Documenting Success

How to search for a job after college - Part IV: Money negotiations
Published on January 17th, 2007

Penisole Generic Buy Nizoral Online Nexium Without Prescription Cymbalta No Prescription Aricept For Sale Phentrimine Generic Buy Avapro Online Coumadin Without Prescription Zyban No Prescription Nizoral For Sale

(This is Part IV - the last one of the series. Here are Part I, Part II and Part III)

Once you get past the interview stage, the hard part is over. If the company starts talking to you about money, you can high-five or pat yourself on the back. They just gave you a sign that they could be (not necessarily are) interested in hiring you. All you have to do now is maintain a good impression that you left at the interview, agree on the money, and hopefully see what you’ve been waiting for – the offer letter. Here are some tips on making it happen.

Money negotiations

If a company decided to hire you, there are two ways in which your salary can be determined. One way is that the salary for the position is fixed. Usually, that’s true for big bureaucratic organizations such as US Government. In that case, there’s not much room for negotiations. The other case is when the salary for your position is flexible (as long as it is within the department’s budget.) That is where you’ll have the most freedom to negotiate your salary.

First you should do research to find out the average entry-level salary in your industry. Remember, the biggest weapon you can have during any negotiations is knowledge.

After you’ve done the research and found out what kind of money others are getting, you’ll be ready to actually negotiate. There are countless books and web articles written on the subject of negotiating, so I’ll be very brief: the most important thing is to not name the number first. When they ask you how much you’re looking to make, say you’re open to anything.

Take the focus off what you want, and try to make the conversation go to what they are ready to give you. Say that money is really not the number one priority for you, and you’re much more excited about the learning opportunity. If you’re hard pressed, name a range. A good possibility is that once the offer is on the table, it will be closer to the higher end of the range that you gave.

One last thing I want to mention about money negotiations is even though you’re talking about money, the interview is not over yet. If you’ve been on your best behavior so far, now is not the time to reveal your true identity as a maniacal psychopath. Wait until you get hired. J

Considering the offer

If you work hard enough and stay dedicated to finding the job of your dreams, then you will finally get a call that will make your heart beat tem times faster (sometimes it happens at the end of the interview while you’re still there, but don’t hold your breath.) Your hand may even visibly tremble as you press the “Talk” button. Feeling completely euphoric, you will not believe your ears when you’ll hear those magic words – “We would like to extend an offer.”

I was initially planning on advising you not to scream “Yes! Of course I accept, I’ve been waiting for this forever, when do I start!?”, politely thank the person and say you’ll think about it. But I know you’re going to do the former anyway – I certainly did.

But if you do decide to think about the offer before accepting, consider this: it’s not all about the money. There are other things to consider too – vacation, health insurance, 401k, etc. If you’re going to be in the situation where you have to choose between two offers, you have to take everything into account.

And so ends this series of articles. If you stayed with me through all of this, congratulations! You now know more about looking for a job after college than most graduates. Certainly more than I did at that time. If tips that I presented in this series will help even one person find a career, I consider my job well-done. As always, feel free to comment below or email me, as I’m always looking to hear from you. Good luck!

(This is Part IV - the last one of the series. Here are Part I, Part II and Part III)