How to Answer the Toughest Interview Questions

The most effective method to Answer the Toughest Interview Questions The hardest inquiries addresses can be misleadingâ€"all things considered, by what means can educate me concerning yourself be a snare? In all actuality, these are questions that require some idea behind them, and that implies you would prefer not to appear as though the notorious deer in headlights while you scramble for an answer. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-promotion 1467144145037-0'); }); Here are the absolute most normal extreme inquiry types, and how to overcome them.What is your greatest shortcoming?/Tell me about a period you fizzled./What is your most prominent botched chance? These are questions intended to persuade you to be completely forthright, and to (informally raise any warnings for the questioner). They're somewhat of a snare. On the off chance that you state you don't have any shortcomings or disappointments, they're probably going to continue burrowing until you uncover something you might not have any desire to uncover. In the event that you utilize a conspicuously positive shortcoming, like I love my activity to an extreme, that will probably likewise bring about all the more pushing for the genuine you.Instead, stand up to these inquiries head-on. Prior to the meeting, prep a few instances of times you confronted difficulty in your activity, however that you persisted. Figure out how to transform it into an indirect access constructive: My shortcoming is that I attempt to take on something over the top, however I've learned en route to believe the individuals around me and work on sensible designs to take care of business. Or I used to have issues with association, yet now I've built up an arranging technique that works for me, and I additionally exploit instruments like Asana to keep me on track.Are you a cooperative person?/Tell me about a period you dealt with strife./What might you do on the off chance that you couldn't help contradicting your boss?These questions are intended to measure your capacity to work with others. Off base answers include: There's no 'I' in 'group,' right? However, you additionally would prefer not to resemble a center of-the-pack weakling. The most ideal approach to deal with addresses like these is to have explicit instances of how you've worked together with others previously. In the event that you were the pioneer, ensure you accentuate that, and talk about how significant it is for the entire group to function admirably together and set aside contrasts so the work gets done.Aren't you overqualified for this position?/Where do you see yourself in five years?/What are your long haul goals? These are duty questions. The last individual an organization needs to recruit is somebody who's going to rush for another open door a half year in. All things considered, the questioner knows you're not liable to place in 50 years in this activity, yet it's acceptable to console the person in question that you're focused on the possibility of this job. The response to the drawn out inquiry shouldn't be, I see myself directly here in this position, yet certainly talk about how you see yourself developing into the job and what your expert objectives are in the industry.The overqualified question can be particularly clingy, particularly in an extreme activity advertise were individuals simply need a foot in the entryway. In the event that that is the situation, be straightforward that you're looking for a position where you can settle in and fabricate another arm of your profession, getting new encounters and bringing your range of abilities to this new position, regardless of whether it's a stage back in seniority.If you practice these sorts of inquiries previously, and have a psychological rundown of explicit tales and focuses you need to hit in the meeting, the meeting ought to go all the more easily. You never need to be gotten unsuspecting, you begin meandering aimlessly or admitting to things that make you resemble a more vulnerable competito r. Continuously figure out how to turn answers to these inquiries as either a quality or as a learning experience, and you'll excel on talk with day.

