the firm's 15 employees also have earned the commissions.
Special bonuses also may be awarded to employees who accomplish something that's unusual for their positions. Companies often call these "spot" awards, and about two-thirds of U.S. employers offer them, according to Mercer HR.
Typically, a pool of money is set aside annually to allow managers to give out spot awards at their discretion. The amount awarded might range from $100 to six figures, although some companies give gift certificates or other noncash items, says Mr. Gross.
So, find out whether your company has a spot-award program. If it does, learn what your manager thinks it takes to get one. Mr. Gross says that at a previous employer, he gave his secretary a $1,000 bonus for bringing in a new client, which he viewed as exceptional behavior for someone in her role. "It's the event based on the expectations for that person," Mr. Gross says.
5. CHANGE YOUR TAX WITHHOLDING
Taking home a bigger paycheck may be as simple as having less tax withheld. One sign that your current deduction is too high is getting a big refund from Uncle Sam on April 15, says Tim Jones, vice president, global human resources, for IXIA, a Calabasas, Calif., technology manufacturer.
Your goal is to have your company deduct only what you will owe the government. "Otherwise you are loaning money to Uncle Sam," says Mr. Jones.
Unless you say otherwise, your federal withholding filing class determines your state filing class. You can change either anytime by visiting your human-resources department.
Be careful not to have too little money withheld, or the IRS may fine you, says Art Kaufman, a tax accountant in Monmouth Junction, N.J. The IRS requires at least 90 percent of your upcoming tax bill to be deducted, he notes. (The IRS offers a withholding calculator at http://www.irs.gov/individual.)
After joining the Abelson Group, a New York-based public-relations firm, four months ago, account director Liz Erik asked a professional to do a tax projection to determine how much she should have taken out for taxes. She changed her election and now receives $150 more per pay period, or $300 more a month, than when she started.
6. TAKE THE FREE MONEY
Many employers will match the amount you contribute to a 401(k) retirement savings account, up to a certain level. The company's matching amount might be, say, half of your contributions up to 6 percent of your salary. At minimum, employees should contribute enough money to get the maximum free matching money, Mr. Jones says.
While having money deducted for a retirement account reduces the size of your paycheck, the free money and the tax-free account growth will pay off. Still, only about 75 percent of eligible employees participate in their companies' 401(k) plans, reports Hewitt Associates.
At Biogen Idec, for instance, not all employees are in the 401(k) plan, even though the company offers a 2-for-1 match on employee contributions up to 3 percent of their earnings, says Mr. Schneier. He declined to disclose the percentage of employees who don't participate.
Discount stock-purchase plans that allow employees to buy company stock for less than the fair market price also translate into free money. Typically, employees receive a 15 percent discount on the stock's trading value, which means that unless they are required to hold the stock for a few months, they can sell it immediately and receive the gain.
7. PAY FOR AS MUCH AS YOU CAN WITH TAX-FREE INCOME
Many companies offer employees flexible-spending accounts that can be used to pay for commuting, health-care and child-care costs with pretax income. The enrollment period, when employees sign up for the accounts and say how much they want deducted from their pay, usually occurs in the fall. Employees receive the untaxed money after submitting their expenses to their companies or a third-party administrator.
The potential for savings is significant. An average employee might owe 28 percent in federal, state and Social Security taxes, says Craig Copeland, a senior researcher for the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington. Such workers would have to earn about $14 of taxable income to cover a $10 expense. By having a fund of pretax money, they can keep the $4 that would go for taxes.
The more money you can set aside, the greater the saving. For instance, an employee who has $5,000 in pretax income deducted to pay medical or child-care bills would save $1,400, he notes.
But it's important to know that you'll forfeit any unused funds, so you have to be careful when deciding how much to have withheld. Participating also means less take-home pay initially. Employees benefit at tax time because their federal taxable income is lowered by the deducted amount.
Cathy Summers, an account director for Shift Communications LLC in San Francisco, has $1,500 deducted annually to cover parking and daily commuting cost from Walnut Creek to the city's downtown financial district; $2,000 taken out for medical expenses; and 5,000 for child-care costs. When she submits receipts, the expense reimbursements are automatically deposited in her bank account.
She estimates that she realizes about $200 in extra income monthly due to the plans. "As a single mom raising a 5-year-old son," she says. "I'm always looking for ways to stretch my dollars."
8. ASK FOR A PAY RE-EVALUATION
You may be able to boost your salary outside of annual salary increases just by taking on more responsibility or being assigned to a department where employees doing the same thing are paid more.
Or, if you're a valued worker and the market suddenly heats up for people with your skills, the company may want to raise your pay to ensure it retains you. This was the case with information-technology employees for a few years beginning in the late 1990s.
"The outside world was moving so quickly that some companies were giving IT workers raises every six months," Mr. Gross says.
Such salary adjustments are akin to getting a promotion-based increase without the promotion, says Ms. Sejen. Companies set aside funds every year for this purpose, but employees must have justification for receiving unscheduled raises, she says.
Following a downsizing at his former employer, a technology-consulting firm, Derek Messulam met with the company's CEO, who said two remaining units were going to be merged into a group Mr. Messulam already managed.
One of the firm's youngest vice presidents, Mr. Messulam knew through the grapevine that he was underpaid relative to his peers and that in light of the increased responsibilities, he could expect a pay review and a possible increase.
He decided to see if he could squeeze a larger raise than the company may have been planning by taking an unconventional approach. When he sat down with the human-resources manager, he told them he didn't want a raise. This prompted concerns that he might be leaving, Mr. Messulam says. "The result was to shift the negotiation from a conversation centered on money to a passionate discussion of the great things the management team would accomplish," he says.
The company then designed new objectives for his role and offered Mr. Messulam a larger salary and bonus. "I was extremely satisfied," says Mr. Messulam, now a vice president at GE Capital Solutions, a unit of General Electric Co. in Danbury, Conn.
9. TURN DOWN BENEFITS THAT COST THE COMPANY
Lowering a company expense can sometimes translate into a larger paycheck. This is the case for employees who are paid to "opt out" of company medical-benefits plans because another family member provides coverage for them. The size of the payments usually varies depending on whether your health insurance was for a single person, couple or family. Your salary also will grow if you no longer have health insurance co-payments deducted.
You also might have grounds for a higher salary during initial pay negotiations by offering to forgo health benefits. Debbie Veney Robinson, a communications vice president with Communities in School Inc., an Alexandria, Va., nonprofit that helps kids stay in school, negotiated a $10,000 salary increase by offering to do without health benefits when she accepted her job in 2005. Ms. Robinson receives health-insurance benefits through her husband's plan.
"I said I would save them a lot of money now and in the future by not taking health benefits," says Ms. Robinson. "This allowed them to afford me and me to bump up my compensation a bit."
10. DON'T FORGET THE SMALL STUFF
Some employees don't take advantage of a plethora of benefits and freebies available from their employers, says Mr. Johnson, the pay consultant. "Read the manual where it tells you all these things," he says. "A lot of people have no idea what a company will or won't pay for."
Tuition reimbursement is offered at 85 percent of companies, while 30 percent match education or other charitable donations, according to Mercer HR. You may not have to take courses in your field to get reimbursed for educational expenses.
Some companies subsidize gym memberships. Nearly one-fourth allow employees to purchase products at a discount, while 19 percent offer discounts on movie or theme-park tickets and other entertainment events, Hewitt reports.
"You don't pay attention to those things until you are standing in line at Great Adventure," Mr. Johnson says, "and it's going to cost you $99 for each member of your family."
Source: http://kennethg.blogspot.com/
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