This article is by Victoria Husted Medvec, the Adeline Barry Davee professor of management and organizations and executive director of the Center for Executive Women at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Photo by Alex Ferro/Jogos Rio 2016 via Getty Images For Olympic athletes, nothing shines quite like gold. Silver, while still impressive, is often tarnished with thoughts of what might have been.

Shutterstock If you have been job-hunting lately, you know that it’s become obnoxiously common for recruiters to ask, “What are you earning now?” or “What did you earn at your last job?” very early in the conversation. They will ask, but you don’t have to give them the number they want. It’s a very bad idea for you to give up your salary details.

It’s extremely common for working people to be underpaid. When you are underpaid, it means that another employer or even another manager in your current organization would pay you more for your services than you’re getting paid now. They would pay you more if they knew about you and if you knew how your talents could solve your new manager’s greatest pain points! Many people don’t know what their gifts and their experience are worth to employers.

Shutterstock A good friend of mine recently lost her job. It was an unexpected move by her company to close her division in advance of a new CEO taking the helm at year-end. My friend, who I’ll call Sara, had always prided herself on her diligent work ethic and loyalty. She told me, “I was always so proud that I could say I’ve never been fired. Now I can’t say that anymore.

You can’t blame an employer for making you a low salary offer if you haven’t told them what you expect to earn in your new job. You don’t want to go through the entire interview process without bringing up the topic of salary. You have to bring it up if they don’t. You have to know what your talents are worth so you can name the right number or salary range.

Shutterstock Most startups flounder because they failed to get enough marketing exposure in the first place. Failing means you’re in a better position to succeed the next time, with a 20% increased chance of success. You need to work on getting early exposure for your business if you want to succeed. This guide is going to show you some proven ways entrepreneurs can get exposure.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is one of four Facebook billionaires under 40 to make the cut for this year’s top 100 Richest in Tech. (Photo by AP Photo/Manu Fernadez) Clad in t-shirts and jeans, the youngest billionaires of today’s tech world are not the suits of your parents’ generation.

Dear Liz, I have to thank you for helping me get my mojo back! I got laid off seven months ago. I was frantic to get another job. I did everything you tell job-seekers not to do. I got some interviews, but when I got to the interview I was so nervous I couldn’t stop talking. I grovelled and begged for jobs I didn’t even want. I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I started composing and sending Pain Letters.

Shutterstock One of the most common job search frustrations is that of people who want to change careers but are paralyzed by the assumption that they don’t have enough experience. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. I graduated from college with a degree in biology and a job in the medical field. My heart was on a different path though, slowly pulling me in the direction of digital advertising.

Most people think of networking as brief interactions at cocktail parties and conferences. They look at the business cards they’ve collected and call it good. But unless you’ve moved past the LinkedIn connection request/acceptance stage of a professional relationship, it’s inaccurate to say it’s a real connection.