Checking your Market Value and Keeping yourself sharp!

Recently I read an article over the way that one should use should ask for a raise.
The biggest problem is that we do not know our worth.
It is an essential element needed for your negotiation.

A good way to check your worth is via Internet tools which show statistical information from people who entered their salary, experience, sector in which they are working on and education level.
Another way, the one which I suggest to you since I think it keeps people sharp, is to quietly look for open jobs, similar to yours and have interviews. It shall give you a better idea of what you worth, it will increase your negotiation skills, it will expand your network and it will create 'open doors' in case things go wrong during your raise negotiations..

Also, you must be able to present the situation in case you would not be there.. In other words, what is the added value of having you at the position you are now and how do you make profit or add value to the department/company? Why should you get a raise? Why you and not somebody else?

German panel lays down restrictions on EU immigrants | EurActiv

German panel lays down restrictions on EU immigrants | EurActiv: "Although immigrants contribute to prosperity and development in Germany, Maizière said, "on the other hand, we should not turn a blind eye to the fact that there are also problems related to immigration."
In many municipalities, the trend has intensified social problems and placed a growing burden on community service systems. 
Areas like schooling, housing, sheltering the homeless and healthcare are particularly affected.
Information from the German Federal Statistical Office shows that most immigrants come from Poland. Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria follow by a significant margin in second, in third and fourth place respectively. Immigration from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal has also increased.

Nevertheless, immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania have been the subject of public debate, ever since the EU extended freedom of labour movement to these two member states.

"From a national perspective, the number of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania is reasonable and manageable, but regionally it is alarming," the internal affairs minister said, adding: "It is right for us to confront this now, so the Federal Republic does not sustain significant damage."

The committee also proposed providing communities with €200 million in financial assistance over four years to help them deal with migration. The committee dealt primarily with the situation in municipalities hosting a disproportionately high number of immigrants from EU countries. Such municipalities lack apartments and sufficient housing facilities for the homeless.

But shortages in education for immigrants are also a significant problem. In this case, it is difficult to integrate them through training programmes and employment. Children do not attend school because they lack sufficient German language skills. Many immigrants do not have health insurance, but require urgent medical care.

The state secretarial committee proposed various measures to tackle the misuse of free movement rights. Re-entry restrictions are planned."

Exclusive: MBA Jobs In Europe, With ManpowerGroup Executive

Exclusive: MBA Jobs In Europe, With ManpowerGroup Executive | BusinessBecause: "Hans Leentjes shuffles his stack of notes and cuts to the conclusion. “I want to underline one more time,” he asserts, “having an MBA is something that will really give you an advantage. [But] it must be combined with the right skill-set.”"

This is what in US call 'Techno-MBA'. It's a Bachelor in Engineergin with a MBA degree. That gives a boost in your career when you want to be a Project Leader because you'll be able to understand better what is said in the projects..

McDonald’s warns of Europe jobs crisis | Americas | BDlive

McDonald’s warns of Europe jobs crisis | Americas | BDlive: "DAVID Fairhurst, chief people officer at McDonald’s Europe, said the fast-food chain, which employs 425,000 people in 38 European markets, was already feeling the effects of what he called the "workforce cliff".

"The workforce is shrinking at both ends of the spectrum. There aren’t enough young people coming into the labour market and too many older people are leaving it."

Mr Fairhurst said the shortage of workers would soon have an impact on economic growth, despite the European Union’s (EU’s) unemployment rate of 10.8% of the workforce and a youth jobless rate above 23%."