Wheres your Easter egg

Where's your Easter egg Where's your Easter egg I was at the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan when it hit me.I was with my Ladybug at Rise Bar - that gorgeous 14th floor hideaway in the Battery Park Ritz overlooking the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and New York Harbor. The centerpiece at the hotel for Easter weekend was an enormous six-foot-high tower of chocolates. The tower was like one of those gushing fountains, with candies, chocolate rabbits, and Easter eggs overflowing the brim. And as I got closer it turned out that the tower itself was pure chocolate!Now six feet of chocolate is a wondrous thing. The cascading circles of chocolate coins, that heavy fulsome aroma of cocoa, and the beautiful deep dark brown of the chocolate tower itself, made for a sight that your $100K+ job-loving correspondent won’t soon forget.And that’s when it struck me, looking at all those chocolate eggs?The $100K+ job search is an Easter Egg hunt. We all believe that our special surprise is out there, somewhere, tucked away in the bushes. And we s pend our time, too much time really, running around in circles trying to find it.And you might think that the typical 47-year-old executive would be a whole heck of a lot better at finding his or her next great role in life than a 5-year-old running around the backyard.But somehow, the job hunt has become much more difficult than retrieving a hard-boiled egg from under Fido’s dog dish.And, gosh, that just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.There are perhaps 100,000 recruiters at companies and executive search firms who hire or place a $100K+ professional in the course of each year. And by our count, there are 4 million hires, transfers, and promotions at this level in the U.S. every 12 months. So why is it so difficult for us to find our next great role in life?Your next job is out there. It’s on the computer desktop or in the file folders of a recruiter right now. But like the Easter eggs, it’s hidden.And the saddest part of it all is that the recruiters want to hire you, th at’s how they get their bonuses, and kudos, and recognition at their firm. They didn’t really intend to create a system where jobs were hidden away from the job-seekers they wanted to reach, but the internet (and the way it’s given the whole world easy access to information) has forced our recruiter friends to hide their great $100K+ jobs away.You see, when you post a $100K+ job on my old employer, HotJobs.com, or on one of the new-fangled phenomena like Craigslist.org, everybody on the internet, all over the world, can see it.And what do you think happens when you post a really great job where everybody can see it?That’s right, that job posting gets more interest than Leonardo DiCaprio at an all girl’s academy (I’ve never really understood that fella’s attraction, by the way, but I’m off to see The Aviator tonight so perhaps the clouds will part and I’ll be enlightened).So recruiters, in order to keep their lives reasonable, their schedules sane, and their inboxes free of muck, have had to hide their best job postings from the great unwashed masses on the internet.And that’s where your buddies at Ladders.com come in. Each week, we search through thousands of company career sites, we email thousands of recruiters, and we call hundreds of them directly on the phone to say: “Got any $100K+ jobs for our 307,674 subscribers this week? It’s really targeted - we only accept subscribers who’ve made more than $75K recently; on average our readers send only 18 highly qualified resumes per job; and because we’re a member-supported organization, we can’t and won’t accept your money.”Well, you can imagine their glee at this proposition, to the tune of 18,893 new $100K+ jobs in the past 30 days alone.And by collecting all these Easter eggs, er? $100K+ jobs, in one place, we’re making your job search so much easier than looking under every couch, checking the cookie jar, and climbing the old apple tree in the backyard.Happy hunting, Read ers!NEW FEATURES ON THE WAYNow a lot of you have written in with great suggestions about how we can make the hunt even easier: keyword search, sorting jobs by distance from your zipcode, letting you know which jobs you’ve clicked on recently, etc.Well I’m pleased to let you know that “Sapphire”, our next generation product, will be coming out in early May. It has all of these great features and more. We’re putting the finishing touches on the code and then we’ll be testing, testing, testing it for the month of April, so please stay tuned.Ladders.COM IN THE PRESSAnd Readers, let me tell you, word about our vision for a faster, simpler $100K+ job hunt is spreading!Click here to see my interview with Lester Holt on MSNBC on age discrimination.JOBS ACCEPTED BY SALESLADDER SUBSCRIBERS THIS WEEK Just as reported, typos and all… Title Compensation Account Director $100,000 Account Executive Advertising Sales Salary plus commission Associate Publisher $140,000 B2B Sales all comish, $150K+ potential Branch General Manager $112,000 Business Development Manager 140000.00 Channel Manager $140K OTE Client Team Leader 120000 Consultant 160K Custom Network Solutions Sales Manager Dir. Business Development 200K Director, Business Development 120,000.00 director 130,000 Director $120,000 director 200k + Director 160000 Director of Advertising 137,500 Director of Membership Sales and Marketing Director of Sales 250 Director of Sales over $100K Director of Sales Enterprise Account Manager $150K OTE Executive Director $115,000. General Manager 100,000 Global Sales and Marketing Manager 125k Group Publisher $140,000 Midwest Sales Manager 100,000.00 + National Account Manager $118,700 National Account Manager 100,000 Partner Development Manager Total Comp. =$160K President confidential Regional Sales Manager $115 Base, $250 Total package Regional Sales Manager 185k Regional Sales Manager 100,000.00 plus Regional Sales Manager $100,000 Regional Sales Manager 225,000 Sales $100,000.00 plus commissions Sales Manager 125,000 Sales Manager 140,000 Sales Rep 100K+ Sales Representative 100K Senior Director 170K Senior Director 250,000 Sr. Account Executive $162K Storage Sales Specialist 165K Vice President 165000.00 Vice President 120,000 Vice President Sales $125,000 Vice President, Installation Services 100+ VP of Sales 120K VP Sales $300K VP Sales 300k VP Sales Marketing 120K + Bonus