10 Free Tools Freelancers Must Use to be more Efficient - CareerMetis.com

10 Free Tools Freelancers Must Use to be progressively Efficient Being a specialist is a hustle.You need to stress over getting the customers, conveying the activities inside a timetable, getting paid, and afterward getting more clients.evalWith such a large number of moving parts in the independent work, you should be at the highest point of your game and get all the help you can.One territory that can truly make you super-effective is thinking about the correct devices. There are numerous valuable instruments out there that can assist you with smoothing out your procedure, improve the nature of your expectations, and permit you to deal with your ventures better.In this article, I need to share 7 FREE devices that you can begin utilizing right presently to be better and moreproductive freelancers.1. GrammarlyevalNo matter what you do as a consultant, composing stuff will be a piece of your work. Furthermore, on the off chance that you're an independent essayist, your job would likewise rely upon it.Even in case you're not an author by calling, co mposing messages or undertaking refreshes are probably going to be a piece of your work.Grammarlyhas a superb chrome augmentation Boomerangis a free Chrome expansion that permits you to send messages sometime in the not too distant future or date.This spares time as you can plan an email and forget about it. It's particularly useful when you're working with a customer who is in an alternate time zone.Additionally, it additionally causes me in keeping your inbox clean Google Apps has some magnificent devices that are free and incredibly useful.If your work includes information, you can utilize Google Sheets. You can team up with individuals continuously and even visit with individuals who are getting to the document.It's likewise an extraordinary apparatus to keep up a track of cutoff times and diverse customer projects.In case you have to utilize a word processor for composing articles or even make proposition for customers, you can do that with Google Docs.Along with all the Google Apps instruments, you additionally get free space on Google Drive. This can be incredibly helpful as you can make customer explicit envelopes and give them get to. This would then be able to permit you to keep all the customer related documents in one place.4. DropboxBeing a specialist, it is decimating to lose your basic information. Dropboxis an incredible distributed storage alternative that you can use alongside Google Drive.It accompanies a free 2 GB space that ought to be adequate much of the time 5. Salvage TimeIf you end up investing a lot of energy in web based life or messages, you can utilize the free form of Rescue Time.evalIt permits you to follow your utilization and lets you find where you're investing your non-profitable time. You can likewise set clocks when you have spent increasingly a predetermined measure of time on a site Even when you're beginning, utilizing an expert looking receipt makes you look great, as contrasted and common layouts in word or Excel.Usin g free devices can truly bolster your work and make you progressively profitable when beginning. When you have a built up customer base and a ringing register, you can change to progressively refined paid tools.8. LoomSometimes, rather than clarifying stuff by means of email or over a call, it is smarter to just record a screen catch and offer it with your group or your client.Loomis a free Chrome expansion that you can use to in a flash make recordings. Some helpful use instances of this can incorporate sending your customer a walkthrough of a device or preparing your group utilizing videos.9. WorkflowyWorkflowyis a free instrument that permits you to design your work and get everything composed at one single spot. It is nothing an except for a long single page where you can make slugs and sub-bullets.What works for Workflowy is the straightforwardness with which it permits you to rapidly have every one of your errands in a single spot. When you have everything in Workflowy, you ca n orchestrate and revamp slugs and sub-bullets.Each shot can be a solitary undertaking in itself and afterward you can make various sub-projectiles for it. In the free form, you can list up to 100 errands in Workflowy.You can download and utilize Workflowy on your PC/work area just as utilize its iPhone application. Anything you include in it gets synchronized all the devices.10. EvernoteEvernoteis an incredible application that causes you catch thoughts and have all the exploration at one place.It has an electronic form just as an application â€" with perfect synchronization. You can make records, include pictures and recordings, screen cuts from the web, just as PDF documents and spot it in Evernote.If you're working with a group, you can likewise impart your notes to your group or your client.The above are scarcely any devices that a specialist ought to consider to be progressively capable in their everyday work. The majority of these devices referenced here likewise have some pa id form to it, and you can consider redesigning if your work requests it.

