ACS Careers

First the bad news: salary budgets remain tight at many companies. Your annual raises may be modest at best. Some firms are under salary freezes. Now the good news: even under these conditions there are strategies you can use to receive more money from your employer. These are summarized below. Your 401(k) Plan Put enough [...]

There are several job searching strategies, but  few as valuable as building strong networking contacts. That means meeting as many people as you can who are willing and able to provide job leads, resources, and other contacts.  When you do get a contact, you’ll want to make the most of the opportunity. That means treating [...]

In many cases, professional advancement requires a new job, very often in a new geographic location. While this can be exciting for the person who is looking forward to a new professional challenge, it can be a challenge for the spouse who “trails” behind, hoping to find their own opportunity. The two-body problem (or for [...]

Recently, I encountered several graduate students who were considering starting their own business. While many people dream about being an entrepreneur, a significantly smaller number are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to make their dream a reality. A colleague who has been running his own company for over 20 years [...]

By establishing a balance between your career and your personal life that works for you, you can reduce workplace stress while having a more satisfying personal life. There are several strategies you can use; however, they are most effective if you use more than one. Get a flexible work schedule Flexible work arrangements can enable [...]

Employers are expected to add more new jobs in 2012 than they did in 2011 according to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast based on a Harris Interactive nationwide survey. The survey was performed between November 9 and December 5, 2011 and included more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals from various industries and both [...]

Welcome to the first ACS Career Tips column.  Each month, this column will provide advice and answers to career-related questions on a variety of topics, from job search to career development and transitions. If you’re looking for your next job, there’s nothing more important than building your professional network. According to career experts, the best [...]

When I was stuck in a job I didn’t find fulfilling, it was easy to want to change jobs. What was harder was mustering the energy to overcome the barriers to finding a new job. It took me a long time to go from wanting to leave to actually trying to make it happen. There [...]

We talk a lot about the power of networking, and how important it is to be connected to many diverse kinds of people.  But just because you are “linked” to them electronically doesn’t mean you really know them.  Take a look at your current connection list.  When was the last time you talked to most [...]

I recently had the pleasure of listening to a presentation by Jill Lynn, Human Resources professional at BASi.  It’s always interesting to hear from someone on the other side of the hiring process, and she graciously allowed me to share some of her insights with you. She began by debunking three myths about the application [...]