by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | May 9, 2011 | Job Search, Negotiation
Discussing salary is easily the one part of the job search process that causes candidates universal anxiety. One of the search terms that job-seekers look up, before arriving at this site, is “tactfully asking about salary.”
Since asking about salary is such a nerve-wracking experience, here are five ways to find out about salary without asking (or at least asking outright).
- Refer back to the job posting and see if a “salary range” is indicated. Anticipate that most hiring agents will make an offer between the minimum and the mid-point of that range, with early-career candidates being offered closer to the minimum, and more experienced candidates being offered toward the mid-point. In very few cases should you expect an offer to be made above the mid-point; organizations want to hire people who can grow into the position before their salary expectations outgrow what the organization can pay. It’s a question of value: no matter how good you are in general, they have placed a maximum value on what the work at that level is worth to the organization. If you need more than that, don’t apply for the job.
- Visit the Human Resources website for the institution and see if there is a section with information about salary, compensation and benefits. In this section, search for the terms “pay scale,” “salary bands,” “pay grades,” “salary grades” and “salary levels.” If the institution has this sort of system, see if you can find level at which the position is classified; this may be listed in the posting. Public institutions are more likely to have this information posted, since many states require that information about employee pay scales be released to the public. If you do find these listed, refer back to the advice from #1 and figure the pay will be between the minimum and mid-point.
- Ask someone who works at the institution, but outside the hiring circle for the department where you are applying. If you can find such a person in the same department, or who holds (or has held) a similar position (in title or pay band), they should be able to at least give you context about what they make, and may be able to give you some context based on that experience. They may also have access to internal systems where they can see different information than the general public (like new employee manuals, benefit guides, etc.)
- Call someone at Human Resources and ask what the “typical” hiring range is for a position at that title and grade. Indicate that you believe you may be interested in the position but don’t want to waste anyone’s time (theirs or yours) by applying to a job you can’t afford to take. As long as you say it diplomatically and convey that you are asking for those reasons, you’ll likely be fine, in the eyes of Human Resources. It shows that you are a serious candidate if you do apply.
- Google it. You never really know what you might find out. Try “salary range” for “title,” and “institution,” and see what comes back. I did this for several positions and the search returned recent job listings, with salary information, a couple of perspective pieces by student affairs professionals about jobs and salaries, and one site called GlassDoor.Com, which lets you search for salaries by job title. (That would’ve been a number 6, I guess, but I didn’t want to change the title of the article.)
Whatever you choose to do, I advise against asking outright about a specific salary number, related to your candidacy, until you have been made an offer. When you are offered a job, a starting point for the salary discussion will be included in the initial offer. Don’t react to the first number you if you can help yourself. Just ask how they came up with the number, and why they feel it would be a fair offer, given your education, skills and experience. Then take some time to think about whether the offer is fair. If it is, you can take it or maybe see if you could make a counter-offer to see if you could do a bit better. But if you are happy with the salary, there’s nothing wrong with just taking it and getting to work. If you aren’t, go back with a counter offer, but be sure to base it on the value you will create for the employer (i.e., how you will earn the higher salary through hard work and productivity.
What other ways can you think of to “ask without asking?”
Some good resources to help you explore ways to approach salary negotiation:
Negotiating a Job Offer: Do’s and Don’ts
Sealing the Deal: Questions to Ask Yourself When Faced with “The Offer”
Job Search 101 Video on YouTube from USC’s Annenberg School
Interview Tip: Leave the Salary Out of It on Newly Corporate
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Apr 21, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Podcast, Site News
Questions and answers are the currency we trade in job interviews. They help us evaluate the parameters of a potential working relationship, and to feel out whether the various pieces of the picture will “fit” together into a coherent whole.
In preparing for interviews, candidates often spend the bulk of their time anticipating questions and practicing how to answer them. Toward this end, I’m introducing some new features here on the site and as part of the BlogTalkRadio podcast, and tying them in to my practice’s Facebook page.
The first of these features is going to be a cooperative effort between me and John Mayo from Western New England College. We’re calling it “The Grill,” after a Twitter-hashtag fueled mock interview that John and his colleague Mike Hamilton from Landmark Leadership did for their friend and my former client Jenna Magnuski that they tagged as #grillJenna.
The Grill will have three parts:
- The introduction of one interview question each week on the blog, with tips on ways to approach answering the question.
- An invitation to share your responses and get feedback and tips in the comments for that week’s question.
- A call-in segment of the next podcast, devoted to letting people call in and answer the question, and get live feedback on how to refine their approach and their answer.
Another important aspect of the interview is the opportunity to ask questions of the interviewers. Tomorrow’s article will be about this important part of the process, and will give tips on how candidates can use questions to imply their motivation and readiness for a job, and to assess the possible fit between their interests and the position. That article will be a lead-in for Friday’s BlogTalkRadio show with special guest Meghan Harr of Old Dominion University. Meghan shared a great list of questions that she likes to ask during her interviews, that will be available through the website and on my company FaceBook page.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Apr 18, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools
Salary negotiation is the one part of the hiring process that people on both sides of the table look forward to it about as much as a root canal.
The key to successful negotiations, I think, is to take emotions out of the process as much as possible. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you, as a job-seeker, make an effective, objective argument during the process.
