Why Employers Won't Name a Salary Range First

It's one of the biggest frustrations of job-seekers: employers who advertise a job but refuse to say what it pays. Adding to the frustration, many of them expect job-seekers to name the salary they're looking for - some even requiring it before an application can be submitted online. This, of course, puts applicants in an incredibly unfair position, and makes most of them worry that they'll lowball themselves or ask for so much that they'll be removed from the running. It's particularly infuriating when you consider that most employers have a salary range budgeted for the position. They just won't disclose it. So why do employers make such a secret out of what they're willing to pay? What not just list a salary range up-front in the job ad? Employers who play coy on salary will tell you that it's because if they list a salary range, all candidates will assume they should be at the top of the range ... and will then get upset or be disappointed if their offer comes in lower because of the level of their qualifications. In other words, if an employer advertises that a job pays $50,000 to $60,000, they fear that every applicant will think, "Great, low 60s. That works for me." But if an applicant ends up getting an offer for $52,000 because that's where his or her experience places him or her, he or she will feel that he or she is being lowballed because, after all, he or she knows the employer is willing to pay up to $60,000. The applicant may have been happy with that offer if he or she had never heard about the full range available. Now, a good employer will be able to explain how the scale works and why the candidate fits into it where he or she does. But employers who don't want to disclose their full range believe that too many people still won't be satisfied, and that they'll be creating dissatisfaction that otherwise wouldn't exist. And that's not all employers worry about. Sometimes they don't want to list a range in their ads because they'd be willing to pay more for the right candidate - but not for most. For instance, if they list a salary range of $50,000 to $60,000, the candidate who won't consider anything below $70,000 might never apply. And if that person is good enough, the employer might be willing to meet those salary demands. But since they wouldn't pay it to most candidates, they don't want to put it in the ad. As a result, they conclude it's better not to list a range at all. So what can candidates do in the face of so many employers who won't reveal the salary for a job, when salary happens to be a major consideration for most job-seekers? One key is to know what jobs like the ones you're applying for typically pay. You can often get a solid sense by talking with recruiters, checking with professional organizations in your industry and even just bouncing figures off of other people in your field. Once you come up with a range for your experience level and in your geographic area, you can feel more confident naming a salary figure first, without the worry that you'll be wildly off in either direction. And second, assume that at some point the employer is likely to ask you about what salary you're looking for, without telling you their own range first. Too often, job-seekers assume that the employer will name a figure first and they can then respond to it - but by knowing that often isn't the case, you'll be better prepared, less likely to be caught off-guard, and more equipped to negotiate a fair salary for yourself. Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search, and management issues. She's also the co-author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Manager's Guide to Getting Results, and former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization, where she oversaw day-to-day staff management, hiring, firing, and employee development.

Florida Man Dies of Bacterial Infection After Crabbing in River

Florida health officials have warned beach-goers to avoid wading into the water with open wounds and eating raw or undercooked seafood after a man died of a bacterial infection hours after crabbing. Henry "Butch" Konietzky, 59, was crabbing in Halifax River when he was exposed to vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium normally found in warm seawater, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "I am actually really shocked," nearby resident Kamryn Eversole told WFTV, ABC News' affiliate in Orlando and Daytona Beach, Fla. "I'm in this water all the time and I guess I would have been more careful if I had known this earlier." Read about 7 foods most likely to make you sick. The bacteria causes blood infections in people who go into the water with open wounds or who eat raw or undercooked seafood, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. More than 70 percent of people who become infected have "distinctive bulbous skin lesions," and about half of vibrio vulnificus infections are fatal. In Konietzky's case, he became infected when he waded out into the water with open wounds, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. His daughter told the newspaper that Konietzky had lesions on his legs a few hours after crabbing, prompting his wife to take him to the hospital. But it was too late and he died hours later of kidney failure. There have been 26 cases of vibrio vulnificus statewide this year, including nine deaths, according to WFTV.

X marks the spot: A real treasure hunt.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A collection of gold and jewels that a retired Santa Fe art dealer says he stashed in the mountains north of Santa Fe has generated so much interest from amateur treasure hunters that some have put their lives in jeopardy or been cited for illegally digging on public lands.

But authorities are warning people about more than being careful and following the law. They also note finders may not be keepers.

"If this treasure is buried, you would need to dig for it. And you can't dig anywhere in a national forest without a permit," said Bruce Hill, spokesman for the Santa Fe National Forest. "Even if it is not buried and it is just placed somewhere it becomes public domain."