Michael Bloomberg An open mind is the most valuable asset

Michael Bloomberg 'An open mind is the most valuable asset ' Michael Bloomberg 'An open mind is the most valuable asset ' It’s graduation season, and we here at Ladders have decided to take a look back and showcase some past commencement addresses that stand the test of time. Below is the full transcript of Michael Bloomberg’s commencement address to University of Michigan’s Class of 2016:Thank you, President Schlissel, and to the Board of Regents. Good morning, everyone!It’s a real honor to be on this great campus where so much history has been made. And it’s a thrill to walk in the footsteps of Gerald Ford, James Earl Jones, Lucy Loo, and Tom Brady! I’m told that no quarterback has played in more Super Bowls than Tom Brady and in case there are any New Yorkers here, I would just note that he played against the Giants in two of them.I’m honored to have been asked to speak to all of the faculty, administrators, alumni, and most of all, to the great class of 2016!  So, graduates: This is a great day, but there’s another group here that also deserves a big round of applause: your parents a nd families.Of course, there were many other people who helped you on your journey, so after you receive your diploma, and as you make your way in the world, remember that your greatest achievements â€" like today’s â€" will owe an awful lot to the people around you.It’s  commencement season!Follow Ladders’  Commencement Addresses magazine on Flipboard  to watch and read all of the most inspiring speeches from this year and years past.If there’s a secret to success beyond hard work and good luck, it’s that the more you say ‘we’, and the less you say ‘I’, the farther you’ll go. It’s something that the most effective leaders understand and take to heart. Remember: There is almost nothing we do in life that we do alone.The most useful knowledge that you leave here with today, like the importance of teamwork, has nothing to do with your major. It’s about how to study, how to cooperate, how to listen carefully, how to think critically, and how to resolve conflicts through reason. Those are the most important skills in the working world and it’s why colleges have always exposed students to challenging and uncomfortable ideas.The fact that some university boards and administrations now bow to pressure and shield students from these ideas through ‘safe spaces,’ ‘code words,’ and ‘trigger warnings’ is, in my view, a terrible mistake. The whole purpose of college is to learn how to deal with difficult situations â€" not run away from them.A micro-aggression is exactly that: micro! But in a macro-sense, one of the most dangerous places on a college campus is a safe space because it creates the false impression that we can insulate ourselves from those who hold different views. We can’t â€" and we shouldn’t try, not in politics, or in the workplace. In the global economy, and in a democratic society, an open mind is the most valuable asset you can possess.Today, I’d like to talk a little bit about why that’s true based on the lessons I’ve learned over the course of my career. Let’s start with the global economy, and let me put in perspective the job market many of you are entering. For the first time in human history, the majority of people in the developed world are being asked to make a living with their minds, rather than their muscles. For 3,000 years, humankind had an economy based on farming: till the soil, plant the seed, harvest the crop. Hard to do, but fairly easy to learn.Then, for 300 years, we had an economy based on industry: mold the parts, turn the crank, assemble the product. Hard to do, but also fairly easy to learn.Now, we have an economy based on information: acquire the knowledge, apply the analytics, use your creativity. Hard to do, hard to learn, and even once you’ve mastered it, you’ll have to start learning all over again, pretty much every day.If you have the luxury of more than one job offer â€" now or in the future â€" don’t pick the one that pays the most; pick the one that teaches you the most and don’t worry if the people around you seem quicker or smarter. You can’t control that, but you can decide that you’re going to outwork them.In my company, I always give the most complex and important projects to our busiest employees. Why? Because they are the hardest-working and most dedicated. They’re the first ones in the office and the last to leave. They’re the ones who take the shortest lunch breaks and the least vacation. It may not sound like great fun, but in the end, you have to set your priorities.The secret to success is not rocket science. It just requires true dedication and a willingness to go the extra mile. Whatever your field, volunteer to take on new assignments even if they’re outside your comfort zone. Take the initiative on your own to learn and develop new skills and build contacts who can help you down the road. When will you have learned enough? Let’s put it this way: I know of no Nobel Prize winner who has stop ped studying. And in the information economy, everyone â€" in both white collar and blue collar jobs â€" will have to keep deepening their knowledge and adapting to technological change.My life is a perfect example of how important it is to keep an open mind about careers and technology. After college, I went to business school in hopes of landing a middle management job in a factory. I had no idea that factories would soon be closing all across the country, and neither did anyone else.I ended up finding a job at a Wall Street firm. I loved the job, and soon, my interest in managing a plant disappeared. I thought I’d stay at the firm forever. And I might have â€" except for one small thing: I got fired.I