Why not use a bit of your holiday-stocking cash for books to power your career? Here's the fourth annual list of the year's top 10 career books, once again selected by Dr. Ronald Krannich of Impact Publications, in Manassas, Va., and myself.

Between us, Krannich and I see most of the career titles that appear annually. We've arranged this year's list by categories to meet specific needs that you may have.

Salary: "101 Salary Secrets: How to Negotiate Like a Pro'' by Daniel Porot and Frances Bolles Haynes (Ten Speed Press). A pony-sized, 210-page guide you can read on the bus to make your life richer.

Ambition: "Maximum Success: Changing the 12 Behavior Patterns That Keep You From Getting Ahead'' by James Waldroop and Timothy Butler (Currency/Doubleday). The authors direct MBA career development at Harvard.

Job Interviewing: "Proof of Performance: How to Build a Career Portfolio to Land a Great New Job'' by Rick Nelles (Impact Publications). A high-octane approach to preparing a portfolio that bestows credibility to your claims during future interviews.

Office Politics: "The Secret Handshake: Mastering the Politics of the Business Inner Circle'' by Kathleen Kelley Reardon (Currency/Doubleday). Political moves from top corporate executives, who explain how to gain access to the inner circle.

Sales Work: "The Accidental Salesperson'' by Chris Lytle (AMACOM/American Management Association). Few plan on a sales career, but the pay can be great and the work doesn't hold your age against you.

Career Management: "Career Compass: Navigating Your Career Strategically in the New Century'' by Peggy Simonsen (Davies-Black Publishing). A staying-alive focus on behaviors, skills and attitudes for the agility needed in the new workplace.

Public Speaking: "The New Talk Power: The Mind-Body Way to Speak Without Fear'' by Natalie H. Rogers (Capital Books). A fear of public speaking dampens many careers. This book aims to conquer public-speaking impediments ranging from intense anxiety to thought blocking.

Businesswomen: "Careerpreneurs: Lessons from Leading Women Entrepreneurs on Building a Career Without Boundaries,'' by Dorothy Perrin Moore (Davies-Black Publishing). A close-up report on the challenges, triumphs and rewards that come from running the show.

Executive Job Search: "Rites of Passage at $100,000(+)'' by John Lucht (Viceroy/Henry Holt). A major revision of the most comprehensive total program in print for executive job-changers.

The Future: "50 Trends Now Changing the World'' by Marvin Cetron and Owen Davies (World Future Society). A 28-page heads-up on trends. For example, the authors predict that the economies of developed nations will remain exceptional for the next five years.

Find these books at your local bookseller, or at online bookstores such as Impact Career Superstore, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Borders. "50 Trends Now Changing the World'' is available only from the World Future Society.

Dear Joyce: The approach of a new year makes me think about changing jobs, mainly because I don't believe I'm being paid fairly. How can I find out what others in my company earn for doing the kind of work I do? -- L.O.

Dear L.O.: You can ask coworkers, offering to trade information, but salary is a touchy subject for many. A new, free online service may come close to answering your question. The ultimate salary research site, Salary.com, boasts a very innovative tool, SalaryTrax, which is a group of individualized compensation databases.

Click on Salary.com, then SalaryTrax, to find out how you're doing against average salaries for your position. Other SalaryTrax embellishments may interest you as well, but finding out if you're the low earner on the totem pole is the sort of thing this new tool does extremely well.

Here's another salary freebie: "2001 Salary Guide'' reports average pay in the administrative field. The kinds of positions included are assistant, office manager, secretary, receptionist, data-entry specialist and customer-service representative.

The guide is offered by Office Team, a giant staffing service specializing in temp positions. To obtain a copy, call 1-800-804-8367.

And from Santa's Helpers, administrative assistants all, happy holidays.

Send career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007, or e-mail her at jlk@sunfeatures.com. Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.

© 2000 Tribune Media Services, Inc.