Our E-Newsletter (NL) and Q&A (QA) Library

A. Negotiation Pointers

"Master a trade and God will provide."
The Midrash (Jewish Book of Biblical Interpretation)

1. NL 1: With Your Boss, It Pays (and Pays Big) to be Tactically “Polite” at Work
2. NL 2: Locating Leverage with Your Boss
3. NL 3: When Office-Negotiating, Put the “Power of Purpose” in Your Pocket
4. NL 4: Knowing When It’s Time to Simply “Fold ‘Em”
5. NL 5: When Negotiating at Work, “Words NOT for the Wise”
6. NL 6: Appearing “High Maintenance” Can Hurt Your Career
7. NL 7: Kids are the Best Negotiators - Learn from Them.
8. NL 8: Hey, It’s July – Time to Re-Assess Your Unique Human Capital
9. NL 9: What Top Executives Teach Their Own Children
10. NL 10: Overcoming Your Fear Of Negotiating At Work
11. NL 11: Hiring, Promotion, Raises - The Three Decisive Factors
12. NL 12: The Surprising Power of Simple Appreciation - A Negotiator’s Secret
13. NL 13: Dealing with Deadlines in Workplace Negotiating - Focus on “The Four Flexible Features”
14. NL 14: 10 Simple Phrases That Give You Leverage with Your Boss
15. NL 15: For Discussions with Your Boss: Your SkloverWorkingWisdom™ CheckList
16. NL 16: Your Legal Fees in Employment Matters: Here’s How to Get Your Employer to Pay Them
17. NL 17: What, Exactly, is “Negotiating at Work?”
18. NL 18: How to Respond to “Take It or Leave It” In Employment Negotiations
19. QA 1: What, Exactly, is “Negotiating at Work?”
20. QA 2: “I’d like to ‘telecommute’ my job. How do I approach my boss?”
21. QA 3: “Harassed; On Final Warning; Getting Sick - Is it time to give up and find a new job?”

B. New Jobs and Promotions

"A bashful beggar has an empty purse."
Hungarian Proverb

1. NL 1: Make Sure You are “Attired to be Hired”
2. NL 2: Top 10 Worst Job-Change Expectations
3. NL 3: Nervous About an Upcoming Job Interview? Just Focus on the “Three Interview Objectives”
4. NL 4: Use Our “HR Interview Memo” To Prevent New-Job Problems
5. NL 5: New Graduates Should Seek “The Three Ex’s”
6. NL 6: Your “Employment Values” - Why Take (or Stay in) This Job?
7. QA 1: “I Was Asked to Resign: What Do I Tell Interviewers?”
8. QA 2: Resigned, but Need an Explanation
9. QA 3: Negotiating a New Job: How Do I Begin?
10. QA 4: What’s My Best Response to “Why did you leave?”
11. QA 5: New Job, New Industry, Leaving Friends: Is It Worth It?
12. QA 6: Can An Overstated Resume Result in Firing?
13. QA 7: Terminated: Do I Admit That in Interviews?
14. QA 8: “I Need to Transition to Another Employer. . . Can You Help?”
15. QA 9: Interviewer’s Question: “Have you ever been asked to resign?” How Should I Respond?
16. QA 10: “To Negotiate my Employment Contract, Should I Hire an Attorney to Help Me?”

C. Raise, Bonus, Compensation

"Don't put it in my ear, but in my hand."
Russian Proverb

1. NL 1: It’s September: Time to Set Your Boss’s Expectations for Your Year-End-Bonus
2. NL 2: Negotiating Stock, Options, Etc., in a Very “Relative” Way
3. NL 3: Commissions: What Happens When You Leave?
4. NL 4: For a Raise or Promotion, Use “Triggers of Value.”
5. NL 5: Hey, it’s August . . . Time to Put Together This Year’s “Achievement Scorecard”
6. NL 6: Bonus or Raise Disappointing? Consider These Alternative Forms of “Compensation”
7. NL 7: Hey, it’s May - Time to Update Your Annual “Equity Inventory”
8. QA 1: Low Raise Expected - What Should I Do?
9. QA 2: Raise Request “Turnaround”: What Are My Options?
10. QA 3: No Evaluation - No Raise: Should I Quit?
11. QA 4: “My former employer took money out of my bank account. Is that legal?”