was 38 years old, and it was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was also the best thing that ever happened to my career. It led me to start a tech company to computerize real-time financial data. It sounds simple now, but this was 1981 â€" the dawn of the computer age. We were tryin g to invent a computer that no one wanted with technology that didn’t exist â€" a classic example of innovation. Everyone said I was crazy, and maybe they were right. I had only a limited background in computers, and I had never started or run a company, but with a lot of help from some very talented and driven people, we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.So the lesson is: Whatever you think your dream job is today, don’t get too attached to it. Chances are, if the job still exists in 15 years, it will be very different â€" and you may have found other passions. Keeping an open mind to new ideas will be essential to your professional success, and it will be just as crucial to our collective future as a democratic society.That’s the other lesson I’ve learned that I’d like to share with you today. During the 12 years I had the honor of serving as Mayor of New York City, I witnessed a disturbing change in the nature of American politics: a rise in extreme partisanship and i ntolerance for other views.I’m a political independent, but over the course of my life, for non-ideological reasons, I’ve been a Republican and a Democrat. So I can tell you: Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas; each demonizes the other unfairly and dishonestly. This is not a new phenomenon â€" but it has reached a dangerous new level.In 1796, George Washington spent much of his farewell address warning Americans against political parties, which he called ‘the worst enemy’ of democratic governments. He wrote of the natural tendency parties have to elevate a single leader who seeks power, in his words, ‘on the ruins of public liberty.’In this political season, it’s worth remembering what Washington had to say. And so, allow me to read a brief passage from his farewell address.Partisanship, Washington wrote, ‘serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alar ms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, and foments occasionally riot and insurrection… A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame… lest, instead of warming, it should consume.’Well said, George. We have survived more than 200 years of political parties largely because the Founding Fathers created checks and balances to temper the fires of partisanship. Of course, they also excluded most Americans from their vision of democracy because they feared what democracy might produce. But over the past two centuries, through the sacrifices of so many civil rights leaders and soldiers, the promise of equal rights has spread across income, religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation.We still have a long way to go, and it would be a mistake to think that our progress is irreversible or that Washington’s warning is a relic of history. Neither is true and never will be. Democracy and citizenship will always require con stant vigilance against those who fan the flames of partisanship in ways that consume us and lead to the ruins of public liberty.We have certainly seen such figures before, in both parties. In the 1930s, there was the despotic Huey Long in Louisiana, and just a few miles up the road in Dearborn Father Coughlin blamed ‘Jewish conspirators’ for America’s troubles. Then came Charles Lindbergh in the 40s, Joe McCarthy in the 50s, George Wallace in the 60s, and Pat Buchanan in the 90s.Every generation has had to confront its own demagogues and every generation has stood up and kept them away from the White House, at least so far. Now, it’s your turn.In this year’s presidential election, we’ve seen more demagoguery from both parties than I can remember in my lifetime. Our country is facing serious and difficult challenges, but rather than offering realistic solutions, candidates in both parties are blaming our problems on easy targets who breed resentment. For Republicans, itâ €™s Mexicans here illegally and Muslims, and for Democrats, it’s the wealthy and Wall Street.The truth is: We cannot solve the problems we face by blaming anyone. We are all in this together, and we all must be part of the solution. America’s power in the world comes not from the walls we build, but the doors we open, and it comes not from tearing down success, but building up opportunity.American citizenship does not require much of us. We have no military draft; no mandatory national service; no compulsory voting. Our taxes, compared to Europe, are relatively low. And yet, our voting rates are terrible, and they’re especially low among young people. This year, you can help change that.Voting is the only way to stop demagogues. But the best way to stop demagogues from rising in the first place is to elect leaders with the courage to face reality, make tough decisions, and lead from the front, rather than following from behind. That has become harder over time. Let me share a story from my time in City Hall that illustrates why.In 2002, we banned smoking in New York City’s bars and restaurants, and it caused a huge backlash. We got a lot of angry letters and phone calls, and I got a lot of one-fingered waves when I walked down the street. But as time went by, the ban proved to be a huge boon to the bar and restaurant business â€" surprise, surprise â€" and smoking rates in our city went down by nearly 30 percent, helping to increase life expectancy for New Yorkers two years above the national average. In fact, I’m glad to say, the policy became so popular that cities and states all over the world copied