This isn’t the first time I’ve expressed concern about career advice and those who offer it, but this time I need to make it an example. It was posted in LinkedIn by a recruiter who, as a recruiter, should know better.
Toward the end of an interview the interviewer will typically turn to you and ask “Do you have any questions?” It is always good to be prepared for this question and to have good thought out questions to respond with. Things that are always good to ask about are company benefits, pay day schedule, management set-up, what does a typical day in this job look like? – those kinds of questions keep the conversation going and show your interest in the position.
Can you spot the mistake? Yes, it’s asking about company benefits and pay schedule. Add vacation and salary to those items.
The money/benefits/vacation part is a game, but not really. Some people do make money the priority in their job search, but that puts the cart before the horse. If you focus on money to the exclusion of factors such as chemistry, company culture, if the job has components that motivate you and make you happy to work there, you might very well find yourself unhappy fairly quickly. .
Sell yourself to the highest bidder without regard for the other factors and if you’re unhappy, eventually your salary won’t to be enough to compensate you for being unhappy in your job. And if you were desperate to be employed, once the relief of having a job wears off and reality sets in, that’s what you might discover.
The point of an interview is to find out if both you and the company are right for each other. Until you each know more about the other party, it’s impossible for either of you to assess the value of the other. Companies ask about salary early on, but their purpose is to determine if you’re within their range and if you’re realistic about your expectations.
Value comes with knowing the benefits of having that item and attaching yourself to it. For instance, perhaps you’ve decided to buy a car and you’ve capped the price at $30K. You receive a phone call from someone with a cherry red convertible in perfect condition with a new stereo and white leather seats. But it’s $37K.
More than likely you’ll say no, because it has no value to you. But what if you decide to go look at it? You drive it. The sun is on your face and the wind is in your hair. You begin to rationalize why $37K is feasible.
It’s no different with salary. Making a decision based on an early salary discussion eliminates discovering the value the company may have to both you and your career.
This doesn’t mean salary is unimportant. One of my retained clients has an offer for $74K. In her previous job in slightly different capacity she earned $90K more. At the onset of her search, she set her bottom line at $80K But now she’s enthusiastic about both the position and the company and behind the scenes I’m helping her negotiate. What if she’d learned the salary first and never given herself the chance to learn more?
Asking the salary at all is not only unimpressive to the company, it’s more than likely to get you withdrawn from consideration. A company wants someone who wants them for who they are, not for the pay check. If you’ll join their company for money, you can be hired away for money. The only companies who don’t follow that are the ones you don’t want to work for.
Teleseminar Tuesday, June 12
Now you can be just like Kelly. But you have to attend – or at least register and get the recording – to learn how. Tuesday, June 10, one full hour plus Q & A.
From Abraham & Hicks:
With the current economic difficulties, many jobseekers have been looking for an edge in the job market. The average job posting on one of the large career sites receives between 400 and 600 resumes. How do you stand out in such a large crowd? While you may think it is impossible, the answer might just be that guy that sat next to you in Biology class back in your college days.
In part 1 I shared why learning the different interviewing styles is a waste of time. Better to make sure you’ve thoroughly done your interview preparation. Recognizing a particular style won’t alter how you feel about the interaction between yourself and the interviewer. In fact, because you’re focusing on the style, it may cause you to rationalize personality traits you should pay attention to. 
There are those who emphatically advise job seekers to study and learn the interview styles: The Directive Interview, The Behavioral Interview, The Stress Interview, The Qualifying Interview, The This Interview, The That Interview. Their articles outline different styles, list typical questions for each and tell you how to prepare for them, as well as suggesting appropriate answers.
One of my clients just sent me a resume he’d paid for. It was full of &s and had words capitalized that shouldn’t be. This is from someone who has an impressive web page and appears to be quite the resume expert – and as far as I knew earlier, was. My client made some adjustments and his version was much better. 
Register to listen in, even if you don’t have a question to ask! Handout and recording provided. 3 pm eastern – go to 
LinkedIn is a networking tool. It generates, fosters, and builds relationships. We may be an online world, but people still like the comfort of a face. Of knowing what a person looks like.
For my in-depth clients and students, there are a few very specific, headache inducing, but necessary exercises I put them through. One of them involves looking at the concept of stability. For those who were laid off or terminated, unsurprisingly a stable company is very important to them. For most of them, that means a big company.