Career – A job is what you do to earn compensation.  A career is what you build to increase the value of your compensation. Building requires new materials to stand the test of time.

Offer – An offer does not mean an acceptance by either party.  Both parties have a choice. The employee to choose a job, or next step in a career.  The employer to get another person on payroll or another person to build the winning team.

Money – The employee’s favorite part and the employer’s most dreaded piece of compensation. Communication stabilizes expectation.

Package – Compensation is the whole package, and not just base salary.  Benefits may not put food on your table, but lack of them in a time of need can cut your grocery budget.

Employment – Giving or having work. Both employer and employee give and both have. Do you take time to see each other’s perspective?

Nobody – works harder than you do. Construction is a team sport that wins with a combination of smart and hard work.

Satisfaction – What you get on a good day at work and miss so dearly during the tough days. Focus on the good ones as the tough ones in this business are a given if sought after.

Allowance – Taxable income labeled for a particular use like driving expense. Just because your last job gave a certain amount doesn’t mean the new one justifies the same.  The most stable employers have a process for their calculations.

Time – Not be about how many hours you are there beyond the required, but the evidence of the time you were there.

Indemnity – An employer and employee have equal, but different responsibilities. The employer’s responsibility includes the financial burden to protect from indemnities. Both the employer and employee are responsible to make the right decisions to keep those costs affordable.

Occupy – You occupy your workplace by showing up. You contribute by mindfully serving others around you and taking ownership for your assigned responsibilities.

Nine – Times out of ten an employee leaves a company before they think it through. The others not only think it through but can articulate logically why the choice was made. Acceptance to the logic is the employer’s choice of bitter or better.