Negotiating Pay

Happy New Year from The Interview Doctor!

January 8, 2013 By Katherine Burik

We hope 2013 finds you happy and invigorated for a new year of job search and exploration.

We write about our family often because our family is involved in career exploration and changing jobs about as frequently as your family. These are real people with real challenges. They often test whether our approach really works.

We can report the year starting out well so far.

My daughter, Marissa, just got the job offer she wanted! After interviewing in November then reference checks in December, she got an offer on January 7. She is negotiating the final details and will move from Las Vegas to Washington DC in February. She is happy.

My sister, Martha, is closer than ever to finding the job she loves as she transitions from one industry to another. She has engaged many key people in discussions about several jobs that are serious possibilities. She is keeping her spirits up and focuses on networking. Let’s not jinx anything but just say that networking really works.

Dan’s daughter Ashley has big plans for a new addition to the family this year. It is all about making connections!

The cornerstone of our philosophy at The Interview Doctor is to have a plan. We always say that anything big like finding a job starts with a plan. Marissa, Martha, and Ashley all started with a plan. By working the plan they can get what they want.

We always practice what we preach. We have big plans for 2013 at The Interview Doctor!

We start off the year with a new format for this newsletter. In 2013 we will take our newsletter to new places with a new provider. We will ask you to come along with us but we will make it worth your while with gifts and a big raffle.
Look for big changes at our website later this month. We want to make our point more simply to display better what we can do and how we do it.
We are publishing a series of five e-books this year, starting in January! These books outline our unique approach to finding a job. Look for more information in a few weeks about the first book in this series.
We plan a series of webinars starting in April as a way to share our insights and develop a closer relationship with you.

We have a passion for helping you find the job you love. In 2013 we want to be closer to you and more meaningful in your life than ever before. Thank you for your support as we move forward! We wish you a happy and healthy year as you seek and obtain what you want.

Appropriate Employment References

December 14, 2012 By Katherine Burik

You love everything about this new job possibility. The people are great. The position is challenging. The location is perfect. The prospects are good. They seem to like you. The conversation moves to details. They ask for references. Now what?

In the olden days you typed up their contact info and kept the list in your portfolio. When asked for references you could whip out the list. Voila! Done.

Hold on there, bucko. Not so fast. The new world requires a different response. Nothing is static anymore. A pre-typed list of folks who long ago agreed to vouch for you is no longer sufficient.

Here are some tips for using references in today’s job market:

Identify: Identify 5 or more people you worked with who can vouch for your skills and experience. Talk to them ahead of time to obtain permission. But don’t just type up the list and keep it in your portfolio. Consider in advance how you can use those folks.
Customize: Like everything else about job searches today, references must be customized. Consider the specific job you are interested in. Which references can vouch for the skills and experiences you want to highlight for that particular job? Probably a few are better than others. If you have five references identified, perhaps only three have first-hand knowledge of your skills and experience. These are the folks you want to have as references in Job A. Other references might be better for Job B.
Contact: When the discussions with a company are going great and you think a job offer might be close, contact the three or four folks who previously agreed to be references and ask permission again to use them for references. Talk to them about this specific job. Tell them the details. Share what areas you would like them to focus on if called. Ask them if they would be willing to highlight certain aspects of your skills and experience that you have been highlighting in your own discussions. If they are agreeable, confirm the contact method they prefer. Be sure to confirm phone numbers and email addresses to be sure you have the most recent contact information.
Create your list: If the people you just contacted about being a reference for Job A agree, now it is time to type up your list of references. Include the contact information you just confirmed. Now you can put this list in your portfolio for the moment you need it.
Call each reference just prior to releasing the reference: Tell your reference about the specific job and a little about what you want them to say.
Share your list at the right time: When a company asks you for references, you can pull out the typed sheet or email/text the list to them. If you have the opportunity, tell your potential employer a little about each person including how you know them.
Follow up with the reference: Find out what the potential employer ask, what kinds of comments were made, and whether the reference gained any insight into how the potential employer felt about your chances.

References can make or break your candidacy. Be smart and strategic about which references you use to highlight the information about you that you want to highlight.

Be sure your references fit into your Personal Marketing Plan. The Interview Doctor can help!!

Real Answers to Salary Questions

October 22, 2012 By Katherine Burik

Everyone makes a salary. These are like individual dots on a chart. When you bundle all the salaries together for all the people who do the same work as you do, you get a pattern. The pattern shows that some people earn more and some people earn less doing the same job. There is an average.

All those dots create a “competitive salary range”. Your salary is probably within that range. It might be at the higher end or the lower end, depending on the size of company you worked for and your level of experience. Larger companies generally pay better and smaller companies generally pay less but have better titles.

