gender gap

Whether you're job searching or trying to get a promotion, you want to stand out from the rest of the pack — which means you should stay away from buzzwords. LinkedIn recently released a list of overused words people use on their online résumés, which include words like "creative," "motivated," "organizational," and "effective."

It's simple to remove these buzzwords from your résumé, but there are also overused phrases people use at work that can be harder to correct. Nicole Williams, LinkedIn's career expert, says women tend to "rely on overused words in an effort to downplay their contribution." There is a certain safety in using buzzwords, which can stem back to a need to be liked and a fear of the perception of bragging.

"It's less threatening to say I'm 'creative' versus 'I envisioned and implemented a marketing strategy that increased sales by 70 percent,'" Williams says. Women need to carefully evaluate the overuse of certain words to see if it diminishes their achievements.

One word Williams notices women tend to overuse is "sorry." "Sorry" can make you seem less confrontational and more likeable, but it may make you look less assertive. Sound familiar to you?

Women and men differ when it comes to negotiating salary depending on the context. LearnVest takes a closer look at the results of a recent study.

Gosh, women would earn what men earn if we would just buck up and negotiate!

OK, the reality is a little bit more complicated than that. But one of the reasons that we and other publications often point out when trying to parse the persistent wage gap is the fact (opinion?) that women are less likely than men to negotiate their pay.

The Atlantic reports that Researchers from Australia’s Monash University and the University of Chicago decided to find out if this was true, by following 2,500 U.S. job seekers applying for an administrative assistant position. What they discovered was surprising.

RELATED: Looking For a Raise? The Cards May Be Stacked Against Women

The working paper reported that although, overall, there was no difference in the likelihood that a male or female applicant would negotiate their salary, it actually was all about context:

Read on for more.

Having to juggle both motherhood and jobs, women oftentimes face a high risk of burning out. It's up to us to take care of ourselves and take charge of our lives. Oprah's team of experts weighed in at the O You! event in Los Angeles this past Saturday on why too many women are wearing themselves out.

• They give too much. Suze Orman says women "give too much and take too little." We do this with our family, with our friends, and at work. Start getting used to saying no.
• They don't say how they feel. Perhaps we don't really say what we're thinking because we don't want to offend someone. "Thoughts, words, and actions have to be one. Don't say yes, when you are thinking no," Orman says. If you don't align yourself with your thoughts, you may be storing a lot of pent-up frustration. Release, and let go.
• They don't put themselves first. It's not selfish to put yourself first on the list, says Dr. Phil. In fact, "you cannot give what you do not have" and you will "cheat everyone in your life if you burn yourself out." To give to other people, you need to give to yourself first.

People can't help but see women and men in different lights, which means it might make sense for each gender to take a different approach to business situations. According to research by NYU and the Harvard Kennedy School, results showed that when both genders read a script that said, "I think I should be paid at the top of the salary range. And I would also like to be eligible for an end-of-the-year bonus," men were thought of as assertive while women gave off the impression of being pushy and unpleasant.

So how can we properly negotiate without offending anyone? Researchers found that if women phrased it in a way that aligned their needs with the company's goals, their requests are less likely to seem negative. This was the script used in the study that appealed the most to participants: "I don't know how typical it is for people at my level to negotiate, but I'm hopeful that you'll see my skill at negotiating as something important that I bring to the job."

It's a fact: women get paid less than men. Although the gender gap is narrowing, there are still leaps and bounds we need to take to even out this unfair discrepancy. We're obviously not going to be handed what we deserve so we need to start asking for it.

A grave mistake women make that hurts them later on is that they aren't negotiating their first salary. This will set them back in the long run, because if a woman starts off her career track earning less money than men, it will be harder to narrow the salary gap and catch.

