Bargaining for Dollars: How to Get the Best Salary Deal

I've been a victim of the Grateful Job Syndrome. For example, my professional career started in television news, where I worked as a news assistant. It was a great opportunity and I was so grateful for the job that I accepted the salary ($15,000) without a second thought.

That was in 1981 and even back then, $15,000 did not stretch far. Since then, I've gotten smarter about getting paid. My Number #1 Tip: Be patient. Don't be the first to chat about numbers. Hit the pause button when numbers are finally discussed.

With that tip and others, MSN has a very helpful piece about self-worth and salaries.

Here are my favorite tips from the article:

3. Research the normal salary range for this type of position. If you have close contacts at the hiring company, they may be able to provide you with the actual salary guidelines for the job grade or position. Otherwise, you can find out what other companies are paying individuals with your skills and education by checking out third party salary research. You can access a variety of salary surveys and reports by going to www.CareerBuilder.com and clicking on the Advice and Resources tab.


4. Don't be the first to give a definitive figure. Ask for the range of salary for this position before offering any figure you have in mind. (In some cases, the manager may have discretionary power to go 20 percent above the highest figure he or she mentions to get an exceptional candidate.) source: MSN

Likewise, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Winning Through Negotiation by John Ilich has terrific suggestions for success in getting a pay raise.

These are a few of the tips:

1. Select a time of day when you are at your best.
2. Make the pitch to your boss on your turf (your office) or on neutral territory.
3. Use the good mood factor. Pick a time of day when your boss is feeling good.
4. Be concrete: Have a specific target. Clearly explain why you deserve a raise.
5. Have a menu of perks. If the salary pitch does not work, have alternative non-financial bonuses to discuss: a new office, a flexible schedule, a new title.
6. Practise your pitch. Rehearse.
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Web Pages That Suck.com

Want to make more money on your site?

There's help: Web Pages That Suck.com is the actual name of a website featured in a New York Times Article: How to make your web site sing.

Web Pages That Suck provides links to websites that are hard on the eye or the mind and the features include the "Daily Sucker." It is a very informative and entertaining site.

A site must have addictive content, said Vincent Flanders, a Web design consultant in the Seattle area who is the creator of Webpagesthatsuck.com, a site that analyzes why some pages do not work. “People must be willing to crawl through a sewer for it. --from the New York Times

Personally, when it comes to blogs, I am especially fond of the content and design of Millionaire Artist and Dumb Little Man. Those sites sing to me.

But I've also picked up a few pointers from the New York Times piece and the sucky website site.

1. The front page counts most.
The first screen view is important. In newspapers, it's called above the fold (that top half of the front page). Not everyone scrolls down to the lower half of the screen.

Studies by Mr. Nielsen’s company, the Nielsen Norman Group, an Internet design firm in Fremont, Calif., show that only 50 percent of Web visitors scroll down the screen to see what lies below the visible part on their PC monitor.--NYT

2. Grammar is important.

3. Get rid of unnecessary items: Too many bells and whistles can be a turnoff.

4. Avoid "Mystery Meat Navigation," which are links that don't tell the reader where they are going. Like this. (Hint: it's a link to an article about mystery meat links.)

5. Don't be long winded. And on that note. I'm signing off.

Here are other links to articles about blogging and money that I found helpful.

1.Blogging for customers from Forbes

2.40 ways to make money on the Internet from Dumb Little man

3.7 ways to make the most of your blog from Folksonomy, which was featured on Cyberjournalist.net.

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