From Negotiating Harder To Handy Slack Hacks: This Week’s Top Leadership Stories

This week we learned what not to say during salary negotiations, the top reasons why people are quitting their jobs, and how to correct iffy body language during interviews.

These are the stories you loved in Leadership for the week of February 19:

1. Nine Words And Phrases To Avoid When You’re Negotiating A Salary

According to one careers expert, a definitive “yes” can be just as perilous as a hard “no” when it come to salary negotiations, which are all about leveraging the gray area. This week we learned which expressions to avoid when you’re trying to nail down a number you’ll be happy with.

2. These Are The Top Three Reasons People Quit Their Jobs

Glassdoor crunched the data on the main reasons people changing jobs are giving for flying the coop. And at the moment, work-life balance doesn’t seem to be the leading deal-breaker.

3. Five Body Language Mistakes You’re Making In Interviews

You’ve been told over and over again to smile–and you should. But this week, we learned where the line between “friendly” and “ingratiating” might fall. Here are four other nonverbal cues that hiring managers say can sometimes rub them the wrong way.

4. Six Female Execs On The Early Career Advice They Wish They’d Gotten

“In today’s heavily prescribed, overly programmed world,” General Motors CEO Mary Barra tells Fast Company, “it’s easy to believe–even at age 22–that you need to plan every detail of your future career.” When she was starting out, no one told Barra that wasn’t the case, so this week, she and five other execs shared what it took them years to learn on their own.

5. Five Slack Hacks That Can Keep You Productive No Matter What

“It’s highly unlikely that you’re being paid just to read Slack all day,” Matthew Guay, of the app manager Zapier, rightly observes. So in order to curb distractions and cut back on endless notifications, Guay turns to a handful of useful hacks, tweaks, and shortcuts. Here are five of his favorites.