5 Things You Need to Decide When You Get Started
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
There are few things more frustrating for a headhunter than asking a person basic questions that revolve around what you as a job hunter are looking for in a job and being given uncertain answers. I’m not talking about salary; that’s a question where a wise person states a target objective and is flexible enough to let the market decide their value.
I’m speaking about these basic questions:
- What is your current compensation? The three wrong answers are: (1) a lie (A lie will be found out generally after you’re hired. You know what happens then. While you’re out to lunch or have gone home one day, your ability to log in will be terminated and security will be waiting for you at your desk with your personal items packed to escort you from the premises). (2) I won’t tell you (This reveals that your salary is much lower than the amount advertised and that you are seeking a big bump). (3) Do you really need to know that (Yes. I do because my client will want to know. They will ask it on their form. Many companies will terminate an interview for refusing to answer)? (1a) For parts of the US where it is illegal to ask about your current salary, they will ask about the salary you are looking for if they hire you. You can answer them and find out that the demands of the job are far greater or less than what you expect. You’ve overshot or undershot what you should have answered. (1b)Better to defer and deflect since it is the recruiter who is asking you at the beginning of the interview before you have spoken to anyone. How? “It’s hard for me to answer since I’ve only seen a job description (or spoken with the agency recruiter or seen an ad). I haven’t met my future boss, confirmed what I saw (or was told) was accurate, met my future colleagues or have a sense of what expectations will be. Can we circle back to that later? By the way, what’s the salary range for the position? If they pressure you, answer by saying, “I can tell you a number at the high end the range but I want to be clear–I am not commiting to any figure until I have more information. I may want less or more once I know more.”
- Geographically, what’s acceptable to you? Some people are willing to drive more than others. Some people must follow mass transit routes. Some people are willing to relocate at a company’s expense or are willing to relocate on their own for the right opportunity. Think about it.
- What’s not working for you that is prompting you to want to look for another job? Most of the time, money is not the only factor. Be prepared to discuss your reasons maturely. An immature answer would be, “I hate my job,” or “My boss is an idiot.” Instead, try this one—“I would like to leave consulting and move to industry so that I can avoid the heavy travel that is keeping me away from my family too much.”
- What are you looking for in a new position? Nine times out of ten, people don’t think of this when they speak to me. What am I supposed to do? Guess? “I know it when I see it” isn’t helpful either.
- What was the corporate culture like that you were working in? Did you like it? What did you like about it? What didn’t you care for? Let me know if I should replicate your current work environment in your next firm with more money and more interesting work . . . or not!
Take some time before interviewing to decide what is important to you in the next job or organization and you will find that your interviews will be better . . . and so will your results!
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2010, 2016, 2023
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ careers easier. Those
things can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2600 episodes.
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