Special Feature: Do's and Don'ts of Requesting a Raise
Q&A with a Career Expert Louise Kursmark
Quintessential Site: Featured Career Web Site of this Issue
The Career Doctor: Answering Your Questions
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search
Notes from the Editor: About this Issue...
The current salary scene is not a pretty picture.
As Time Magazine reports, core inflation is at just 1.5 percent, 0 percent auto financing is available, mortgage rates are
at record lows, and even gas prices are dropping after the Iraq war. But, Time goes on to bemoan "an unsettling permanence
to the falling-wage trend, as companies hold the line on compensation
so they can compete in an increasingly global economy in which low costs are key to survival." Because cost pressures will be so
intense during the next expansion, employers will be loathe to hand out more raises. The publication reports that companies "will outsource
more work -- including skilled and white-collar tasks -- to cheaper labor markets. They will embrace pay-for-performance
schemes, which generally reward only the top-ranked workers at
each wage level. And they will shift more of the costs and risks of illness and retirement to workers, especially in steel and
other heavy industries."
That's why you need every bit of negotiating skill you can get -- both for arriving at a satisfactory initial compensation package
and for convincing your boss you merit a raise.
This issue of QuintZine offers help in those areas.
This issue arrives on the U.S. holiday Memorial Day, on which we pause to remember those who've given their lives for freedom and
democracy.
There will come a point in your tenure with an
employer when you realize that you deserve a raise.
As with most salary negotiations, asking for a raise
is often uncomfortable at the very least and intimidating
at the very most.
But getting the raise you deserve should not be such an anxiety-creating event, especially if you
follow the strategies outlined in this article. In fact,
to better help all workers, this article describes both short-term and long-term tips to ensuring that raise
negotiations are professional -- and minimally stressful.
Ad: Get Your Resume on All the Major Job Boards!
To maximize your job opportunities, you'll need to cover a lot of ground. One way to do that is to post your resume
on all the best job boards, large and small. It may take some time, but it's well worth the effort. If you want
to save 60 hours of research and data entry, consider using professional resume-posting service like
ResumeRabbit.com.
After filling in one simple online form, they'll instantly post your resume on up to 85 of the top career sites at once.
Within minutes you'll be seen on Monster, HotJobs, FlipDog, Dice, CareerBuilder and more, where 1.5 million employers
and recruiters search for candidates daily.
This article presents the keys to successfully requesting an increase in salary. Follow these simple rules, and you
should achieve success in getting the raise you deserve.
Want to get your resume, CV or cover letter critiqued right away? Want to be able to interact with
the person critiquing your documents and ask questions?
Our sister site, Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters now offers Same-Day Interactive
Resume, CV, and Cover Letter Critiques via Instant Messenger.
Louise Kursmark is an author, speaker, and president of Best Impression Career Services, Inc.
"For successful negotiating, it is absolutely essential that job seekers learn the "salary dance" -- how to redirect
questions about salary, how to not answer without giving offense,
and how to avoid making salary a focal point of early interviews," advises Louise Kursmark in the Q&A interview we did
with her.
"They must also do their homework. And they must become
comfortable and confident in their answers -- which will come
only through practice.
"Just as importantly, they must know when
they should reveal salary information -- to whom, in what
circumstances, and how to do so most effectively. And finally,
they should think about non-salary compensation, benefits, and
perks that are important to them and use these as further negotiating tools."
Read more of Kursmark's advice on the importance of
networking, how to uncover job leads, and beating the odds in a tough market in our
Q&A with her.
Based on years of research, the Jackson Vocational Interest
Survey (JVIS) accurately measures your interests, showing how
they relate to the worlds of study and work, and mapping out
your route to an interesting career.
While this site is doesn't boast the world's most sophisticated look, the content,
by foremost salary-negotiation expert Jack Chapman, is first rate.
On his site, Chapman, author of Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute,
offers salary-negotiation tips, a salary quiz, and links to other products and services that
can help in job-hunting and salary negotiation.
Instantly email your resume to 1000s of recruiters,
headhunters, and direct hiring companies! With the most
comprehensive and targeted network of recruiters on the
net, you can rest assured you have taken the steps
necessary to jump start your search. We are so sure
you will be happy that we guarantee our service!
ManufacturingJobs.com --
where job-seekers at all levels (from entry-level to executive) looking for employment
in all areas of the manufacturing sector can search for job postings (by job function, industry, location,
and keywords), as well as post your resume and register with a email job agent. Free to job-seekers.
MidLevelPractitioners.com --
a great job site for physician assistants, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, nurse midwives, clinical
nurse specialists, anesthesia assistants, other nurse specialists. Job-seekers can search job listings
(by location, classification, specialty, and keywords) as well as complete a profile and post your resume.
Free to job-seekers.
MississippiJobNetwork.com -- for job-seekers
looking for employment (part-time, full-time, internships) throughout the state of Mississippi.
Job-seekers can search for jobs (by job category and keywords) as well as post multiple resumes in
multiple formats. Also includes a great collection of valuable career resources. Free to job-seekers.
TruckFLIX.com -- where all types of truck drivers,
as well as job-seekers looking for the training to become drivers, can search for job and school
opportunities. An interesting twist is the ability to watch recruitment videos from participating
employers. Job-seekers can browse jobs by company and complete an online job application. Free to job-seekers.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest Additions section.
Ad: The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need
College students and new grads should check out this e-book,
The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need:
How to Find -- and Get -- The Job or Internship of Your Dreams!
The book contains must-read contributions from 149 of North America's top employment experts
and is available risk-free for 90 days.
Amy writes: "I am a sales representative, also in charge of all marketing and branding. My six-month review is next
week, and I want to go in prepared and confident. I also want
to ask for a raise. I have never had a review before, and I'm nervous. How can the employee best prepare herself for the review?"
