Most are aware of the current banking climate where account holders are being extorted for more and more fees. Now let’s fast forward to dream land and image banking where the people matter…dream or reality. First thought suggest dreamland but maybe it’s not entirely a dream. Let’s take Umpqua Bank for example. This bank isn’t exactly like your local banker down the street. Why well Umpqua isn’t quite as stuffy as bankers usually are. Well they’re actually people focused…imagine that. On top of that, you actually get to keep some of your money. Even crazier right? Why would you want to keep more of your money versus paying a lot of fees?

Good ideas and banking usually don’t go hand and hand but that seems to be different with Umpqua. Innovation, responsiveness, and Umpqua are terms, quite often, used in the same sentence. If you’re out looking and banking is your background then you need to check out Umpqua Bank. They are based in Oregon but also have branches in California and Washington. For Californians there are hiring for quite a few open positions now including Store Manager in Vallejo, Mortgage Loan Officer in Santa Rosa and Banking Relationship Manager in Roseville. Check out all of Umpqua Job Openings for yourself. There should not be a problem finding a good fit, after all not every bank has such a reputation as a good work environment. Hummh, people matter in banking – imagine that.

If you don't have a job and have been out of work for a while any job is welcomed. On the other hand manufacturing an economic crisis to condition workers for lower wages sounds a little cronyism. Is that really the answer? It seems like a no brainer but that's what the GOP candidates are sparring about nowadays. Perry touts that he has created over 2 million jobs in Texas under his watch. Conversely, Ron Paul shot back at Perry during the GOP debate to say that over 700,000 of those jobs were state and local government jobs. It was super funny (ROFL) when Ron Paul stated that he didn't want to offend the Governor for fear Perry might raise his taxes - again. Moreover, on more than one occasion it has been noted that a large number of the jobs created under Perry's watch have been low wage jobs. Basically low wage service level jobs at Carl's Jr. and so on.

So is this where we're going? Use the national deficit as an excuse to push more and more Americans into poverty. This is what seems to be the case. On one end, there's the push to end unemployment insurance. On the other end, the private sector has created little to no jobs, with the exception of the great job Perry is doing in Texas stimulating job grown via Carl's Jr. Woo-hoo, let's give the Governor a big cuban cigar for that one. Go Perry Go! Are low wage jobs the answer? Looks like Perry thinks so...maybe Carl's Jr has a few more job openings. Go get yours before Perry gives that job away to a long term unemployed person begging to get back to work.

Do you have a knack for customer service? How about in the world of bits and bytes? If so, Micro Center is hiring. If you don't know, Micro Center is sort of a blend of Best Buy and RadioShack. You can find all your computer parts and accessories there from transistors to whole systems. With that in mind, a job at Micro Center likely means you should know something about computers or at least you should be able to catch on pretty quick. Hey hanging out with the tech geeks isn't the worst thing in the world. You might be lucky enough to talk one of the techies into cleaning off the spyware and viruses off your computer. Techies live for this stuff so it shouldn't be that hard of a sales job convincing them to lend a hand. In any event this is a great job for college students out for the summer looking to save up for the fall fun when school starts back. Head on over there now and start schmoozing before the mad rush gets there too. Be sure to let them know you found out Micro Center is hiring on the Job Seeker Blog.

So what's the approach to getting a pay raise without feeling like you are pulling your boss' teeth? Well the short answer is that there isn't a one size fits all approach. Sorry for the silver bullet seekers; silver bullets tend to work with Blade and Wesley Snipes. For the rest of us, the approach to getting a pay raise is more like an art versus a science. Here are a few pointers.

1. Where is your current salary relative to salary standards for your position?
2. If your current salary is already above median what incentive does your employer have to pay more i.e. what added value do you bring to the table that the average Joe can't bring to the table?
3. Can your company afford to pay you more? Timing is everything?
4. Do you have track record of performance with your employer?If you do and you also have a track record with previous employers that helps a bunch
5. How important is the raise you desire i.e. would you quit for a raise or pout and get back to work?

Once you have a solid understanding of the above question, combined with your personal experience working on your current job, you're in the best position to make your pay raise sales pitch. So if you want to avoid the feeling of pulling teeth basically you need to be prepared and have all the necessary information available before hand. Don't go in and try to wing it, invariably something always happens that isn't planned when you wing it.