Salary Negotiation is a Sticky Subject

Peter Fisher Managing Director of Career Consulting Limited

Peter Fisher Managing Director of Career Consulting Limited

After you have received the job offer you might feel that the package needs improving in order for you to accept the position.

So what could you do to improve the situation?

Wherever possible, don’t try to negotiate immediately after an offer. Make sure you ask for the offer to be put in writing and then try to delay any negotiations for the longest possible time.

When you’ve got the job offer in writing you can respond by acknowledging receipt of the offer and making it clear that you will confirm your acceptance within (say) 7 days. This could be longer if necessary but better to let them know if you are going on holiday for instance.

Now you have gained yourself some time, use it constructively to investigate the average salary of people in similar positions.

You could even contact other companies in your area if they are advertising similar vacancies. Use the internet – a search will quickly throw up various websites and salary calculators you can use.

Break down the full package you have been offered and make sure you have clearly identified which areas of the package you would like to see improved.

Refrain from making strong demands, but contact the employer and say that whilst you would really like to accept the offer, you were expecting the [basic salary or holiday paid days or car benefit or insurance] to be a little better and if it could be improved you will give your immediate acceptance and agree a start date.

If you are having to relocate you could mention this in your negotiations and ask for some assistance with the costs.

You should never show an employer that you need the money as this could make you look desperate and decrease your chances of successful negotiation.

If the starting salary turns out not to be negotiable you could try asking for an early review “when you’ve proved yourself” after perhaps 3 months. Always remember that you don’t have to accept anything – you can walk away, but if you do accept you may have the opportunity to improve things later.

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A Tip For Keeping Your Job

Best Selling Author Connie Glaser

Best Selling Author Connie Glaser

Most of the publicity about the dismal job market has focused on big corporations. But an even greater effect has been felt by small businesses. The local diner, the neighborhood “Joe the Plumber” and the hometown newspaper have also drastically reduced employees. Whether you are a financial analyst at a big bank or a waiter at a local restaurant, there’s a real possibility that your job is in peril.

As we are all learning, the entire work landscape has shifted. In what we now refer to as “the good old days,” measurable factors like education, training and experience trumped intangibles like attitude, enthusiasm and cooperation when it came to employment status. But in these challenging times, the decision to keep someone on the payroll often has less to do with degrees and diplomas than with personality and attitude.

You may not have even thought about this before, but this is the time to spend a few minutes looking at life from your boss’s perspective. If you do, here’s what you may discover:

Most bosses hate to lay off employees. It’s no fun to sit across from someone who needs, wants and sometimes even loves a job and hand them a pink slip. Letting someone go is not a power trip. It is a painful part of being an executive, manager or business owner.

Most bosses don’t need or want more headaches. These are tough times for everyone, including your boss, and he or she probably has serious problems that you are not aware of. For this reason, an employee who doesn’t add to that long list of irritants, has an advantage over one who does.

This is not the time to be “high-maintenance” or “complicated.” If you, say, have a temper or a tendency to miss those Monday morning sales meetings, you may find yourself out of work sooner rather than later. This economic climate can’t accommodate workers who have personal issues that interfere with the smooth running of an office or a business.

Check your ego at the door. It would be nice if we lived in a world where our concerns, priorities and egos were important to everyone with whom we came in contact. But until that new world order arrives, our best job insurance is to slap a smile on our face, be as helpful and cheerful as possible, and go out of the way to make life as pleasant as possible for the people who sign our paychecks.

Lots of people who never imagined that they would be out of work now find themselves unemployed. The good news is that these tough times will eventually pass, and the economy will stabilize. But the bad news in that we are all facing challenges for which we are unprepared.

Whoever thought that banks would fail, Starbucks would become a “treat” rather than an “essential,” foreclosures would hit our block, or layoffs would affect our family? One of these days, we’ll look back on this recession and consider the way we all had to recalibrate our coping skills.

You’re smart and you’ll manage to re-educate yourself about the coping skills needed to ride out these rough times. The same way you now “pause” before parting with your hard-earned cash, you’ll soon learn to shift gears when at work. These are the times when great employees and great companies go into an survival mode, and now is the time to make sure that your boss considers you absolutely, positively essential to his or her wellbeing.

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Job Hunting in Today’s Erratic Economy by expert Robert Bertino

It is no surprise many people are experiencing difficult times in this economy. If you are in the current job pool seeking employment you probably have noticed that it is an employer’s market. What do I mean? Well, with unemployment rising the number of job seekers out there are increasing. There are job openings, but companies can be selective, and depending on the need, they can take their time in finding the best-fit candidate.

So what can you do? Here are some tips and suggestions in finding employment:

1. First, make sure your resume is up-to-date, and clearly outlines your skills and experience. (Getting some professional assistance in crafting a well-written resume may not be such a bad idea)

2. Be proactive by generating a list of companies. Go to their website and see if they have posted job openings. Not all companies post on job boards. If there are specific companies you are targeting you may want to contact their HR department or hiring authority, depending on the size of the organization, and contact directly. This can take some time and practice. I know people who’ve taken this assertive approach and landed a job.

3. Create a blog to market yourself or find and participate in other people’s blog.

4. If you are in the IT (Information Technology) field you can search online, and attend local user groups. I know personally, there are several local user groups for various skill sets like .NET developers, Java developers, Oracle, and graphics/multimedia to name a few.

5. Network, market yourself. Join one or two social networking sites. As a recruiter, I like LinkedIn.

6. Organize and keep track of where you have posted your resume, and also what companies you’ve applied to. Create a spreadsheet and basic info of company name, position, contact or any other useful info.

7. In addition to the previous tip, I would take an extra step and for any contact names and info you have gathered, I would follow up by calling the person listed in the job description. This could show initiative and set yourself above the competition.

8. Contact a recruiter, especially if they specialize in your field or industry.

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