Being Happier At Work: 5 Ways To Get You There Now

Manager meeting with employee on the job. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Do you feel satisfied with your job?  If not, you might want to consider talking to your boss about how to make things better.  The following post offers five ways for becoming happier at work. Continue Reading

Top 10 Best Paying Jobs for Four-Year College Grads

Photo of petroleum engineer courtesy of Shutterstock

Many college and university students and graduates are motivated by a desire to make the world a better place. Many are motivated by money. And many are motivated by a combination of the two along with other factors. But if money is important to you then this list of the highest paying occupations for college graduates should be of great interest. Continue Reading

70% of Workers Say Increased Pay Key to Their Retention

Rosemary Haefner of Careerbuilder

If you could have one perk – any perk – in your workplace, what would it be? If you had the choice, would you rather have a bigger title or a bigger office? If you were thinking about leaving your company, what would make you stay? A new survey explores which job factors are most important to today’s workers. More than 3,900 full-time workers nationwide participated in the survey conducted online by Harris Interactive from November 1 to November 30, 2012.

Nearly one-third of employers (32 percent) reported that top performers left their organizations in 2012 and 39 percent are concerned that they’ll lose top talent in 2013. While most workers (66 percent) stated that they are generally satisfied with their jobs, one in four (25 percent) said they will change jobs in 2013 or 2014. Continue Reading

6 of 10 Top Paying Majors in Engineering

Marilyn Mackes of NACE

Technical majors—particularly those in engineering—dominated the list of top-paying majors in 2012, according to a new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s January 2013 Salary Survey found that six engineering majors were among the 10 highest-paid at the bachelor’s-degree level.  Continue Reading

#1 Professional Goal for 2013 Is Developing New Skills

Nicole Williams, LinkedIn career expert

Long after all of the presents have been unwrapped and the ball has dropped, a lot of attention is paid to resolutions — the most common ones being losing weight and drinking less — that most people won’t keep past the middle of January. LinkedIn surveyed more than 7,100 professionals around the world and found that 74 percent of people globally made a professional goal for 2012, and of that number, fifty-six percent of those professionals said that they actually achieved their goal last year. In the United States specifically, 70 percent of people made a professional goal for 2012, and 56 percent of those people succeeded at accomplishing that goal.

Here are the top five professional goals people in the U.S. said they want to achieve in 2013: Continue Reading

72% of Employers Offering Year-End Bonuses, Up From 53% in 2011

As the nation’s economy continued to improve in 2012, so did employers’ generosity when it comes to rewarding worker contributions to success.  Results of a new survey show that 72 percent of employers plan to offer some type of year-end bonus this year, up from 53 percent a year ago.

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

The survey of human resources executives conducted by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. found that nearly 28 percent of employers will hand out bonus checks based on the company’s annual performance.  Another 17 percent said their companies will award bonuses to a select group of employees based on individual performance.

The results of the non-scientific survey were based on approximately 100 responses to an e-mail poll distributed in November.  Among those responding, only 21 percent said no bonuses would be distributed this year.  In contrast, the 2011 survey saw more than 43 percent say no bonuses would be handed out that year. Continue Reading

5 Best Practices for Job Seekers Looking for Next Career Opportunity

A recent survey asked top third party recruiters (also known as headhunters) to weigh-in on best practices to help job seekers find their next career opportunity. The data suggests that when submitting job applications, developing an online profile and networking with recruiters, there are some very clear do’s and don’ts.

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7 Ways Your Looks Affect Your Pay

STEM Degrees Financially Rewarding for Minority Students

For minority students pursuing STEM degrees, the payoff could be huge.

Minority college students who major in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math – earn at least 25 percent more than their peers who study humanities or education, according to the results of a new study.

And those who took jobs related to their STEM degrees earned at least 50 percent more than their classmates who majored in humanities or education fields.

Published in the June issue of Research in Higher Education, the study followed more than 1,000 Asian and Pacific Islander, Latino and black students over nine years. The students were scholarship applicants for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which awards grants to highly motivated, low-income minority students. Continue Reading

54% of Employers Plan to Hire Recent College Grads

The college graduating class of 2012 is heading into a better job market than alumni of the previous three years, according to a new study. More than half of employers (54 percent) reported they plan to hire recent college graduates in 2012, up from 46 percent in 2011, 44 percent in 2010 and 43 percent in 2009. The national survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive from February 9 to March 2, 2012, included more than 2,000 hiring managers across industries and company sizes.

“This is the first time since the recession that we’re seeing a majority of employers planning to add recent college graduates to their employee roster,” said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America. “Companies across industries are placing a strong emphasis on recruiting fresh talent for technology-related roles and positions designed to drive revenue – and they’re willing to pay more for high-skill, educated labor.”

How much will college grads likely earn?

Of those who plan to hire recent college graduates, 29 percent expect to offer higher starting salaries than they did in 2011. While employers were most likely to report that they would pay between $30,000 and $40,000, a significant portion will extend offers exceeding $50,000. Continue Reading