Cant Afford the Time to Network - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Can't Afford the Time to Network - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You Cant Afford NOT To As I've been growing new projects for my business, I've concentrated increasingly more on requesting that individuals illuminate their greatest systems administration challenge. The reactions I've gotten back have been educational. I had expected answers like How would I get individuals to restore my call?, How would I sharpen my message with the goal that it's perfectly clear who I am and what I'm searching for? and How would I locate the best systems administration occasions to join in? While I've gotten a couple of those, by far most of issues have based on one amazing region: Time. I dont have the opportunity to catch up in the wake of systems administration or stay in contact with contacts I dont have the opportunity to construct associations with collaborators, I have a lot of work to do I dont possess energy for this informal communication stuff, I have to develop my business. See, we as a whole have a similar number of hours in the day, and none of us can take care of that. In any case, what we do have power over is the manner by which we go through those hours. Tune in up: in case you're not focusing on systems administration, your system will never focus on YOU. The entirety of the extremely fruitful individuals I know put resources into themselves and in their connections. For a scene of Smart Networking Radio, I as of late talked with Michael Port, a top of the line creator. He imparted to me that he goes through 30 minutes every day doing various things to keep in contact with his system. brief minutes Consistently he interfaces two individuals he realizes who should realize one another however don't. He additionally skims distributions searching for fascinating articles to advance to individuals. That is at least three individuals that he's contacting each day, 15 individuals every week. Accepting a liberal a month and a half off every year for occasions and get-aways, that is right around 700 lives Michael is increasing the value of consistently! Do you believe he's profiting by this by any stretch of the imagination? Definitely! On the off chance that an effective creator and business person like Michael Port can (and does!) take 30 minutes per day to associate three individuals, every last one of us ought to have the option to spend at least 30 minutes out of each week to do something very similar. Throughout a year, you'll make 140 more grounded associations. What's more, if only one of those associations brings a new position opportunity, new customer or new venture to your entryway that you wouldn't have found out about else, you'd be unable to contend that the week by week speculation wasn't justified, despite any potential benefits. All things considered, what amount time do you squander every week on careless Internet surfing or unscripted television, and what are you getting for it? However, what you need to acknowledge is that the 30 minutes won't mystically show up in your life, you need to put aside the time in your calendar. So here's a 5-advance procedure to help make organizing time a piece of your week by week schedule so you can without much of a stretch form the commonly useful connections that self discipline your profession and business as long as possible. Put aside the time 1) Decide on your optimal 30-minute square. Regardless of whether it's 30 minutes on Monday morning before the week begins, noon on Wednesday, or Sunday morning before the children wake up, pick a period which has minimal probability of clashing with another movement that could spring up out of nowhere and divert you. 2) Set a standing meeting with yourself. Much the same as a gathering with your fitness coach, or a standard workforce conference you have at the workplace, if this time is closed off ahead of time, you'll be less enticed to plan something different during that time. Set it up as a common arrangement in your schedule, ideally featured in a particular shading so it sticks out. 3) Choose a systems administration action or set of exercises that you appreciate doing and can finish in the 30-minute time frame. Maybe interfacing two individuals by email or sending articles doesn't get all of you that energized. Perhaps rather you'd want to invest that energy talking with LinkedIn contacts by telephone, Skype or IM to become familiar with what they do, getting progressively engaged with an online gathering, or composing written by hand notes to thank individuals who've helped you. The rundown of potential outcomes is perpetual. Get innovative, pick anything you need, however pick something, that is the key. 4) Keep your materials sorted out in one spot. In case you will compose notes, keep your writing material, pens and stamps together in one cabinet. In the event that you intend to send articles as your fundamental action, set up an e-organizer on your hard drive or a physical envelope in the first rate of your work area to put articles that you go over during the week. Thusly you can finish your assignments as productively and easily as could reasonably be expected. Also, fun materials like a delightful pen that composes truly well or a manila organizer in a splendid shading, can help make that action appear to be less similar to a task. 5) Track your advancement. Try not to anticipate moment results, yet keep a rundown of the individuals you connect with during this procedure, just as a rundown of chances that discover their approach to you and where they originated from. Each quarter or so perceive how much cover there is. With such consistency in your systems administration exercises, even in as meager time as that half hour every week, will undoubtedly make more force for yourself than if you simply continued working around your work area with your nose to the grindstone, and you'll have the option to see more clear proof of that through following. Having no an ideal opportunity to organize is an unadulterated fantasy, and as a rule it's only an advantageous reason for inaction. Quit accusing others, the clock, the economy, and so forth for your absence of chance and assume liability for how you invest your energy. Discover one dumb, inefficient action that you do every week and supplant only 30 minutes of itâ€"you don't need to surrender it totallyâ€"centered rather around interfacing with others and building further connections. Make this venture and duty in yourself. Is it true that you aren't justified, despite any potential benefits? Creator: Liz Lynch is originator of the Center for Networking Excellence and creator of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008). She composes, talks and counsels to experienced experts on the most proficient method to consistently coordinate online networking and conventional systems administration to spare time and quicken results.