it.Today, elected officials who decide to support a controversial policy will also get angry letters, phone calls, and faxes, if they still have fax machines. And for sure, they will now get millions of angry Tweets and Facebook posts denouncing them in the harshest possible terms. That’s democracy in action. But that kind of instant condemnation al so makes some elected officials afraid to do things that, in their heart of hearts, they know are right.So democracy in action can actually produce a lot of inaction, which we see every day in Washington, D.C., and other levels of government, too. When governments fail to address the needs of the people, voters in both parties get angry and some politicians exploit that anger by offering scapegoats instead of solutions.If we want to stop demagogues, we have to start governing again, and that requires us to be more civil; to support politicians who have the courage to take risks; and to reward those who reach across the aisle in search of compromise.Now I know doing this won’t be easy, and that’s partly because it’s not just social media that has changed the civic dialogue. The constant bombardment of news that we see on our phones, computers, and TVs gives us the impression we are acquiring knowledge. Yet many of the sources, facts, and interpretations are either dubious, or c olored by partisanship, or outright lies. I say that as the owner of a media company who has seen how the marketplace has shifted. Today, people choose cable TV channels and websites that affirm their own political beliefs rather than ones that inform and challenge their beliefs. As a result, we have grown more politically cloistered and more intolerant of those who hold different opinions.Think about this: In 1960, only four to five percent of Democrats and Republicans said they would be upset if a member of their family married someone from the opposing party. In 2010, one in three Democrats, and one in two Republicans, said they would disapprove of such a marriage. In 1960, most people would never have believed that inter-party marriage would attract such resistance, while inter-racial marriage and same-sex marriage would gain such acceptance. For all the progress we have made on cultural tolerance, when it comes to political tolerance, we are moving in the wrong direction.We see this trend of political intolerance across the country: At campaign rallies that turn violent; on social media threads that turn vitriolic; and even on college campuses, where students and faculty have attempted to censor political opponents.I know that one of today’s graduates, Omar Mahmood, has faced threats and intimidation because he dared to write political satire about being left-handed in the Michigan Daily and he refused to apologize for it. Omar, wherever you are out there, I’m glad you stood your ground.Never be afraid to stand up for what you believe is right, no matter how unpopular it may be or how many people try to shout you down. And just as importantly: Never hesitate to stand up for the rights of others to express their views and exercise their rights, no matter how unpopular that may be. The only way to ensure your right to express yourself is to protect others’ rights to express themselves.In 2010, I found myself in the middle of a huge debate over free ex pression. There was a national uproar over a proposal to build a mosque several blocks from the World Trade Center. Members of both parties attacked the plan as an affront to the victims of the 9/11 attacks. Even the Anti-Defamation League, whose mission is to protect against religious discrimination, opposed the idea. But they had all forgotten: the terrorists didn’t just attack buildings, they attacked our freedom to live and pray as we choose according to our own beliefs and values, equally.The torch that Lady Liberty holds aloft in the New York Harbor lights the way for people of every faith and philosophy, and it shines down on every corner of the city and every community across this great land. No religion should ever face special restrictions on their rights, whether it concerns building a house of worship or getting a visa.As durable as the American system of government has been, democracy is fragile â€" and demagogues are always lurking. When Ben Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention, a woman approached him and asked him: ‘Well, doctor â€" what have we got: a republic or a monarchy?’ Franklin replied, ‘A republic â€" if you can keep it.’Well, graduates: It is now your responsibility to keep it. That starts with keeping an open mind, voting, and demanding that politicians offer practical solutions, not scapegoats or pie-in-the-sky promises. In 1928, Republicans promised ‘a chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard.’ They won control of Congress and the White House â€" and a year later, instead of a chicken and a car, we got the Great Depression.Today, when a populist candidate promises free college, free health care, and a pony, or another candidate promises to make other countries pay for our needs â€" remember: those who promise you a free lunch will invariably eat you for breakfast. If there were simple solutions to complex problems, we wouldn’t have those problems.I’m optimistic that you graduates will rise to the occasion and help protect our Republic against the dangers of demagogues and the fires of partisanship that Washington warned us about 220 years ago. I believe in you. I support you. And I will stand with you in this battle to the end of my days so that my children and grandchildren can be as proud of America’s devotion to freedom and equality as I am.As for today: this is a day of celebration, so relish it; enjoy every minute.Congratulations and Go Blue!

