Fake It 'til You Make It

Do you ever see those people who look impeccably sharp in a suit? Their suit fits right, the shirt has french cuffs, their shoes are unscuffed, they're tan, their hair perfectly coifed and when they reach out to shake your hand... FLASH... you see their perfectly monogrammed cuff links. Who has the financial wherewithal to afford all that? Well you can at least get a little assistance in the cuff link department at the Executive Gift Shoppe. Although you do have to hunt around a bit, you can get a great pair of "gold" or "silver" cufflinks for $30 which is a steal considering today's current commodity prices. While you can't have all the trappings of a $2,000 power suit, at least you can add a little pizzaz to the average shirt without fearing the total of your credit card bill this month.

Negotiation 101

So its review time. The economy has tanked. Morale is low. You know that you should be lucky you have a job. And YET you also know that Bobby Bigwheel who sits next to you in cubeland is still making more money than you... undeserved. Its politically incorrect to bring this fact up and yet it pesters you as you work the same number of hours (if not more). Please welcome salary.com to your corner of the ring. For free (and if you really want a detailed report, for money), you can enter your job title, area code and education level to try and get a range of what the typical salary is out there. How does this help? When you enter your review (otherwise known as the boxing ring where throwdowns / bullying / all sorts of shennanigans are known to transpire), you can back up your request for a raise with "market data" that in fact you do deserve to earn more and you are in fact being paid below market standards. While this may only move the needle up $5K which equates to about $100 per paycheck, at least you are getting paid as much as Bobby.

Another Career Mentor

One of the greatest results of the current political climate has been the wake up call to America to replace their political apathy with opinions and interest in our current government. Their is plenty of fodder to react to, and finally people seem to be paying more attention to the issues. Penelope Trunk's blog provides that same type of material but in the career advice forum; often causing upwards of 80+ comments to her career advice and personal posts. Her advice runs the gamut from job hunting at your current job, job hopping and dating at the office. While I certainly don't agree with half of what she says, I appreciate her contrast to my very traditional workplace notions. Her posts engage and cause me to question the current workplace norms. Anyone who can provoke further thought, analysis and discussions merits promotion in my book.

Some of the posts which I found most interesting include:
Seven Reasons Why Graduate School Is Outdated
Bad Career Advice: Do What You Love
The New Girls Guide to Workplace Success

It provokes thought; not necessarily a desire to apply the advice to all areas of your life.