Recruiting Tops List of Corporate Social Media Initiatives SelectMinds Survey Finds 72% of US Firms Actively Engaged in Social Recruiting - Workology

Recruiting Tops List of Corporate Social Media Initiatives SelectMinds Survey Finds 72% of US Firms Actively Engaged in Social Recruiting - Workology 69% Plan to Increase Social Media Budgets in 2012; ROI Measurement Remains a Challenge NEW YORKSelectMinds, a developer of social recruiting and community management solutions, today announced the findings of its annual ROI of Social Media in the Enterprise survey. The data shows that 86% of firms are currently using social media in their organizations, and 72% are actively engaged in social recruiting initiatives. Developed to establish benchmarks for corporate use of in-house and external social networks, the SelectMinds survey asked 216 executives at US firms with 3,000 or more employees to share the details of their corporate social media initiatives. Topics covered include social media usage, management responsibilities and results measurement. Following are the key findings: Recruiting Rules the Social Roost Corporations are using social networks for many purposes, but the most frequently cited social media initiative among survey respondents was recruiting: 72% of respondents reported that their companies were using social media for recruitment/talent acquisition, followed by branding-engagement awareness (69%), recruitment branding (68%) marketing (63%), corporate communications/PR (57%) and communications with customers (52%). Among HR professionals, 81% of those surveyed are using social networks to help them recruit candidates. LinkedIn and Facebook are the most frequently used sites: 79% mine LinkedIn for candidates, 65% have a company page on LinkedIn and 63% have a dedicated Facebook page for jobs/careers. Though HR has emerged as a leader in social media adoption, management of corporate social media initiatives is fragmented. 33% of respondents said they had a dedicated social media team or person, while 44% of respondents said social media management was part of several peoples’ responsibilities. Corporate Social Networks Gain Momentum with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter While the majority of corporate users surveyed are maintaining Facebook pages (86%), LinkedIn groups (82%) and Twitter accounts (71%) on behalf of their companies, in-house corporate social networks have also gained traction in most firms: 63% of respondents reported their companies are using corporate social networks for current employees, 40% have developed them exclusively for recruiting and 33% have created alumni networks. Corporate social networks are being used primarily for job listing/recruiting (62%), training and learning (53%), HR benefits/incentives (52%), event information (52%) and accessing news (52%). 69% of organizations plan to increase their social media budgets and 85% say they are seeking actively or planning to invest in social media technology. Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media When asked to rate the effectiveness of social media programs and weigh in on best approaches for measuring success, results were mixed: 60% of respondents said corporate social media programs are most effective when used for communications, followed by brand awareness (57%), increasing the effectiveness of marketing (55%), brand monitoring (52%) and positive press (50%). Among the most common metrics for evaluating the success of social media programs, 66% count hires from social networks, 65% count website visitors and 63% count Facebook fans. Very few measure in terms of reduced expenses or increased revenue (27% and 10% respectively). Just 5% of respondents rated themselves as “very confident” that they are accurately measuring the ROI of their social media activities. “Corporations are beyond the leap-of-faith stage with their social media programs: they have them up and running and they know they are producing results. They just can’t agree on how best to quantify them,” said Anne Berkowitch, CEO, SelectMinds. “The key now is to build the infrastructure necessary for firms to systematize their social media programs to produce real, measurable ROI. We look forward to being a big part of that evolution.” Download the full report ROI of Social Media in the Enterprise. Surveying was conducted in June 2011 and administered by Illuminas, a global research and consultancy practice that delivers strategic marketing intelligence across B2B and consumer markets worldwide. About SelectMinds SelectMinds develops social recruiting and community management solutions that help corporations source talent and new business through the online connections of their current and former employees. Delivered as SaaS, SelectMinds solutions include TalentVine™, an online referral recruiting tool integrated with social networks to increase referral candidates, and CommunityConnect, a corporate social networking solution that is tailored to employee and alumni populations. TalentVine and CommunityConnect can be deployed individually or together for the most powerful sourcing results. With SelectMinds’ technology, companies such as eBay, J.P Morgan, ADP, Credit Suisse, Lockheed Martin, IBM and Swiss Re, are able to source talent and new business while extending their world-class brands. SelectMinds is privately held with funding from Bessemer Venture Partners. www.selectminds.com

