Skill: Microsoft Office (United States)

In your first couple of months on the job, preferably sooner than later, do one big project that goes above and beyond what is expected. The project should be something that will last and you can be directly credited for. Make sure your boss is aware of the project and this will give you a great first impression as well as boost your confidence from the positive feedback you receive.

No associate should be surprised when it comes to their end of year review.

As long as both the associate and manager are doing their part. You should be receiving regular periodic performance assessments. Including a mid year review for a detailed performance discussion.

At each meeting be prepared and engage in a fact based discussion. Each session should answer questions related to your performance as outlined in your annual performance objectives with written feedback.

"No raise due to budget concerns", this is a cop out answer and wrong. Budgets are just that, planned expenses. However, if this answer is provided, it fair to ask how that can happen? or Seek your next step options outside your manager. Many times it’s not if there was not enough money, it a matter of how those moneys were allocated.

Also evaluate your current salary to your department's market reference point (MRP) as this to can be taken into account. This becomes next assessment factor if performance ratings for associates are the same.

EXAMPLE:

Below is a simplistic look at a 10 associate department but represents the basic idea and order which raises could be assessed. Performance first then MRP, see that 2 associates may not be considered.

(APO) 1 to 5 rating with 5 being best.

LOW: 28,000

MRP: 30,000

HIGH:42,000

Connie current salary is 30,000 and rated 5 on 1-5 scale.

Eddie current salary is 29,000 and rated 4 on 1-5 scale.

Juanita current salary is 31,000 and rated 4 on 1-5 scale.

John current salary is 29,000 and rated 3 on 1-5 scale.

Betty current salary is 41,000 and rated 3 on 1-5 scale.

Not eligible due to poor performance:

Janice current salary is 41,000 and rated 2 on 1-5 scale.

Ralph current salary is 28,000 and rated 2 on 1-5 scale.

So bottom line:

Know, live and breath your annual performance expectations.

If not provided, ask for periodic written performance evaluations.

Keep in mind your salary in relationship to dept. MRP.

If you still feel your review and associated compensation is improper express your concerns and use your company policies or contact HR.

Going back to school seems like a logical solution in tough employment times. It makes a person feel better, feel productive. (like going to confession or something) And companies hire graduates. But, if a person doesn't have a part time job, parents, internships or some way to subsidize the education cost through grants or scholarships, then going back to school is a financial risk. Experience is what many businesses desire in a job candidate, with the schooling as a traditional formality. Some may agree with my personal opinion that school is a business, and an expensive one. The customers are the students. Even now, I still have student loans to pay and it took a lot longer than expected to finish my program. (Not just for me but almost 90% of my peers.) And those same peers are not seeing quite the advertised return on their investment for a long, long time. Ultimately it is a personal choice. People attend school for different reasons (socially, etc) building connections to the community in which they graduate. It really depends on what the market dictates per degree classification and companies are paying to hire.

Do your job, focus on your career. If you have been in a job for 3 or more years, it has become your career. Want a different career? You must make choices to spend time and money to progress. Wishing, hoping, talking, thinking are not achieving any goals. Get educated. Volunteer. Do more with less. Always be improving. Be self-motivated. Bring something positive to work everyday if only a smile.

If you are looking for a job opportunities, I highly suggest networking with your professors. In my experience they are often contacted by professionals that have available jobs. They can point you in the right direction and they become a great reference for you. This is much more effective than simply soliciting general offers.

Since the company is usually compensated a fixed amount based on current contract terms, raises are not common because they cut into company profit margins. The best you can hope for is to grab the full amount your contract rate increases per year if such terms are built into your contract.

The best chance for a pay raise is to identify another company in need and change companies to work for them. This is especially true if the other company was just awarded the contract and does not yet have the personnel to start the contract when required. At that point, the new company has almost no options other than to hire you. This was my strategy when I moved from my last company to my current one and I negotiated a 25% raise without my current company knowing.

after takeing a computer repair cource in a job training school, i got the good news that i could be makeing up to 15.00 an hour.... the bad news..... finding someone to hire you in the area i live is near impossible and im too broke to relocate..... the irony.

Computer based training is a great way to learn new technology quickly and it is affordable for anyone. I am not big on certifications, but I must say they will open doors especially when dealing with inexperienced recruiters, managers, human resource people.

Most IT jobs have the opportunity to work a variety of schedules. This is one of the best benefits about working in the IT field. I for instance work 4 ten hour days. This gives me three days off every week. If I want I can take one of my vacation days during the week and get four days off. I can do this often because other operators want OT. I get three weeks vacation every year, that equals 12 days for my ten hour a day schedule. I work Saturday-Tuesday 4pm to 2am. I then take a Saturday off and I don't have to be back to work until Sunday at 4pm. I leave Wednesday morning, fly somwhwere like Denver, Colorado. I get there around 3pm on Wednesday hang out and skii for three days. Then I fly back Sunday morning and get home about 3pm and go to work. The important aspect of a job is that its just a job and I know that working five days a week Mon-Fri is not for me. Is it for you?

Dress to impress. We often read about dressing to impress or dress like an executive you want to be (ie: in a suit and heels) but let me tell you that you should dress like one of them, just better. I used to work in a very formal corporate atmosphere so I was a bit shocked to see even my boss in jeans and sneakers. Much as we want to stand out, we should never stand out like a sore thumb. So I still wear heels to my office, but now with slim fit jeans!