How to Determine the Right Salary For You
Dec 13, 2009 Interviews and Hiring
When entering the job market, you should do your homework and get to know what the salary ranges are for the industry and positions you are looking for. More important, however, is to figure out your own salary range. You should also know your bare minimum salary: the figure that you will never reveal to an employer and is what you could live with (barely!) This bottom rung salary would allow you to cover the basics of food, clothing, shelter, transportation and communication plus some (in an ideal world about $5K). Knowing what you can live with will take some of the tension out of the negotiation process. You can still shoot for the stars, but you have a piece of information the employer doesn’t know: the figure you will not go below.
Remember, we are not talking about the drastically reduced budget you are living on as you search for a job. Rather, this is the amount that will allow you to take a breath after you have been hired and work for a while until you are ready for something better.
Below is a list of things to get you started on thinking about your bare minimum needs. Figure out how much you need for each item on a monthly basis then multiply by 12 to get your cost per year. Add everything together to get your minimum annual salary (Don’t forget to add a cushion!)
Food
Rent/Mortgage
Gas, Electricity, Water
Clothing and Grooming/Toiletries
Transportation
Car expenses
Telephone, mobile phone, internet
Credit cards/lines of credit
Loans
Taxes (other than payroll)
Books, Magazines, Newspapers
Working Expenses
Insurance
Vacation
Household (Furnishings, Repair)
Contributions
Alimony, Child Support
Medical Expenses
Education Expenses
Gifts
Entertainment
Other Family Expenses or Support
Tags: compensation, expenses, pay, payroll, salary, salary negotiation
How to Use the Little Red Book of Sales Answers in Your Job Search
Jul 20, 2009 Product and Site Reviews
In the past when I’ve had a tough time in the job search, I’ve found inspiration and brilliant ideas looking at the techniques from other professions. For example, you can get good ideas for your cover letters and resumes by looking at the examples of top copywriters, whose whole profession is to create written materials that sell. In fact, when you are in the job market, a big part of what you are doing is selling yourself. The things is, how do you go about it? Are you marketing yourself like a cheap informercial product or useless products that people have to be heavily convinced or even tricked to buy? Or, knowing that you are a skilled, exceptional, highly competent and dedicated worker that any employer would be lucky to have, are you putting your best foot forward so that when hiring managers and decision makers come across you or your materials they are already sold? Which seems like the better strategy? The latter course is a no brainer. The problem is that a lot of job search books re-hash the same old advice (albeit in increasingly creative ways) about resumes and cover letters, the importance of networking, etc. But just how do you do these things effectively, especially the cold calling and networking that will uncover those “hidden” jobs that successful jobseekers know and use to their advantage so well?
How about going with what works in another field, say, the world of sales. Sales professionals who make commissions for a living have to know what they are doing or they starve. In fact, sales is the kind of cut throat field that weeds out the poor performers really quickly, letting the best rise to the top and make lots of money. In a down economy like we are currently experiencing, those good in sales are still making a financial killing. (Their savings and assets may have taken a hit, though, like the rest of us. But they are in a better position to rebuild.)
Every commercial industry is engaged in some form of selling–either retail products to consumers, financial or insurance services, or business to business sales (e.g. supplies for a hospital or office), and so forth. One bestselling tool used by top sellers is the The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer. In this book, and his other titles, like the Little Red Book of Sales Answers and Little Red Book of Selling, he uses plain talk to make the psychology of sales accessible and easy to understand with checlists, cartoons, bulleted lists, and so forth. That’s why I think it makes a useful tool for jobseekers, as the tips can be easily translated to how to succeed in the job search. For example, the Little Red Book of Sales Answers covers things like:
- asking for appointments (same skill needed to set up informational interview–a part of networking)
- ask for the sale (why not ask for the job?)
- earn referrals (get other people to recommend you to future employers, something I cover in the free report on how to get employers to notice you)
- establishing rapport (kind of handy during interview, no?)
- overcoming price objections (name your salary and stick to it)
and so much more!
In fact, the subtitlte of the Little Red Book of Sales Answers is: “99.5 Real Life Answers that Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money.” Read more about these great books below and use top sales techniques to land your next job.
Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money (Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Books)
Price: $13.59
Pages: 208, Hardcover, FT Press
Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real Life Answers that Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money (VIDEOBOOK)
Price: $36.49
Edition: VB has 2DVDs, 1 DVD-ROM & 1MP3 CD, MP3 CD, Simon & Schuster Audio
The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource, New Edition
Price: $19.77
Pages: 304, Edition: Revised, Hardcover, Collins Business
Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
Price: $13.57
Pages: 220, Edition: 1st, Hardcover, Bard Press
Tags: book, career, guidance, interview, networking, salary, sales, selling, social
Surviving the recession
Jun 1, 2009 News and Trends
Economists are currently debating whether or not the recession is officially over. However, if you are among the millions who have recently been laid off or soon will be in the midst of a job search during these touch economic times, the recession is all too real when it comes to finding a job.
On this website, you will find the job search resources to make the most out of your background to generate interviews and secure job offers. However, there can be times when even the best job search material makeover and preparation can still leave you with too few prospects. If you have used the resources on this site and have done everything you can to create incredible job search marketing materials that should keep your phone ringing with interview requests and job offers and you feel that you are still not getting enough response in your current field or you are unemployed and looking for a career change, now could be the time to go back to school, get training and a degree or certification for a new career.
Even when the economy is slowing down, some fields and skill sets will always be in demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released projected growth sectors through 2014 and a few careers really stand out in terms of projected demand and salary growth.
High Paying Careers
There is still a high demand for workers in computers, education, health, law, accounting and insurance. For example, US Department of Labor, CNN Money.com and other sources have found that postsecondary teachers and researchers who specialize in math or related, applied subjects, economics, psychology, and languages earn over $100,000 a year. Other high-paying careers include therapists and medical assistants (particularly home health aides), lawyers and paralegals, computer engineers and analysts, as well as insurance actuaries.
A big part of a successful job search is making your credentials are as good as they can be. Always be sure to brush up and stay up to date on your skills, industry trends, new software or procedures and processes. Seek out job training, certification or degree programs if needed. Now could be a great time.
Tags: career, education, job search, pay, recession, salary, training
