Career Information Online

The salary a person makes is important.  It’s how you pay your bills and support your family.  When looking into a new employment opportunity the salary offered is going to play a role in your decision to accept or reject an offer.  However, your first interview with a company is not the time to ask about salary.

You’ll probably find many web sites and experts who will disagree with me and tell you that it’s fine to talk salary during an interview.  Of course it’s your decision to make.  I’d just like to present a few reasons why you might not want to bring up salary during an interview.

• You will seem to be motivated by money only.  The hiring manager is trying to sell you on an opportunity.  He/she might think the only reason you’d take a job is because it paid more than your previous position.
• You might price yourself out of the position.  Many companies have strict salary ranges for positions.  No matter what, they can’t go over the top figure in the range for any candidate.  You might exclude yourself from a position based on a few dollars.
• You might “lowball” yourself.  What I mean is this – the hiring manager might be planning to pay you more than the salary you stated in the interview.  You could deprive yourself from money in your pocket.
• You don’t know how much it costs to work for the new company.  Hiring managers don’t usually bring up specific information on the cost of benefits until the offer stage.  The cost of benefits for the new company might be higher or lower than the cost at your current company (maybe their health insurance is a lot more expensive than what you pay now).  A lateral salary move would actually end up costing you money out of pocket.

Given this, what do you say in an interview when someone asks “what do you want to make”?  I would suggest you say something along these lines:

I currently make $47,500 a year.  I would want to look at the entire package before making a decision.

If pressed you can mention that you’d like to compare the cost of benefits and that the opportunity is what is most important, not salary.

Of course it’s up to you whether or not you bring up salary in an interview.  I merely wanted to present a few arguments why you might not want to do this.

In my previous life in staffing I would see individuals apply for positions they are no way qualified for.  Often you would get a note on the cover letter saying “please consider me for any open positions” but when you have 100 or 200 resumes to look through you aren’t going to take the time (at that point) to contact this individual.  And people get busy, so that resume might be put over to the side and never contacted because of that.

A better way to approach this situation might be this:  If you see a position online that you don’t qualify for (maybe because of years of experience) but sounds interesting, call the contact person listed on that posting.  Tell him/her that you saw this position online but you don’t think your skills are an exact match BUT you do have these skills and would like to be considered for a position with their company.  Ask for a direct email address and/or direct fax number to get your resume over to this person for consideration for other jobs.  You’ll show some initiative by calling the person, and that person will be happy you aren’t another unqualified candidate blasting their resume to every open position on the job boards.

A few weeks ago I was watching a story on “Good Morning America” about Congressional Interns and the way they dress.  I guess some interns are going for the very flashy, casual look that is in contrast with the very conservative image you usually see portrayed by Congress.  It made me start to think about the way the everyday person dresses for an interview.  Let’s face it, most people don’t interview all that often so you might forget some of the do’s and don’ts of interviewing.  One major important thing to consider is to make sure you dress to impress.  I’m not telling you to go out and buy a new suit or dress for the interview (especially if you are tight on money).  What I am advocating is that you dress in a clean, conservative way that exudes professionalism.  For a man that might mean pressed clean Dockers pants, a white shirt and a nice tie; for a woman perhaps a nice skirt and top or a nice pair of dress pants with a blouse.  Unless you are going for a position in an accounting or law firm (for example) and then you would want to dress even more conservatively.

People often get annoyed at the idea of having to dress nicely for work.  There’s an attitude that many have that goes something like this:  it doesn’t matter how I look as long as I do my job well.  That’s partially true, I’ll concede.  But often the way you dress can change your attitude.  If you’re in your old jeans and sweat shirt you’re going to have a more casual attitude than if you’re wearing a shirt and tie.  And don’t forget the fact that customers expect employees to be dressed a certain way.  You wouldn’t go into The Gap and expect to see someone in a three piece suit – you want to see the sales associate dressed in stylish fashions from that store.  On the other hand when you go into a bank you don’t want to see someone in a pair of jeans and a cut off shirt. 

There’s a certain image that needs to be portrayed by the employees of a business.  The owners/managers of the business want to portray that image to their customers and clients.  If you want to work for that company you’re going to need to buy into the fact that how you dress matters.  Make your best impression in the interview.  You don’t want to be turned down for a job because of your clothes.  If you look professional then your appearance won’t even be an issue.  The manager will be too busy talking about your skills and background to worry about the way you’ll dress when you come to work.

