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I gave a presentation recently about salary negotiations for offers. I’ve expanded my slide deck to a blog posting.

What IS/not negotiable in a job offer?

Usually money and titles.

‘It is a fallacy that ‘everything is negotiable’.

‘The smaller the company the more items may be negotiable.

‘Money isn’t just about your base salary ‘think in terms of total compensation: relocation, equity (stock/ESPP/401k match), sign-on, benefits, bonus potential, perks (flex time, WFH options, subsidized/employer paid lunch).

EVERY Job Has A Range

‘Every position has a pre-set range for the base salary.

‘Recruiters and hiring managers generally are required to stick to that range.
*You may be up-leveled based on your experience.

‘Most companies prefer to mitigate a gap in compensation with either stock/equity or sign-on bonus.

‘A recruiter will ask you what you are looking for/what you are currently making; this is to make sure that the company can ‘afford’ you.

‘You want to get as much money as you can in your base salary; bonuses are usually a percentage of your base.

Do your research

‘Understand what your market value is in your field/job.

‘Use tools such as
BR /><a href="http://payscale.com"> Payscale</a>,
<a href="http://salary.com">Salary.com</a>, and avoid

<a href="http://glassdoor.com"> Glassdoor</a> (it is self-reported and wildly inaccurate)

to build an idea of your market worth

‘Develop a RANGE for your base salary ask

‘Ask near the top of the range

‘Be willing to negotiate down a bit

‘Have a firm ‘bottom line’ number

‘REMEMBER TOTAL COMPENSATION IN YOUR STRATEGY. If you get an offer making $10K less than your current job but you get 4 weeks of paid time off (vs. 2 weeks), that is a significant and valuable trade off.

Generally less/not negotiable:

Vacation/time off

‘If the company closes for a week towards the end of the year, make sure to ask if that is paid time off or requires you to use vacation/PTO.

The larger/more established the company, the more stringent their guidelines for time off will generally be.

*Unless there is a policy in place across the organization, remote working options are generally the purview of the hiring manager, not the recruiter

Building Relationships

‘Almost any recruiter will ask you your salary requirements

‘This is the time to set transparency in the relationship.

‘It is OK to ask what the general range is for the role-make sure you listen and hear the ENTIRE range not just the top end.

‘SHARE your expectations now. Trying to hold off until you are expecting an offer could cost you the opportunity to advance to the next stage of the process.

Timing

‘Ask the fiscal year dates of an employer or check out their financials.

‘Starting in the first 3-6 months may mean you are eligible for a bonus and raise. If you are starting in the latter half of the year, you will probably see a sign-on in lieu of a raise/bonus.

Agencies

FT placement vs. contracting

‘For a full time placement the agency is going to try and get you the MOST money (they are paid a commission based on your annual base salary)

‘For a contract they are going to try and get the LEAST amount of money (the difference between what they bill the client and pay you on an hourly basis is their profit margin.)

‘Contractors generally make more money, but with less stability

1099

‘If you decide to do independent consulting as a 1099 contractor, you need to understand the formula for charging for your work, covering expenses, and saving for taxes.

‘Dan Flak has an
<a href="http://www.danflak.com/employment/1099.html">excellent grid</a>

that shows you the basics of figuring out what you need to make as a 1099 consultant.

Did you know that the "hidden job market" is actually mostly a mythological construct if you are looking for a job at the top brand organizations people want to work for? Think Apple, Google, Amazon, GE, Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Microsoft…take your pick of the top Fortune 500 and anything to do with government itself and organizations that are governmentally funded (universities, medical centers, DoD contractors, etc.)

The reason? Federal compliance issues. There are several branches of the US government that have compliance regulatory requirements as it relates to hiring practices. For large companies, the main two are OFCCP (part of EEOC and Affirmative Action) and USCIS (Immigration). Both of them carry similar but different requirements that mean those brand name organizations must follow procedures that amount to this: *ALL jobs that are open to external candidates must be posted publically*. Candidates also need to understand the meaning of "advertised". In the recruiting world, "advertised" is used specifically with putting a job posting somewhere other than your own website. In today’s world, unless you are talking about a very small business, *most* employers have a website and list their openings. "Job boards" are going the way of the dodo bird or morphing into new services. If you are job searching, your better option is using job aggregators. Indeed.com or SimplyHired.com are the top job search aggregators. A huge bonus on Indeed.com is that you can post your resume for free, and recruiters can search those resumes at no charge. During my most recent job search, I posted my resume on Indeed.com on a Monday and had no fewer than a dozen recruiters contacting *me*by Thursday, all before I even started reaching out to my own network. The best place to look for open jobs is actually on a company’s corporate career page. Set up job alerts when you are even only casually looking at target employers.