Exercise can help you feel less depressed according to a study

Exercise can help you feel less depressed according to a study Exercise can help you feel less depressed according to a study Working out has been proven to be very beneficial to those of us with anxiety and work stress. But now a new study finds that certain kinds of exercise can also help with depression.In a  meta-analysis  from  JAMA Psychiatry that used 33 clinical trials of about 1,900 subjects, they found that resistance training AKA weight lifting can help with reducing depression symptoms. Even more importantly, the person’s age, gender or the frequency of the weight training didn’t matter.To give you some context the NIMH estimates that 16 million  adults in the U.S. (nearly 7% of the population) had at least one major depressive episode in 2012 and according to the World Health Organization (WHO),  350 million  people worldwide suffer from depression.Age, gender, and frequency doesn’t matterAs The New York Times reported  the benefits were still there whether people went to the gym twice a week or five times a week. It also didn’t matter how much the participants were lifting or benching. The most important thing was that they showed up and did the workout and that helped produce the results.The explanation?  Brett Gordon, a graduate student at the University of Limerick in Ireland, who led the study told The Times weight training could be changing the levels of the different neurochemicals in the brain which can impact a person’s mood. It could also be the simple act that people expect the workout to make them feel good and so they go in with a positive mindset which makes them feel better initially.However, Gordon notes that  the results of the study do not mean that resistance training should be used instead of medication, therapy or even other forms of exercise to treat depression.