If you’ve ever been on a job interview for any position (whether it was your part time job during high school or your last career move) you’ve probably been asked this question by an interviewer.  You know you’re going to be asked this question or a similar one so have a really good answer prepared.  Your potential new employer probably doesn’t care about your personal life or your hobbies when asking that questions (although you might be able to include this type of information in your answer).  What the interviewer wants to find out is who you are as a potential employee.  This is the goal you should have in mind when you answer their question.  Keep your answer on the short side (maybe 2 minutes) but try to convey some good points about your professional experience.

Here’s a brief example of how you might answer that question.

“Well, I graduated from the University of Wherever in XXXX.  From there I took a job with ABC company as a (fill in the blank).  I was promoted to (blank) where I supervised X number of people on X project. I was with ABC Company for four years and then I went to XYZ Corporation as a (blank)” and so on, following along the history listed on your resume. 

Keep your answer confined to your professional life, if possible.  One example where you might bring in your personal life could be if you were looking to relocate to another city for your job.  You could say something like “because of family reasons I am looking to get a position in this town and that’s why I’m leaving my former city.”

Since you know you’re going to be asked this question, be ready for it.  You don’t have to have an answer memorized, just have in mind the important points you want to convey.

In this electronic age it’s a pretty safe bet that when you snail mail or drop off a copy of your resume at a career fair that it’s going to be scanned into that company’s computer system.  Make sure your resume is in a scanner-friendly format.  What this means is go easy on the fancy fonts, the borders, highlighting and shading.  Use a font like Times New Roman, Arial or another standard font.  Make your resume as professional looking as possible without going over the top.  Unless you’re going to interview for some sort of graphic design position, it will be the content of your resume that will get you the interview.  It goes without saying that your resume should be free of spelling and grammatical errors.  Make sure it is also scanner friendly.

I was reading an article on a recruiting web site about where to go to source candidates.  And I started thinking to myself that if a recruiter goes somewhere to source candidates then that might be a good place for a candidate to go and look to meet contacts.  This article made one suggestion of where you can go to find candidates – a bar.

Now before you think this is crazy listen to the thinking behind it.  The thinking behind this theory is that every company has an unofficial company bar – the local watering hole where employees go for happy hour on Friday or the day before a holiday.  The thinking is that a recruiter can become a regular in the company bar of the targeted company and befriend employees who might be unhappy and looking for a better opportunity.

So if this theory can work for a recruiter looking for candidates, why can’t it work for the candidate looking for a new opportunity? 

You might ask “how do you find out what bar is the company bar”?  There are a few ways.  First, find out the geographic location of the company or companies where you would like to work.   When you find out where the building is located you can search the area for local bars.  Make friends with the bartenders and they can tell you if employees frequent there.  Some companies require the employees wear ID badges.  Many people don’t take them off right away after work. (I know my husband has walked around for hours after work still wearing his ID badge.)  Become a regular in this establishment and you might start to befriend employees.  You can take the pulse of the company by networking with them, and see if there are any openings.

This technique is not for the shy or faint of heart.  I know that personally I would not be able to do this.  But if you have some confidence and courage this could be a fun way to network with others in your industry and perhaps find your next job.

It could be argued that human beings are self-serving by nature.  I don’t mean this as a criticism of the human race, merely as a strategy to employ when creating a cover letter to be used in your job search.  Instead of asking the question “what’s in it for me” ask the question “what’s in it for you” with the you being your potential new employer.

When you look at a job posting you’ll see what a company is looking for – skills they want the candidate to bring to the company so they can help the company become more successful.  In other words, what can you do for the company.  When you write your cover letter take this approach.  Utilize the keywords, skills and background described in the advertisement to “sell” yourself to the hiring manager.  Build upon your background as described in your resume and tweak it in the cover letter to better match what the company is looking for in a candidate.  Never lie or fabricate skills to better fit the requirements of a position, and don’t take verbiage from your resume and paste it in the cover letter.    Give some concrete reasons why your skill set would be worth considering based on what you can do for the company.

I’m not kidding.  Have you ever considered that an interview is just like a first date?  You get dressed up in your nicest clothes and groom yourself until you look your very best.  You are on your best behavior – you’re going to say please and thank you and there will be no casual behavior that you might exhibit with your family or friends.  There’s a great deal of anticipation – you wonder what the other person is going to be like and you hope that the person will like you in return.  You make your very best impression on the person and hope that the interviewer will call you back for another meeting.

But what if you don’t make it clear to the interviewer that you like the career opportunity, the company and even the person interviewing you?  Perhaps you went into the interview with a casual, kick the tires, let’s go in there and see what happens kind of attitude instead of being in a true interview frame of mind.  What do I mean when I say interview frame of mind?  You spend some time in preparation for the interview, researching the company and formulating a list of questions you have.  You go into the meeting with the attitude that this could be the best career opportunity for you in the world and want to do whatever you need to do to win the position.  Before you finish the interview you clearly communicate an interest in moving forward.