Those that tout ways to uncover the "hidden job market" are basically talking about networking, which is still absolutely vital for any position regardless of the size of the company. It isn’t enough to just apply for a job; you need to actually then get someone’s attention.

‘ Knowing someone with a manager, Director, VP or C-level title at a company is almost guaranteed to get you noticed. That being said, unless they are the actual hiring manager, they don’t have a lot of say in the process other than to just pass your resume along. If it is the hiring manager, you are golden.

‘ The first and very best way to get seriously noticed for a position you are qualified and interested in is via an employee referral. Many companies reward employees making referrals that lead to actual hires with monetary incentives. When I worked at Amazon.com (in a non-recruiting function) I made over $3K in employee referrals in six months by referring friends and former colleagues to roles on my team. As a recruiter I have a pretty solid track record of hiring employee referrals; it’s a key metric for me as employee referrals are also the most cost effective way to hire great employees.

‘ After an employee referral, finding a recruiter at a large company is your next best way to get noticed. When I find a local position of interest, I fill out the application then reach out to one of my contacts to see about letting the recruiter know I have applied. They key to this strategy is to include the job ID number, which should be near the top or bottom of the job posting and send your resume. Recruiters can generally look in the company’s Applicant Tracking System to see who the recruiter (or even the hiring manager) on a specific job is and pass along a strong candidate’s resume. They may or may not know the recruiter, depending on where the job is and where the recruiters are in the organization.

Networking occurs on several levels. In today’s business world, probably the most relevant tool online is LinkedIn, especially when you are looking for contacts. Recruiters live for LinkedIn contacts, and sales/marketing folks also use it daily for their business. But many professionals don’t use it except when they are looking for a job or to glean industry information. If you are going to reach out to someone, make sure that you *write them a personalized note* from your computer, and don’t just hit the mobile "connect" feature on your phone (unless you are at a conference talking to them). Which brings me to the next level of networking…face to face events, be it an industry conference, a Meetup.com event, dinner celebrating someone’s birthday, church social, volunteer committee meeting, or even a conversation on the bus: face to face meetings and follow ups are still the number one way to make connections. If you are meeting people you don’t know or only casually know, then make sure you can articulate what you want, but don’t sound like an elevator pitch (this sounds like you are desperate and just looking for any way to get out of your current situation, whatever that may be.) LinkedIn on your cell phone and business cards are still the best way to exchange information in today’s fast-paced world.

Be strategic but broad in your job search; and even if you aren’t searching for new job, certainly be open to new opportunities. Be realistic as well: don’t rely on other people to conduct your search for you; this includes paid services/professionals as well recruiters from agencies that represent you for either contract or full time positions.
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A lot of people look at obtaining professional certifications, either in their field or as a way of transitioning into a new field. There are a few exceptions, which I will mention in just a bit.

As a recruiter, I have a very pragmatic view of most professional certifications:

-If it is in your existing field you are paying to take a test saying you know how to do your job.
-A certification intending to help you move into a new field is nothing more than a passing grade in an elective class.

The truth is, THEORY and PRACTICE are vastly different things and for an experienced candidate (and I am speaking of workforce experience in this instance, not specific job-related skills), practical application will win out every time. And, depending on the actual certifications, may do more harm than good. For a certification to have any impact at all in terms of being an asset to your job search, it must be sponsored and administered by a professional organization that is recognized as a valuable market resource for the field; or, it must be something you need to become licensed to practice your occupation, such as a CPA. Usually the more valuable versions require a minimum amount of time actually practicing your profession before you can even apply to take the certification exam.

Some examples of relevant certifications:

-PHR – this is an extensive certification process requiring a minimum amount of HR experience and intensive testing. It is administered by the de facto international HR professional organization, the Society or Human Resources.

-PMI/PMP certification – Project Management certification by the Project Management Institute

MSCPx – Microsoft Certifications for a variety of technical disciplines.

CCP- Certified Compensation Professional

SixSigma if you are in manufacturing.

Some employers require specific certifications to even apply for a position, but most will look at a certification as a "nice to have" that will help make the decision between two or more relatively equal candidates.


