People with Bachelors Degrees (United States)

Show the employer that you have strong interests in the company.

I'm working 50 - 55 hours a week - it never ends. Its been like this year after year. Yea they give you a 3% salary increase and a 3% bonus but I'm a stranger to my kids. The money is OK but I'd rather have a normal 40 hour work week and a manager who can make decisions. My manager is known as "no decision is a good decision". Never ask him for his opinion because he doesn't want to be held accountable for a decison that could come back to haunt him. I'm also on call 24/7 in case something goes wrong. My wife told me to tell them to "stuff it" because I'm not a doctor.

Nursing appears to be a very territorial profession and sadly, many compete for the favor of our doctors. If you ever have a preceptor who takes more smoke breaks than work assignments, ask to be re-assigned (forget about hurt feelings) your livelihood is on the line.

When switching from one department to another; when asked, be carefull how you portray the old department.

I was offered what I thought was my dream job three weeks before my wedding. The recruiter pressured me into starting right before the wedding. I finally agreed because I thought I'd found my dream job and I was afraid of losing it if I didn't start when they wanted. I told both the recruiter and the company's HR manager that I thought it was a bad idea to start when I knew I had a wedding and a week-long honeymoon coming up - not to mention the additional stress that would come along with balancing wedding planning with a new job.

Sure enough - I got sick two weeks in because of stress and my fiancee broke his ankle a week before the big day. Two days before the ceremony my new employer decided that "it wasn't working out" because I was "taking too much time off." Never mind the fact that I told my manager point-blank that my attendance would be sporadic until after the wedding. Never mind the fact that I offered - repeatedly - to work from home to compensate that. Never mind that he said he was agreeable to both things.

Lesson learned: never, ever allow a recruiter to pressure you into a situation that you know isn't a good idea. If the company wants you that bad, they'll wait. If they don't, well, then there are better jobs out there.

Be open about what you want. Be sure you advise them that you cannot be influenced by low salary expectations, and that you want what you earned in the industry. Know the going rate and do not ask for the sky. Be reasonable.

Yes the job interview is the time to get this settled. Otherwise, you will not e satisfied when the offer comes through and you have wasted your - and their - time.

The best way to advance in a company is to become a work-a-holic, but most people want to maintain a work-life balance. You can still maintain a good work-life balance and shine among your peers. For instance, do not be satisfied with the work you were given. Ask to become owner of some high visibility issues your company is having. And once you own it, you finish it. Never leave a problem hanging unsolved once you own it. Do not show every single chart you made. Some times, having extra charts in backup in case a question arises could be a good idea. But keep the body of your presentation short and to the point. When presenting to executive(s), think like an executive. He's not going to want to know about all the technical detail. Think in terms of dollar and customer, and a solid plan for closure on existing problem.

Before negotiating an intercompany transfer, feel out peers of the new location for any drastic differences in how they do business. For instance, California Retailers are presently under extreme pressures to prove "Salary Test Qualifications". This carries excessive importance placed on employee breaks, lunches, clock times, payroll, etc. in order for Managers to qualify for their pay status. It affects the ability of a California retail managers to make sales quotas similar to their out of state counterparts, as they spend about 15% of their focus on giving California mandated breaks at specified times. Managers are not allowed to complete projects outside of California mandated hours, and find it difficult to acquire bonuses as a result, comparatively speaking, with other states identical positions.

I wish for more personal time. It's tough when you're on a schedule driven project where 50+ hr weeks are the norm and there's no OT for management.

Seven years ago, I got a dream job in my dream field. I loved my job and the people and environment I worked in. Recognized for my single handedly creating procedures and solutions, for my job title, which had none in place when I started, I asked for, and received higher compensation for the great job I was doing. But five years ago, small indicators appeared that I ignored. There was a ceiling for being promoted, or more opportunity for career growth and pay in my company. Also, just as my workload became onerous, it became a battle to get support from the clerical staff because my boss was ineffective at managing work relationships and responsibility between the clerical staff and management. Eventually, the office deteriorated after a few years into politics instead of performance. When the overall job market plunged around the country and my city, we had some layoffs, so I was given even more work, but no additional pay. As the main breadwinner, I was afraid to 'rock-the-boat, grateful I had a steady paycheck and job security. Since I loved the work that I did, I didn't look for other opportunities, as if my job would go on forever. Unfortunately it has. The project finished, there were new ones, and I continued in the same position and was stalled to move forward. I got into a rut. Outsiders were hired for new jobs in our company, instead of promotions from within. So now I am bored, and considering leaving. After researching it, I realize I am being compensated above the average for my work in this industry, but that there isn't much more room to move up salary wise. The time and cost of more education, and the long hours I would have to put in, for more challenging positions, would not be recouped financially in this field. So I am researching other fields, that do not take a lot of training, education, money or time to switch into. I am now looking for a career that would allow me to START at a higher salary, challenge me to learn new things, utilize my strengths, and allow me more flexibility in time and increased income. Don't ignore the telltale warning signs of obstacles to advancement. Don't be intimidated by the job market or fear of rocking your 'security' boat. Had I not ignored the obvious around me, I could have researched and chosen a field to move into 3 years ago, and gotten the training or education to make my move by now. It took me 2 years to realize I am no longer growing and my performance is lagging, not because I reached my limit, but because the job and career is too limiting for me. I don’t regret my job and career, but its time for a change. No matter when you realize you are in a rut, or headed toward one, stop, weigh your options to continue as is, versus what could be and what it takes to make that change. Set goals, take that 1st step, and achieve what will make you happy.

But employers have volunteered to raise my pay after I did exceptional work. This has happened probably three times in my 12-year career. When I want more money, I usually find another job.