Negotiating Pay

Money can be such a touchy subject and is always uncomfortable. I have talked about negotiating before, in this article. Make sure you do your research, find out how much people with your job title make, and make sure it's area specific. I highly recommend using www.Glassdoor.com, www.salary.com, and Google searches.

When asked about what you're willing to make, stick to professional reasons, including the amount of experience and education you have, the requirements of the job, and average pay for this kind of role. Do NOT, under any circumstance, use your financial situation as reasoning. Your bills/debt/etc should never be discussed with your potential employer, and could easily work against you.

Its always a good idea to negotiate, and if you're consistent with the numbers you give, you won't come across as greedy. For example, in discussions, if you always say you're looking for $75-85k and they make you an offer of $70k, it's perfectly acceptable to say, "Thank you, i'm extremely interested in this position and think I can make a big impact, however, I really can't accept anything less than $75k."

If they stand firm, then you can say something like, "Well I understand, but maybe we can be creative about the $5k difference. Perhaps extra vacation time or a sign-on bonus".

It's not your place to be grateful you were made an offer, it's your place to make sure this is a mutually benefiting partnership between you and the employer.

Have you negotiated your salary before? Let me know your story in the comments!

Interview Prep - Your Turn to Ask the Questions

"So what questions do you have for me?" is something you will be asked in 99% of all your interviews, and you need to be able to fire back with at least two thoughtful and relevant questions.

One great question that was brought up by a student when I spoke at Cal Poly Pomona was "Are there any concerns you have about me being a good fit that I can address?".  This gets to the heart of what you want to know and allows you to recover from anything that the interviewer might see as a weakness or red flag.  This may throw the interviewer off so give them a second to think about it and make sure you respond by addressing their specific concern.

Ask about specific things at the company, such as the company culture, most important things for someone in this position to achieve, what a day in the office would look like, and the biggest challenges the department faces.  These questions are very specific and will tell you a lot about the company and the role.  These questions also show that you are serious about the opportunity and very interested

You should always end an interview with "When can I expect to hear back from you?" or "What are the next steps in the interview process?".

While you may think its funny to ask "So do I start tomorrow",  its not, don't say that.

What are some good questions you've asked the interviewer?  Let me know in the comments.

Networking to get the Job

The vast majority of all jobs are gotten through referrals.  A recruiter is much more likely to see your resume and consider you, if someone recommends you.  This is why it's so important to stay in contact with your classmates, coworkers, and members of clubs and organizations.  LinkedIn makes networking a lot easier with inmail and groups, and it's always a good idea to save people to your phone or email contacts.

Networking is a give and take, and you shouldn't expect to get something before giving anything.  There are a lot of ways to do this including sharing interesting articles, information, or job opportunities they may be interested in.  You could also just send a message seeing how things are going for them.  On LinkedIn it's easy to see when someone has changed jobs or received a promotion - congratulate them.

If you go to a networking event, dress nicely, but you don't typically need to be in full business attire.  If you have business cards, bring them and give them to people you talk to.  Networking events or organization meetings usually have time set aside to mingle, this is a great time to use your elevator speech to introduce yourself.  Make sure you ask the other person what they do and what they're interested in, take notes on the back of their business card so they're easier to remember.

After the event, email them or connect with them via LinkedIn, make sure you say where you met them and that you're interested in staying in touch.

Have you started networking yet?  What has worked best for you?  Let me know in the comments!

Interview Prep - What to do the Day of the Interview

Take care of everything the night before the interview, the last thing you want is to forget something or be late.  So the night before, make sure you've printed out a few copies of your resume, have paper you can take notes on, and have your outfit picked out.  Make sure you know where you're going and have your route mapped out; be aware that drive times from google maps and siri do not accurately factor in traffic, so give yourself plenty of time.  Make sure you set a couple alarms so you wake up on time.  Get plenty of sleep!  Do not under any circumstances pull an all-nighter or go out partying the night before your interview.

Go about your normal routine, if you normally eat breakfast or drink coffee, do so, but don't drink coffee or an energy drink if you typically don't, you don't need to excuse yourself to the restroom in the middle of the interview.  Take your padfolio with your notes, resumes, and directions, and head out the door.

When you arrive (5-15 minutes early), be nice to everyone from the lobby attendant, random people in the elevator, and the receptionist.  Recruiters and hiring managers ask the receptionist about your interaction, if you're nice, and if you'd be a good fit for the department, so make sure you're on your best behavior.  YOUR CELL PHONE SHOULD BE OFF FROM THE MOMENT YOU ENTER THE LOBBY!  In fact, you can just leave it in the car.

This is where all your research, discussion with the recruiter, and soul searching come into play.  You should have already discussed compensation with the recruiter, so you shouldn't need to bring it up unless the recruiter said to or an offer is made on the spot, if this is a final interview with the director, then you can bring up pay and perks.  If you prepared, then just take a deep breath, you're ready.

Do you have any interview-day rituals to get you ready?  Let me know!

Interview Prep - Researching the Company

Researching the company is a must-do prior to interviewing and there are a lot of tools to help you do this.  Some interviewers may ask what you've come across while researching the company, so make sure you come prepared.  Not only should you look at a company's website, but look at all their social media including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  Keep an eye out for promotions, community activities, and any events they may have.  Here's a great article from LinkedIn about how social media can help you land your next job.

You should also look at other resources like www.salary.com and www.glassdoor.com.  Content on these sites should be taken with a grain of salt, and they are just part of the research that you should be doing.

Take notes!  During the entire interview process you should be taking notes so you have easy access to the information you've discovered or been told.  Refer to this to help you prepare for the interview.