Q & A From The Internet
A recruiter called and wants to know my salary. Should I give it to him?
I have found that a person’s next salary is always determined by two factors: salary history and how well you interview. If one of the two is a miss, a red flag will be raised in the mind of your next employer (or recruiter you’re dealing with) and this will negatively impact your ability to earn a top salary. I have spoken with about 30 candidates per day for the past 8 years of my career as a recruiter and I’d say that 99% of them disclose their salary during our first conversation. They tell me what they are currently earning and what they expect of their next salary. If their expectations align with my clients anticipated salary range, we proceed. If not, we either realign expectations or decide not to move forward thereby saving everybody a lot of time and headache.
Every once in a while however I’ll run into that one candidate who doesn’t want to disclose their salary history. This automatically raises a red flag in my mind making me think that either this candidate was underpaid, overpaid or will try to pull a fast one when it comes time to negotiate the offer at the completion of the interview process. This candidate typically states that salary is unimportant and that they only care about the opportunity, but what I have found is that upon completion of their interview process, they are the ones who are most adamant about getting the salary that is fair and that they deserve (no matter what their salary history is). If you’ve ever heard horror stories of companies low-balling candidates or candidates developing unrealistic expectations once it comes to offer time, it is because of situations like this where expectations were not clearly discussed at the onset of the process.
I know that in classic negotiation training, he who speaks first loses – but I would also argue that he who walks into a negotiation blind and with misaligned expectations loses too. Meaning you’re not doing yourself or anybody else for that matter a favor by keeping your salary history private. My recommendation is to inject certainty and openness into your interview process by disclosing your history and expectations up front, otherwise you’re leaving the entire shebang up to chance which in my opinion greatly ups the likelihood that you and the employer will be left disappointed in the end.
In my opinion, the best way to get top dollar in your next job search is to play by the rules. Disclose your salary history, review/raise schedule and any anticipated reviews’raises in the near future. If you know what you want in your next salary, say so and put the ball in the employers hands to deliver. If you don’t know what you want, say that finding the right opportunity is the top priority and you trust that the right employer will come to the table with an acceptable salary. That’s it, now you’ve disclosed your salary history and your expectations; and the employer by agreeing to continue interviewing you has understood that in order to get you, they’ll need to hit your specified salary requirements. Now all you have to do is interview like you’re worth every penny and wait for the offer to come through. Of course, there are techniques that you’ll want to implement throughout the interview process in order to ensure you’ll be offered a top dollar salary, but we’ll save those for another post.
Good luck!!
I have a first interview with a company I really want to work for. What is the best way to prepare?
First of all congratulations on the first interview. This job is officially yours to lose now. Meaning based on your resume and everything they know about you to date, they think you have the requirements and skills to be a fit for their open position. Now you just need to spend the rest of the interview process validating and supporting their initial inclination.
During a first interview a few topics are fair game. First of all you should know your resume inside out. The resume is the only information they have on you and they have likely identified some hot spots that they intend to explore further. Standard resume hot spots can include any of the following:
- employment history – why did you make all of your previous job changes most specifically the ones that didn’t last too long.
- significant accomplishments and your specific involvement – an employer might ask about a project you worked on and may ask everything and anything related to that project (please note that anything on your resume is fair game here so be prepared to discuss your ancient projects as well as your recent ones).
- Your specific responsibilities at each of your past employers – note many people like to talk about what their team or company did and accomplished which is a mistake considering it is you that is being considered for the job not your co-workers.
Above and beyond your resume, you should spend a fair amount of time researching the company you are interviewing with – surf through their website, read the ceo’s blog, get to know your potential peers
on LinkedIn and Facebook, subscribe to a few of their twitter feeds, go on glassdoor and read their feedback. I always ask anybody I interview to tell me everything they know about my company and I follow that up with why do
you want to work for my company. People who give generic or unresearched answers are immediate disqualifications.
And finally be prepared to make a case for why the company should hire you. It is common for a company to ask: why do you want this job or why should we hire you. If you don’t know the answer to this, how could you expect them to.
Oh and last but not least don’t forget to express your interest in this role and ask for the next step. Saying something as simple as, ‘well I really enjoyed getting to know you. I think I would really enjoy the opportunity to work together. What is the best way to proceed from here?’ In conclusion. although some of these tips may seem like common sense, preparing to discuss these could be the difference between getting that job or not.
Good luck!! Knock ‘em dead!!
How to tactfully resign from one’s job when one’s boss is intimidating?
Questions from the Internet #4
Twitter –
bruzviolet: Any advice on how to tactfully resign from one’s job when one’s boss is intimidating?
Boris Epstein: @bruzviolet: Like a band-aid pull it right off. The slower you take and the more details you provide will only make it more painful and will also give the intimidating boss more ammo to work with. Walk in there, if you don’t feel comfortable saying I quit say I am officially putting in my two weeks’ notice, I have enjoyed working here but next Friday is my last day. Keep your conversation under 5 minutes, put a letter of resignation on their desk, don’t get into the specifics of why you are leaving, don’t talk about your new job, don’t talk about your new salary, just say it is a professional decision. The more information you provide just gives your boss more opportunity to mess with your head.
Can I accept a different job offer if I’ve already accepted another?
Questions from the Internet #4
Yahoo Answers –
Jake – Can I accept a different job offer if I’ve already accepted another?
I have agreed to work for a company and arranged a start date but during the time I am waiting to start my new job another company has proposed a better offer and it may be tempting to take that (confused!!). Are there usually any implications in opting out the original offer?
