Job Hunting 101

Remember the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Did you ever find an answer? If you did, you're one of the lucky ones! If you're still trying to figure out what you want to do when you grow up, here are a website to get you started.

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Hotjobs Career Test Three online tests, the Career Interest Profiler, The Personality Index and Career Values Scale gives you clues about the perfect career match for yo.

Keirsey Terperament Sorter The Keirsey Inventory is a tool by career counselors to help discover your termperament (personality) and what careers work best with your personality strengths.

Princeton Review Very cool career testing andt career profiles. 5- minute test is free - you must register, but it's worth extra time.

Networking is the best way to find your new job. Everyone needs a network, if you haven't all ready, now's the time to start buidling yours.

The idea begin networking is a sharing of information and opportunities. Build both an online and off line network. Nuture you network by touching base from time to time to share good news, job leads, referals or to pass along congratulations on a new promotion or job well done.

Online there are lots of places to network. Set up a profile at Linkedin. Ask for online references and offer referances to associates, business contacts or vendors. Join groups that you find interesting and participate in group forums.

Meetup.com is an online network with offline events. You can join groups focusing on everthing from job hunting to photography to pugs.

Reconnect with old Friends! Check out sites such as Classmates.com to help locate old friends from school.

Writing a resume takes a bit of work, but there's lots of resources out there for you to get you started.

Check out examples at sites such as Quintcareers.com, Resume-Resource and Job Star Central. Decide which format works best for you. Gather old job reviews, job descriptions and samples from work projects to help jog your memory about your accomplishments. Write your resume to highlight the talents and skills you want to use in your new position, not just an inventory of what you did in the past.

After you have composed your masterpiece, make sure to spell check and have a friend proof read. Make two formats of your resume. One will be a word document and the other will be the internet (email) version of your resume. For help in converting a word document to a ASCII text dock, click here.

I think the best way to get a new job is through networking, but online job boards are a great tool to both see what is available and to submit your resume.

A couple hints:

1) Most job boards will automatically send you new job postings based on your job search critera. Save time and sign up for these!

2) Even if I apply online via a job search site, I also search the web to see if I can find the email address of a HR person within the company I've applied for. If I can't, I go to the company website and apply directly using the same cover letter and resume.

PLEASE: exercise caution when posting your resume online! I do not include my adress or phone number in my posted resume. You may want to also not list your current employer by name and instead just list "current employer". Keep yourself (and your current job) safe!

A few job sites to check out:

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Beyond.com Careers. Business. Life. Go Beyond!
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You've made it through the first round of screening and you've received the call to come in for an interview. Here's a couple of suggestions to get you started in the right direction:

1, When confirming the interview, unless you know exactly where the company is located, ask for a cross street and where to park. You don't want to get lost or be sitting in your interview worrying about getting a parking ticket! Find out who you are interviewing with - make sure you have their name and job title.

2. Before the interview, check out the company web page. Google the company and the people you are meeting with for your interview. Note any special awards, recent news or interesting tidbits you find so you can weave this information into the interview. Let them know you did your homework.

3. Check your network (here's another place Linkedin.com comes in handy) to see if you can find someone who works at the organization you are interviewing at to see if they can provide you with any additional insight or suggestions.

4. Review both the original job description and your resume. You want both to be fresh in your mind!

Salary negotiations is a learned skill and it's really to your benefit to practice a little bit, if even just talking to yourself in the mirror, how to get the best salary possible.

I always go for a win-win situation in my negotiations because no one wants to walk away with the feeling of someone taking advantage of them.

With this in mind, here are a few salary negotiations basics:

1) Don't list your previous salary on the job application;

2) Don't reveal your previous salary during your job interview;

3) Remember whoever states a number (salary) first will have a weaker negotiation position.

If asked during the interview about my previous salary, work around the question with something such as "I'd rather discuss salary when we are both confident that I am a good match for the position" or "I'd rather not answer that question right now because it is too early in the recruiting process" and then move on.

So what do you do when offer a job and the salary discussion comes up? It's rare the final salary is the first one thrown out by a potentional employer, and even if it's higher than you were expecting, pause for a moment, then push for a little more.

Think of it as a respect thing. You don't want your future employer to think they could have gotten you for a less money! You don't want that HR person kicking themselves thinking "oh, he said yes right away...I could have offered less money and had more budget to buy bla, bla, bla...". NO!

PRACTICE THIS: whatever the salary you are initially offered, your response is "hmmmm". Just "hmmmmm". No words, just "hmmmmm".

Now take a deep breath and stare off to the side as if you are thinking about what they just said really, really hard. Look serious. Pause for several seconds. Then say, "Is that negotiable?" Then wait.

Don't say anything, even if it seems like minutes are passing and the silence is uncomfortable. Just wait for a for your interviewer to answer the question, usually with a phrase something like "there might be a little room for negotiations" or "I might have a little more in my budget." They could also make another, slightly higher, offer.

