Need some help getting a (better) job?
Will Sullivan over at Journerdism has a great post with resources on how to get a better job.
He has 94 resources to help people with networking, resumes, interviewing and negotiating and places to find jobs. Even if you have a job, some of the resources can help you negotiate a better raise or a new position at your company. Newspapers are businesses, and if you don’t want to get stepped on, you better know how to play business.
His post is also a phenomenal resource for upcoming journalism grads. Here is my quick advice: make sure you have a dynamite digital resume (a printed one is OK to have around too), apply to jobs that you’ll enjoy (don’t just apply to random jobs, because it might show up in your interviews and you may not enjoy the job even if you get it), research the hell out of any company that asks you to come in for an interview, dress professionally (I’ve always gotten an offer when I wear my pinstripe suit) and learn how to interview well.
It doesn’t matter how good your resume and portfolio are if you bomb the interview. You have to sell yourself when you interview by demonstrating how your skills will be beneficial to the company you are interviewing with. It’s also very, very important to know how to negotiate when it comes to money, whether it is for a job offer or for a raise.
Your first salary out of college can greatly impact how much you make for the rest of your life. If you start off with a below market salary, it will impact every raise you get. If person A starts at $30,000 and person B at $35,000, their salaries could quickly diverge even further.
A 10 percent raise puts them at $33,000 and $38,500. Another 10 percent raise puts them at $36,300 and $42,350. What started as a $5,000 difference in salary became a $6,050 difference in just two raises. Every raise that person B gets will amplify his salary even more over person A’s.
Holiday pay? Person B will benefit more from that. 401(k) and retirement? Person B will benefit more.
Virtually every job offer has room for negotiation. It’s rare that a company will offer a candidate its best offer right off the bat. That doesn’t stop most people from accepting that offer. Remember, when negotiating money and benefits, it’s never about what you need, it’s always about what you’re worth.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Thanks Pat!
February 27th, 2008 at 11:31 am
More great advise Pat. I especially love the note about the pinstripe suit.
I would add that it’s rare that anyone is offered a 10 percent raise year-to-year unless you’ve busted your ass or received a promotion.
Also, I’ve never seen a job offer that doesn’t have room for negotiation, as you point out. Always come back to them with a request for a higher amount; it also helps to have a little information to negotiate with such as other offers on the table, or things that make you worth it.