What Job Seekers Should Keep Their Eyes Peeled For
This is Zoe Fulgencio’s second article written during her Spring 2024 Business Writing Internship with Sipley the Best. Zoe is a student at Crooms Academy who hopes to study graphic design in college and work in the field as an in-house graphic designer.
Are you a job seeker looking for a line of work that will jumpstart your career? The best way to hunt for a job is to first do your research and educate yourself on the company you are interested in applying to. A company’s position may seem like the best thing in the world from the outside; however, do not get enticed too quickly. When you look up the perks and pay offered, you may find the advertisements misleading. Don’t be fooled by the marketing schemes! Understanding the guidelines, culture, and values that the company has to offer is critical to establishing a strong spot for yourself in the workplace. There are many reasons why first-time applicants may want to just rush into a job. It could be to prove that they were successful in landing somewhere, urgently needing a place to work, or simply thinking they know the nature of the company and their expectations when they lack knowledge of what the business entails. The process of finding a job should not be a fleeting one and it should take time to review and consider all of your options. This includes negotiating when it comes to trying to reach an agreement with your employer about all the benefits the company is willing to provide you. Having negotiation skills will make you a happier and more well-rounded worker. The goal is for candidates to be able to pinpoint what to look for in a job. Job seekers should find quality opportunities with a company that will allow them to grow necessary skills as well as develop professionally, understand the positives that can come out of minimum-wage jobs, and acquire negotiating skills that will land them the fair pay or benefits desired.
Trying to Find the Right Job for You?
It is not surprising at all for job seekers to apply to several starter jobs that cater directly to customers. This includes being a barista at a coffee shop, working as a waitress in a restaurant, or even a cashier at the mall. These positions may seem great at first and some of your peers working these types may be content with them, but trying to find a professional and good quality job that best suits the serious career that you are trying to pursue is more important to look out for. Even if having a dedicated career was not your end goal, it's always better to do a lot of research on companies that intrigue you as well as fit your needs.
Tips For Searching Jobs That Satisfy You:
Know the exact role you play in the company and confirm that you are comfortable with the position. The last thing you need is to show up confused or clueless on the first day of work, not aware of what you got yourself into. How scary would that be! Always understand who you work for and how you contribute to the company. Validate that you meet the requirements so you can be sure that the job matches your given skills and experience. Never go into a job blindly; otherwise, you might soon feel miserable and regret the rash decision made because you did not research this business in advance.
Contact previous employees in that field who have had first experience with the job. Indeed and Glassdoor are great recruiting sites for reading reviews from prior or current employees in the workplace. Their perspectives are important so you get a clearer vision of what the job demands and expects from an incoming worker.
Most likely, the HR hiring manager will be your go-to if you have any questions about the company. Do not be afraid to ask; that is what they are here for. The most appropriate time to find answers is usually during a brief screening interview over the phone.
Know your strengths and weaknesses so you are aware of what makes you a worthy candidate and keep in mind what employers look out for when reviewing your profile.
There are so many opportunities for you to catch better jobs if you just cast the fishing line a little deeper and explore beyond shallow waters. You’d be surprised at how many interesting job leads you can find at job fairs, online, networking, and more - it will surprise you! It is crucial to learn new skills that improve your employability in the long term.
Minimum-Wage Jobs Aren’t All That Bad
It is easy to underestimate minimum-wage jobs, especially if you want to earn the most money possible. But minimum wage jobs can also provide a lot of benefits to its employees. It is important that you focus on the company’s values and cultures anytime you are looking at that job posting. A company’s standards are significant because they impact the interactions and style of work at the job. Even though some jobs may not necessarily pay what you expect, it will be a valuable use of your time if you center your attention on the perks of the job. It is not out of the ordinary for the benefits to end up outweighing the salaries.
Non-monetary benefits include:
Employee discounts
Salary increases
Paid time off (PTO)
Healthcare
Retirement accounts and pensions
Flexible working
Personal/professional growth opportunities
Wellness/training mentorship
Do you want to learn how to negotiate?
Are you ever in the situation where you feel like you deserve better earned rewards or gain a higher salary? As a candidate trying to apply for a job, it would be wise to be upfront with in negotiations. In times of complacency and just wanting to feel accepted, it can be intimidating to try to come to terms with monetary as well as non-monetary benefits that you feel are right for the position you're working for and the value you bring to the company. But remember that it will all be worth it in the end; you’ll be getting better compensation for your time by speaking up to the business’s HR professionals.
