Boost Your Pay: Create a Sample Compensation Package

In the dog-eat-dog world of getting hired these days, you may feel like taking the next job offer that comes your way. And, perhaps, that’s a good idea. But, the moment you say “Yes” to a new gig, you’re in a powerful position to set your future earnings and benefits. And, since salary budgets have shrunk at most companies, benefits are a great way to make up for a smaller paycheck.

Would you like to work from home sometimes? How many vacation weeks do you want? How much do you value having a 401K?

A great way to prep for a salary and benefits negotiation is to create a sample compensation package that reflects your wishes. In fact, you can create more than one sample compensation package so that you can respond intelligently to any changes during the negotiation.

To Cap or Not to Cap: Obama Answers the Executive Compensation Question

Back on February 12 of this year in a post titled, “Loopholes, Lawyers and Obama’s Executive Compensation Cap,” I wrote that President Obama was considering an executive compensation cap of $500,000, at least for financial institutions that received Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) money. I wondered what the actual effects of the cap would be, especially with the workarounds of clever Wall Street lawyers, and I couldn’t help but worry that a compensation cap might dampen efforts to rebuild these institutions.

Well, it turns out that all that worry wasn’t necessary because no cap is coming – at least not for now.