For example, an HR Director working for a small company probably makes less money, has fewer people on his/her team and is responsible for all aspects of HR. An HR Director working for a large company who probably has a larger span of responsibility, maybe more people working for him/her, and almost certainly makes more money, probably as much as 50% more money with larger bonuses too. An HR Director in a smaller company is probably more similar to an HR Manager in a larger company. Same is true with other fields. A Controller in a smaller company is probably more similar to an Accounting Manager in a larger company, not similar to the Controller of a larger company.

I don’t make the rules. I am just reporting how it works!

Ok, now we have covered basic statistics, why is this useful or interesting to you? During your job search you will be asked to reveal what you earned at your last job. The person asking the question is trying to figure out if you will fit in their company. If you earn too much money, they will think they can’t afford you. If you earn too little money, they will think you are not strong enough to fit into their business.

You have to know how this works in order to know how to respond to questions about your salary. A few tips:

Learn about the company. Is your target company large or small compared to other companies doing similar work? If it is small, you can expect the smaller salary with larger responsibility and better title. If it is large, you can expect a smaller title and larger salary.

Research salaries. You know your own salary but since your salary is just a dot on that big salary chart, you need to know what the big salary chart looks like. The information you are looking for comes from salary surveys. My favorite resource is www.salary.com. HR people use this site to double check salary ranges and so should you.

Follow along with me on this example for an Accounting Manager in Cleveland OH.

At www.salary.com, you see a search box at the top. I enter “Accounting Manager” and enter “Cleveland, OH”. I find a list of jobs that have Accounting Manager in them along with a little job description. I like the first one so I click on the title, Accounting Manager. Take a look at that job description. Does that sound like you? If so, then take a look at the cool graphics below the description. This shows information about the people who do this job in that market (Cleveland). In this case, it shows that the people surveyed mostly have a bachelor’s degree, have more than 5 years’ experience, and work in companies that are less than 500 people. This is interesting to you because you can judge how close this survey information is to your experience.

Now, click on the green box that says, “View Salary Info”. Up pops a graph! According to the survey, the median salary of Accounting Managers in Cleveland OH is $84,953. You are also interested in the range that shows $74,765 at the low end to $94,819 at the high end. Bingo! The magic information! If you were an accounting manager in Cleveland, OH, you would now know that the salary range for your position in that town is between 75k and 95k.

When a hiring manager asks the salary you are looking for, don’t just give up the salary you earned at your last job. The smart answer for an accounting manager in Cleveland OH would be, “I am looking for a competitive salary between 75k and 95k”. This covers all sins. It answers the question with real data without tying you down. Odds are they are expecting to pay a salary somewhere in that range so you are cleared to go to the next stage of interviewing, assuming they like you and your background.

You can use www.salary.com to check any salary you want in any location you want anywhere in the world. It is a very valuable tool in any job search!

When Is the Best Time to Negotiate for a Job Offer?

April 22, 2010 By Katherine Burik

The answer may seem obvious, but actually this is a commonly asked question of job search candidates. The answer is: “not until you actually receive a firm offer of employment.” Trying to negotiate before the offer is given is too soon in the process and can sometimes work to your detriment. But, after you accept a position, it is too late. Once the offer is initially made, you know the company wants you and that is the only point where you really have some leverage.

Whenever you think the offer isn’t exactly what you are looking for, there are a number of areas that might be enhanced; however, most job applicants like to focus on improving the salary first. Usually benefits are a secondary consideration.

You should do some research about salary information prior to starting the interview process, and certainly in advance of receiving a potential offer. You can get some very basic salary range information on Salary.com by searching for data relative to your position title and geographic location. If you want more detailed salary information, ask this Interview Doctor collaborative about a particular job. We can help you find additional salary information. Keep in mind that there are differences in ranges based upon the type of industry. You might need to take a slightly lower salary with a new company depending on the competitiveness of the situation, or if you are accepting a lower level position within a new organization.

Medical/healthcare seems to be the most important benefit to most job search candidates. But often there is nothing to negotiate in this area; that is, many companies offer a plan and you have no option to negotiate relative to it. But, some companies do have options in health plan design, or a cafeteria benefits approach that allows you a range of options from which to choose.

Vacation is an important consideration to job applicants. You can sometimes get additional vacation time if you ask for it. Keep in mind that many companies won’t negotiate additional time off; it really depends upon the company’s hiring philosophy and their vacation policy.

The point is that you will never know if you can get it unless you ask for it – whatever it is: more salary, better benefits, additional vacation. If you don’t ask for it, you will always wonder if you could have enhanced the offer.

What would keep you from asking for an enhancement to your employment offer? Your comments and opinions are welcome; would love to hear your viewpoints.