Yahoo has a Yahoo User Research program where participants can earn up to $100 or more depending on the research.
Our goal is to make Yahoo! the best and the easiest-to-use place on the Web. We understand that talking to our users helps us better understand your needs, issues and concerns. And when we understand your needs better, we can continually make Yahoo! the best it can be.
We are looking for all types of people: Web novices and experts, Yahoo! users and non-users, people who use Yahoo! at home or at work, adults and teenagers … everyone! Feel free to ask others to sign up too, especially those who are not yet on the Web!
We conduct research in many ways, such as:
* Visiting you at your location in a field study
* Inviting you to come into a Yahoo! office to participate in a usability study
* Speaking with you in a telephone interview
* Participating in an online focus group study
* Connecting with you with an online survey
You may choose which of these you prefer when you sign up.
Please provide as much information as possible (name and telephone number are required), since it helps us ask you better questions. We will contact you by email or phone with more information about our next study. (Yahoo! User Research will not use the e-mail address you provide for any other purpose.) You may not hear from us right away, but don’t worry — you’ll be on our list!
Please note: Entry into the Participant Database does not guarantee participation in our research studies. When we plan for upcoming studies, we will query our database for potential participants. If you fit our criteria, we will give you a call or send an e-mail to schedule a time for you to come in to meet with us (or, for field studies, a time to come visit you).
According to Salary.com’s 2008 Job Satisfaction Survey, 50% of employers believe that a salary increase of 8-15% is enough to lure an employee away from their current company. 13% believe a piddly 1-7% is enough, they must be companies with ridiculous benefits or looking for folks in soul-crushing positions because 1-7% is a pittance. 33% of employers believe 16-30% where only 4% believe 31% to “never.” So, if a company is offering you less than 8%, they’re in the small 13% minority that think it’ll work - don’t reinforce that idea!
If you want some more numbers, 38% of employees demand at least 16% to leave while 17% demand over 31% (6% will never leave!), so if you take less than 8% and are leaving for compensation reasons… you’re in the 7% foolish minority.
Lesson of the Day: 8-15% is the golden zone for employers, 16-30% is better. Don’t be a fool and leave for < 7%.
Your resume is the single most important document in your life. It is, or should be, a one or two page encapsulation of everything you can bring to a new organization and is just as important, if not more, as your monthly bank statements. That is why it’s crucial for you to keep your resume as up to date as possible and I recommend you update it at least once every quarter.
Your memory isn’t that great. If you update your resume every quarter, chances are you will have a much easier time remembering the fine work you’ve been doing over the last quarter. You get the opportunity to accurately assess what you’ve done, how it compares to the other bullet points on your resumes, and makes that decision an active one. If you forget you did something, that’s not a good reason to leave it off the resume.
It focuses you on why job hunting is important. You should always be looking out for yourself and thinking about the next opportunity. That next opportunity may be in the organization you’re in now or a completely different one. By refreshing your resume and keeping up to date on your accomplishments, you arm yourself with more ammunition when you go in for your performance review or job interview.
Maybe you’re not doing anything interesting. Sometimes we get into the daily grind and don’t realize that we’re stuck in a rut. If you go to your resume each quarter and find that you have nothing of interest to add, you to re-asses your situation. Add to your list of responsibilities, seek out more work, seek out more challenges, seek out more bullets to put on your resume!
So, start reviewing your resume every quarter, considering bringing it up to your mentor, because you will reap the rewards even if you don’t know it.