Boris Epstein: Legally no, but morally and spiritually, maybe. It all depends on you. This is really a gut call. Some people would be adamantly against walking away from an offer that they already accepted. Their loyally, their ethics, their morality all stand in the way of them moving forward with any offer other than the one they already accepted. Other people have no qualms walking away from an originally accepted offer and are in the mindset of I have to do what is best for myself. Once again it’s a gut call; if it were me, I probably wouldn’t walk away from the original offer. I wouldn’t want the ramifications of an employer doing that to me. How would you feel if the company that made you the offer, set your start date and then in the meantime still continued to interview other candidates, found a better candidate and took back the offer they extended to you? Let your conscience be your guide on this one.
How do you deal with your serial entrepreneurship when looking for a job?
Questions from the Internet #4
LinkedIn –
How do you deal with your serial entrepreneurship when looking for a job?
I have owned several small businesses throughout my career, but at the same time I have also had a great IT management career and in many instances I have had a startup and a job at the same time. How do I address this on a resume?
Boris Epstein: If you are looking for a job in IT Management, unless you know that the company values an entrepreneurial spirit I would probably leave your side business off of your resume. Look at them more as hobbies than supplementary jobs that you held. If you do believe that the company places value on an entrepreneurial background then you may want to allude to that. Maybe include a section in your resume that references entrepreneurial activities versus listing them as actual jobs that look like they were done in subsequence to your full time jobs. Again treat them more as a hobby, at most maybe list a section that talks about your entrepreneurial experiences.
Got a Job offer!!!!!!!!! Money isn’t good, but I like the company…..hmmm, what to do?, what to do?
Questions from the Internet #4
Twitter –
Ican2: Got a Job offer!!!!!!!!! Money isn’t good, but I like the company…..hmmm, what to do?, what to do?
Boris Epstein: @Ican2: I always say go with your heart, go with what you love. If you love the company that’s one thing, but you have to actually love what you will be doing. As great as the company may be if you don’t love the job, it will feel like an inspirational-less environment and it wont be work the less amount of money you will be making. If you love the company and you love the job and you think it is something you will truly enjoy doing and be passionate about go for it, money always follows passion it doesn’t go the other way around. If you like the company but not the job, I’d might hold out until you find something that you are truly inspired by.
Job Search. It is hard out there. Especially when you have been out of circulation. Any advice?
Questions from the Interent #4
Twitter –
CreativeBeehive: Job Search. It is hard out there. Especially when you have been out of circulation. Any advice?
Boris Epstein: @CreativeBeehive: Just like when you start going to the gym or running you have to actually do it. Get out there, send out your resume and follow up after. If you do it once, twice, everyday or once a week it will begin to feel natural. Read blogs about career advice and get into the mindset of finding a job. Looking for a job is a full time position in itself; you have to put in time to find the right job.
For inspiration think of someone who has worked considerably harder than you or people who have had less than you but were still motivated and inspired to get out and look for a job. Those are good stories to use as inspiration. I like to think of the immigrants who first came to America through Elis Island, they literally had nothing to their name but their families and themselves. Since they had people relying on them, they had to go out and hustle and figure out a way to get work. Think of their stories, how hard they worked, and then compare it to what you’re doing. If you are sending out three resumes a day it is nothing compared to the immigrants of Elis Island. They fought tooth and nail with each other just to get scraps to feed their family, use that as inspiration. If you are looking for a job it is likely you have a roof to keep over your head and bread to put on the table. Get out there and hustle, do what it takes.
Trying to use social networking to start a career. Any suggestions???
Questions from the Internet #4
Twitter –
Allen9485: Trying to use social networking to start a career. Any suggestions???
Tawny Labrum: @Allen9485: The power behind social networks is their capability to make connections with people you normally wouldn’t. To get started:
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- First you want to set up accounts with some of the more popular social networking sites out there. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are great places to get started.
- Update your information on those sites with things like your skills and accomplishments.
- Join professional groups and alumni groups to engage in the conversations being held.
- Make connections with others in your industry. They can be great resources for career advice and industry news.
- Get an RSS feed reader and add the feeds of career related blogs and news sites.
- Add applications to your profiles that deal with your professional interests.
- Update often and on a regular basis.
How to start your own blog for looking for a job?
Questions from the Internet #4
Twitter –
intharaksa: How to start your own blog for looking for a job? Any advice out there??
Tawny Labrum: @intharaksa: What do you want to accomplish with your blog? Since you want to use it in your job search you should use it to highlight your process as well as use it to supplement your resume by showcasing your skills and accomplishments. This will help build your credibility as an expert in your industry. Once you have done that:
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- Choose a blogging platform. Sites like Wordpress, Typepad and Blogger are all great one to work with.
- Choose the layout of your blog using templates. There are hundreds of free ones out there but you want to focus on a professional style template.
- Name your blog. I recommend including your name in the title.
- Use the sidebar of your blog to share your social networking accounts like LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. Also use this area to include links to your resume or any online work you have.
- Start blogging about your search, concerns with your search and your thoughts on industry specific news.
Do career fairs really help people get hired?
Questions from the Internet #3
mcreed8: Question: Do career fairs really help people get hired? Advice is needed
@mcreed8: Yes career fairs do help people get hired. There are three things you can get out of attending a career fair:
- Opportunity to meet face to face with hiring companies and at best participate in an initial interview. Many companies setup booths at career fairs that have a private area where they hold interviews.
- Opportunity to hand your resume in to recruiters and hiring companies. If the companies aren’t holding initial interviews at the event, you still will have the chance to talk with the recruiters and hiring managers and share your resume with them.
- Opportunity to network and make connections with hiring companies and other players in your industry. Some companies will attend career fairs with the sole intent to mine available talent and build their networks, so when they have an open position they know who to be in touch with. Use this opportunity to do the same. Think of career fairs them like any other career networking event you would attend and use your time making as many useful contacts as possible.
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