This issue, we bring you our annual look at
that ever-popular topic, negotiating the
best possible compensation package for
yourself.
For years, salary increases have barely
kept pace with inflation, thanks to
corporations' seemingly unquenchable thirst
for profits. As policymakers puzzle out how to
stimulate our troubled economy, maybe employers
should pitch in by raising salaries.
In the meantime, we hope this issue
will help you get the best package you can.
Look for our exciting Nov. 12 anniversary issue
chock-full of new features and introducing
a terrific tool to help you prepare for job interviews...
along the addition of a new site to the
Quintessential Careers Network of sites... and more.
Feature Article: Dealing with Salary Requests
Responding to Requests for Salary Requirements or Salary Histories: Strategies and Suggestions
Here's the scenario: You've found the ideal job,
but either the job ad or your contact from the
human resources department has asked you to
forward your salary requirement and/or
your salary history. What do you do?
Before we look at your options, let's examine
why employers ask for these things. Most often,
the simple reason is that employers want an easy
screening device to
help sort applicants, and those
applicants with a salary requirement too low or
too high are discarded. Other times, the employer
is looking to save money by hiring a job-seeker at
the low end of a salary range. In either case, it's
not really fair to the job-seeker. With a salary history,
employers also want to see frequency and size of
raises and promotions.
Congratulations! Let's say that after much preparation
and hard work you have received three job offers.
Now you have to decide which is the best offer.
Is the best offer always the one paying the
highest salary? Well, when you also look at each
company's benefits package, you might find a very
different story, as illustrated in the table in this article.
Why are benefits important? Benefits can add up
to 30 percent to your total compensation.
The Internet Career Connection [ICC] is a service
of Gonyea & Associates, Inc., a Florida corporation
owned and managed by Jim and Pam Gonyea. Gonyea &
Associates opened the ICC on the Web in 1994 as a
means of providing career information and guidance
to individuals nationwide who were not members of AOL (they
had had a career guidance service on AOL since 1989).
The ICC's mission statement notes that "the ICC was developed
with two objectives in mind: FIRST... To help job seekers
and career planners advance their careers and achieve higher
levels of success by providing them with a means of 'connecting'
with career information, career guidance, professional contacts,
and career opportunities. SECOND... To help companies,
organizations, and individuals achieve their business goals
by providing them with an online forum from which they can
publish information about their human-resource needs,
business services and products, and business opportunities."
The site features a Business & Personal Services Directory,
a Businesses For Sale database, Career Bookstore,
Career & Employment Website database, Career Advice Articles,
Career Coaches & Mentors database, Career Focus 2000 Interest
Inventory (an online interest inventory to identify your interests and
occupations that match), a database of Career Guidance Professionals
& Services, Company Profiles, Electronic Resume Distribution,
a database of Franchise Opportunities, job listings in the areas
of Government, International, State Government, USA; ICC Customer
Services Survey, Industry Profiles, a database of Internship &
Volunteer Opportunities, Jobs of the Future, Occupational
Descriptions & Profiles, a database of Recruiters & Placement
Agencies, a Training Programs database, Working From Home Directory,
and a Worldwide Resume Bank.
Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
event at your college or organization? The Quintessential
Careers Speakers Bureau can help! Our quintessential experts
can provide presentations/workshops on a variety of
career-related topics.
Domain Name Sanity
-- where else can job-seekers get a Website (with the domain name of your choice), enough space to publish
your Web-based resume and career portfolio (20 megabytes), up to 50 email addresses, and lots of publishing
and promotion resources -- for under $20 a year!!
This deal is amazing -- almost too good to be true. If you don't have a Website, but want to put your
resume and portfolio on the Web, take advantage of these services! Fee-based.
CampusWorklink.com
-- one of Canada's biggest job sites for students and recent graduates, which operates in partnership with
university and college career centers across the country -- and whose objective is to increase
the opportunities for post-secondary students and graduates to find meaningful employment
relevant to your education, abilities, and career objectives. Free to job-seekers.
CORESTAFF Services
-- a progressive staffing service (temping, project staffing, temp-to-hire, etc.) with more than 100
U.S. offices and on-site client locations serving thousands of companies in a wide variety of industries.
Some of the career fields they
specialize in are: accounting/finance, banking, customer service, graphic design, information technology,
office administration/support, and sales and marketing. Free to job-seekers.
Future Bio Jobs -- where job-seekers can search and apply for jobs
offered by various life science companies and recruiters. Specializing in jobs in genomics, bioinformatics,
proteomics, and nanotechnology. Free to job-seekers.