When it comes to you or a robot, who gets the job

When it comes to you or a robot, who gets the job When it comes to you or a robot, who gets the job Uber is testing driverless cars in Pittsburgh. This technological advancement is projected to result in 3.5 million truck drivers out of work by 2026. Self-checkout kiosks, as annoying as they are, are becoming the norm at drugstores, grocery stores and big box retailers like Walmart. As we embrace these technological advancements, it’s hard not to feel a sense of unease at the vast number of jobs disappearing.While you may think automation is only a threat to unskilled workers, think again. In India and Brazil, machines are already starting to do the work of primary care doctors (because there aren’t enough doctors available in those countries). Mathematically, they follow evidence â€" and are much more likely to make the right diagnosis.Ever since man invented the wheel we’ve been losing jobs to automation, so it’s really nothing new. But drivers, cashiers, servers, and doctors â€" all at the same time? This feels like a whole new ballgame. Forrester research predicts the l oss of 12 million U.S. jobs to automation by 2025. So who is and isn’t at risk?Obviously, the biggest at-risk professions today are the ones that are highly repetitive and use some kind of technology. Loan officers, receptionists and information clerks are at the top of the list, followed by paralegals, retail clerks and financial advisors. Use this tool  to see how your job stands up to artificial intelligence.Even if your job is in jeopardy, and that may be a bad thing for you, there is good news. Automation elevates the overall standard of living, encourages literacy rates to rise, extends the average life span, and contributes to lower crime rates. When you think about it, artificial intelligence replaced gas station attendants decades ago. And we survived. No, we thrived. Sure it was tough on gas station attendants at the time, but this technological advancement  resulted in  more parents encouraging their children to go to college. And over time, it pushed hundreds of thousa nds of people who may have become gas station attendants into professional jobs, adding more value to society and more money to  their wallets.  So if you’re forced to start thinking about a new career, think of it as a good thing. Or, at the very least, as taking one for the team.

NCEES Seeks Participants for Professional Activities and Knowledge Study

NCEES Seeks Participants for Professional Activities and Knowledge Study NCEES Seeks Participants for Professional Activities and Knowledge Study NCEES Seeks Participants for Professional Activities and Knowledge Study The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is currently seeking licensed mechanical engineers to participate in a professional activities and knowledge study, or PAKS, for the PE Mechanical exam. The results of this online survey will be used to update specifications for the exam, which is used throughout the United States for licensing purposes. NCEES is a nonprofit organization made up of engineering and surveying licensing boards from all U.S. states and territories and the District of Columbia. ASME is a member of the NCEES’s Participating Organizations Liaison Council and is represented on NCEES’s Examinations for Professional Engineers Committee. NCEES is looking for a cross section of licensed professional engineers practicing mechanical engineering - including those working in industry, consulting, the public sector, and academia - to complete an online survey about the tasks and knowledge required of a licensed mechanical engineer with four to six years of experience to practice in a manner that safeguards the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The survey can be completed in about 20 minutes. These studies help NCEES ensure its licensing exams remain relevant to current professional practice, explained Tim Miller, P.E., director of exam services The value of this PAKS depends on the number of people who participate, so NCEES is eager to get a large response from P.E.s across all areas of mechanical engineering. For access to the online survey, visit http://bit.ly/PEMechanical. Responses must be received by Feb. 9. For more information, contact Don Colman, P.E., NCEES exam development engineer, at dcolman@ncees.org or (864) 624-5454.

