Job Search Coaching Group Forming in Boulder

We're forming a Job Search Coaching group that will meet on Mondays, from March 2nd through April sixth, 2009. We'll cover a new job-search base (researching employers, LinkedIn, et al) each week. We're meeting at the Egg & I restaurant on Baseline and Broadway beginning next Monday, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. Join us! More info here.

When to Ask What?

What to Ask, When?

MOE: Liz, I'm about to go on a job interview, but I really don't want
the job if it doesn't pay at least $60K. How much time do I have to
waste before I can inquire about the salary?

LIZ: A great time to ask about the salary range is between the first
and second interviews. Once the employer has let it be known that
there's interest in you for the job (by inviting you back for a second
interview), you've got an opportunity to ask whether the salary range
will work for you.

MOE: How do you do that?

LIZ: Let's say you get an email message inviting you for a second
interview. Reply to the message with a quick one of your own that says
"Thanks very much, Cheryl - I'm looking forward to learning more about
the Accounting Supervisor role at XYZ Electronics. Would you have a
moment for a quick phone call today?" If you're asked to confirm a
proposed interview time or to suggest a time, don't do it - or that
salary-check call may never happen. If you get a phone call inviting
you for Interview Number Two, ask the question on the phone.

MOE: And what do you say?

LIZ: You can say "I'm excited to come back. I want to check on the
salary range to make sure we're in the same ballpark. Can you give me
a feel for the salary range for this position?"

MOE: What if they won't tell you?

LIZ: Very often, they won't, but it's still worthwhile to ask. In case
the employer won't share a salary range, you'll need your own range or
number to throw out there. You can get do some online research at
www.PayScale.com.

MOE: So they ask me for my range, and I say "Fifty-five to sixty
thousand dollars." Then what?

LIZ: They'll either drop the phone and collapse in a dead faint, or
tell you that salary range is in the ballpark, or tell you it's not.

MOE: What if I just keep quiet and wait for a job offer?

LIZ: I don't recommend it. It's a gazillion times harder to nudge a
salary offer up after it's been approved than before. The onus is on
the job-seeker to bring up salary, before something gets carved in
stone on the employer's side.

MOE: Okay, what about benefits?

LIZ: You can ask about benefits on a second interview. Ask for the
roster of folks you'll be meeting with. After you hear the names and
titles, you can ask "Which one of these folks would be the best one to
chat with about your benefits?" Sometimes it's the hiring manager.
Sometimes they'll stick an HR person in the lineup to cover that ground.

MOE: So I have to go all the way through a second interview before I
can learn what the benefits are?

LIZ: Some employers list their major benefits on their websites, under
the Careers section. Sometimes they highlight the most significant
benefits in their job ads. You can also use a forum like ours (one of
our local ones) to contact a current employee in the firm for more
info, earlier in the pipeline.

Does Attitude Influence Job-Search Success?

Liz Ryan: Does attitude influence job-search success?
Liz Ryan, For the Camera

Dear Liz,

My job search is going well so far, I guess. I joined a job-search networking group that has weekly meetings. There are several very vocal, negative people in the group who basically spoil the experience for everyone else.

They use our meeting time ranting about how the job market stinks, every employer stinks, and the world is a cesspool. (I'm not exaggerating.)

The kicker is that when I try to turn the conversation to more positive topics I get criticized for my naivete and called "Pollyanna." I briefly left last week's meeting and when I came back in the room, one man was saying "What happened to the hippie girl?" (He meant me).

I guess I'm a hippie because I believe that intention is important in a job search or anything else I'm trying to accomplish. When I talk about positive intention and attitude in this group, I get mocked. So what's the point of going? Still, I hate to quit because I feel I have a positive influence on the less cynical members of the group.

What do you advise?

Thanks, Lauren

Dear Lauren,

First, I'm happy that job-search groups exist; most of them are fantastic resources. The YWCA Career Center offers awesome job-search support, so you might check with them. I'm sorry your group is such a downer.

My advice is to bolt. You need all the positive energy you can get right now. This group sounds like an energy-sucker if there ever was one. Don't stick around just to support the less-cynical members; they can find you if they want to.

Maybe you and they could create a new group, together! Let the doom-and-gloomers rant at one another. We can have compassion for people in that state, but we don't need to spend time around them.

