The infamous post-college (entry-level) job search - need help

[Double J]

Hello,

 

I'll be graduating in a few weeks and have begun searching for that elusive entry level job. I've received four replies thus far: two from tiny companies (I'm trying to stay away from very small companies, as I'm searching for large stable ones), and two from universities.

 

The first official "offer" has been put forth by one of the universities. A few weeks before the interview, the lady gave me a pre-screening over the phone and requested a range. It caught me off guard, and I basically blurted out "30 to 40K." In retrospect, I wish I would have said "35-40K," because my desired pay truly falls within that range. I wanted to give her a broader one in case another applicant would be content with something in the low 30's. I spent a few days ruminating over this and feared she'd offer something smack in the middle. That's exactly what she did (35K).

 

I tried negotating for something higher after the interview, but due to my limited experience (2 years), I don't have much room to negotiate. It seems to me like this place cares a lot more about the experience than the degree. The ad, to begin with, said that the degree was preferred but not required (this in itself might be a reason for their not offering as much as I'd like). They also said that they weigh the experience in their own way (they only consider two years of part-time experience as one year of full-time experience or something like that). What do they expect? I've been a full-time student through college.

 

Another issue with this job is that my girlfriend's brother happens to work at this company. He wouldn't be working in my department, but he's responsible for payroll, which means he'd know how much I'll be earning. Quite frankly, I don't think that's anyone's business and the thought of it makes me a bit uneasy. I also don't like working at places where someone already knows me, because it opens the door to potential conflicts of interest.

 

As you can probably guess, I don't want to accept this job anytime soon. Even the lady suggested that I go on other interviews to see where I think I'd fit best. I have until before Christmas to decide. I've applied to over 20 places and hope to get more responses within the next two weeks. I think I won't be getting the other university job because the interview lasted only 5 minutes (they probably already have someone else in mind). Again, I think I may have screwed up by giving her such a wide salary range. Maybe if I had said 35-40 she'd be offering 37.

 

Any pointers and suggestions welcome. Thanks.

[boo121]

Go out and have a look at more jobs, see what you can find, obviously you don't have to settle on the first place you get!

 

If you get a question like that and you are put on the spot, ask a question back. If asked the question "what is your desired pay range" you could say "How much does your company offer to post-graduate students like myself?" If she keeps asking you how much you would want to be paid just say "I'm unsure of the circumstances of the job, I'm unable to say" Then you'll get a figure and you can negotiate on that.

 

It's a silly question really, i mean. The company knows how much they pay post-graduate students, to its fair game to ask them how much they want to offer!

[toshiba]

This happens to everyone no matter how long they've been in the workforce. You have no idea what the employer is thinking and you don't want to take yourself out of the running.

 

If you say too high, they'll figure that if they hire you, you won't stay because you'll jump at the next opportunity you get at a better paying job.

 

If you say too low, you risk the chance of them paying you less than they might have.

 

It's just the way it is and there's no way to guess what they're thinking.

 

Don't beat yourself up over the range you gave. You came out mid-way. It could have been worse. If you said 35-40K, and they were wanting to pay 35K for that position, they might have thought that you wouldn't be satisfied enough at the 35K salary and ruled you out in favor of the person who said lower.

 

It's great if you can get some insider knowledge of the pay range before the interview, but of course that's not always possible.

 

One thing you might want to try is saying:

 

I know that the current industry rate for this position is X number of $$$, but I'm open to negotiation based on the entire experience a company can offer me.

 

As you can see by my example above, you don't HAVE to answer their question directly. When you're at an interview, try to pretend that you're a politician.

 

When you answer, but you don't answer directly, it turns it around on them to provide you with the information.