Chapter 15 – Getting a Job

The income that your human capital can produce will depend on what you are able to earn in the job market. The job you get will depend in a large degree on your ability to navigate the job market to get jobs that you want.

The Job Search Process

The first step in getting a great job is to establish your life goals and financial goals. You can never know which job will be great for you if you don't know what you want from the job. The job must fit your life goals. Jobs that conflict with your basic life goals and priorities are not going to be satisfactory.

After you have identified a job or career that fits your life, you need to make sure you have developed the correct human capital for the job. What education or other skills are needed for your career plan? You should take advantage of as many opportunities you can to be competitive in the job market when you are building your human capital. These opportunities can take many forms, including conferences, internships, networking, student associations, practice interviews, and so on. These opportunities create forms of social and networking skills that are difficult to obtain in any other way and are enormously valuable.

Resume' and Cover Letter

Next you need to create a resume' and cover letter to send to potential employers. A resume' is a short document that describes your skills, education, and work history. Your resume' needs to be appropriate to the culture of the industry you have chosen. This will require you to do a little research. The best way to do this research is by simply talking to people in the industry. This is where going to professional conferences and completing internships can be very helpful. You can also ask your family and friends if they know anyone who works in the industry who might be willing to talk to you for a few minutes about the industry.

You should also be sure to research the specific company you are applying to. This research can help you decide if the company is a good fit for you, as well as give you an idea of what kind of person the company is looking to hire. Review both the job description and the company's mission statement. The mission statement will help you learn what kind of people the company likes to hire. If the mission sounds agreeable to you, then it might be a good company to work for.

A cover letter is very brief letter that you write to go with your resume'. The cover letter is your chance to speak directly to the person doing the hiring and tell them why you are a good candidate for the position. They tend to be very short - often a single paragraph. This means that you must write carefully to be sure to get the maximum value out of a small number of words.

Interview

The last step to getting a job offer is to interview for the position. Before you go to the interview, be sure to prepare answers to commonly asked interview questions. You should also do an internet search to make sure there’s nothing inappropriate, embarrassing, or otherwise detrimental about you online. Always dress appropriately for the interview, and be sure to practice your responses beforehand.

Your cover letter should be designed to encourage the reader to view your resume'. Your resume' conveys your ability to do the job. The interview shows how your personality and character might fit with the company and your coworkers.

Evaluating the Job

The primary goal of evaluating a job offer is to establish if job fits with you, your career path, and your life goals. This is far more than just deciding if the pay is sufficient. The job should first fit your life goals and priorities before salary becomes a question. Your evaluation of the job should be based on the following criteria:

1. Job content refers to the nature of what you will be doing each day. Are you capable of performing the tasks? Will the tasks be bothersome or enjoyable? Every job has tasks that are not enjoyable.

2. The working conditions refer to the people you will be working with, and the amenities, tools, and spaces where you will be working. You want to try to find a work environment that is healthy, safe, and comfortable, and co-workers that

3. The career path fit requires you to consider where this job might take you in the future and how it can get you to the lifestyle that you want.

4. Salary and other benefits should all be considered together as the total compensation package. Be careful to not let a high level of compensation fool you into taking a job that does not fit the other criteria listed here. A high salary rarely compensates for the misery of working for a company where you do not fit and are not happy.

Negotiation

Once you have decided that a job is a good fit for your life and career, it’s time to negotiate the job offer. You can anticipate what the salary conversation might be like by doing your homework in advance. Being prepared with a base salary and a feasible range of salaries at the appropriate time in the negotiation is key! There are many websites which can provide estimates of how much people with your skills and level of experience are earning.

The best time to negotiate your salary is right after they have expressed their interest in you. Trying to negotiate before this point is too early because you haven't convinced them of your value yet. If you wait to negotiate until after you have agreed to take the job, then you are already locked into the deal and have lost any leverage you might have had in the negotiation.

If you want to negotiate the job offer, you need to understand where there might be room for negotiation. Do your research and learn what is typical in the industry. Most people only consider the salary when they think about negotiation. However, the salary may not be negotiable at all!

There are other types of compensation and perks that can be much easier to negotiate than salary. For example, you might be able to negotiate a signing bonus or a mid-year bonus, an increase in vacation allowance, flexibility in the hours and location where you work, tuition and training funding, a car or computer or cell phone allowance, free parking, or possibly even professional membership fees.

Be sure to get everything in writing so that you are certain that no mistakes are made in your compensation package.

This is an excellent time to watch Lecture 10 from the course pack.

Definitions:

Career goal: desired result set for someone’s career path

Resume: a document used to present a person’s background or skills

Cover letter: a document submitted with a job application explaining the applicant’s credentials and interest in an open position

Compensation: payment received by an employee in the form of a salary or wages