It seems like all the pieces are in place for the next giant leap in your career: Your friend told you his sister went back to school for a professional degree and, a week after graduating, landed a job with a $10,000 salary increase. So you know a degree would boost your pay.

Congratulations on your new job! It’s time to celebrate and brace yourself for this exciting and vulnerable time in your career: The first 100 days.

Startup jobs - where you’re given stock in a new company in exchange for working for a low or even no salary - are like a gambling trip to Las Vegas. Most people won’t come out ahead, but those who know how to play the game can sometimes win big. 

We’ve all been in interviews when it seems like all the interviewer wants to do is trip you up. It’s like everything you say is somehow misinterpreted to mean something completely different. How can you diffuse such an uncomfortable situation? 

The best way to put a dollar value on benefits as part of a job offer is to ask the prospective employer to do it for you, says management expert Lonnie Pacelli, author of The Project Management Advisor: 18 Major Project Screw-Ups, and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass.

As with every skill you've ever learned, you have to learn the technique and then practice, practice, practice. A mock interview will not only help you perfect your technique, but it will also allow you to get valuable feedback and coaching on your performance.

If you were an employer looking at a resume, which of the following entries would impress you more?

• Wrote news releases.
• Wrote 25 news releases in a three-week period under daily deadlines.

Want to be the standout job candidate in your field? Then a resume tailored to your industry - one that highlights your industry-specific experience, accomplishments and credentials and that includes all the right industry keywords - is essential.