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The good news is that most salary surveys I have seen in recent months show the first sizeable increase in raises in years. Whether employers are sensing the economy turning around or whether they see the writing on the wall that workers are looking to change jobs, most studies show they expect to hand out much higher raises than in the past few years.

So, you need a plan. It will be easier if you have a scheduled meeting planned with your supervisor, but if you don’t, you’ll want to request one. In the time leading up to the meeting you should document every accomplishment since your last promotion/raise. You want to document how your actions have impacted the department, office, company. Whenever possible, quantify those accomplishments. Please note that accomplishments do NOT have to be cost-savings or sales; you could have written computer scripts that made the company Website function more efficiently, created a staffing system that led to lower turnover, or you could have logged some number of customer service issues/complaints. Accomplishments are simply the outcomes of your job – and ideally show how you go beyond your job description to help your employer.

One final thing to do before the meeting is to get a sense of what people with your experience and training make in similar positions within your company and in other companies. Many professional organizations conduct annual salary surveys and there are also several online salary sources. (Find the sources in this section of Quintessential Careers: Salary Negotiation and Job Offer Tools and Resources.

At the meeting, you can either discuss your accomplishments with your list in front of you or present it to your supervisor so that he/she has something to help document why you should get the raise you request. Make a logical case for your raise; do not discuss how much you need it because your kids are heading to college or need braces…

And finally, be prepared to not get the raise you think you deserve. If that happens, you’ll need to take time to decide whether or not you need to switch employers to get the raise you deserve – which is the more likely scenario.

Finally, read my article, Getting the Raise You Deserve, published on Quintessential Careers.

For the personal assistant position, as long as the CEO appreciates your work – and as long as he/she stays a CEO – you should have good job security and perks. But if he/she is nearing retirement age, your future is a bit more hazy unless your boss is open to helping you find a similar position before he/she retires.

For the corporate training position, you have a more stable career path… and actually have more chances for advancement. Corporate training is a big industry – and only growing as more employers are spending the money on advancing the education and training of their workers. Whether its computer-based or Web-based, corporate training will continue to play a major role in the future.

But you need to conduct further research and self-reflection. You need to decide what path gives you the most of whatever you seek – money, stability, satisfaction, etc.

I am going to offer you the best advice I can give you, but I honestly feel that you could really benefit from several sessions with a career coach. I think you have a lot of issues that need to be resolved and focused to help you move forward. For example, can’t you use your creative side in your job as a legal secretary – or if you moved to some other position within the firm? What if you moved to a legal office that practiced entertainment law?

A career change this drastic is going to take time, planning, and organization. I am guessing that your experience as a legal secretary is going to come in handy as you move forward with this career change.

You obviously have a great collection of skills and interests. I think you need to start here. Make an inventory of all your skills. Circle the ones that you most want to use in the future.

From those skills, start researching career paths that will best fit you. Get as much information as you can, including the types of training or education you need. Conduct informational interviews with people working in those careers. Find volunteering opportunities that allow you to practice some of these skills and build experience.

You can find much more advice in this section of Quintessential Careers: Job & Career Resources for Career Changers. And for help finding a career coach, check out the Quintessential Careers Directory of Life and Career Coaches.

There are all sorts of issues tied to workplace flexibility, however, and many employers – while wanting to do the right thing – are struggling with issues of equity, productivity, and management.

The good news is telework is on the increase. According to the 2004 American Interactive Consumer Survey conducted by The Dieringer Research Group, the number of employed Americans who performed any kind of work from home, with a frequency range from as little as 1 day a year to full-time, grew from 41.3 million in 2003 to 44.4 million in 2004, a 7.5% growth rate.

But your task is made all the harder because you are seeking two changes in your status. And the move to part-time is made tougher by issues of how salary and benefits will be handled.

Your goal is to develop a detailed plan that will show the company how and why your move to part-time telework will be beneficial for all parties – how it will make you a more productive worker and the specific benefits to the company.

You should conduct research into how other companies handle these issues. There are also a number of online resources that can help you.

Read more in this article published on Quintessential Careers: Making Your Case for Telecommuting: How to Convince the Boss.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is currently Webmaster of Quintessential Careers.

Dr. Hansen is an associate professor of marketing at the School of Business Administration, Stetson University. He has been a published career expert for the last 10 years and an employer and consultant with hiring/firing decisions for the past 15 years.

Through his experience as a professor of marketing, Dr. Hansen uses proven marketing techniques and applies them to job-hunting. He is currently working on such a book. Some of his work can be seen at his personal Web site.

He and Katharine Hansen co-wrote the very successful job-hunting book, Dynamic Cover Letters, published by Ten Speed Press. You can order copies from Barnes and Noble of this cover letter bible. He is also author of several career-related magazine and journal articles.

Finally, Dr. Hansen has been an employer and has firsthand experience in the hiring process. He also stays active in the field by reading magazine and journal articles and by talking with employers on a regular basis.