Jobsin.co.uk
-- a job site offering several job boards with a range of vacancies from junior positions through
managing directors. Job-seekers can search for jobs (by industry, geographic location
or specific organization), utilize a job search agent, and post your CV.
Free to job-seekers.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest
Additions section.
Queanie writes: "When a potential employer asks for
a resume with salary history or salary application
what does that mean exactly, and what are they looking for?"
Faye writes: "How do I respond to job advertisements
that ask for a desired salary? I don't want to take
my resume out of the mix by high-balling the range
or hurt my chances for a better salary by low-balling the
salary range. This I find a very difficult question to
answer in my cover letter. How would you handle this
question when you are required to give a desired salary?"
Sherri B. writes: "I am a small-business owner who wants
to go back into the work force. I have extensive skills
in marketing management and project management.
Because
of my self-employment I feel I have been passed over for
positions I have applied for.
"I would like to go to an employment agency or headhunter
who will take the time to get to know me and what skills
I have to offer a potential employer and help me get to
the right position in the right company. What are my options
in the Kansas City area for employment agencies or headhunters
that might take my challenge on?"
Julianna writes: "I am a 27-year-old female who got laid off
from the dot-com industry. I have been actively interviewing
but have been unable to find another position. I am talented
on the computer. I was working as an Administrative Assistant.
I feel a lot of resentment and disappointment. What do I do?
I need help."
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Recruiting Trends reports that despite a softening
labor market and a continuing U.S. economic slowdown,
American companies are not cutting back on salary
increases for their employees. A WorldatWork survey
reveals that American workers can expect salary increases
in the mid-4 percent range in 2001 for the fifth year
in a row. However, while average salary increase figures
have held steady for several years, workers won't be bringing
home as much bacon as before because of inflation. When
adjusting projected 2001 average salary increases to the
U.S. Consumer Price Index, a worker's 4.5 percent salary
increase will feel more like a 1.3 percent raise, as opposed
to the nearly 3 percent adjusted-for-inflation raise the
average worker received in 1998, when inflation was lower.
According to a recent study conducted by Prudential
Financial and Linkage Inc., a leading organizational
development company headquartered in Lexington, MA,
employees are more focused than ever on maintaining
a better work/life balance. The study also revealed
that today's employees are more technologically and
financially savvy; less loyal to their company; and
more diverse. These factors combine to create a new
workplace dynamic, and serve as the foundation for
shaping future employee benefit strategies.
These survey results are based on a 2001 study
entitled Survey of Human Resources Decision Makers:
Linking Employee Evolution to the HR Revolution.
The survey was completed by senior human resources
professionals -- across varying industries -- primarily
of large and mid-sized corporations. Source: Business Wire.
As we've noted in the articles in this issue,
knowing what you're worth in the marketplace is
key to effective salary negotiation. Three measures
for determining what you're worth include market value, company
value, and self value. Market value is the value of your skills
in the open marketplace. What would most companies in your
field pay for your skills? Your company value is what you're
worth to the specific company with which you're negotiating.
Can it find someone just like you for less? Do your particular
skills provide solutions for the employer? Would your salary
request create problems with other workers?
Finally, your self
value is based on what this job is worth to you. How badly do
you want it? How much does salary play into your enjoyment of the
job? Is there anything you'd be happy to trade for a higher salary --
say, more vacation time? Establishing a full picture of what
you're worth and what the job is worth to you will arm you with
the negotiating power you need. Source: Knight Ridder, Tribune.
For helpful advice on how to college job-seekers should
handle the salary requirements issue, see this article by our colleague,
Peter Vogt:
Play to Win the Salary Requirements Game.
By the way, the top five employment benefits sought by new
college graduates, according to the National Association of Colleges
and Employers, are medical insurance, an annual salary increase,
401(k) retirement plan, dental insurance, and life insurance. And
the workforce at large is increasingly opting for some unusual perks.
According to a study by the Society for Human Resources Management,
some companies are offering such bennies as health-club memberships,
legal assistance, dry-cleaning services, massage therapy, self-defense
training, concierge services, nap time during the workday, and pet
health insurance.
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* How to conduct a long-distance job search
* Home-based careers
* Career strategies for women
* How to start a job club
* Maximize your Interent job search
* The importance of company culture
* Letters of recommendation and references
* Should you get an MBA?
* The value of a college education
* Networking timetable for college students
* The biggest myths in job-hunting
* How to resign from your job gracefully
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
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