Negotiating Your Starting Salary

When an employer asks you what your salary expectations are during the early stages of the interviewing process, you are trained to say you are open-minded on salary and are more concerned about the overall opportunity. Many say, “I look at the entire package and opportunity before I make decisions about salary.”  And from there, the conversation may go in a few directions, hopefully leading to an ideal result.

When working with an external recruiter, the process is slightly different.  Read this article I wrote for Job-Hunt.org to learn more about how to manage this aspect of the interviewing process when a recruiter is involved.

Article:  The Starting Salary Question

Being Virtually Connected

We all know networking leads to interviewing for jobs. Who you know and who they know can connect you to all types of hiring managers, recruiters, and human resources professionals. There are old-fashioned ways of networking that still work today, but the standard in on-line networking has been fairly entrenched around LinkedIn (your online resume), Facebook (see BranchOut application), personal blogs (which usually include a resume if you’re looking), Twitter (search on #jobs), and even location-based social networking, like FourSquare.

With this standard in place, you can bet that recruiters are pouring over Social Media portals to “meet” new candidates. It surprises me when I find profiles on these sites that tell me little about the person’s professional career.  Read this article for AOL to learn more on how to network or be found on the Internet using these key networking tools.

Article: Networking Tip: Are You Connected to the Hiring Community?

 

Additional articles:

Cannot Find You Online–-Do You Exist?

Will I Find You in the Social Mediasphere?

Are You Positive You Want This Job?

Have you noticed I’m on a little bit of a rant lately with my posts about job seekers.  I absolutely hate to pick on them as their job is so difficult and I don’t expect them to be experts.  After all, if they were experts at job searching and interviewing, that would imply they do it often (not a good indicator of a loyal employee).

But, some recent events have prompted me to identify more pitfalls job seekers fall into.  Practically on a daily basis from my perspective.  If you are applying for jobs, talking with recruiters, or interviewing, please read my latest article for AOL.

Article:  Are You Sure You Want This Job?

It’s Never Too Late For College

Recently, I’ve had several discussions with colleagues and candidates about the value education plays in their candidate selection.  There is no doubut that formal education enhances one’s standing amongst candidates.  In past articles, I’ve even mentioned going back to school during the job search to show you’re proactive about keeping skills sharp or learning new talents.

Brian Jenkins, a member of the BrainTrack.com, offered to share his insights on the topic of online college courses and provided several resources in the guest article below.

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Online college courses provide a great way to enhance your resume and improve your chances of getting a job. Taking the courses shows prospective employers that you’re making an effort to increase your value to a company. They help you stand out from the rest of the job pool, which is probably full of people just as qualified as you. For example, engineers seeking a management position can greatly enhance their report and memo writing skills by taking free online writing courses. Once you’ve completed a course, you can include it in the “education” or “specific skills” section of your resume.

Taking relevant free courses also gives you a competitive edge over co-workers for higher-level jobs. Besides the additional skills you’ll acquire, taking the classes shows initiative and a strong desire to learn as much as you can.

OpenCourseWare

Through OpenCourseWare, many colleges and universities offer free access to courses taught during previous semesters. OpenCourseWare provides actual materials used in classes, suggestions for reading material, and lecture notes. Some classes include audio or video lectures, and others offer quizzes so you can test your knowledge before taking the next course.

To see a list of the colleges and universities that offer free courses through OpenCourseWare, check out the OpenCourseWare Consortium’s web site.  Some of the schools that offer free classes in a wide variety of subjects:  Yale University, UMASS Boston, Utah State University, UC Irvine, and Notre Dame. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT offers a a great deal of free courses in Business; Engineering; Architecture and Planning; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; Health Sciences and Technology; Science; and Management.  MIT’s Sloan School of Business Management also allows you to take many of its popular undergraduate business courses free of charge.

Columbia University’s Seminar in Branding

Branding is important to many businesses. Columbia University’s Columbia Interactive provides a three-part series on Brand Leadership. Part one of the e-seminar, Brand Identity and Strategy, includes a video lecture, visual examples of strong brand identities, and guest speakers from the private sector. The second part of the series focuses on experiential branding while the third part delves into branding and the creative organization.

Free Writing Classes

Many employers complain that employees lack good writing skills. This can be a major problem for those seeking management positions due to the need to write reports and memos. MIT’s Advanced Writing Seminar exposes you to the various types of writing you may encounter in a professional career. The UK-based Open University offers a free class called Essay and Report Writing Skills. New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) makes available its Technical Writing Course which combines theory and practice to prepare people to become technical writers. NJIT also provides a free Proposal Writing Course.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing has become extremely important for many businesses with an online presence. Laura Lake, a marketing consultant, social media marketing strategist, and About.com guide, provides a free, seven-day Social Media Marketing Online Crash Course.

