Pay Raises and Salary Increases

I thought I should share this story to enlighten some of you who may be doing this where you work.  This is a story about a girl named Virginia.  You probably know someone like her.

Virginia is not a bad person.  She just doesn’t handle stress very well.  She is quick to blame other people for any problem that arises.  She has a big heart but she just doesn’t realize how her actions change everyone’s perception about her.

One day in 2008 I was visiting a client of mine.  Ironically, Virginia worked in human resources for this client.  She had only been working there for a matter of three or four months.  I got along well with her.  She liked to chit chat whenever I was there to do some work at the office.

I guess maybe she confided in me a little too much for my own good.  She began this habit of telling me things in confidence whenever I was around the office doing some work.  The things she would tell me were always work related.  basically she was complaining about how things were being run there.  She was unhappy with her workload.  She felt that management was abusing her skills and experience and didn’t really care about her personally.

I told her that the management (who I happened to know pretty well) did in fact care about her work as well as her as a person.  She was insistent that they of course had no idea how to run a company.   I guess the four million dollars they did in business each year and the many people that happily worked there weren’t proof enough for her that they did know what they were doing.

Being the diplomat that I am, I just listened to her when she would complain and I kind of played along nodding my head saying “Yeah, I guess I kind of see your point”.  I was basically just trying to keep everyone happy so that I wouldn’t jeopardize my contract with her organization.  Her complaining began to grow and grow.  Every time I would have work to do at that company, she would be there whining about this or that.

It basically got to a point where if an outsider had seen us, it would look like we were both complaining about something to do with her company.  I knew this was a bad road to go down.  It was no longer wise of me to allow this to continue.  I was forced to ask her to please keep her thoughts about her employers to herself.  I reminded her that her boss is the one who made sure my company got paid for the services we provided.  

That pretty much ended her complaining to me.  However, I started noticing that whenever she wasn’t around, her coworkers would make jokes about her complaining.  Now, I don’t think she was a bad person.  She cared for her coworkers.  Yet, because of her incessant whining, she painted herself as this bitchy office girl who was just always going to be miserable no matter what.

It didn’t take long before everyone in that organization knew exactly where she stood.  Everybody from the part time help right up to the CEO learned through the grapevine about how this girl was creating all this negativity in the organization.  Successful people know that negativity is like a cancer in the worklplace.

As you may have guessed, her days there were numbered.  Don’t be like Virginia.  Save your complaining for when you are home.  When you are at work, just do your damn job and otherwise keep your mouth shut.  She lost a really nice paying position with a lot of prestige and power that went along with it just because she couldn’t stop whining at the office. 

Don’t be like Virginia.  Instead of putting yourself in a position where you could be asking your boss for a pay raise, you’ll be asking some other company if they will please hire you.

The mood of employees these days is very concerning. Slow economies all over the country have left many employees jobless. Job hunting has become increasingly competitive, challenging and often times nearly impossible. If you knew where to look and if you would put a little more effort into it, your chances of finding one are much better.

Even though things are bad out there, there are still a number of companies hiring. So after a long and patient search, you finally have gotten a company contact you to arrange for an interview. You’re excited but you also don’t want to mess this up and wreck your chance for landing a job. You need to prepare and get yourself focused.

When was the last time you had to interview for a new job? A job interview can be a stressful experience for most potential workers. It is the time when one proves his skills to a potential employer. It is the time when you can possibly increase your chance for a much better life or a much better future. The ultimate goal that you will have for the interview is to land the job. If you make the necessary preparation in advance, you will find that you will handle the task confidently. Here are a few things to help you gear-up for the interview.

First impressions are everything. Make sure you dress like a professional for the day. During the big interview, you want to make a good impression by wearing something that projects professionalism and competency. Dark colored suits that are conservative apply to both men and women. It is also very important to groom your hair well and wear only a few accessories. You do not want to shift your interviewer’s attention to your big gaudy earrings or for them to be bothered by something else inappropriate.

Punctuality is very important. Arrive early for the job interview. Make sure you aren’t late. Getting there on time shows respect and makes a good impression. This also allows you just enough time to chill out for a few minutes and do a personal check-up before the interview starts. Coming around ten minutes before you were scheduled is advisable. If you arrive much earlier then that, just wait in your car. It is always wise to research about the location of your interview and the time it would take to travel. Also, allow yourself an extra thirty minutes to compensate for any possible delays on the highway. If you think you will be arriving late, it is common courtesy to notify the other person. Otherwise, your chances are small.

Employers like applicants who do their homework. So, do some research and be knowledgeable about the corporation you are applying to. Do some serious research on the business itself and take note of the various products or services they offer. Learn as much as possible about their type of business, customers, competitors and other related information. This will also make you and the interviewer more comfortable while talking about the business.

Try to match your skills with the job description. This is one way of ensuring that your skills match the company’s requirements. While in the interview, mention specific occurrences of how your talents will make a perfect fit for that specific job.

You must be able to ask some intelligent questions during the interview. List intelligent questions that you would like to ask about the company and the position advertised. The job interview is the perfect avenue where you can explore the opportunity of working for your potential employer while at the same time, learn more about the corporation. Don’t start off by asking about the salary.  Save that for later.  Preparing a list of intelligent questions in advance will give the impression that you are better prepared than others.

Don’t skimp when preparing for your interview. You have put way too much effort into getting this far. It would be a darn shame to waste it. You can’t be too well prepared for a job interview. It just is not possible. It can only help you to stand head and shoulders above the other job applicants.