The biggest salary negotiation myths 🤔

Hi there! And Happy Tax Day to everyone who put off their annual get together with TurboTax ’til last night. Happens to the best of us! Here’s to hoping you had a little more clarity filing your taxes than this:

 1   How to get promoted when you’re WFH

Employees who work in the office (instead of from their couch like some people we know 🙋) spend 25% more time in career development activities than their remote counterparts, according to new data from WFH Research.

By the numbers: In-office workers spend…

• About 40 more minutes/week mentoring others

• About 25 more minutes/week in formal training

• And about 15 more minutes/week on professional development and learning activities

But for many of us, WFH is absolutely vital to 1) doing our jobs and 2) maintaining our wellbeing. So how can Team WFH make up for some of those career development opportunities that tend to happen more in-office?

Here are some tips for finding a great mentor—without the IRL water cooler chit chat. And if you’re eyeing a promotion? Check out these pointers from a career consultant for moving to the next level, no matter where your office is.

 2   Artificial intelligence isn’t really coming for your job.

It’s actually the “Gold Rush” for this century, according to these workers profiled in Vox who are pro-AI for a handful of reasons—automating tasks you dislike gives you more time to focus on the ones you love, for example.

FYI: At the start of this year, over 40% of Americans said they were using generative AI like ChatGPT at work—and that number has likely climbed since January. But about half of Americans think AI could negatively impact jobs in the U.S. 🤖

If you’d rather AI become a tool than a threat, consider this: 90% of U.S. business leaders say having ChatGPT experience is a plus for jobseekers. Hey ChatGPT, can you edit this résumé?

 3   The rats are going to hate this announcement…

Today in Cool Jobs: the Rat Czar of NYC, who’s making a cool $155,000 a year to lead New York City’s “rodent mitigation” efforts. Kathleen Corradi, who previously (and successfully) led the NYC Department of Education’s anti-rat efforts, is now the city’s so-called “rat czar.”

$155K sounds like a lot, but we can’t help but think of the not-so-pleasant responsibilities that go along with fighting rats in a city that, let’s be honest, they definitely run. And it’s actually pretty modest for NYC city officials. For example, the mayor’s comms director makes $211K/year.

Would you try your hand as a “rat czar?” Hit reply and let us know. 🐀

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Let’s play a game, shall we? We’ll tell you a little bit about the city we just visited to ask people about their jobs and how much they’re paid to do them, and you tell us where you think we went.

The city: Here, median income is $78,177. The median home price is $459,100, and the median rent is $1,495/month. This city’s cost of living is 11% higher than the national average.

The jobs: We spoke to dog sitters, a cannabis sales and marketing specialist, a data scientist, a personal trainer, a software developer, and tons more. Most of them said they feel fairly compensated for their work. Probably doesn’t hurt to do that work in such a beautiful part of the country…

Do you have a guess? If you were thinking of the Mile-High City…you were right! We got such a wide variety of expertise and career stories during our time in Denver, Colorado. Check out the full video (featuring some of our coolest interviews yet 😎) right here.

One more thing: Are you in Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, or New York City? We’re hosting in-person workshops designed to help you maximize your earning potential (and negotiate your salary effectively) at Capital One Cafés in your city! Our first stop is in Philly tonight and there’s still time to RSVP…go here to save your spot and come say hi tonight!

• These are the top 25 entry-level jobs for college grads—we’re talkin’ a decent starting salary and room for growth.

• Don’t let a recession stop you from negotiating your salary (and four other negotiation myths that are keeping you from making more $$$).

• So we’re in a labor shortage, and layoffs are still all over the news? Confusing, but this explainer really helps put it all into perspective.

• What does a “living wage” actually mean? This tremendously useful calculator from MIT tells you how much you need to make in your city to meet minimum standards of living.

• Getting the freelance rate you deserve isn’t impossible, and this episode of Slate’s Working Overtime podcast tells you how to pull it off.

Thank you so much for reading! Thinking about jobs for recent grads has us reflecting on our post-college work years. What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time? Hit reply and share your POV! See you next week!