Archive for the ‘Salary and Salary Negotiation’ Category

Niche Online Business Matches Top Talent with Top Jobs – Australian Businesswomen’s Network

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

smalllogoThis week I was delighed to be invited to speak with Suzi Dafnis of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network about recruitment, employer branding and attracting top staff.

Some of the things we cover in the interview include:

* How to build trust with your audience through your website
* Why your online brand impacts your credibility
* How you can make your business attractive to prospective employees (even if you can’t pay the types of dollars larger companies can)
* The mistakes businesses make when hiring staff

Click the link to listen to the interview on “Niche Online Business Matches Top Talent with Top Jobs”

Find out more about the Australian Businesswomen’s network, including their resources, membership, interviews,  mentoring programs and much more.

An easy way to earn more money! Salary management!

Monday, May 18th, 2009

MoneySince my mid twenties I have always had my salary paid into two bank accounts.  I am not sure how I developed this practice however it is one that I advocate. It has enabled me to grow my own financial wealth, and to become more financially astute.

I have many friends in their twenties and thirties who are intelligent women, however when it comes to financial management too many fail to invest in their futures. They, like a lot of people, spend all that they earn. Some pay off their credit cards in full so as not to attract extra interest, some have mortgages and all have the standard living expenses.

An easy way to begin investing and earning more money is to set aside a minimum of 10% of your weekly or annual salary to be paid into an interest bearing account. Ensure it is transferred before you even have a chance to see it – have it locked away.

Kick start your financial management plan today by having your employer pay your salary into two accounts with a minimum of 10% of your salary going into an interest bearing account. If they are not obliging, simply set up an automatic transfer to occur each month.  You will be quite surprised at the end of a year to see how your money has grown.

Please share your wealth creation and financial management tips.

Australian Redundancy Case Study – Make Sure You Are Prepared

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

scalesA friend, John, recently found that his company had gone into administration. Like most of us, John had not looked at his employment contract for five years. He thought it was a given in the event of redundancy that he would be entitled to some sort of severance. Unfortunately, this was not the case as no provisions were made in John’s contract. As someone who earned over $75K, worked for an organization of 15 or less staff, and who was classified by the Common Law Agreement as ‘award free’, the Common Law does not provide for severance pay (i.e. redundancy payout). Unless stipulated in John’s contract, the employer was not required to provide any severance. In the event that his employer was required by legislation to pay John, and the company was bankrupt, the government does make some provisions for this.

Redundancy amounts vary widely between workplaces and between states. Ensure that you are familiar with relevant legislation or seek the appropriate legal advice. Effective 1 January 2010 the common law will be changing to include minimum standards for redundancy (i.e. minimum standards for severance pay).

For Redundancy information visit the Workplace Authority site for further information about redundancy noting that the Termination of Employment Page which has some links at the bottom regarding the law and the workplace ombudsman that is useful.

For Career Support Services visit the Six Figures Career Services the CDAA or Kelly Kaplon’s Career Coaching support.

If  you have any redundancy experiences or advice to share we welcome your comments.

Women, Work & Success Report

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

appleThis is a great free report  ‘Women, Work & Success’ by Perspectives Coaching that raises some interesting points for employers and also for working women – around coaching, empowerment and also self worth – personally and financially.

From the findings in this report it is great to see that passion is a key driver and that the women are by and large satisfied with what they have achieved in their careers to date. They value management training, development and coaching – yet it seems that they are not valuing the time and money they invest in their education and self development.

The report shows that women want more mentors, challenging work, passion for what they do, work life balance and to be able to help others.

The next step is to gain more financial empowerment and look to be fairly remunerated for the value we bring to the workplace, as according to the Australian Taxation Office in 06/07 on average women still earned 16% less than men!

Share your thoughts on the topic here.

Do you dream of earning six figures or want to earn more?

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

We are running short seminar evenings for women who dream of earning a six figure salary or who want to earn more!

Whether you work for someone else or are self employed, if you are looking to create more income and financial security for yourself these seminars will help you to do just that.