What happens if you go into an interview with a casual attitude?  Maybe after speaking with the interviewer for a few minutes you realize this is a great opportunity for you and your career.  You suddenly get excited and interested but it is too late – you’ve already made a somewhat poor showing with your lack of enthusiasm. You may have killed your chances of getting the job.

Let’s go back to the first date metaphor.  Wouldn’t you rather have the other person wanting a second date while you aren’t so sure about it, instead of you sitting at home hoping and praying the other person will call you for another date?  It’s the same with an interview.  It’s much nicer to make the good impression and have the interviewer like you and want to bring you back instead of having them be lukewarm about you.  It’s so much nicer for you to be the one turning down the second interview instead of being turned down by the company.

It’s very frustrating when you have been on an interview and think you’ve aced it to find out you didn’t get the job.  You had great conversations with the people you interviewed with, you like the company and you thought you did really well.  You might just have had the skills and background that would be a match for the company but there wasn’t any chemistry.  Everyone has the same chemistry on paper.  Once the hiring manager has determined that your background is the type of background they want to see, many times the reason someone doesn’t get a job is because there was no chemistry between the interviewer and the interviewee.

However, there are other reasons why you might not have gotten the job.  These include:

• Making a poor personal appearance.  While you might not think it is important, many companies and hiring managers place a lot of emphasis on a professional appearance. 
• Having a bad attitude.  Arrogance or cockiness towards the interviewer can be a real turn off.
• Not being prepared for the interview.  A lack of research on the company or a lack of questions regarding the position and the company fall under this category and can be a reason for rejection by a hiring manager.
• Not having the skills listed on your resume.  Don’t exaggerate your skill level on a resume – it can usually be verified during an interview.

Preparation for an interview is key to help you get the position.  Pay attention to these areas where a job can be lost during a face to face meeting.  Being prepared isn’t a guarantee that you will get the job but it will certainly give you a leg up on your competion.

When a company contacts you to schedule a telephone interview be sure to ask the following questions:

• What kind of conversation will this be – a general screen or a technical screen?
• Who will be involved in this conversation?  What is his/her title and role in the company?
• How long do you expect this conversation to last?
• Who will be initiating the call?  Verify the telephone number to be used.

Remember that in a telephone interview it will be only your voice that can communicate who you are.  You can’t rely on body language or facial expressions to express yourself.  Try to speak in a manner that is relaxed, confident and enthusiastic.  Your goal for this conversation is to generate enough interest in the party on the other end of the phone to invite you to the company to meet with them in person.

Some items you might want to have with you during this conversation include:

• A copy of the resume you sent to the company.
• A note pad and pen.
• General questions you want to ask about the company and the position.
• Information about the company (and if possible, be at a computer with their web site on the screen).
• A calendar with your availability for a face-to-face meeting for the next few weeks.

Have a statement about yourself prepared to answer the question “tell me a little about yourself”.  Keep it brief and have it coincide with your education and work history.

You might think some of the suggestions we are about to make sound silly, but you would be surprised how many people mess up on their telephone screen because they have forgotten to pay attention to the basics.  The only tools you have available to sell yourself in the telephone interview are your voice and the words you use.  Here are a few suggestions to help you have a good phone “personality” that conveys confidence and enthusiasm:

• Talk directly into the mouthpiece.
• If possible, stand up during the conversation and move around to help keep your energy high.  Don’t have this conversation while in a hunched over, slouched or laying down position.
• Mirror the speech patterns of the person conducting the interview.  If he/she is speaking slowly then slow down, if he/she is speaking quickly then pick up your pace a bit.  By matching their cadence the conversation will flow more smoothly.
• Be conversational.  This isn’t an inquisition, it’s a conversation.
• Be upbeat and positive.
• Listen carefully – don’t lose your mental focus.
• No matter what is asked or stated during the conversation, always answer in a professional manner.  Never become argumentative or defensive.

What the representative of the company needs to bring away from this conversation is that you can get the job done.  Your goal is to share enough information about you and your background to get him/her to want to bring you into their office for an interview.

End the conversation on a positive note.  Tell the person that you enjoyed your conversation.  Ask him/her what the next step in the process will be and when you can expect to hear from them again.  And finally, if you are interested in the position and moving forward in the process communicate this to the company representative.  Make sure to emphasize this is the type of opportunity you are looking for.