That same accountant might be able to get a job at an accounting firm like KPMG Peat Marwick, whose primary business is accounting, at a higher salary because their time is being billed out to clients.

Even if you're not working in accounting, there are many types of professional positions where their consulting counterparts pay more than staff jobs inside corporations. The downside to consulting jobs is they often require more hours and can be more stressful because of demands by clients.

If you've been working for a large company, you may be able to get a higher salary by working at a small business. Small businesses often pay higher salaries because they don't offer as many of intangible benefits as larger firms - such as after-work company events, a company cafeteria, and prestige that comes with working for a well-known firm. However, difference between what businesses of different sizes pay narrows when there's high unemployment because small businesses don't have to work as hard to attract people that might otherwise work for larger companies.

One place to go to research different industries and possibly map out a plan for transitioning to a different type of company that might be in a better position to pay you more for your work is Vault Reports web site. Vault surveys people working at all sorts of companies about pay, work environment, etc. and makes reports available on their web site. For more information about Vault or to visit their site, go to this web address: http://www.jobsearchinfo.com/vault.htm

Another way to find out about best places to work to maximize your salary is to network with other people in your profession and talk to leaders in your local professional association. If you don't know a lot of people in your profession, you can attend networking events to meet them. Here is a brief (but not exhaustive) list of places to go to find networking events: - Technology Executives Networking Group (TENG) - For Technology Executives. Website: www.theteng.org - Financial Executives Networking Group (FENG) - For Finance Executives (CFOs, Controllers, etc.). Website: www.thefeng.org - ExecuNet - General networking for executives making $100,000+. Website: www.execunet.com - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) - Website: www.ieee.org - Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) - For I.T. Professionals & Computer Scientists. Website: www.acm.org - Crain's Business Publications - Publisher of Crain's New York Business, Crain's Detroit Business, Crain's Chicago Business, et. al. These publications list local networking events in these major cities. Website: www.crain.com - If you don't know if there's an association for your profession and/or industry, one way to find out is through American Society of Association Executives' web site. They have a search engine to let you search through all of professional and trade associations in U.S. Get to it by going to www.asaenet.org and clicking "Directories" on home page.

Once you know type of company you want to work for, next step is to start generating leads, which then leads to interviews. We have several tools listed on our website that are effective in generating job leads.

Once you determine type of person interviewer is looking for, you then need to decide for yourself whether you could fit in that position. If they're looking for someone they can pay a low salary to (like what they'd pay someone right out of school), you may decide to decline offer. However, if you're not a recent grad but you're comfortable with taking a job that was designed for one, your next step becomes explaining to interviewer how you would be a good fit for job even though you're not a recent grad. You could talk about how you are open to new ideas/experiences, would love challenge of learning something new, and that salary is not of utmost concern to you because you are very interested in working for their company (or something along those lines).

Another possibility if you determine that they're looking for someone who's different from you is to explain how your skillset and attributes would be a better fit than what they originally had in mind. For example, if they're looking for a recent grad to do an accounts receivable job, you could tell a story about how you worked at a company once where they hired a recent grad to do A/R and it didn't work. This puts you in position of being a coach/advisor to interviewer, and your perspective may be something they hadn't thought of.

One of best ways to deal with strange interview questions is same way you deal with all kinds of interview questions: preparation. The Job Search Handbook (www.jobsearchhandbook.com) has a chapter on interviewing which can help you come up with a strategy to prepare for your interviews.