Think very carefully before you pay money for a course to become certified in something for which you have no experience just because it sounds interesting or appealing. For example, there has been a surge in "life coaching" in the last decade or so. Life coaching is a nebulous field with absolutely no regulation or professional standards. (I personally would never consult a "life coach" that didn’t have a background in counseling of some sort.) Setting yourself up as qualified for something you are not can backfire and do more harm than good.
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A friend of mine recently asked me a question about going to a coding boot camp to change careers. He wanted to know if there really was a chance he would find a job after an intensive (usually 10-16 week) hands-on workshop setting. He does not have a college degree and currently works in IT (system administration). Some programs "guarantee" you a job at the end. Personally, I consider this false advertising. Unless the code camp itself can hire their graduates, this is a promise they cannot deliver. Here is a good <A HREF=" http://lifehacker.com/will-a-programming-boot-camp-help-me-get-a-coding-job-1695422265">article</A> that actually summarizes Code Bootcamps well.

I told him that it depends on the coding language/s he decides to pursue, what his existing background is, and what he wants to do when he finishes. In my experience, the most successful graduates of such a program already have some sort of professional technology background (which he does), and I have observed that web development has an easier time than someone trying to learn back-end or middle tier programming language. In addition, if he decides to follow this path, he would be better served to start identifying companies that would interest him and hit LinkedIn for networking purposes; managers are his best bet. I also suggested he target small, startup companies as often they have more flexibility and cultural bias to hire someone thinking "outside of the box." Larger companies may seem more attractive due to their stability, but the larger the company the more rigid and restrictive their hiring practices are, generally as it relates to government compliance issues and reporting on their hiring practices.

To help him start his search, I suggested he look up VC’s (Venture Capitalists) and start targeting their portfolio pages and to hit the local tech news site that has a list of startups on it. He lives in a tech-centric area, so it should not be too difficult. Another way to start off a new career would be to work with some temporary placement agencies (Robert Half IT, Volt, etc.) It is also a good idea to start playing in coding sandboxes like Github or StackOverflow where you can do actual work alongside other people, which is priceless when looking for a new job; put your profile link on your resume right next to your contact information and LinkedIn URL.

Keep in mind that jump starting your career with an intensive training program may also mean you will take a salary hit for the first year or two, depending on where you live/work and what your coding portfolio looks like. You are (probably) leaving a job where you had gained some level of seniority and are now starting as an entry-level employee. You may expect your lifetime earnings to increase dramatically, but like any new graduate, you are going to be at the beginning stages of "proving" yourself for about 12-24 months.

This topic seems to create a disconnect between candidates and recruiting/HR professionals when it comes time to apply for a job and consider "qualified" applicants. There are a few different reasons it is important for candidates to understand how "experience" is evaluated by a recruiter. The single most important thing for any candidate to understand is that in the recruiting world "experience" relates to *the specific job requirements and not total years in the work force.* (This is one reason why job seekers rarely need to go back more than 10 years on their resumes.) Please note that from the recruiting perspective "requirements" is just that…you must possess these attributes to be considered for the role.

As collegiates (both bachelor’s and graduate level) start trying to line up their jobs, they start applying to a variety of positions. If they are foreign students looking for a US company to eventually offer them an H1-B/Green Card, it becomes even more critical that they understand how recruiting defines and evaluates "experience" when it comes to jobs, leveling, and titles.

The most important thing to understand is that a new grad with no *professional work history* will most likely never be considered for a mid-level (or higher) job. There is a specific recruiting specialty title called a Campus Recruiter (not to be confused with a "college" or "university" recruiter – this is a position within higher education that recruits STUDENTS to the school). Campus recruiters generally hire interns and new graduates; most large companies have at least one person that works directly with college/university students. They focus on candidates that don’t have much in the way of professional experience (excepting perhaps internships.) It is very important for students to understand that the recruiting and interview process is different for an industry candidate (a year or more of solid professional experience) than it is for a student. There are levels of evaluation in an industry interview that touch upon how a candidate has done things in a professional setting. Scholastic projects, short internships, even monetized personal projects aren’t going to be relevant. For graduate students, the line may be a bit blurrier based on TA, Fellowships, and research projects and will depend on the individual.

There is also the fact that companies have several different layers of legal requirements for the Federal Government that often dictate how we define various levels of experience. (One of them is USCIS.) Legally, an employer may not be *able* to consider an entry level candidate for a job requiring several years of industry experience.

What about those professionals without a degree looking to move or graduate students with a work history that have gone back to school to pursue a new line of work? The key here in the job *requirements* are the magic words "or equivalent." For those without a degree, a very conservative formula is 2-3 years of experience that would give you the same knowledge as attending collegiate classes. Experience gained may be paid, project, or volunteer.

Things to consider if you are trying to figure out equivalencies:

‘ Is the experience you are trying to leverage recent and up to date? It should be skills you are using often, regularly, and you should be an "advanced" practitioner of the skill for it to be considered relevant. If it is out of date, chances are you will not be considered for the position. Most employers are looking to fill jobs reactively, (not proactively) which means they aren’t going to be taking time to give you a refresher on outdated skills.