Web Design

Many small businesses would like a strong online presence but may not be able to afford an expert web designer. Also, even if a company has a web site, management needs someone to maintain it. You can get the skills to create and maintain web sites at w3schools.com, an organization that claims to be the world’s largest web development site. Training is available in HTML, Browser scripting, XML, server scripting, web services, multimedia, and web building. These types of skills make you valuable, especially to small businesses that don’t have a Web expert on staff.

Savvy job seekers can take these free online courses to enhance their resume and to get an edge on the competition. And since you can take these courses online, it’s easy to work them into your busy schedule.

 

This article was contributed by Brian Jenkins, a member of the BrainTrack.com writing staff. Brian writes about careers in management, among other topics related to college and careers.

Remember Job Seekers: You Are a Community

When in the job search, you can often feel isolated.  After all, you are the CEO of Find-A-New-Job, Inc.  No one is going to be more responsible for the search than you.  I’ve blogged about this before, but it bears repeating:  Although you are in charge of the search, make sure you leverage all your resources.

Also keep in mind, you are part of a bigger community.  There are many who have learned some hard lessons about the job search or who have coached those of us in it.  You need to take advantage of that network of knowledge to ensure you’re doing everything you can to land a great job.

One such community is Margo Rose’s HireFriday Twitter Group.  I recently took part in their weekly on-line discussion and there was plenty of good ideas and advice shared with job seekers.

Take a look at my latest article for AOL to see some of this conversation and get connected to #HFChat and #HireFriday on Twitter for more details:

Article:  The Job Search Expert is YOU!

 

Related past article:  Recruiters Can Be a Job Seeker’s Best Friend

You’re Only Human … and So Are Interviewers

You likely have heard that interviewing is like dating. Or interviewing is a complex dance with lots of steps. The translation: Interviewing is a unique conversation where there seem to be many rules and traps that could lead to failure. You can interview almost perfectly and still not get the job. So this prompts the question:  If I’m a superstar on paper and meet all the requirements, why didn’t they hire me?  Perhaps, it was the other major requirement:  Because the boss has to LIKE you.

Read more on this reality in interviewing in my latest article for AOL:

Article:  You’re Only Human … and so Are Interviewers

Fighting the "Unemployed Bias"

These days, it seems I’m often advising unemployed job seekers on how to approach having an unemployed stamp on their resume. Most employers realize that it hard to have a career path that doesn’t hit a bump in the road somewhere along the way, especially with the economy the way it is right now. The key to overcoming the bias associated with being unemployed is to paint your picture with the brightest colors possible.  Whether in interviews, resume submissions, or networking, there are key approaches to keep in mind.  My latest article for Job-Hunt.org dives into this touchy subject.

Article:  Overcoming the Unemployed Bias

A New Start in Your Job Search

For those in an active search for a new job, a new year can be refreshing. Or it could be more of the same. It is up to you.

Many job seekers are frustrated with the process, the advice, and the results. I can’t say I blame them. It is a tough process. And one we don’t necessarily want to become an expert at through repetitive practice.  Unfortunately a long job search can lead to a bad attitude about the search itself. And then, you’re in a downward spiral as the bad attitude can dictate a poor performance.

So how does one break out of the viscous circle?  You must try something different. You must begin with a positive attitude and see the new year as a fresh start.  My first article of 2011 for AOL shares some things to think about as you progress your search in the new year.

Article:  A New Year–A New Start in Your Job Search

Don’t Regift Your Talents

We’ve all been through the drill after the holidays. All the presents are unwrapped, scrutinized, and then some are….returned. Or regifted. Certainly if a gift can find a better home, you should send it on to its rightful owner. The gift-giver took their best shot at predicting what you might like and missed. No harm, no foul. Although, if we don’t like the gift, how likely is it that someone else will?

In the job search, you need to be careful about regifting yourself. This means to be selective about how you present yourself and to whom.  Find out more about this in this short article I wrote for AOL.

Article: It’s Alright to Regift Presents, But Not Your Talents

Do Your New Colleagues Make More Than You?

Salary is one of the most sensitive topics when speaking with potential employers.  Most people realize the interviewing stage is the last time you’ll probably have influence on the amount of your salary. Once hired, your salary is dictated by policy coupled with company and individual performance.

Although this is a common fact, many job seekers lose sight of this during the critical stages of landing the job. The might find out later they are paid less than colleagues in similar positions. The key to avoiding this fate is to be armed with information and be able to sell the value you bring.  More on this topic is covered in my latest article for AOL:

Article:  The Best Time to Negotiate Salary is Before You Land the Job