Archive for the 'Making money' Category


Forum: Mo’ money for contract jobs?

Monday, July 20th, 2009

This reader feels taken advantage of by the “consulting company” she works for. What’s your advice? I read your article about how to negotiate with a headhunter for a better offer. But if it’s a temp or contract job, how do you ask the agency for more money? You know how they’re short-changing you to [...]


How to work with headhunters… and save ten bucks

Monday, June 29th, 2009

In my last post I asked whether you’ve ever squeezed more out of a headhunter… Did you ever successfully negotiate a higher job offer via a headhunter? Now I’m going to do something I’ve never done before on this blog, on my web site, or in the Ask The Headhunter newsletter… I’m going to plug a [...]


How to squeeze more out of headhunters

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Uh, did I say that?? All I need is a bunch of angry headhunters showing up at my door with torches… Here’s what a reader asks: Following my interviews with the company, the headhunter called me with the offer and I told him I’d think about it. I’d like to ask for more money but, [...]


Gotcha: The Non-compete agreement

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Employers have an edge today when they’re hiring. More people are out of work. So employers up the ante and bargain harder. More companies are insisting that people sign non-compete agreements (NCAs) before they’ll hire them. An NCA protects a company from you after you leave because it restricts where you can work, what kind of work you can [...]


Show me the money!

Monday, April 27th, 2009

We’ve talked about disclosing salary to employers, and we’ve discussed when it’s appropriate to bring up money during the hiring process. The conventional wisdom says job applicants shouldn’t bring up money at all — wait until the employer brings it up. (I think that’s nuts. But I’m not conventional.) I think it helps to consider [...]


Create your own job

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Over on GL Hoffman’s blog, Seth Godin is telling people not to look for a job. And I agree. Godin thinks it’s smarter to start a business. And I agree. What’s a headhunter doing telling people to start their own business rather than to go find a job? Well, I’d rather have one company client [...]


The real reason employers want your salary history: Hiring is a crapshoot

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

We’ve talked salary history to death. I dunno — it still astonishes me that HR demands it. Not one compelling reason has been offered to justify why HR must have it. On the other hand, we’ve heard from enough job hunters who routinely decline to disclose their salary, and life still goes on. The Job Police [...]


How to make more money: Withhold your salary history

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

One of the most popular articles on asktheheadhunter.com is Keep Your Salary Under Wraps. The advice is simple: Don’t disclose your current salary or your salary history when a prospective employer asks you for it. The reason is also simple: When you disclose your salary information, your negotiating leverage is gone. Your salary history is not any [...]


Forget your job, distribute yourself

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

If your job is in jeopardy, why be an employee if you can be a distributed innovator? If you’re a manager, why interview applicants if you can meet people who are innovating on the edge of your industry? I’ve already written about how some of the best career advice doesn’t come from career experts. It’s [...]


Salary history: Just say NO

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Want to earn what you’re worth? Yes? Learn to say NO when employers demand your salary history. Say what? You can’t say NO? They’ll rip up your application? The HR manager will laugh in your face and tell the world you are uncooperative and unworthy? Say what? Withholding salary information just isn’t done? Aw, don’t be a wuss. [...]