‘ Do you have enough breadth and depth of experience to be able to handle variances or odd situations that might crop up while using the skill? These are the types of questions that may come up in an interview for someone that doesn’t have the educational foundation to draw upon.

‘ Does your resume adequately show your history practicing the skills that are relevant to the position? Especially in cases of equivalency, you will need to be much more detailed in your past history to show that you actually *do* have the relevant skills. You will need to do that by putting more detailed project work under your job headings to show that you have done what they are asking for. *DO NOT USE A FUNCTIONAL RESUME* if you are doing this. A reverse chronologic format is going to be the way you make the connection between your recent employment and the needs of the employer.

Although many candidates feel it is unfair or even discriminatory to require degrees for certain jobs, the reasons a company may do so most likely have a grounding in legal issues. Looking at smaller companies where there is more room to grow is one viable option in these cases. Just because a company is small don’t overlook the potential to make a huge impact.

Finally, if you have not finished or obtained a degree and it is barring you professionally, it may be time to consider getting that degree. With online options and a plethora of accredited schools offering flexible learning and credit or "real life" or professional experience, it may be worth re-exploring.

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One of my recent resume clients has completed interviews at his local target company. Two different rounds, and now they want to schedule a third round of interviews. It’s been quite a while since he has been in the job market and the lengthy process is frustrating for a number reasons. He gets stoked each time he finishes the interview loop but then wound up when they tell him they have another round.

My last three jobs have all entailed at least two separate days of interviews with multiple people. People always ask me why the organization is scheduling multiple days of interviews. Believe it or not, it is considered a better candidate experience to spread interviews over a couple of different days than try and have a 3 hour break in the middle. Here are some of the reasons:

‘ It takes 1-2 hours to schedule a short interview loop (2-3 people). Keep in mind that everyone on the loop has busy schedules (think about it, they are doing extra work which is why there is an opening in the first place!), and scheduling successive appointments is like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle. If people decline, or don’t respond you need to keep on them for their responses.

‘ If it is an urgent role to fill, the thought is get you in to see at least a few people rather than wait longer to try and piece together the schedule.
‘ At some businesses conference rooms are at a premium, and in an open concept office you only have a finite number of options for private conversations. Great for collaboration, poor for confidential or intense 1:1 meetings.

‘ Some highly collaborative businesses are looking more at your cultural fit than you skills; they may want you to meet with more people that you will interact with. This is especially true at startup (either early or late stage) companies. They tend to be more consensus driven than other companies.
‘ You may have impressed the team with your background and they have other opportunities they want to explore with you and people they didn’t realize they would need on the interview loop.
‘ There may be an industry conference, visiting executives/clients, or a product release that is tying up the schedules of one or more of the teams you need to meet with which causes a delay.
B />’ The higher up the management chain a decision maker is, the harder it is to get time blocked on their schedule. It isn’t that interviewing isn’t a priority, it’s that it is one of MANY priorities.

It may be difficult to remember, but when a company keeps bringing you *back* for interviews it is a very positive sign. It means that you are still in consideration and that you are consistently "wowing" them.

One of the first questions I ask candidates during an initial phone call is ‘why are you considering new opportunities?’ A significant portion of the time the answer is ‘a lack of growth opportunity at my current employer.’

Usually the two types of companies with the greatest career advancement opportunities are going to be quite large or quite small. If you are looking at making a change with an eye towards advancement opportunities, it is worth considering both of those options. It is relatively easy to learn if a large company promotes from within. Take a look on Glassdoor.com for reviews from current and former employees. It is also helpful to read news articles and press releases that reflect on corporate culture (remember the recent NY Times article about Amazon.com). If you do get hired at a large company, take time to look at the different departments and career paths that might be of interest to you, then seek out someone you admire and ask them if they are willing to be a mentor. If they say yes, make sure you have a good idea of what your own career goals are and ask them if they can help you learn what steps you need to take to prepare yourself to move into that sort of role, including internal contacts, projects that might be valuable to be part of (ie an assessment committee for workplace safety, a grant review committee if at a large company with a Foundation, or maybe putting together an after-work soccer team). Make the acquaintance of people that may have valuable contacts in departments/roles such as marketing, HR/recruiting, sales, helpdesk, and administrative assistants. Large companies offer valuable networking potential as well as role models and mentors.

