How do you handle a salary negotiation for a new job? I have an interview set up and I want the job, but don’t want to price myself out. Conversely, I don’t want to sell myself short either. Any tips?

There’s so much data published about salary ranges for different jobs in different industries that it’s almost impossible not to have a sense of what the general range is.

The key is to try to not play your hand first. If you don’t want to volunteer how much you are making you don’t have to — in fact it’s against the law for an employer to ask.

You may want to say what range you are considering, although that varies based on the opportunity. Once you get an offer, you can try to negotiate politely and professionally, all the while expressing interest and never delivering an ultimatum.

Keeping the dialogue open will ensure that the employer will tell you when they have reached their upper salary limit before they turn to another candidate.

My company required everyone to come back to the office and made masks optional.
My co-worker was sneezing and coughing and was sent home — and then I tested positive for COVID. My company gave me the time off until I tested negative but I’m still sick, so now I have to use my paid time off. That’s just not right. Do I have any recourse?

As unfair as it may seem, your company has the right to enforce its paid time off policy if you are no longer testing positive. There’s no way to know that your current illness has anything to do with COVID or if it’s just any other malady that would cause you to miss work. As far as liability? Anyone who tells you that they know the answer to that is not telling you the truth. So many issues around the new workplace — vaccines, masks, transmission, terminations — are going to be adjudicated for years to come.

Gregory Giangrande has over 25 years of experience as a chief human resources executive. Hear Greg Weds. at 9:35 a.m. on iHeartRadio 710 WOR with Len Berman and Michael Riedel. E-mail: [email protected]. Follow: GoToGreg.com and on Twitter: @greggiangrande