Answer:  This broad topic is the theme for a new series starting next week.  I recently led a workshop in Bellevue, WA with a group of highly educated professional women working in WA. The group was from the US and various foreign countries.  All of them were looking for answers about how to navigate in a business or educational environment around an issue that is intimidating and alien to their experience.

I will start this series with answers to the questions that were raised in the workshop. (See examples below.)  Please send me your comments/questions and I will do my best to answer them.  jcushman@jc-a.com

Here is a sampling of the questions.

• How do you negotiate effectively when you about to be offered a job at a new company? Do you want your company to make a counter offer?
• How do you approach your current employer when you are proactively seeking an internal promotion, a pay raise or additional elements in your compensation/benefits package?
• How can you avoid burning a bridge with your supervisor and risk upsetting a strong working relationship when negotiating a promotion?
• With the new laws (in some states) that say employers can’t ask for salary information (but you can provide that if you wish) how will you answer the salary-related questions they will ask? What are they? What information should youI be prepared to provide?