Smaller companies may be a bit more difficult to suss out, but here is where LinkedIn can be a valuable tool. Research current employees of a company and see if they have held multiple positions with increasingly more responsible titles. For example, they started right out of school with an accounting degree in Accounts Receivable, then moved into a Staff Accounting role, then into a Sr. Accounting or Accounting Manager position. If someone’s titles are increasing every 18-24 months, it is a good indicator that the company moves people up in a timely manner.

Another advantage with smaller companies is the fact that you will probably be wearing more than one ‘hat’, which increases your learning potential and opportunities to shine. You may learn valuable new skills that complement existing training and experience to increase your marketability.

Stretch assignments are a great way to try new opportunities with you current employer. Talk to your manager about adding some duties to your regular workload. For example, if you are the company receptionist, ask if you can help the HR or recruiting department schedule training or interviews, or work with some of the Executive Assistants on travel arrangements. If you can consistently balance your regular workload with extra projects for a few months, that is a signal that you are ready to move on in your career. Some companies do have formal stretch programs or career ‘rotations’ where you can formally spend time in a new role exploring options. Check with your HR department to see if these exist.

One valuable way of increasing your marketability while you are at a potential standstill in your current company is to volunteer for a professional organization that can help you learn valuable skills and make industry connections. An example would be a friend that had a career in legal operations for over ten years, but who volunteered for a local music non-profit for three years as the Executive Director as well as managed an indie band part-time. After moving to NYC, she was looking for a new job but was trying to figure out how to include both aspects of her career interests to increase her marketability; my advice was to use two distinct resumes, one for each separate career track. She did that and ended up in a legal operations role and volunteering for a social justice non-profit that she is hoping to turn into a full time job eventually.

One of the largest ways to find opportunities is Volunteer Match, which is a national organization. Idealist has both volunteer opportunities and a job board. (Remember to focus your search on *professional* skills building opportunities for the immediate short term, versus feel-good championing causes that appeal to you long-term.) Volunteering has three advantages: you can gain marketable skills, make valuable contacts, and provide yourself with legitimate resume content to help steer your career in the direction you are hoping to go.

One of the first questions I ask candidates during an initial phone call is ‘why are you considering new opportunities?’ A significant portion of the time the answer is ‘a lack of growth opportunity at my current employer.’

To me this indicates a company either doesn’t have a viable career transition plan in place or that an employee has tried to expand his or her opportunities and has met with resistance. It is important to note that almost all medium to large employers have standard guidelines in place to qualify for internal promotions such as a specific amount of time in your current role and a minimum score on performance reviews. If I am considering an internal candidate for a role, I always check these two factors before even submitting a candidate to a hiring manager.

When I am considering a candidate for a role that is a career advancement for them, the most important factors for me are: do they have the requisite skills for the position, and does the candidate have enough demonstrated experience using those skills to justify a level change (i.e. from a ‘software engineer’ to a ‘senior software engineer’, or a ‘staff accountant’ to a ‘senior accountant.’) If a candidate has earned a certification or taken vocational training to enhance their skills, I am looking for academic/portfolio pieces that reflect the training they pursued; these need to be on their resume in detail and reflect actual work that the candidate expects to be doing with the new found skills. I prefer to see this sort of career enhancement on an internal rather than external candidate, because they can work with their current lead or manager on ‘stretch’ assignments that allow them to build relevant work experience immediately.

Stretch assignments are a great way to try new opportunities with you current employer. Talk to your manager about adding some duties to your regular workload. For example, if you are the company receptionist, ask if you can help the HR or recruiting department schedule training or interviews, or work with some of the Executive Assistants on travel arrangements. If you can consistently balance your regular workload with extra projects for a few months, that is a signal that you are ready to move on in your career. Some companies do have formal stretch programs or career ‘rotations’ where you can formally spend time in a new role exploring options. Check with your HR department to see if these exist.


I look for a progression of responsibility on a resume for a candidate looking to advance in their career. A year is about the minimum amount of time in a specific job to learn it. Eighteen months to two years is a preferable amount of time to learn and become proficient in a specific job. Volunteering is also a valid way to display skills, especially if they enhance your current career path. Teaching and writing are also a great way to display skills that may or may not be part of your ‘day’ job. Writing can include a blog that discusses the area you are hoping to move into regularly (including detailed examples of the topic and your opinion or ways you are using the information). If you are pursuing a tech career, Github projects are key.

An example would be a friend that had a career in legal operations for over ten years, but who volunteered for a local music non-profit for three years as the Executive Director as well as managed an indie band part-time. After moving to NYC, she was looking for a new job but was trying to figure out how to include both aspects of her career interests to increase her marketability; my advice was to use two distinct resumes, one for each separate career track. She did that and ended up in a legal operations role and volunteering for a social justice non-profit that she is hoping to turn into a full time job eventually.