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Monday, November 30, 2015

Salary Negotiation and Handling Job Offers

There is always a lot to consider when you decide to embark on a new opportunity. Around this time of year, many of you are interacting with employers, starting to receive offers for full-time jobs, internships, co-ops, and are finding yourselves having to make decisions on WHICH TO CHOOSE.

The following are issues to consider…

Business Communication


  • How has your experience been interacting with the recruiter?
  • What are good questions to ask when you are trying to make a decision?
  • How do you respond to an offer letter?
  • What parts go into this personal evaluation?



Evaluating the Offer

Negotiation


  • Is this even an option for the company I am interacting with?
  • Outside of salary, what else can I negotiate?

Accepting and Declining Offers

  • How do I this both professionally and timely?


To answer those critical concerns….

How has your experience been interacting with the recruiter?

Maintaining open communication with employers is crucial to making a well-informed opinion. Be sure to stay positive, professional, polite, humble, clear, direct, and easy to reach. Never complain, assume, or brag.

What are good questions to ask when you are trying to make a decision?

Ask questions and take notes as you receive answers! You are going to want to know about expense accounts, amount of travel, opportunities for advancement within the company, what your work hours are going to be, who you are going to be working with, insurance package and benefits, moving allowances, and retirement benefits.

Other questions some students forget to ask, but are equally as important are about vacation and sick time, dress code, start dates, frequency of pay, and how pay is evaluated (salary, hourly, commission?)

How do you respond to an offer letter?

An offer letter is a formal agreement that officiates the offer the company is giving you. It also describes the position you will be taking, and other pay and date specifics.

When you receive one, be sure to do the following things. Ask for time to think about whether or not you want to accept, set a date to decide that the employer is comfortable with, thank them for the offer immediately, and start the evaluation process!

What parts go into this personal evaluation?

Consider what is important to you. Think about how you want to spend work and personal time, is this job a good match for your skills and interests, does the company have similar values to your own? Map out the company’s logistics:

  • Size of the company, hours, pay, location, benefits, opportunity for advancement
  • Do these details align with your personal preferences and career plan?


Is salary negotiation even an option for the company I am interacting with?

This does not mean you look greedy! There is a very appropriate way to handle part of your career decision. Do keep in mind most companies do NOT actually do salary negotiation. But if they do allow it, be sure to research what an appropriate number would be for the position you intend to take.

It is very important that you are never the first person to even mention salary when communicating in the hiring process!

When the employer does bring it up, you will have an idea of what you want to say. You can use salary negotiating calculators online. Here is an example of one that considers location of the job: http://www.salaryexpert.com/

Outside of salary, what else can I negotiate?

You can negotiate things such as time off, re-location expenses, your start date, and much more.
Here are some more sites that are used for calculating appropriate salaries:



How do I do accept and decline offers both professionally and timely?

When declining the offer, do not feel bad! Remember, this is a business decision. Be sure to thank them for the offer, give an idea as to why you are declining, do it over the phone, and do not delay the time that you decide to decline. Be aware of not burning a bridge with these companies. At the time that you are declining, they may not be the best fit; however, you never know what the future holds for your career.

When accepting the offer, you want to do some similar things…minus the rejection! Be sure to accept over a phone call, thank them for the offer, indicate why you wanted to choose them, and follow up about officiating the acceptance.

From there, you will likely follow company protocol as to how to really get started. Be prepared for talking start dates, background and drug checks, and things to do for that first day of work!

Lastly, always remember to congratulate yourself on a job well done! You are officially on your way to a career path.


For a quick reference to answer some more FAQ’s about salary negotiation and making career decisions, visit the Virginia Tech Career Services site: https://www.career.vt.edu/JobSearchGuide/SalaryQuestionsNegotiating.html

Got Experience?

While summer and winter breaks are a great time for students to take a break from school, they are also a wonderful opportunity to experience work in the real world. Whether it be through a part-time job, co-op, or internship; employers are consistently looking for work and relevant experience on a student’s resume.


When is a good time to start? As soon as you can!
It is never too early to start gaining experience in your field of interest. However, it is important for juniors and seniors to actively look for these experiences, as they are entering the work force much quicker than underclassmen.

So what kind of experience should you be utilizing over breaks?
As you can see in the visual above, many students attain work experience through paid internships, volunteer work, field study, part-time jobs, and much more. The important thing to keep in mind when attaining these positions, is to keep your options open.

Your odds at getting offered an opportunity are typically better when you have numbers on your side. So do a little research…or a lot of research. Last summer, I applied to over 40 internship positions. I believe I received feedback from half of them, interviews from a quarter, and then offers from 4 of them. Prioritize your needs in an internship or related experience and apply to everything that qualifies under that. Think about your availability, compensation needs, the type of technical skills you would like to learn, and location of the opportunity. Maintain open communication with employers you are contacting about certain positions. Even if they can’t take you for an immediate break period, they may be able to in the future.