Ditto for state lands, according to Department of Game and Fish spokesman Dan Williams.

Forrest Fenn was asked if he had considered land rights before hiding the chest. He said in an email that much has been written about land laws.

"I'm staying out of those discussions, except to say it may be fun to redefine some of the terms," Fenn said in the email.

The poem that Fenn published in his memoir, "The Thrill of the Chase," to give clues to the chest's whereabouts advises the treasure finder to "Look quickly down, your quest to cease, But tarry scant with marvel gaze, Just take the chest and go in peace."

But authorities currently seem to be more concerned about public safety than ownership questions as publicity about Fenn's claims to have hidden the 40-plus pound chest filled with gold coins, gold nuggets and ancient jewelry draws people to the northern New Mexico mountains.

Last month, a woman from Texas got lost in the mountains near Los Alamos overnight after seeing reports about the treasure on national television. But she was found safe the next day.

And Williams said the state plans to file charges against a man found digging last month under a descanso along the upper Pecos River last month. A descanso is a marker where someone has died or ashes scattered. Williams says the man told officers he was digging for Fenn's treasure.

Forest officials are urging treasure hunters to check with their office before setting out to make sure they have the proper gear and know the best places to go, Hill said.

"One of the concerns that we had is that this might invite people that really aren't familiar with traveling in a forest," Hill said. "They could get lost. They could step and stumble and turn an ankle ... maybe put themselves in a situation where they have to be rescued and maybe put other people's lives at risk."

Fenn said he has also posted caution notices on his web site and several blogs.

"Flatlanders don't realize how dangerous it can be," he said.

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Umm what the fuck did you just say!?

THIS "UMM WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?" moment is brought to you by: Sue Mi Terry (as reported by yahoo.com)...

The most probable outcome of all these tensions is a low-level "tactical" strike from North Korea.

But don't worry, it'll be " a relatively small attack that won’t leave many people dead,"

....wouldn't you agree that one life is too many?

'Gate to Hell' unearthed among Turkey's ancient ruins

Archaeologists say they have pinpointed an ancient – and lethal – cave that was once believed to be the entrance to the underworld. Working at the World Heritage Site of Hierapolis in southwestern Turkey, Francesco D'Andria of the Italian University of Salento and his team found a cave featuring Ionic semi columns with inscriptions dedicated to Pluto and Kore, the underworld's deities. D'Andria and his team also found the remains of a temple, a pool, and multiple steps placed above the cave, which is said to closely fit the ancient writings on the site.

Baby born after parents killed in car wreck on way to NY hospital

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Orthodox Jews overflowed a New York synagogue and poured onto the streets on Sunday to mourn the death of a young couple killed in a car accident on their way to the hospital to have their first baby, who survived after delivery by C-section.

Meanwhile police continued their intensive search for a hit-and-run driver and a passenger who fled the midnight accident that killed the mother, Raizi Gluber, and father, Nathan Gluber, both 21-year-old Orthodox Jews from a close-knit enclave in Williamsburg, in the borough of Brooklyn.

The baby boy, reported by police to be in serious condition, had yet to be named, a family friend said.

Mourners overflowed the funeral conducted in Hebrew at a Williamsburg synagogue while about 200 more assembled in the street, where pallbearers carried a pair of caskets draped in black velvet from the synagogue to a pair of awaiting vehicles that drove them away.

The deaths devastated the Orthodox community in Williamsburg, where the accident occurred and where people were thinking of the child's well-being, said family friend and community leader Isaac Abraham.

"How can the community react? It's a shock. It's like a punch in the gut," said Abraham, who has known the deceased mother's parents since childhood. "People are not prepared for this. Parents are not prepared to bury their children."

All the men speaking at the service sobbed or wailed during their eulogies, and nearly all the women were in tears.

Investigators launched what a police spokeswoman called "full-on search" for the male driver and female passenger whose gray BMW sedan struck the side of a taxi that was taking the couple to the hospital. The pair fled on foot, leaving the car behind.

The mother and father were pronounced dead on arrival at separate hospitals. The mother was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where doctors delivered the baby boy, police said.

The taxi driver was listed in stable condition at Bellevue, police said.

The accident was still under investigation, police spokesman Paul Browne said. Witnesses reported the BMW traveling at a high rate of speed, and the taxi was at a stop sign, Browne said.

(Reporting by Anna Hiatt; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Philip Barbara and Eric Beech)