Employers often have the upper hand in pay negotiations.

This is because of 'asymmetric information' – bosses can easily find the going rate for a job. It's like a card game where your opponent sees the cards in your hand while you can't see theirs.

Companies rarely allow staff to talk to each other about salaries. In some workplaces sharing salary information is an offence.

Employers compare your pay with that of other employees. They also usually have access to wider industry pay information either through organisations or by buying third-party salary reports.

You'll struggle to find this information. Some recruitment advertisement offer clues.

However, recruiters are often coy about exact salaries. They don't want existing staff to know what they pay newcomers.

Even when you are the recruit, employers often won't tell you the salary until later in the recruitment process.

When you apply for a new job, you need to get as much salary information as possible before negotiating. You also need to know if it is worth negotiating.

Likewise, if you want a pay rise from your existing employer, you need to know what others doing the same job elsewhere earn. This gives you useful ammunition. It also lets you know whether you should stay or move if your negotiation fails.

Resources for New Zealand knowledge workers wanting to compare pay rates.

• Hudson has good pay data for IT, finance, accounting and office workers.
• Absolute IT has a tool for finding pay rates in IT jobs, but you have to give personal details to use it.
• Hays offers NZ salary information from its Australian site – but again you have to give personal data.
• Frog recruitment has basic pay information for a range of knowledge worker roles.
• TradeMe's salary guide covers the widest range of jobs.
• Seek's salary centre uses information from Robert Walters.

The National Business Review reports  Self-employment can be "a life of misery".

I wish I knew this before embarking on my new life as a freelance journalist. Apart from dealing with taxes – the word misery doesn’t capture the nightmare – my experience is more of loneliness than anything else. I miss being able to bounce ideas around with co-workers.

A great YouTube clip adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates knowledge workers.
I found this at Miramar Mike's site posted as Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us.

Many of us work in the part of the economy where there are no jobs, just clients and projects. We market our services, try to find interesting opportunities and finance our larger interests with the revenue. We’ve been out of the hierarchy for so long that it’s become unappealing.

John Sumser writing on the joys of being unemployable explains life as a modern knowledge worker.

Sumser say knowledge work rarely aligns with jobs and companies haven't yet got their heads around the idea of employing people for projects.

We're moving to a world where people work on a series of short, independent gigs.

Recruiter Brad Remillard on Functional resumes:

I don’t read them. It is obvious when one has a functional resume they are trying to hide something and I’m rarely going to take the time to attempt to figure it out. 1 second.

Remillard was writing in  How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less.

His suspicion of functional resumes is well-placed. Like good writing, a good resume or CV is crisp and unambiguous. Functional resumes appear deliberately ambiguous.

Recruiters are brutal when sifting through resumes and CVs. As Brad Remillard explains in  How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less it seems disrespectful, but from their point of view it makes sense.

He says his first pass over a pile of resumes is box-checking. He can quickly rules out many candidates in a matter of seconds. Here's an example of how he works:

Industry. If my client is in banking and your background is primarily manufacturing – goodbye.  These two often are so different that the client isn’t open to considering such different industries. This works both ways, if you have a manufacturing background I’m not going to consider someone with banking. 2-3  seconds to determine this.

I've hired many journalists in my time and I usually take a similar approach – at least with the first cut. If I advertise a job and it asks for X,Y and Z, then I toss out all the applications which don't have them.

And because I'm an editor, when I hire journalists I immediately cut applications or CVs with spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm unlikely to keep poorly written ones either.

Chad Levitt's Must have skill sets for the new world of work echoes many of the themes on Knowledge Workers.

He tops his list with Social media and Web 2.0 know how while The ability to write effectively is in second place. He finishes his list of seven items with Having a platform, which is mainly an argument in favour of running a blog.

You need to have a home base that can be indexed by Google. You need a place where you have complete editorial control. The easiest way to do this is with a blog. Blogs can launch you into some very exciting and interesting work. You need a platform.

Levitt is a salesman by trade. This shows in his focus, which is heavy on getting a high profile and less about delivering.
I'm indebted to David MacGregor who tweeted the reference to Levitt's story.

When a nation elects a Prime Minister or President, there’s usually a honeymoon period of around 100 days.

During this time, the incoming leader sets the tone for his or her administration. Typically, the leader gets the benefit of the doubt while opinion makers scrutinise every move and opposition forces regroup.

It’s not unusual for new leaders to stumble. So long as the mistakes are not too bad, small errors are forgiven.

If the incoming leader gets an early reputation for being accident prone, the sound of knives sharpening is deafening.

