How Will You Spend Your 3 Percent Raise?
The economy is destroying jobs and retirement plans, but if you stretch the concept of good news, employers are coming to the rescue with talk of small pay raises this year.
So Much for Those Early Retirement Plans
Until recently, Jonathan Bernstein, a baby boomer and small-business owner in the Los Angeles area, had plans to “semi-retire.” On turning 60 in 2011, Bernstein had hoped to cut his workload in half, and he and his wife were contemplating purchasing a home in a state with a lower cost of living than California. But those plans have been scuttled now that the couple has seen values dwindle on both their home and Bernstein’s self-employed pension plan. Bernstein says his pension plan has dropped about 25 to 30 percent.
Everything’s Negotiable In Your Career
Terry Hird is a professional negotiator in Silicon Valley who enjoys teaching others the craft. Arranging a time to interview him by phone didn’t involve a lot of back and forth. It was a take it or leave it proposition.
Do You Have the Stamina for Career Success?
In the book Executive Stamina: How to Optimize Time, Energy and Productivity to Achieve Peak Performance, authors Marty and Joshua Seldman make the case that by “optimizing your effectiveness,” you can enjoy a “long, balanced and successful career.”
Is Social Networking a Career Safety Net?
There are endless reasons to build a strong network of professional contacts. But perhaps none is more compelling in 2008 than the goal of establishing a career safety net.