Get Your CV Noticed - Top 5 Ways to Make Your CV Stand Out

Get Your CV Noticed - Top 5 Ways to Make Your CV Stand Out Get Your CV Noticed Tip 1 â€" Stay Relevant.Of course, your best CV for any application is one that has been custom fitted explicitly to it. Try not to feel like you need to list all that you've at any point done â€" have a careful perused of the expected set of responsibilities and match the applicable experience you have to the abilities the business is searching for. At the end of the day, persuade the hirer that you have a demonstrated reputation in conveying brings about their territory. This will make your application a substantially more tempting read; whoever's seeing it won't need to filter through reams of text to discover the thing they're pursuing. Cutting down your CV along these lines will likewise help keep it reasonably compact â€" a blessing for occupied enrollment specialists. This is the primary spot to begin when attempting to get your CV noticed.Get Your CV Noticed Tip 2 â€" Show results.Rather than just posting the sets of responsibilities for the jobs you have recently held, record what you by and by, really did. Notice explicit errands and undertakings which exhibit your capacities in your field, don't simply put down the conventional duties you had. This will include a fundamental feeling of character to your CV, which no other candidate can have. Correspondingly, this is an opportunity to flaunt the particular abilities you picked up from doing these undertakings, and exhibit how your vocation has created as of late. Do this, and you will make it difficult for a business to overlook your application.Get Your CV Noticed Tip 3 â€" Be human.In the fuss to make reference to everything that you need to, in as not many words as could reasonably be expected, it tends to be anything but difficult to lose a feeling of humankind in your CV. Try not to belittle the significance of this â€" bosses need to get some answers concerning you as an individual, just as your expert characteristics. Compose a short close to home depiction to present your C V, which clarifies why you are applying as of now, and what only you can bring to the business. This will give some setting to the remainder of your CV, and permit the enrollment specialist to get a progressively adjusted picture of you. Be that as it may, ensure you keep this area expert and accurate!Get Your CV Noticed Tip 4 â€" Cut out the clichés.With the quantity of CVs that run over their work areas, numerous scouts will have found out about 'eager', 'dynamic', and 'roused' competitors a decent scarcely any occasions. Consider what you're truly passing on with these popular expressions. By and large, it is anything but a mess. Rather than making stupendous cases this way, show businesses you are these things with your experience. It's for others to portray you in such terms; your responsibility is to be them! In addition, words are at a higher cost than normal on your CV. Try not to squander them on unhelpful clichés.Get Your CV Noticed Tip 5 â€" Be visible.To advance yourse lf and your CV, you should clergyman an online nearness. Systems like LinkedIn are the undeniable decision for this, where you can set out your aptitudes and supports. Be that as it may, keeping up other expert online life records can just assistance you. For instance, a pro Twitter account on which you can share work or thoughts will dazzle spotters, and assist you with working up a name for yourself in your specific industry. This can likewise help with escaping a spell of being dismissed or not being approached to meet. An amazing on the web nearness another part of your application you can use to grab businesses' eye, so consider investing some energy into it.For much more exhortation to get your CV saw, visit our page 'The Ultimate Guide to Building a CV'.Like How2Become on Facebook. This passage was posted in Career Advice. Bookmark the permalink. Henry Hunter New GCSE Grading Structure: A Parent's GuideTop 10 Future Proof Jobs and Careers How to Get Them

4 Underrated Soft Skills To Add To Your CV - CareerEnlightenment.com

4 Underrated Soft Skills To Add To Your CV We've all known about the particular aptitudes that all CVS should gloat: conveying admirably, working incredible in a term and being a decent issue solver. These are pretty regular, you simply realize that your potential boss is shelled with these terms each time they filter through the heaps of applications!If you need to stand apart at that point consider utilizing some less normal ones to truly include that extra oomph to your CV.FocusingThis is a quality that ought to be more pertinent than any other time in recent memory nowadays. With web based life and abbreviated capacities to focus, being able to center can truly profit you in the work environment and in your hobbies.In his book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, writer