In these seminars we will explore ways you can increase your earning potential and create a more satisfying and financially sound future for yourself through;

•    Career awareness – identifying your skills & strengths that can earn you income in and outside of the office
•  Personal Branding – online and offline to build your profile and demand for your expertise
•    Salary negotiation skills – how to value and be paid fairly for your time
•    Financial management- how to effectively manage and grow your money for long term financial security

To find out more about the ‘I Dream of Earning Six Figures‘ seminars, including dates, locations, venues and cost please email kellykaplon@live.com.au or call 0417 330 673

kellysmalllogo

Personal Branding for Career Success Online & Offline

Friday, March 13th, 2009

sfpersonalbrandPersonal Branding Online and Offline, its all about Brand You. Click to view this presentation on SlideShare

Why women need to think big when it comes to money!

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

The majority of women think small when it comes to money, be it their salary, personal or family investments and or setting up or running their own business.ladytough

What stops us thinking big? We are highly educated (surpassing men) so clearly it is not lack of intelligence. We are great communicators, negotiators (in some contexts) we are creative, organized, tenacious and much more – yet why do we still think small when it comes to money.

I have covered the topic of women, pay in equality and the need to speak up and negotiate our salaries in ‘Why Women Avoid Salary Negotiation’ In another post ‘Scary Financial Stats for Women’ I looked at the low numbers of women who are confident and who have investments that will offer them a great lifestyle once they retire. The majority manage the household budget, over 58% in fact yet the minority manage the big financial investments! Why is that?

Last week at the Online Divas event in Melbourne, as I sat in a room of intelligent and inspiring women, what became apparent was that we also think small in business. Not so much in terms of our ideas, more how we finance them. Women had started businesses on a shoe string, which is not a bad thing, rather admirable in one sense, yet also restrictive in another.  Others proudly boast not having borrowed any money, having loans through other means or investors. I don’t dispute that you have to go with what works for you, though the reality is you will struggle to create a big amazing and financially viable business with small financial thinking.
Women perhaps lack the confidence to borrow from the bank, to seek out investors and to really back themselves. It is also maybe a case of not knowing who or where to go and maybe a case of not wanting to ask for help. We are great at helping others though not so great at asking for help.


I would be interested in other people’s thoughts around the subject and ways that we can support other women in achieving financial confidence, success and freedom in their personal and work lives.

A Few Compelling Salary Negotiation Facts for Women

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

MoneySome of the issues that contribute to wage inequality will not be easily resolved and will take time before we see real changes. However, there are a few areas women can take control of to assist in addressing the imbalance. These all revolve around negotiation of salary; be that for full time or part time work, a bonus, added benefits or asking for above award wages.

Studies undertaken on this topic across the globe show that women are highly uncomfortable with salary negotiation – as a result we avoid it.  Even when we do enter into a salary negotiation we don’t actively seek out the best deal for ourselves, but rather look to a positive outcome for both parties.

Some key facts include:
•    Men initiate negotiations about four times as often as women.
•    Many women are so grateful to be offered a job that they accept what they are offered and don’t negotiate their salaries.
•    Women report salary expectations between 3 and 32 percent lower than those of men for the same jobs.
•    Women who consistently negotiate their salary increases earn at least $1 million more during their careers than women who don’t.
So, if the last fact is not going to entice you to develop your salary negotiation skills so that you have both a personally and financially prosperous career, I am not sure what will!

If you want to learn more about salary negotiation visit Six Figures Salary Negotiation Resources for your free salary negotiation workbook and quiz to see how ready you are to negotiate your next pay rise. There are many great articles, websites, books and seminars you can attend to develop your negotiation skills.  Being a successful negotiator is a matter of educating yourself and putting what you learn into practice. Like all things worth doing it takes time however the benefits are truly worth it.

Sydney HR & Recruitment Professionals – Passionate & Switched On

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

I don’t want to turn this into a Melbourne Sydney thing (as I am from Melbourne) however I have to say when I go up to Sydney to meet with clients in Recruitment and HR Professionals in businesses and agencies I am always blown away by how switched on and passionate they are. I always learn new things and feel that they keep up to speed with what is going on in the HR and Recruitment industry which I just love. I feel so energized and re-charged after my client visits in Sydney and wonder why I don’t seem to get this same buzz from Melbourne. Granted there are some terrific recruitment and HR professionals in Melbourne. However perhaps we sometimes take things a bit slower, are less inclined to try new things until it has been proven before, we prefer to play it safe, are reserved and like do business with people we know. It could also be that Sydney is more of a globally playing field and so need to move quicker and be on top of things whilst we remain a little isolated here.

I am heading up to Sydney again in another week to meet current and prospective clients and truly look forward to going there as I know even if I don’t come back with new business I will have learned some invaluable new things.