As for hippies: I hail from Northern New Jersey, possibly the most cynical place on earth. I have zero doubt that intention and attitude have everything to do with success on a job search, a Mt. Everest expedition or the quest for a scientific discovery.

If attitude isn't everything, it's pretty darn close. We can -- and sometimes need to -- vent. "Man, this job-search thing is hard. Listen to this awful thing that happened to me last week."

We need our supportive friends to say "What a bummer! Now, let's talk about this week." They'll help us up, and we'll dust ourselves off and confirm our commitment to see the project through -- the job search, the mountain climb or the scientific discovery.

I deal with naysayers in my work occasionally, if by "occasionally" we mean a million times per day. I get letters that say "What's the point of job-search advice? Companies stink, life stinks," etc.

The good news is that I also hear from hopeful people like you -- folks who are game to try stuff, then try it, and find that it works. I feel sorry for the ones who've thrown in the towel. I don't know how to convince them that attitude matters. They'll learn it for themselves one day. As for you: plant yourself in fertile soil, and then blossom! You'll do more good that way than by trying to swim against the cynical tide.

Best, Liz

What If they Want a Salary History?

Career Q&A: What if they want a salary history?
How to get around that question when seeking your first job
By Liz Ryan

BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder's Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 human-resources executive, a syndicated columnist and a career adviser. Every Monday and Wednesday, she'll dish out job-hunting advice for college students.

Q: When I write a cover letter and I have to give a salary history, what should I do? I mean, I'm graduating college. I earned 10 bucks an hour at my last job. I don't want to earn 10 bucks an hour now.

A: Instead of salary history, give a salary requirement. Companies use the salary info as a sieve, to screen out people who earn too much (and sometimes, people who've earned too little, assuming that they're underqualified). Say, "I'm targeting jobs in the $XX range." That should get you past the salary sieve.

Q: How many references do I need in my back pocket? I have two good ones, and one shaky one.

A: You'll need three solid references, and four or five are better. Most employers will want three,but if you're in the pipeline with two or three employers at the same time, you won't want to burn out your principal reference-givers.

Ex-bosses, ex-co-workers and ex-customers are fine; toss in a professor and a friend of your parents who's in business, and you'll be set to go.

Q: I feel like my name is hurting me in my job search. It's not an easy name for Americans to pronounce. Can I use a different name on my resume?

A: Definitely, and I recommend it, if you're comfortable doing so. You can bet that the Tylers andBrandons we talk to during international tech-support calls weren't born with those names.

Pick a first name you like and use it on your resume, your LinkedIn profile and your cover letters.How about "Liz?" That's a good one. "Ryan" is always popular, too. :-)

Got questions? E-mail them to liz@asklizryan.com.

Help - I Set My Salary "Floor" Too Low

Dear Liz,

I was so excited to get a call from a company recruiter that I flubbed the salary test. When she asked me "Would $X be acceptable?" I said yes. I went on the interview, the job seems fine, but the people I talked to who already work in the department are years less experienced than I am. I don't want to lose the opportunity but I don't want to be drastically underemployed either. Do I have any wiggle room to change what I've already told them about my salary threshold?

Thanks,

Chip

----------- NOTE FROM LIZ:----------------------------------

Dear Chip,

It depends. If it's Macy's and they said "Would $9.00 an hour be acceptable?" and you said yes, I fear that you are stuck with that. If it's a salaried job that typically comes with a bonus plan, you have wiggle room. You can say during the next interview, or the next conversation with the recruiter, "Shall we talk about compensation? We talked about base salary on the phone, and I'd love to flesh that out with a bit more information about bonus, benefits, annual reviews, etc."

If you told them you could work for $50K but now you see that you underpriced yourself, you can say "Fifty thousand would be a great base salary if the annual bonus potential is in the $10-$15K range. Oh - your annual bonuses are ten percent? Okay, let's see...can we talk about a base of $55K with the ten percent bonus?"

The big myth and fallacy is that companies are being flooded with QUALIFIED people. They're not. I hear from recruiters and HR people every day who say "There are a lot of job-seekers, but not a lot of people who are well-suited to the jobs we're most desperate to fill." You have leverage, if you have skills that employers are looking for.

Cheers --
Liz