Victoria writes: "The scenario is this. If I have a job interview on a Wednesday, and another (more preferred) interview
on a Thursday, how should I handle it if the Wednesday interview
results in a job offer on the spot? Should I accept the first offer
and then decline it if the second one becomes available, or do I
level with them that I have other interviews and would like a couple of days to mull it over? Would this put the first offer
in jeopardy? I certainly wouldn't want to insult anyone and appear
to be hedging my bets (even though that's what I would be doing). Any suggestions for proper direction?"
Karen writes: "I've been a travel agent for 10 years and am making less than $25,000 per year.
I've recently received my bachelor's
degree and am very interested in
changing careers to the human-resources field. Since my salary is so low, do you feel that even with my degree it would
be hard to even change careers and achieve a salary over $39,000
per year? What is the best route to break into a new career in human resources?"
Anonymous writes: "I'm a journalist with a number of years of daily newspaper experience. I am currently working at a
fairly large paper. I'm getting an MBA part-time, and I'll graduate in August 2004. It's a 36-credit program with no
specialties. I am in a dead-end job at my paper and have no chance of moving forward because of office politics. I'm not
sure what I can do with an MBA and my experience. My school
does not have career-placement services. I'm considering law school after my MBA. What are my options, with and without
law school? Will I potentially earn more money with a law degree?"
Separate yourself from the crowd in 1 month with a
Project Management Certificate Online from the #1 Ranked
school in the north by US News & World Report: Villanova
University. Increase your hire-ability while learning
the secrets of successful project management online!
Or enroll in the largest accredited online multimedia
MBA program in the nation via the University Alliance.
No Classroom attendance required! Study anytime, anywhere, 24/7.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
From a research study on IT salaries conducted by Brainbench:
Salary increases continued to be under pressure from larger
economic forces in the technology sector in 2002 with 67 percent
of respondents indicating they received increases of 3 percent
or less.
Women lost significant ground on the salary front in the
technology sector in 2002. The percentage of women earning the
same as men fell significantly in virtually every salary category
above $40,000 in 2002. (In 2001, women achieved virtual salary
parity in most categories.)
Expectations for salary increase this year have been radically
altered by recent economic events. Forty-two percent
of those responding say that expect increases of between 0-3 percent
this year, and only 30 percent say they expect an increase of 3 percent
to 5 percent.
Professional certifications are bankable assets for IT professionals,
with those receiving certifications significantly more likely to
achieve salary increases above the industry average of 1 percent to
3 percent. Watch for an article in the Aug. 18 QuintZine on
certifications.
Seven of the 10 top-paying jobs are in the medical field, but people just outside the top 10 are employed in much more varied
fields, offering more options to those looking to use a top-10 list to find work in a fortune-building profession. According to
the 2001 Occupational Employment Statistics Survey conducted by
the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the top 11 to 20 highest-paying professions in the U.S. are:
11. Podiatrists $45.43/hr $94,500/yr
12. Lawyers $44.19/hr $91,920/yr
13. Optometrists $42.35/hr $88,100/yr
14. Computer and information systems managers $40.33/hr $83,890/yr
15. Physicists $40.26/hr $83,750/yr
16. Air traffic controllers $40.07/hr $83,350/yr
17. Petroleum engineers $39.33/hr $81,800/yr
18. Nuclear engineers $38.56/hr $80,200/yr
19. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates $38.24/hr $79,540/yr
20. Marketing managers $37.70/hr $78,410/yr
Figures reflect mean hourly pay projected out to a year-round, full-time annual average.
According to a recent survey conducted by The Conference Board, average salary increases in many industries (such as manufacturing,
trade, and utilities) have dropped below 4 percent for the first time in nine years for some major employee groups. Estimates for 2003
indicate average pay increases will be 4 percent for all employee groups in all industry categories. Meanwhile, Time Magazine reports that
large companies, such as AT&T, Boise Cascade, and Starwood Hotels
are freezing salaries, which means that, with inflation factored in, compensation is actually reduced. "To add insult to injury," Time Magainze
reports, "companies everywhere are reducing bonuses and overtime and eroding health and pension benefits."
Time Magazine reports that more companies are offering such
perks as on-site massages and hair salons, take-home meals and pet health insurance, according to surveys by employee-benefits
consultants. But there's a catch. Most of the new benefits are paid for by workers, the people being asked to do more work for
the same -- or lower -- pay. "Companies are adding 'soft' benefits that save employees time as opposed to 'hard' benefits
that cost employers money," says John Challenger, who heads an executive-outplacement firm based in Chicago. The bottom line
is greater employee-retention rates.
If your school, organization, business or other
entity has a Web site, we welcome you to link to Quintessential Careers.
If you already have a link from your site, we want you to know we
appreciate it. If you don't have a link to us, please
send a request to your site's Webmaster to establish a
link to Quintessential Careers. Thanks so much!
For more details (including sample HTML copy), see our
Link to Us page.
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* The interview as sales call
* Can earning a certification boost your career?
* 10 things I wish I'd known before starting my first job
* Letters of recommendation
* 10 job-search reality checks
* Is job flexibility right for you?
* First days on the job: Strategies to get ahead
* Dealing with a bad boss
* Making your case for telecommuting
* Don't wait by the phone: Following up on all job leads
* Dining etiquette
* The relationship between personality and career choice
* What employers are really looking for
* New series: 10 mistakes to avoid in: resumes, cover letters, interviews, salary
negotiation, career change, networking, job-search
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
for those who have been asked to give a speech and
need assistance in researching and writing their
remarks.
Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
event at your college or organization? The Quintessential
Careers Speakers Bureau can help! Our quintessential experts
can provide presentations/workshops on a variety of
career-related topics.