If instead they want to know what salary you had in mind, you could reply:

1) give a range a little higher than what you were offered;

2) ask What range do you have budgeted?" or

3) ask "What would a person with my background and qualifications typically earn this position with your company?"

Whatever the answer, you should get a better offer. If it's another $1.00 an hour or $20,000 per year, it should be a bit higher than the initial offer. Congratulations!

For more information about salary negotiations,

I read about this salary negotiation years ago and have it used it every since. The trick is to know 1) the going rate for your position in the market; 2) how much money you want; 3) what's you bottom line and MOST IMPORTANTLY 4) WHEN TO STOP TALKING AND BE QUIET.

The Noel Smith-Wenkle Salary Negotiation Method

Salary negotiation is something at which hiring managers are usually a lot more proficient than the people they hire. In the interest of leveling the playing field, here is a method for salary negotiation.

Noel Smith-Wenkle is a headhunter who taught me this method. Headhunters' fees are proportional to the salary that their clients get, so it is in their interest to get as much as possible.

Fundamentals

Salaries depend mainly on two things: the work and the geographical area. Most companies share salary data with each other: the typical big-company personnel department will have detailed breakdowns on the distribution of salaries for their types of work and locales. So they will generally know within a pretty narrow range what your job is worth.

To save labor costs, almost all companies play a nasty little game. They ask you how much you want. Sometimes there's a slot on your application named something innocent like "desired salary range." Most people automatically fill in all blanks on a form, so they'll put down a figure.

Unfortunately, many people underestimate their worth, so they'll put down a low figure, less than the company was prepared to pay. It's a rare company who will offer you what you're worth in this situation. Some companies will even bargain down your already undervalued amount.

You're happy because you got what you asked for (or nearly so), and they're happy because they're underpaying you and you're not likely to realize it.

So, the bottom line is: Don't tell them how much you'll take.

Before you begin negotiating, you must have a minimum salary figure in mind. If at all possible, you should talk to several people who are doing similar work in an area with similar living costs. Watch out! People from rural New Mexico, for example, have no idea how ungodly expensive it is to live in the Bay Area or Boston.

Remember the bottom line, though: have a minimum figure in your head, but don't tell them.

The purpose of the method is to get the company to be the first party to name a number. If it's above your minimum, you accept. If it's too low, you tell them it's too low, but you do not say by how much. They will either break off negotiations or come back with a higher offer. Your only responses are either "okay" or "higher", never "X amount higher."

The method in action

If they try to get you to name a figure on the application, leave it blank. You want them to ask for a number verbally.

Step 1. The first time they ask you how much you'll take, reply:

I am much more interested in doing (type of work) here at (name of company) than I am in the size of the initial offer.

This sentence is constructed with great care. You may want to memorize it. It does several things for you. It's great public relations. The vast majority of people answer their question with a number. Because you have focused on the job and not on the compensation, you have instantly distinguished yourself from the thundering herd. You have also dodged their question.

Noel said that about 40% of the time this is all you need, and the hiring manager will go off and look up your numbers and make you a fair offer. However, over half the time, they will ask you again.

Step 2. The second time they ask, reply:

I will consider any reasonable offer.

This is basically a stalling tactic. The word ``consider'' has a lot of leeway in it. Add to this the large amount of slop in the word ``reasonable,'' and obviously the sentence has no meaning at all. But you've been polite, and once more you've refused to name the first figure.

Noel said that in only about 30% of the cases was it necessary to go to step 3.

Step 3.

You are in a much better position to know how much I'm worth to you than I am.

Once again, you have been polite, and again you have refused to name a number. You have also told them, in so many words, that you are onto their little game. If they ask a fourth or even a fifth time how much you'll take, repeat step 3.

Top 200 Job Interview Questions
Are you a recent college grad who's nervous about finding a job in this challenging economy? Or are you looking to start a new career, but you can't seem to get beyond the first interview? Land your dream job by answering the interviewer's questions with absolute confidence and ease.

The Solar Job Guide
A Comprehensive e-Book about How to Get a Job in the Solar Industry. Frank Marquardt, a leading expert on green careers, offers detailed information about the solar industry, drawn firsthand from the people who know it best-insiders.

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Guide to Getting the Teaching Job of Your Dreams
A complete guidebook for student teachers who are hunting for their first job, substitute teachers and teacher aides who would like to advance their career to the next level, and experienced educators who are looking for a job at a new school.

Ultimate Guide To Job Interview Answers
Newly updated for 2009, the Guide is 81 pages and includes over 137 intelligent and effective job interview answers, 11 closing "power statements," 43 questions for you to use to uncover the interviewer's hidden needs, 13 desirable behavioral competencies hiring managers look for, how to create and use your own winning S.T.A.R. statements to "package & spin" your work experience.

The Job Interview Secret
Create Your Own 'Secret Career Document' To Land Any Job You Desire . It's the PERFECT marketing strategy when and where it counts the most... at the start of the job interview.

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Lawn Care/Landscaping Business Startup Guide
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