Career Advice & Insights

Answering the salary expectation question right might be the wrong answer. The Ten Commandments of Salary Negotiation (Part 1): Salary expert Jack Chapman offers 10 lessons on salary negotiation in the vein of the Ten Commandments. There is one, and only one, time to discuss salary in any detail: when they say they’re ready to … Read More

When it comes to salary, women tend to take the agreeable route to avoid negotiating. But it doesn’t have to be a choice. By Lee E. Miller and Jessica Miller Davia Temin, president of Temin & Co. and former head of corporate marketing for General Electric Capital, remembers the exact moment she realized “almost everything … Read More

“I haven’t had a raise in a while” won’t get you anywhere. Follow these tips from 20-year HR veteran Lee Miller on how to ask for a raise. What goes through the mind of a human-resources executive when you ask for a raise? How does he evaluate your request? Knowing what HR managers are thinking … Read More

Careful with that phrasing! Certain words and phrases can reduce your compensation. She was perfect for the job. She had experience teaching both online and in the Middle East, she was available to work immediately and she had a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). She was so perfect, the … Read More

You’ll never have this much negotiating power than you do upon accepting an offer. Follow these tips to get the best compensation package upfront. With the economy in such shambles, many candidates believe employers are in little mood or position to negotiate on a starting compensation package. It’s natural to think, “If I don’t accept … Read More

Sometimes taking the option isn’t really an option. When it is, consider not jumping ship for these reasons. Readers always ask me, “When should I take a buy-out? When is a buyout worth it?” Before I answer their questions, I always need to know these factors: How old are they? How long have they worked … Read More

Credit-card companies are reducing limits and removing customers to get risk off their books. There are plenty of economic factors to consider during a job search, especially during a down economy: Housing prices have slumped, and 401(k)s and other investments are in decline. Now add the global market for credit cards to the list of … Read More

Software sales representative changes jobs in order to focus less on high-volume quotas and more on meeting client needs. Joe B. left his last position as a software sales representative in the government sector when the job became untenable. “As the third representative in the territory in three years, it took longer to re-establish trust … Read More

Definitions of and suggestions for eight types of sales compensation packages If your initial offer isn’t big enough and you’re in sales, instead of negotiating more salary, you can negotiate a bigger salary package. Here are some of the more common combinations: straight commission variable commission draw against commission advance against commission base plus commission … Read More