When an Employer Demands Salary Expectations
We’ve all seen job postings that state: applicants must include salary expectations to be given serious consideration.
In this tight job market, it’s enough to make even the best candidate panic. You know what you’re worth. You know what your current job pays or what you received at your last position, and you certainly don’t want to dip too far below that. However, you’re also concerned that if you set your expectations too high, you won’t be called in to interview.
What do you do?
There are three possibilities, depending upon your unique situation:
1. Your industry is healthy and is hiring. You know your worth and demand the same or better as you received at your current or previous job. In this scenario, you would clearly state what your salary expectations are. Something like: ‘I’m seeking $100,000 annually.’
2. Your industry is still hiring, but its health is shaky. You’re concerned you may price yourself out of the market. Therefore, you want to take a less aggressive approach than #1 and write something like: ‘Seeking compensation between $55,000-70,000 annually.’ That way, you’re giving the company wiggle room.
3. You’re desperate for a position – any position. You’ve been unemployed for too long or you can see the end coming at your current job. For those of you who fit these criteria, you’d write: ‘Salary open.’ If you’re afraid that won’t fly and the hiring manager will demand a stated number, research compensation for your industry/position in your geographic area and either choose the middle figure or the lowest one.
Salary expectation is simply one hurdle that you’ll have to move past in your quest for an interview. Understanding how important the job is to you and the reality of your economic situation, will allow you to choose the correct approach.
Hate Your Job?
But you’re afraid to start looking for a new one given the poor hiring pace?
The thing to do if you’re getting burned out at your current position is to start making moves, no matter how small, toward a new one. And that means being prepared.
First, you need to look at the opportunities in your industry or those that you can transition to if your type of job is being outsourced or downsized. With that information, you need to take a hard look at your resume. How long has it been since you’ve updated it? A year? Two? Three? More?
Even if it’s been no more than six months, you need to add the ‘wow’ factor to your resume so that new employers take notice.
What is the ‘wow’ factor?
1. A qualifications summary that tells the hiring manager instantly how you’re the perfect candidate for that particular position. No generic, one-size-fits all data will do here. You need to dovetail whatever it is you do to precisely what the employer wants.
2. A strong career accomplishments section with quantified data. It’s not enough to boast that you’re a hard worker and you’ve never missed a day on the job. That’s what your boss expects. You need to go beyond that to how you either made your company money or saved it money. Include dollar figures or percentages and time periods. If you made a million dollars for your company over a 10-year period, it doesn’t have as much weight or ‘wow’ as if you did the same thing within eight months of hire.
3. A professional experience section that includes only that information pertinent to the job you’re seeking. Perhaps you’ve seesawed between accounting and retail management. If you’re going back to accounting, don’t showcase the retail management experience. Remember, the employer is looking for someone who’s a perfect fit.
It’s never too soon for you to look for your next opportunity. Polish your resume, give it the ‘wow’ factor and make certain it showcases you as the ideal candidate.
That way if you’re unhappy at your current position, you’ll be able to send your resume out to new companies immediately.
Lying on Your Resume
A recent episode of USA’s “Suits” explored what happens when someone lies on a resume and is caught years later.
The individual in question claimed to have graduated from college and attained his CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation. The truth was, he hadn’t graduated and he wasn’t a CPA. That didn’t mean his work was lacking. In fact, it was stellar.
Didn’t matter. By lying about such critical data, he exposed the firms whose accounts he audited to possible lawsuits.
That episode clearly showed what happens when you play with the truth on your resume. The individual lost his job and it didn’t look like he’d been working anywhere else as an accountant anytime soon.
So, is it worth it to fudge even a little on your resume?
No, it’s not. Even if you’re not caught immediately, the lies told will always hang over you like a cloud. Worse, they could expose you to legal action if your position involves critical or sensitive information.
Today, most employers do background checks to determine if a degree was earned or a certification attained. Once they catch you in a lie, you can forget about ever working for them. If it’s a small, tight-knit industry, you won’t be welcome at any of the other businesses either.
A resume isn’t a lie-detector test. You don’t have to put every bad incident from your past on it to prove veracity. However, you shouldn’t embellish or rely on falsehoods to get the interview or the job.
If you do, someday you may regret it.
Using Social Media to Find Your Next Job
We all know it’s a poor economy for jobseekers. We also know that sending out hundreds of resumes in response to every opportunity doesn’t generally produce great results.
So what’s the secret to landing your next position or getting back in the work force?
Although there’s no one certain way for a candidate to gain that all-important interview, being visible to prospective employers and colleagues in your industry is always a plus.
Sites such as LinkedIn and BranchOut have added a new dimension to networking and the job search. On these sites and others, you’ll see individual profiles that look a lot like resumes. They have a qualifications summary, skills section, work experience and academic data.
And there are scores of individuals visiting these sites daily. Some may be seeking to connect with individuals they once worked with. Perhaps they attended the same school. Others, such as recruiters, might very well be looking for the ideal candidate for an open position that isn’t being advertised.
Think of the connections you can make on sites such as these, in addition to sending your resume out to published ads.
Knowing the importance of networking at all career levels, ResumeEdge is now offering a Social Media Profile Development that can be used on social networking sites such as BranchOut, LinkedIn and others.
Our professional team of certified editors knows the ins-and-outs of social media and how to capture a reader’s attention whether that individual is a recruiter, hiring manager or former colleague.
Today’s job search is complex. Why not use social media to your advantage and get your ‘brand’ out to those who can help you reach your dream job.
