Job Offer Negotiations: Getting What You WantWritten by David Richter
You have worked hard at finding your next job. You have come through many obstacles and have reached your career objective. You have received a job offer. You’re thrilled. Mission accomplished. After all, what else is left to do?A majority of job candidates do not negotiate their offer. They are happy just to have received it. They just want to start their new job and start getting paid again. Besides, there's a myth that process of negotiating could turn employer off and cause offer to be rescinded? Does this kind of thinking sound familiar? Offer negotiations are certainly an optional part of job search process. You don’t have to negotiate. Should you? Absolutely! In fact, when you don’t negotiate, negative ramifications can occur. For example, you’re in Sales or Customer Support or any other profession that requires a persuasive style. As a final “test”, an employer may extend to you position contingent upon how persuasive you are at negotiating offer. If you don’t negotiate, or negotiate poorly, you lose. A runner-up may be offered position on a similar basis. Even if you are not in a profession that requires a persuasive style, you should seriously consider engaging in a negotiating process. Employers expect you to negotiate. There is always a higher amount that you can receive over and above compensation you are initially offered. How much more will be a function of bargaining chips you have, and finesse used to negotiate them. Let’s take stock of bargaining chips you may have: • Your educational degrees • Being currently employed (assuming you are) • Your level of expertise and number of years in field • The salary you currently command • Your assessment of your true worth Depending upon type of position you are seeking, each of these areas has validity and relevance, and a specific “chip” value that can be called upon when negotiating. Probably most esoteric yet most valuable of these is your own assessment of worth. Your true worth is far greater than your current compensation, or what a salary calculator would reveal. Your worth can be defined by what you bring to table that is unique and valuable. Look at skills, strengths, core competencies, marketable assets and accomplishments you can declare as your own. This is what describes your uniqueness. It is what differentiates you from crowd.
| | Preparing For Your Job Interview: What You Need To Know To Be Successful Written by David Richter
In limited time an interviewer has with you, their mission is to know you and assess your worth, especially in relationship to other candidates interviewed. Asking you questions is way they accomplish that mission. You’ll be asked to tell interviewer about yourself, your qualifications (especially as they pertain to specific opening), your professional background, your likes and dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses, and your goals. So first step is to know yourself. Be prepared to talk about your skills, competencies, qualifications and accomplishments. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Explore goals you have for yourself – both current and future. Especially know how to convey value you bring to table – strengths, unique gifts and marketable assets that are distinctly yours. Know your value proposition; it describes your worth. It is what uniquely defines you, and differentiates you from crowd. If you want to stand out in huge ocean of candidates that represents your competition, you need to become fluent in this arena. You may also be asked why you left your previous position. This is where interview can get a bit tricky. How you answer this question can make or break your chances. No matter how challenging your supervisor was or how grueling workload or sixty-hour weeks were, you must frame your response in a positive light. If you left your previous employment because you were downsized, that's ok. That's happened quite a bit in past few years. If you resigned, be very careful how you state this. Your attitude can enhance or end your chances. Be honest, and be sure to indicate your desire for stability as an overriding factor. Keep in mind that while your answers will help interviewer assess your skills for position at hand, it’s how you respond that more importantly determines your overall fit with company. Personality is ninety percent of battle. You may answer a question factually, but your attitude might tell them no. On other hand, it’s far better to establish a rapport with your interviewer than to answer every question correctly. A skill can always be taught, but when was last time you successfully altered someone’s personality? Find out everything you can about interviewer’s quirks and traits. Are they confrontational or laid back, serious or informal, friendly or stern? What is their position within company, and how long have they been employed there? Are they decision-maker and therefore in a position to make you an offer? They may simply be a screen, filtering out all non-viable candidates from further review by higher-ups. If they are a screen, try and discover upon whose shoulders hiring responsibility falls.
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