D. Agreements and Contracts

"Trust in Allah, but tie your camel."
Arabian Proverb

1. NL 1: How to Give Yourself the Job Security and other Benefits of an Employment Contract
2. NL 2: How To Negotiate Your “Welcome Aboard” Letter
3. NL 3: If You’re Asked to Relocate, Think Ahead to Your Need for “Re-Relocation”
4. NL 4: Use “No Less Favorable” When At Impasse in Your Office Negotiations
5. NL 5: How to Negotiate “Retention Agreements”
6. NL 6: Expatriate Assignments – The 18 Mandatory Requests
7. NL 7: Negotiating Employment with a “Private Equity” Firm - 7 Surprises to Expect
8. NL 8: 10 Questions You Need to Ask About “Change Of Control” Provisions
9. NL 9: Sign a Copy Today . . . Just in Case You’re Not “Around” Tomorrow
10. NL 10: Job Offer Letters - What to Look For - What to Look Out For
11. NL 11: In Offer Letters and Employment Contracts, Watch Carefully for an “Integration Clause”
12. NL 12: For Our Bear Stearns Friends and Similarly Situated Persons: Sklover’s Primer on Retention Agreements
13. QA 1: Can an Employer Take Back a Job Offer?
14. QA 2: Are Employment Offer Letters Binding like Contracts?

E. Job Security

"Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm."
Malaysian Proverb

1. NL 1: For Job Security, It’s important to “Diversify Your P.P.O.P.P.’s”
2. NL 2: Beware of Temporary Assignments to “Special Projects”
3. NL 3: Job Security You Can Create for Yourself
4. NL 4: Avoid Being RIF’ed – Five Effective Strategies
5. NL 5: New Employer an L-L-C or I-N-C? Think Gua-Ran-Tee.
6. NL 6: “At-Will Employment” – What Exactly Does That Mean?
7. NL 7: Over 50? Eight Ways to Remain Employed and Employable
8. NL 8: Job Security - Six Types, and More . . .
9. QA 1: Does “At Will” Have Any Limits or Exceptions?
10. QA 2: Can I Lose My Teacher’s License for Leaving an “At Will” Job?

F. Non-Compete's and Trade Secrets

"Secrecy is the soul of business."
Spanish Proverb

1. NL 1: “Non-Compete Non-Sense” - What to Do if Asked to Sign One
2. NL 2: You’re Probably Stealing Trade Secrets . . . Every Weekend
3. NL 3: “Hidden Handcuffs” - Watch out for Buried and Disguised Non-Compete Agreements
4. QA 1: In “Non-Competition,” What Constitutes “Competition?”
5. QA 2: “Sign this Non-Competition Agreement, or Leave” - Is that Legal?

G. Speaking Out and Retaliation

"He who speaks the truth must have one foot in the stirrup."
Armenian Proverb

1. NL 1: Seen Accounting Fraud? New and Powerful “Whistleblower” Protections for Employees
2. NL 2: Your Employer’s “Speak Out” Policy May Give You a “Mini-Employment Contract”
3. NL 3: Ten Ways to Avoid Being Made a Corporate Scapegoat
4. NL 4: Retaliated Against At Work for Doing What’s “Right?” Courts and Juries are Now on Your Side
5. QA 1: Being Retaliated Against for Cooperating in a Discrimination Investigation - What Should I Do?
6. QA 2: Retaliated Against for “Whistle Blowing”: What Should I Do?
7. QA 3: “Retaliated Against for Filing a Discrimination Charge – What Should I Do?”

H. Resignation, Termination, Departure

"Get to know God in prosperity so God will know you in adversity."
Muslim Proverb

