Resume, Interview, Salary Negotiation Advice

[breitlings]

Any advice for Resumes and the Interview?

Any advice for Salary Negotiation (or other contract areas such as mandatory arbitration, keeping old clients, owning IP developed on own time, etc)?

[77T]

McDonalds doesn’t negotiate.

Now please excuse that comment, but unless you explain the industry, and the tier you’re vying for, targeted advice just isn’t possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[2ltdjorn]

apparently lying on the resume is kosher...

[tie219]

Originally Posted by 77T

McDonalds doesn’t negotiate.

Now please excuse that comment, but unless you explain the industry, and the tier you’re vying for, targeted advice just isn’t possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

+1

Very difficult to give advice without more context

[swils8610]

I hired an outside company to put my resume together when I needed one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[m j b]

I am now a hiring manager, which I am discovering is even worse than looking for a job.

Keep the resume specific, act professional, be reasonable.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by m j b

I am now a hiring manager, which I am discovering is even worse than looking for a job.

Keep the resume specific, act professional, be reasonable.

Yep. Glad I don’t have to hire people anymore.

Last position I had to fill was about a $150k total comp/year job. Had a guy that was “ok”, but qualified. Offered him the job, he accepted. A week and a half later he called and said a competitor offered him 20% more and he was going there. Can not fault the guy. Wasn’t true, but he didn’t know that. I’m sure he has found out by now.


As for the OP, I always value stability within the company and management ranks. Resume, keep It short, sweet and targeted to the skills that are applicable to the job you are applying for. I don’t care about your time as a gas station clerk in college if you are posting for an IT job. Know the comp range of the job you are seeking and plan on working for comp somewhere in that range.

And from a negotiation standpoint I say make sure it is the right fit for you. I have been the same company for 13 years in different roles. But they have always took good care of me, even thru a lot of changes. Was never the one to get hung out and caught up in a downsizing. Have stayed for less money than many other firms have called offering, knowing that the company I was with was responsible and would be there for years and years. Didn’t jump and take the quick money.

The specific recommendations are obviously industry and role specific.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[breitlings]

Originally Posted by bdex75

Yep. Glad I don’t have to hire people anymore.

Last position I had to fill was about a $150k total comp/year job. Had a guy that was “ok”, but qualified. Offered him the job, he accepted. A week and a half later he called and said a competitor offered him 20% more and he was going there. Can not fault the guy. Wasn’t true, but he didn’t know that. I’m sure he has found out by now.


As for the OP, I always value stability within the company and management ranks. Resume, keep It short, sweet and targeted to the skills that are applicable to the job you are applying for. I don’t care about your time as a gas station clerk in college if you are posting for an IT job. Know the comp range of the job you are seeking and plan on working for comp somewhere in that range.

And from a negotiation standpoint I say make sure it is the right fit for you. I have been the same company for 13 years in different roles. But they have always took good care of me, even thru a lot of changes. Was never the one to get hung out and caught up in a downsizing. Have stayed for less money than many other firms have called offering, knowing that the company I was with was responsible and would be there for years and years. Didn’t jump and take the quick money.

The specific recommendations are obviously industry and role specific.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Understood. In general I am switching from entrepreneurial endeavors to corporate world to buy a house that I would need a loan for.

Depending on firm size I am looking at startup senior executive, mid-cap director of digital marketing, or senior product marketing manager at a large company in high-tech with experience in B2C and B2B fields but in an area with a lot of opportunities in B2G. I am better at strategy than management, which makes me think I should be pursuing director titles versus senior manager.

I have about 20 years of web development, 12 years of running an SEO consultancy (one of my first client site's in '07 was so heavily trafficked analytics didn't provide actual data but samplings thereof), have experience transitioning marketing departments to "performance" or "evidence based" marketing, and 5-10 years of leading startups bringing SaaS services and websites to market (such as an event ticket comparison shopping site). I believe this translates into an overlap of strategy, digital marketing, and product. I have an MBA and am going for my PMP. In there sprinkled are some clients who have offered titles and on-boarded, but have legally/logistically operated as a contractor (e.g. outsourced CTO).

[breitlings]

Originally Posted by 77T

McDonalds doesn’t negotiate.

Now please excuse that comment, but unless you explain the industry, and the tier you’re vying for, targeted advice just isn’t possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

pretty good lol. see above post and PM if more details are needed. Thanks!

[jrs146]

99% of resumes look the same. Everyone says they have good communication skills and are proficient in MS word. If you already have an interview your resume is done. Now it’s up to you.

As far as negotiating a salary -

First, don’t bring it up in the first interview at all. But be prepared to give a range if they ask. Keep your range narrow and specific. I actually think it’s safer to just tell them what you’re currently making if you’re currently employed.

Most companies expect a counter when they offer you a position but it’s going to be very close to what they want to pay you. So if they offer $150,000 and you counter at $200,000 it’s most likely never going to happen. But 155, maybe 160 is possible if they have it budgeted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vaulter1]

Having just gone through the process, I'll share what worked for me and then you can take it with a grain of salt. Full disclosure, I ended up taking a role that I was referred to by a prior colleague so my advice on Resume/Interview is from all the roles I didn't take. I don't think it's bad advice though

Originally Posted by breitlings

Any advice for Resumes

My resume was in desperate needed of a dust off so I paid for a rewrite, sample cover letter, and LinkedIn profile revamp. During the process they had a few phone calls with me and asked for some examples of roles I was interested in to get the tone/level of my desired roles. Keep it simple but tailor each submission for the company you're targeting focusing on highlighting a few of your prior achievements that might solve their current problems.

Originally Posted by breitlings

and the Interview?

Every interviewer is different but I'd still focus on what you can bring to the table - how your past successes and experience can be beneficial to the company and align to their future/goals. Apart from that generalization, always have the elevator pitch rehearsed enough to be natural, answers to the cliché but common questions, and research the firm. The number of people I have interviewed for relatively senior roles that had only a cursory understanding of the business is mind boggling.

Originally Posted by breitlings

Any advice for Salary Negotiation (or other contract areas such as mandatory arbitration, keeping old clients, owning IP developed on own time, etc)?

I can't speak to other contract areas but for Salary, I'd get a rough (very rough) idea of the market from places like Glassdoor and then get a mental range before application. Decide what your absolute floor is - if the hunt is getting cold it can be tempting to say sure I'll do this to get my foot in the door. Most places I spoke with wanted at least a range in the beginning so both sides knew they weren't wasting each other's time. Don't forget things like 401k match %, Healthcare, etc. (if they're applicable). In a few roles where I made it to the final negotiations, the 'cash' portion was very close but adding in other aspects swung them 30k apart.



Not sure if that helped at all but good luck and let us know how things go.

[mbalmz]

I just went thru this process myself and just accepted a job—I definitely think this is hugely industry and job specific.

Generally I’d say keep the resume focused on experience that’s relevant (at least loosely) to the job you’re applying for, and to the extent possible try to emphasize relevant skills/experiences within the blurbs describing your particular past positions. Definitely be prepared to discuss/answer questions on all the stuff you write.

Salary negotiation in particular I’d try to discuss with people in your industry if possible. If you know people in similar jobs that will tell you their comp that’s useful information to
make note of to get a lay of the land.