Cal Newport features the advantages of concentrating on increasingly beneficial assignments! (Insight: not Facebook or Twitter.)Newport features three brilliant reasons concerning why centering is such a significant skill. Firstl y, those times of concentrated exertion permit you to deliver more than usual. Second, you'll stand apart in light of the fact that the vast majority pick to accomplish the simpler work choices (eg. checking messages) rather than huge projects. Lastly, it boosts your aptitudes and gifts such that gives your work all the more significance and gives you more satisfaction. It's a success/win!Emotional IntelligenceOften disregarded, enthusiastic insight is about your capacity to perceive and comprehend your feelings which is increasingly viewed as a significant key to success. Having passionate knowledge benefits you in various manners. One of the most clear is the manner by which it encourages you make better proficient relationships.By understanding what really matters to other people and creating constructive working connections, you will likewise figure out how to function better as a team. Additionally, having the option to comprehend your feelings and aptitudes will help you issue illuminate with or without feeling at gatherings. Need to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to get week after week refreshes from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another incredible employment looking through tip! Buy in! You have Successfully Subscribed!We despise spam as well. Withdraw whenever. Thoughtfulness regarding detailWhy is this important? Well, as indicated by a 2016 CareerBuilder study, 40% of employing directors went through under 60 seconds taking a gander at a resume. That implies on the off chance that they spot one mistake in your resume, at that point all things considered, your application may get overlooked!Attention to Detail is an extraordinary quality to add to your CV for various reasons. It shows that you're productive â€" you don't have to return to errands so as to address them. It likewise implies that you aren't known to burn through important time and assets which is crucial for a company.Another significant bit of leeway is cl ear and successful correspondence. (We as a whole expertise muddled Chinese Whispers gets). If the time isn't placed in to examine over the underlying message that when it arrives at the goal, it could peruse as something altogether different. Openness to FeedbackLets face it, no one appreciates criticism! However, being able to gain from others and take on valuable input can truly profit you. Being ready to do this is basic in the event that you need to grow expertly and personally. It is an interest in yourself.In Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, writers Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen feature a few difficulties while accepting feedback. If somebody is basic towards your work at that point it's imperative to ensure that you're not in a flash defensive.Instead, request specifics. By doing as such, you can get to the perceptions prompting their judgment and dazzle your collaborators when you both hear and consolidate their criticism!

Shit people say when they ask for a raise

Shit people say when they ask for a raise The shit people say when they ask for a raise Think before you ask for a raise The shit people say when they ask for a raise Everyone has a horror story from his or her industry. If you are a waiter, you have had the diner from hell. A demanding customer that left no tip. Work for the airline? Oy vey. If you were Santa your story is probably about the little crumb snatcher that had the crap scared out of him, literally when little Johnny took a seat in Santas lap. Every industry has their horror stories. For HR people, horror stories fall into a couple of different categories. The shit people say in interviews comes to mind. The other category that is HR water cooler fodder is the shit you hear when folks ask for a raise. Tenure doesnt mean doo-doo Raises are not given because you have been with a company for a certain number of years. They are not given because of a single completed project. Raises are given because you are bringing more value to the company. Tenure with a company gives you the POTENTIAL of bringing more value to the company because you have had more time to learn and master the specific skills your company needs. Time doesn’t mean you are owed anything. Most managers want to give a raise to someone because of the value they bring day in and day out. The following are the reasons they will NOT give you a raise and is the shit we hear when employees ask for a raise. “My significant other said I should be making X amount of dollars. You would be surprised how many times I have heard this when employees ask for a raise. When I hear this self-proclaimed logic, I hear a number of things and am thinking a whole lot more. What I didn’t hear is why you deserve a raise. I may be a complete asshole here, but if someone mentions their significant-other in this discussion, I am going to think even less of them. Who are you working for? Are you reporting to your manager at Acme Publishing or your future Ex? Who is judging the quality of your work at Acme Publishing? Just because your significant-other  sees that the Jones across the street bought a new Lexus does NOT concern Acme Publishing. “Joey comes in late every day and he told me he makes 5K more than I do.”     