Job Hop Every Few Years for Biggest Salary Increase -The Muse

Job Hop Every Few Years for Biggest Salary Increase -The Muse Job Hop Every Few Years for Biggest Salary Increase In the past, we’ve defended job hoppers, noting that they’re not just better workers, but they’re also better paid. This isn’t to say that employee retention is a pointless goal for companies: We support initiatives that seek to keep loyal and dedicated staff, but, unfortunately, there’s little way around the fact that switching jobs can mean a big career boost- both in terms of money and job title. Oliver Staley, writing for Quartz, discusses a study by ADP, the payroll processing company, which suggests that the largest salary increase occurs after two years at a company. Move on after that point, and you’re likely to garner higher wages from the next place you start working at. Two years is not the make or break point, however, though the study notes that staying longer than five and then leaving for something else may mean less of a jump. Of course, if you’re at an organization for five or more years, there’s a good possibility that you’re satisfied, stimulated, and feeling well compensated. (Unless you’re just feeling stuck, in which case, maybe it’s time to get out and try to get ahead elsewhere.) Although getting promoted and receiving annual or close to annual raises is often a natural step in the career-building process, these days so is switching jobs. And if the ADP study indicates anything, it’s that the sweet spot is between two and five years. Younger workers, especially, tend to see the biggest jump in pay from job-hopping- approximately an 11% gain. But professionals over the age of 25 shouldn’t be concerned with this finding, which seems logical more than anything else. As entry-level employees start out on a lower pay scale, it stands to reason that their increases are going to be bigger; that is, a person making $45K could be making close to $50K with an 11%, while a person bringing in $75K may receive a respectable 8% bump, landing him at $81K per year. It’s still a heck of a lot better than the average 3 to 5% raises most companies dish out to employees each year- if they’re giving out raises at all! If you’re in the middle of a job search and leaving a company every few years sounds like something you’d rather not do, when an offer comes around, be careful to negotiate a starting salary that you can work with for at least a year or two. Don’t accept something hoping that after putting in a stellar performance, you could be bumped up by as much as 10%; because for that, you’re probably going to have to get a new job.

Why Bands May Need Help Even When Theyre DIY

Why Bands May Need Help Even When They're DIY Why Bands May Need Help Even When They're DIY There are tons of myths about how the music industry operates, and when youre trying to break into the business, these misconceptions can send you down the wrong path in a big way. This is part five in a series looking at common music business myths so you can avoid falling prey to them. Be sure to check the bottom of the article for more information. Lets get one thing straight up front here - you can do a lot yourself in the music industry. This is not an argument that you need some big major label behind you pulling the shots or that you need to give up a lot of control over your music career to make it in the business. No way! DIY ethos in the music industry often leads to the best of everything - the best music, the best labels, the best show - you name it. In fact, being able to do a lot of things yourself in your music career will pay off for you in a big way. When You Need Help With DIY Music Heres the but - no matter how much you want to, you cant really do it all yourself. On a small scale, you can, but when you want your music career to grow, youre going to need some helping hands. Here are just a few reasons you might need help pulling off your music goals: You May Not Know the Ropes: If youre new to the music industry (or even if youre not), youre bound to enter uncharted territory at some point. As you might recall, another music industry myth is that you shouldnt admit you dont know something - and when youre trying to take your career in a new direction, its a good idea to find someone who can help you figure out how to make it happen. Help is good.You Dont Have Time: No one has time to do everything. If you take on too much, everything is bound to suffer. When youre trying to build a music career, the work is seemingly endless. Delegation is a skill, and so is knowing where youre strong and where youre weak and bringing in people who make up for your weak spots.This issue is especially important for musicians. When youre running the business side of the band single-handedly, youre distracted from the music itself. Although its not always practical or possible, having someone take on some of these tasks for you is ideal. You Dont Have the Connections: You need to be careful about who you work within the industry, but if a legitimate manager comes along that has been at this a little longer and has the ability to open some doors for you - go for it.Outside Perspectives Help: When youre running things yourself, its easy to get so wrapped in your small projects that you dont see the big picture. Having someone else around brings in a fresh perspective and can help point out potential problem areas you have overlooked. Another Perspective Heres another way to look at this notion. Taking a DIY approach doesnt absolve you from having to do all of the same work that the big companies do to promote an album, promote a show or any other music related task. The process is still the same, and since you have far less pull than a bigger company, if anything, you need to work harder. That is why DIY usually isnt so much do-it-yourself as it is do-it-with-a-small-group-of-likeminded-people. So, keep in mind, although you dont have to sacrifice your rights and your control of your music career, sharing some of the responsibility in a way that works for you can help you reach your goals faster.