What's the solution to this? Well, we need to start negotiating for the salary we deserve. The first few steps to earning our worth, includes researching the pay. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Go to your college career center: Take advantage of the resources your expensive tuition provides you, and ask the counselors at your school to give an estimate of what your fellow classmates are making in a particular field. Schools tend to regularly poll their students for salary statistics and the information they give you will give you a more accurate amount of what someone with your profile can expect to receive. They may also be able to share personal anecdotes of what other students in similar situations are making.
• Check out online salary tools: There are a ton of helpful online salary tools that can give you a rough gauge of how much to negotiate for. Take a look at Indeed.com to see what figure their salary search comes up with. What I like about Indeed's salary tool is that it's very simple, so it's a good website to start with. If your company is big enough, you may be able to find out the pay of employees through anonymous salary quotes at Glassdoor.com.
• Ask your employer for the range: When your employer asks how much salary you're expecting (remember don't ask them about pay if they don't talk about it in your interview!), respond in kind with, "What's a fair range that someone at my position is making?" Take in that information and tell them you'll get back to them after you sit on it for a while.

In addition to Tax Day, there's another big occasion happening today. It's Equal Pay Day, a day that us women aren't exactly celebrating. That's because we're far and away from making equal pay to our male counterparts. Let's make some progress by making plans to ask for a raise, but before you do so, keep these salary negotiating mistakes in mind when negotiating your salary bump.

• Don't bring up your co-worker's salary. Sure, it's not fair that a certain co-worker is making more and you may feel that you're more deserving of a higher salary, but let's not turn this into a "he said, she said." First of all, you may not have all your facts right, and bringing up your colleague's salary will put your manager into an uncomfortable position. What you should do is compare what you're making to the industry average. Research figures and get them from sites like Glassdoor.com, or you can even reach out to your alma mater to see if they have stats on what the alumni are making. Using the industry average will reflect well on you and will show your boss that you've been doing your research.
• Don't make it personal. The reason for your raise will be professional, so keep that in mind when you're asking for more. Your student loans may be more than you can handle or maybe your husband recently lost his job so you're falling behind on your bills, but that's not the reason that will get you your raise. There are lines you shouldn't cross into personal territory, and this is one of them. What you need to do is write a list of your wins at work, which will show your boss that you do deserve that increase in salary.
• Don't get emotional. If things are not going your way or if you feel that your employer is wronging you, don't get emotional. Oftentimes, the reaction you have when you're emotional is probably more intense than if you had given the situation some time to think over. Collect yourself and don't let your boss see that you're upset. Instead, take some time to think it over after your meeting to carefully craft your next move.
• Don't be negative. Don't start complaining or whining about how unfair your wages are. Instead, take the more positive approach and show your boss why you think you deserve more. Being assertive will earn your manager's respect.
• Don't underprepare. Before having this talk with your boss, make sure that you've done a lot of prep. Do research so you know what figure to aim for and write out a list of accomplishments that you'd like to mention, so you won't forget any details.

Read on for more.

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

There are a lot of ways that men and women differ, but we bet there’s one you might not guess right off the bat.

Retirement.

Yes, retirement. According to a January 2012 study by Ameriprise Financial, more men than women have determined how much money they’ll need to retire, have set aside money in their investments for retirement, and feel confident that they’ll reach their goals.

In fact, a 2010 study found that 92 percent of women don’t feel educated enough to reach their retirement savings goals, but that 56 percent of them want to be.

Related: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Money

Luckily, financial education is our specialty.

We spoke with Stephany Kirkpatrick — CFP, AIF, LearnVest financial planner in residence, and former director of retirement planning at Pension Architects — to figure out why women have such a hard time with retirement saving . . . and how you can get on track.

It’s in the Numbers

Women face some challenges that are purely logistical, like the simple fact that they live longer than men. Today, the average American white male can expect to live 76.2 years, whereas the average American white female can look forward to 80.9 years.

Read on for more

Women have distinctive body language that are very characteristic of their gender, but some habits may hinder their success. One habit in particular, the constant head nodding, is not necessarily a positive trait in the workforce. Throughout conversations, women have the tendency to keep nodding, which although makes one seem agreeable, may also come off as being too eager to please. Bobbing your head while the speaker is talking will make you seem more approachable and friendly, but it will also lessen your authority and leadership role.

We should take a page from men who tend to only nod when they agree or when they are about to express a point. Women are, at heart, great communicators with high EQ, but we shouldn't try so hard to be likable and a team player that we end up losing a bit of our authority. It's OK to nod, but try to keep it to a minimum and limit it to when it's necessary.