1. NL 1: Here’s What to Do if You’re Laid Off . . . or Think You Will Soon Be
2. NL 2: If You Leave Your Job, Can You Take Your Customers With You?
3. NL 3: Navigating Yourself to Self-Employment: “Your 10 Critical Steps to Going Out on Your Own”
4. NL 4: In Job Transitions, Focus On “The Three T’s Of Transition”
5. NL 5: Negotiating Severance: Your 6 Sources of Leverage
6. NL 6: Resigning From Your Job – The 21 Necessary Precautions
7. NL 7: Twelve Steps to Negotiating a “Bridge to Retirement”
8. NL 8: If you leave your job, “L.E.A.V.E.” is how you spell “Must-Take Checklist.”
9. NL 9: Yahoo! Uses Severance Packages Strategically to Thwart Microsoft Takeover - Lessons You Can Draw
10. QA 1: Fired, but Not Told: Is that Legal?
11. QA 2: Employee or Contractor: Do I Have a Choice?
12. QA 3: Possible Bonus Payment Not Written in Severance Agreement - What Should I Do?
13. QA 4: Forced to Leave: How Should I Do It?
14. QA 5: Refusing to Resign: Can HR Change Severance Offer?
15. QA 6: Payment in Cash, and Penalty for Resigning: Is this Legal?
16. QA 7: How Much Severance is Fair?
17. QA 8: Vacation Pay Accrued - Is It Paid to Me If I Resign?
18. QA 9: Being Out Sick: Can I Be Fired for That, or During That?
19. QA 10: Should I Resign to Avoid Possible Termination?
20. QA 11: Terminated for Unpaid Parking Ticket - Is That Possible?
21. QA 12: Fired a Week AFTER I Quit? - Is That Legal?
22. QA 13: Severance Deadline Nears - What Do I Do Now?
23. QA 14: Eavesdropping on the Boss: Is it “Cause” to Fire Me?
24. QA 15: Fired from Two Local Government Jobs: Any Way to Combat Possible Political Influence?
25. QA 16: “Can the Board Hire one of its Members, and Lie about It?”
26. QA 17: Fired, without Notice; What can I do?
27. QA 18: “Small Firm Employee: Will They Take My Leaving “Personally?”
28. QA 19: “Lost My Composure after 10 Years; Permitted to Resign. What do I put under ‘Reason for Leaving?’”
29. QA 20: “Laid off. I confirmed my receipt of the Layoff Documents. Did I Goof?”
30. QA 21: “Need Simple Resignation Letter – Can You Provide One?”
31. QA 22: “Any tips on how to negotiate severance?”
32. QA 23: “Do I have a Right to Know the Reason I was Let Go?”
33. QA 24: “My Former Employer Keeps Telling Clients I’m Still Employed – What Should I Do?”

I. Disputes and Resolving Them

"Who rides a tiger cannot dismount."
Chinese Proverb

1. NL 1: Always “Push Back” at Poor Performance Reviews
2. NL 2: 21 Ways to Avoid Being Accused of Sexual Harassment
3. NL 3: Beware the Extraordinary Expense of Arbitration.
4. NL 4: “Cause” for Firing - What Exactly is It?
5. NL 5: What to Do if a Former Employer Has Defamed You
6. NL 6: Mediation of Workplace Disputes: “What’s It All About?”
7. NL 7: 12 Ideas for Dealing With The “Boss from Hell”
8. NL 8: Conflicts of Interest at Work - Here’s What You Need to Know
9. QA 1: Benefit Plan Complaint - “Sue or Tell?”
10. QA 2: Settlement Offers - Do They Have to Be Kept Confidential?
11. QA 3: Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) – Can My New Boss Do That?
12. QA 4: Angry, Hostile Attorney for Boss - Any Recourse?
13. QA 5: Laid Off for a “Phony” Reason; Might it Be Discrimination?
14. QA 6: “Harassed and Going Crazy – What Can I Do?”
15. QA 7: “Asked to sign 30-day Notice of Termination based on Performance Criticisms – What Should I Do?”
16. QA 8: “I’m a Union Member – Can I use a private Attorney to help me with a Problem?
17. QA 9: “My Boss Complains Behind My Back - How Should I Respond?”
18. QA 10: “Being Placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (”P.I.P.”). What should I do?”

J. Employment Info and Insight

"You, yourself, must make the effort. The Buddhas are only teachers."
Buddhist Proverb

1. NL 1: Hey, It’s January: Time to Prepare Your Yearly “QVP^TM Plan” [Part One of Two]
2. NL 2: Four Key Trends in Executive Compensation
3. NL 3: Hey, It’s January: Time to Prepare Your 2005 Yearly “QVP™ Plan” [Second of Two Parts]
4. NL 4: “Chief Continuity Officer” - Titles Reflect the Times, and So Much More
5. NL 5: Will Wall Street Careers Ever Again Seem as Attractive as Billions in Bonuses “Evaporate?”
6. NL 6: A Special Issue: The Family Medical Leave Act (”FMLA”) – The 50 Things You May Need to Know
7. QA 1: Which Labor Law - State or Federal - Applies?
8. QA 2: Will Wall Street Careers Ever Again Seem as Attractive as Billions in Bonuses “Evaporate?”
9. QA 3: “Sorry, we don’t advise, counsel, or assist Management.”
10. QA 4: “Former Employer Still Using My Name in Emails – Do I Have Any Recourse?”
11. QA 5: “Injured while skiing at a Company Conference – Am I Eligible for Workers’ Compensation? What should I do?”
12. QA 6: “Two Jobs Combined into One: Is that Legal?”