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December 18, 2013 How To Negotiate Your Starting Pay

Negotiating your starting salary can be intimidating. You don’t want to scare potential employers away with an out-of-this-world number, but you also shouldn’t sell yourself short. There are, however, a few general principles that go a long way in preparing you to confidently, successfully negotiate your pay.

1. Have a minimum and a target number in mind beforehand. These two numbers are, respectively, the absolute minimum amount you are willing to be paid, and your ideal salary. Go in with these at the front of your mind as the ranges within which you’ll be negotiating.

2. Never reveal your minimum number. While your target number should be verbalized, your minimum is for you and you alone to help keep your target salary (or something close to it) on the table. Revealing your minimum weakens your negotiating power.

3. Make a counter offer. For the new job seekers, this part can be scary. Employers expect you to counter their offer, because they want to see that you trust and value yourself enough to do a bit of bargaining. Keep in mind that employers are using a similar strategy: they’re starting low and expecting to have to make a compromise with a higher salary in the end. Knowing this helps take the pressure off as you make a counter offer.

4. Be okay with walking away from a bad offer. Now, this depends on how much experience you have and how many other opportunities are out there. If you’re an entry level job seeker, you may have to deal with pay that’s less than you hoped at first. But as you build career capital, you’ll be much better positioned to confidently walk away from sub-par salary offers, because you know other employers will pay more for your skills. However, the general idea is that you shouldn’t be afraid to turn down an offer that doesn’t meet your requirements.

5. Above all else, research, research, research. None of the points above mean anything unless you go in prepared. Know the average salary of the position you’re applying for. Familiarize yourself with the company you’re applying to. The more you know, the better equipped you’ll be to successfully negotiate your compensation.

Here’s a great resource for researching salaries:

http://www.quintcareers.com/salary_negotiation.html

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December 3, 2013 If It’s Getting Too Easy, Shake It Up

We’re all familiar with that awful feeling of being stuck on a plateau, in a dry spell, up a river without a paddle, whatever you want to call it. After the excitement and challenge of learning something new, we get to the point of proficiency, and there is where you’ll encounter the deadly lull.

This is because your brain lights up to new challenges, releasing that feel-good chemical we call dopamine as a reward for reaching new milestones. You know what I’m talking about: that feeling you get when you finally nail the recipe that you never figured you could make, or hitting a personal fitness goal you thought impossible. It’s the joy of landing the big job, acing the tough class, or taking on a project that’s ripe for new personal growth. In other words, it’s the satisfaction that comes after long hours of frustration and failure where you go, “I got this!”

Unfortunately, once you get it, “its” magic wears off a bit. You do this new skill over and over, until your brain no longer feels challenged by what once took your full concentration. Welcome to proficiency, where it’s not a big deal anymore. It’s expected.

Author Whitney Johnson argues that the way to combat a plateau is to implement some personal disruption, writing that “We may be quite adept at doing the math around our future when things are linear, but neither business nor life is linear, and ultimately what our brain needs, even requires, is the dopamine of the unpredictable. More importantly, as we inhabit an increasingly zig-zag world, the best curve you can throw the competition is your ability to leap from one learning curve to the next.”

Don’t think of seeking out new challenges as a task you must do in order to meet the demands of the world at large. Instead, do it for yourself. Want to get that burst of accomplishment you used to get when you were still learning? Then seek out new tasks that push you outside where you’re already proficient. This is where real growth happens, and real growth leads to mastery.

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November 27, 2013 Staying Thankful Amid The Holiday Chaos

Last year around Thanksgiving I wrote a blog post about our choice to be thankful, even when things are tough. The process of writing the post reminded me that when I stop to consider my blessings, I can’t help but be truly thankful. What gets in the way of this, I wrote, is the distraction the holiday season brings with it: the planning, the baking, the cleaning, rearranging our homes for relatives, and on and on. We often get so caught up in the chaos of the holidays that we forget to enjoy them for what they are.

Thankfulness, gratitude, feeling blessed–are these feelings you’re in tune with this season? If not, I challenge you to think of all the people in your corner, all the opportunities you’ve been given, and even the mistakes you’ve made and (hopefully) learned from. When you truly consider these things, I doubt you’ll have trouble finding a reason to be grateful.

There are times when life is tough, and I don’t say that in the cliche, “life gives you lemons” way. I know many who’ve been laid off, or lost their home, or spouse, or struggle with a debilitating disease. Things none of us could possibly predict spring up on people for no clear reason, and this happens all the time. It’s one of the unfortunate parts of being human. I know that we all struggle, and I know our struggles don’t always seem fair. How do you stay thankful even in the midst of hard times?

From my experience, the answer is found in surrounding yourself with people close to you. It’s almost magical how being around loved ones transforms your view of the situation. When I go home after a bad day, the last thing I think will help is talking it over with my husband. “How’s talking about it going to help? I’m a person of  action!” I think to myself. But without fail, talking to my husband does help. Does it change the situation? Of course not. But does it realign my perspective and my priorities? Absolutely.

At the end of the day, our happiness comes from the relationships with friends, family, and our greater community. Which is why Thanksgiving is such a great time: It offers us a chance to reset our priorities precisely because we find ourselves surrounded by our greatest cheerleaders. Take the opportunity this season to express your love and gratitude to these wonderful folks. You know who they are.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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