Why is it important to work over break?
While your degree and classwork is very important to whatever career you decide to pursue, it is not solely reflective of your work capabilities. Classes are great for theorizing, disciplining yourself, time management, and providing background knowledge in a field. However, actual work provides specific technical skills, meaning behind why you are doing the things you are doing, and a background knowledge on what’s it’s like to work in the real world.

In addition, working over break provides employers with insight about your work character. Seeing that you didn’t just take the break time to watch TV and sleep shows your commitment to jump start a career. Working over break periods are a great opportunity for you to become a competitive candidate for a job. They also provide you with insight about the type of worker you are. You may enjoy multi-tasking or just working at one project at a time. You may enjoy working at a computer all day or more travelling. These kinds of preferences can only be discovered through implementation. If you can learn these things about yourself sooner, rather than later, then you will be saving yourself a lot of time and money when you enter the real world.

So where should I look for internship and job opportunities?
Part of your tuition pays for job searching resources. With that being said, you may as well take advantage of them!

Be sure to create profiles on these sites and begin your searches here!

In addition to the above resources, other sites to visit include:



To find out more about how to attain experiences, start with this site: http://www.career.vt.edu/Experience.html

Monday, November 9, 2015

LinkedIn and Networking: An Overview


The top piece of advice I have gotten from mentors, bosses, and teachers is that networking and maintaining relationships with potential employers is the best way to find a job.

It is common sense really. If you know someone who is within a related field to your own, he/she is more likely to think of your name first when it comes to fulfilling a position. But how do you become a good networker?

There are many opportunities for networking, both online and in-person.

As we live in a digital world, an online presence is very important.

                          

LinkedIn is a great place to present yourself professionally, as well connect with potential employers and mentors.

How do you go about creating a strong LinkedIn account?


Try to think of your LinkedIn account as an elaborate version of your resume.

There are several things you are almost always going to want to include:

    • Your name with a headline about what you are currently doing and what you are seeking (think of it as a professional slogan).
    • A headshot of yourself wearing professional clothes, doesn’t have other people in it, and is high-quality.
    •  Education that reflects the degree you are pursuing/have attained, what school you are attending/attended, any minors you have, honors, awards, a competitive GPA, and other relevant academic information.
    • A professional summary that explains more in-depth information about what you are doing and what you would like to be doing. These brief paragraphs qualify your skills and goals for the future.
    • Work experience that includes a position title, company name, location, dates of employment, and a description about technical skills you picked up and/or major projects you participate in within this job.
    • Any other Skills or projects you have participated in that gave you technical abilities. This could include class projects, skills you picked up on your own time. Be sure to include the most relevant information you can about your professional experiences.
    • Be sure to include your contact information and the best way to reach you by. 
    • LinkedIn also has a space to mention your interests, and birthday. Definitely utilize those sections to talk about your extracurricular activities, school clubs, and any hobbies you have.
      • Obviously these aren’t the most professional parts, so don’t exhaust this section. However, it can be a great way to really personalize your LinkedIn account.
For more information on tips for students developing a LinkedIn account, check out this site: https://university.linkedin.com/linkedin-for-students

What about networking outside of LinkedIn?



Career Services has some great tips on the importance of networking. To read about the different types and why it is so essential, check out this site: https://www.career.vt.edu/JobSearchGuide/Networking.html

In short, here are some things to know about networking:


    • It begins with just talking to people. Talk to: Professors, colleagues, neighbors, bosses, and life mentors, parents’ friends…
    • People in your major are probably going to be the most relevant people to talk to in networking situations. Be sure to foster relationships with the people you respect in your field.
    • Maintaining these relationships with those you meet in your field, your major, or your jobs is the most effective way to network. Not only have you made initial contact, but the people you are networking with can speak on behalf of your skills.
    • Networking should be so common to you that you no longer necessarily think of it as networking…you should think of it as connecting with people and maintaining relationships.
    • Forbes is an excellent resource for professional advice. 

Always remember in your networking goals to maintain a professional appearance, make contact often, and be open to new opportunities.







Friday, November 6, 2015

Welcome to blogger, Olivia Brescia



This semester, Olivia Brescia is writing for my Career Chasse blog, as well as developing new ideas to promote the Virginia Tech Job Searching portal, Hokies4Hire. A senior majoring in Public Relations with minors in Psychology and Leadership and Social Change, Olivia enjoys running, painting, spending time with her family and friends, and eating in her free time. She loves working at both her jobs at Career Services and her Marketing internship at Polymer Solutions Incorporated. Both opportunities embrace her passion for meeting and helping new people, writing, and creativity. 

Thank you, Olivia, for sharing your insights on so many different topics with readers.