Do:
- Research salaries and benefits for similar positions, and use this to frame the discussion
- Visit the institution’s HR site to understand what benefits are offered and the costs of these benefits. Even though many job seekers don’t consider the costs of their benefits, the employer has no choice but to pay for your benefits. They don’t come from thin air, and today, costs of healthcare have especially impacted the bottom line.
- Consider the level of experience you have and be open to hearing what range they can reasonably offer. One way to do this is to ask how they came up with the offer, and how they factored in your previous experience.
- Give examples of your experience, and how you will apply it in the job to earn the salary.
Don’t
- Talk about your financial needs, debts, or your “ego” needs for a certain salary level (These are your problems, not theirs.)
- Compare your potential salary to that of other people you know at other institutions (they are not hiring these people) in other regions (cost of living varies) or other industries (student affairs salaries do not compare with corporate salaries.)
- Get angry, act as if you have been insulted, cry, or threaten to walk away (they won’t care if you act that way, anyway.)
Another piece of advice: always ask for time to think the offer through, and a get a solid deadline for getting back to the employer. Even if you want a job, you’ll probably feel better knowing you did your best to be fairly compensated, and you won’t second-guess your decision and feel you “sold yourself short.”
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Mar 3, 2011 | Job Search, The Placement Experience
Go time! March is finally here, and we all know what that means. It’s time for March Madness!
For most Americans, “March Madness” signifies basketball games on television, betting pools with friends and colleagues, and the mind-numbing fun that comes with working through your brackets, watching early contenders fall, and ending with an overhyped contest, resulting in the emergence of one champion.
When you work in higher education, “March Madness” means something different: the great kickoff of hiring season. Candidates practice their pitches, don their uniforms, and put their game faces on. But the reward that comes at the end of this contest is not a trophy, but a job.
If there are any significant tournaments during the hiring season, they are the placement conferences, both regional and national. The largest of these is the Placement Exchange. TPE, as it is often abbreviated, is the “300 pound gorilla” of placement conferences for higher ed administrators. The Placement Exchange is a partnership of NASPA, ACUHO-I, NACA, NODA, ASCA, AFA, and HigherEdJobs. This event is expected to draw over 1200 candidates and has 463 positions already posted.
If you have never been to a placement conference, it can be a bewildering and confusing experience. But with a little preparation, some context, and the right attitude, attending a placement exchange can be a great experience.
This Friday at 11 AM, I will have the pleasure of hosting Nathan Victoria, Assistant Director of Educational Programs and Social Media for NASPA on my BlogTalkRadio show, when he will answer some common questions about the placement experience and offer some practical tips and encouragement for job seekers attending TPE this year.
If you would like the opportunity to hear more about the Placement Exchange experience or ask questions or offer your perspectives and advice for candidates attending a placement conference this year, please join us!
To listen to the show go to http://tobtr.com/s/1610677 or click on the BlogTalkRadio player below. During the show, you may call in your questions to (347) 989-0055 or connect to the show via Skype by clicking on the Skype click to talk “S” logo once the show is on the air. If you cannot join us at 11 AM Eastern time this Friday, you are welcome to submit your questions and comments in advance by e-mailing Sean@higheredcareercoach.com or sending a tweet to Sean at @hiedcareercoach. The show will also be available for download and streaming after the show concludes.
Listen to internet radio with Sean Cook on Blog Talk Radio
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Nov 29, 2010 | Career Skills, Coaching, Job Search, Student Affairs, The Placement Experience
I am glad to be presenting on Monday at 1 pm CST/2 pm EST at the BreakDrink free fall conference. The topic will be “Mastering the Job Interview,” and it’s about getting in the right mindset to prepare for your job interview. An extended version of this presentation (and others like it) will be part of the Placement Partner hybrid coaching program that I am opening up shortly and that will continue through May.
This program is a “hybrid” mini-course for higher ed job seekers. Split into 25 sections, this program begins in December and goes through May, the traditional season for academic hiring for the upcoming academic year. There are self-paced activities that you can go through on your own on a Moodle group, and a forum where you can share your questions and ideas with other higher ed job seekers. You can add on webinars, resume coaching and assistance, e-mail coaching and one-on-one coaching.
There are three levels of participation:
- Value edition-Moodle activities, plus occasional free online chats and call-in group coaching.
- Standard edition-Everything in the Value edition, plus free admission to some webinars on job search and career-planning topics. (Value edition members can pay for those webinars they would like to attend.) Plus 2 sessions of online resume coaching and assistance, and e-mail coaching. ($300 for 180 days of access)
- Personalized edition: Includes everything in the standard package, plus 6 sessions of 1-on-1 coaching between enrollment and the end of May. ($500 for 180 days of access.)
The Moodle group is shared between all levels of seekers, and the “Value Edition” is offered at the base price ($180). Users get access to the site for 180 days ($1/day).
To upgrade to the standard edition or personalized edition, participants will be given the options to add these on after registering for the Value edition. Just go to the “Overview of the Placement Partner Coaching Program” and subscribe using the PayPal buttons for the other editions. For upgrades, you have the choice to pay the entire amount, or to spread it out over 6 installments.
Tickets to the webinars will be issued as they are scheduled to participants in the Standard and Personalized editions, and members of the value edition will be offered the opportunity to purchase tickets to the webinars before sales are opened to the general public.
Please contact me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com if you have any questions.