OMG!   Did I just learn that you two children are talking about your salaries? There are so many things wrong with this conversation I don’t know where to start, but I won’t let that stop me. No two significant others are equal and no two employees are equal. Even if you are doing the same job, in the same department, HR will rarely see two employees EXACTLY equal.   You have no insight into what is going on behind the scenes with Joey’s career. You don’t know what circumstances Joey is REALLY working under.   You don’t even know if Joey is telling you the truth. If someone doing the same job as you told you they were making X, there are not too many circumstances where you will admit to making less. I know what Joey makes and unfortunately, I cannot confirm or deny it to you, but 9 times out of 10 in this situation, he has inflated his number. Most people won’t tell others they are making less than someone else doing the same job. I see the numbers and I hear the stories . Most people inflate their salary because they don’t think that anyone would be so dumb as to tell his or her manager about this conversation. Anytime two people talk about salary, someone is going to walk away hurt. You don’t want to walk away hurt and you don’t want to hurt someone else. My friend works at the company down the street and he gets a raise every year. I haven’t had a raise in three years Yes, I have heard this, I really have. Don’t worry that the company down the street is in a different industry, a different size, and your friend does a completely different job. (all three were the case) Just because another company does something, doesn’t mean it is feasible for another company.  If you haven’t had a raise in three years, there could be any number of reasons, but if you are using this logic, well. . . . . “I just did X, Y, and Z.   I deserve a raise” If you are looking for that upcoming opportunity, find out what it takes to make your it happen. Ask what it take. Explain that you will show them your value through a number of different skill sets that will be used to complete the  UPCOMING projects “X, Y, and Z”.  If they don’t agree that these projects demonstrate proficiency with additional skill sets that make you worth a raise, pin down what will. Make the deal beforehand. Remember, a raise is for the VALUE you bring to the company’s bottom line. If you are saving more money than you did when you first started the company can start to justify a raise. If you are bringing in more money than when you first started, the company can start to justify a raise. I don’t know too many companies that can justify a raise just for “showing up”. Present your case when you ask for a raise as you would propose any new idea. Present it from a business perspective. We might human, but to the business, we are just a commodity providing an ROI. In this economy it is tough, but most companies won’t be able to justify a raise until you are producing more or saving more. Produce the exact same level of output as you did the prior year, and you will be paid what you were last year. If we were producing 10 widgets an hour last year, and are producing 10 widgets an hour this year, then we are not worth more to the company. Professional athletes are a great example of a return on investment to a team/company. Athlete salaries are public and you know what everyone is making. Remember our two significant others from above?   No two SO’s are equal and no two employees are equal.   When was the last time you heard of two pro athletes in the same position getting the exact same contract?  Yes, the numbers are obscene, but the bottom line is that if you don’t produce, you don’t play. If lackluster performance continues, you lose your contract. Forget the marquee players right out of college for just a moment. Ninety-eight percent of the rookie players will receive a relatively decent salary out of college, and then on their second contract receive more money. They receive more because they have more experience and are bringing more to the team.   They are scoring more, blocking more, assisting more. They are bringing more value to the team. The points they put on the board, yards gained, assists or int erceptions are all indicators of performance.   As the athlete gets older, he or she starts to produce less for the team. They may have been with a team for 10 plus years and have a rabid fan base, but if they don’t produce, they will get cut. It isn’t about tenure. Tenure gives you the opportunity to develop the skills that will help your particular company. Next time you are going to ask for a raise, think it through from the business perspective, and you won’t be water cooler fodder. See you at the after party, HRNasty nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball. If you felt this post was valuable please subscribe here. I promise no spam,