Your new job

It's the same when you move to an executive position with a new employer. There’s often a honeymoon period where colleagues give you breathing space.

There’s no guaranteed way of ensuring knives stay blunt, but there are some smart strategies for ensuring the first days in a role set the right tone for the rest of your stay.

Making a successful move starts before you finish your old job. It’s not always possible to make a graceful exit: some employers react badly when workers quit to join a rival.

Do what you can to leave on good terms. Make a point of wrapping up unfinished projects and smoothing the path for whoever takes over.

Above all else, it is not wise to sabotage or damage your old employer’s business.

Before you start your job, you need to do research. It’s a good idea to drive past your new workplace in the morning or when employees leave the building in the evening. This is a good way of finding out where to park and how long it takes to get to the office in the morning.

Dummy run

If you plan to use public transport to travel to work and the route is unfamiliar, then a dummy run one morning before you start will help find potential travel problems.

You probably already know a little about your employer – particularly if you a moving to a new job in the same industry.

You may have previously worked for a competitor or a business partner. Even so, your previous job will colour your views – it could be wrong. So, it’s worthwhile conducting extra general research about the company before starting.

Get hold of as much information about the organisation as you can. If they sent you an information packet then make sure you read it.

Make sure you get an early night before your first day. In the morning start by eating a good breakfast including protein. It may be a long time before you get another opportunity to eat.

If you go to work on an empty stomach, the chances are your blood sugar will drop during the late morning and you’ll appear dozy or disoriented.

Small things matter

Being alert is important. While you might be hired to look after the big picture, during the first days in a role little things matter. You need to stay alert and pay attention to details.

It’s a good idea to head off extra early: this is one day you can’t be late. If you are using public transport get an earlier train or bus.

Don’t go into the building until the expected time. People may be preparing for your arrival – if possible grab a coffee and relax before entering the building.

If the job is creative, then it makes sense to ask the dress code before starting, otherwise you should dress in your smartest, but most conservative outfit.  If you’re too smart, nobody will say anything and you can dress down the next day. If you’re in a T-shirt and jeans but it isn’t a T-shirt kind of workplace, nobody will say much either, but they will notice.

There’s never a problem with standing out on the up-side. But avoid the cutting edge of fashion.

First morning

What happens when you arrive depends on the company. At a well-organised employer someone will spend the first morning with you to help you find your bearings.

It’s possible there will be a formal orientation session. During orientation, you should get some printed information, perhaps a company handbook with details of policies and other key information. The contents of these documents can vary greatly. You should also get a guided tour.

The guided tour will take you around the immediate area where you will be working so you can find things like bathrooms, kitchens, coat hangers, light switches and air conditioning controls. It should also take you further afield so you can meet co-workers in other departments and find your way around the wider company.

Of course, you might not get any of this. If so, then ask. In particular ask for a guided tour and if it doesn’t happen, arrange your own.

Figure out who is good

During your first walkabouts, make a point of finding all the colleagues you will be working with and learning what they do. Try to figure out who are important and who are good at what they do. This might be harder than it first appears, but the sooner you find where the smart people are, the sooner you will get results.

Try to socialise with your new colleagues. Make time to talk to colleagues over lunch and afternoon tea.

Some of the key workers are the support staff. They are often the ones who other managers don’t even bother to say hello to.

Typically, support staff know where the bodies are buried and how things really work (as opposed to how they should work). Often these are the very people who can help you get real results.

If you have a senior position, it’s even more important to put these people at ease.

When talking to colleagues during your first two or three months it is important to use the language of inclusion. Try to avoid speaking about “I” instead think about “we” and “us”. Likewise, avoid making constant comparisons with your previous employers. In particular do not fall into the trap of constantly belittling or criticising them – smart colleagues will wonder how long it is before you say the same things about them.

Your criticisms might be valid and your distaste justified, but there will be a feeling your negative attitude remains.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with drawing on your previous experience to illustrate ideas and concepts. But in general, you should speak positively in forward-looking terms and not negatively and backward looking.

Hand-shaking

As you move around the office, be ready to shake hands with a lot of people, but don’t force the issue if it looks like it will make people uncomfortable and certainly avoid bone-crushing handshakes.

Try to make eye contact with everyone, but again, don’t force the issue if others seem shy or nervous.

It’s a good idea to take part in any company induction programs – no matter how senior you are.

You may run into hostility during your first days in a job. When this happens, it’s important to get to the root of the problem as quickly as possible. You need to nip problems in the bud before they get serious.

Finally, while starting a job is stressful, try to relax and keep things in perspective.