Steps To Reaching An Agreement For Higher Salary:
Be aware of what makes you stand out compared to everyone else. A recruiter will notice if you have more skills and talents than the bare minimum required on your job profile. Employers may offer greater flexibility towards your asking price.
Do the research! You can find tons of useful information online that will give you salary ranges that fall within your line of work. Make sure you know your stuff before setting yourself up for job interviews. Your employers are going to want to get a feel for you, if you start to ask about unrealistic salaries then that is indicating a huge red flag. You want to represent yourself as an educated and professional individual who has a good idea about the direction that the company wants to head in and the part you would play; you won’t get hired if you are oblivious to the qualifications of the job but expect a high salary. The salary that you desire should be appropriate to the position you applied for. Reasonable requests for higher wages are normally taken into consideration either when a company needs specific expertise in an area or are blown away by the additional qualified skills a candidate may hold. In fact, negotiating salary is an important part of the hiring process, and according to Career Builder, “73% of employers in the United States expect candidates to negotiate salary on an initial job offer” (Overvest).
Negotiation strategies are vital to settle for something that both you and the business can agree on. Having the upper hand in a meeting with your recruiter can get you a higher salary, especially if you say something like, “I had many job offers from different companies that I would use to negotiate salaries. This company offered me a higher salary than what you are currently giving me, can you offer an equivalent compensation package?”
An appropriate time to bring up salary is near the end of the interview when the recruiter shifts to the next steps in the hiring process. You can start by saying, “Are you able to give me an idea on where your head is at regarding salary range for the position, just to confirm that we agree on the same thing?” Asking too early gives off a bad impression to the company; they may assume that you are only in it for the money and don’t care about anything else.
Making the first offer is the best way to tip the balance in your favor sooner. Companies may feel that you don’t actually need that much money and will want to decrease the salary range if they start with the offer. This can end up putting you in a challenging situation as you try to reach for a salary that you would be happier with. Put all emotions aside and take a deep breath before you begin the meeting. You do not want to be rejected because you were screaming at the recruiter about the salary.
Establish a salary that you find unacceptable and know what won’t work for you. Know your worth and be confident in who you are as you present yourself. Don’t forget that you are an important factor in this too, so you should be able to advocate for what feels right in your job position. Raising the bar to higher standards for your position can lead a company to feel pressured to raise the offer, afraid they could miss out on a golden opportunity with you. Not complying to the bare minimums of a company shows them that you are serious about your work and confident that you are a high-value employee.
Lastly, feel free to incorporate fun negotiation practices. Ask someone you know to role-play a hiring manager with you as the job seeker looking for a higher salary. Prepare the speech that you are going to give and try to be convincing enough that the hiring manager will consider increasing the original offer.
At the end of the day, it boils down to having strong reassurance in knowing the spot you would fill. It is not always a promise that you will land a job with the salary you wished for all the time, but it definitely helps to appeal to the hiring team at the company and get them to see the experience that you bring to the table. There are instances where your desired salary may not match the value that the company had in mind; in this case, it's better to find work elsewhere than force yourself to be stuck with miserable pay that you know is not right.
References
Lloyd, Robin. “Are Attractive Minimum-Wage Jobs Realistic? : Allevity.” Www.allevity.com, 28 Feb. 2023, www.allevity.com/blog/how-to-frame-minimum-wage-jobs/. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024. https://www.allevity.com/blog/how-to-frame-minimum-wage-jobs/
“Rushing into a New Job without Proper Preparation Can Lead to a Rough Landing.” Www.linkedin.com,www.linkedin.com/pulse/rushing-new-job-without-proper-preparation-can-lead-rough?trk=public_post. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rushing-new-job-without-proper-preparation-can-lead-rough?trk=public_post
Indeed Editorial Team. “4 Types of Negotiation (with Tips and Examples).” Indeed Career Guide, 9 June 2023. www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-negotiation.
Overvest, Marijn. “Salary Negotiation Statistics 2024 — 20 Key Figures.” Procurement Tactics, 1 Nov. 2022. procurementtactics.com/salary-negotiation-statistics/#:~:text=4.
Quast, Lisa. “Job Seekers: 8 Tips to Negotiate Your Starting Salary.” Forbes, 31 Mar. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2014/03/31/job-seekers-8-tips-to-negotiate-your-starting-salary/?sh=8d6ce4a3d4a0. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2014/03/31/job-seekers-8-tips-to-negotiate-your-starting-salary/
