The Career Counselor's True Test

The career counselor's true test is her ability to assist a loved one (especially one they live with) navigate the job search.  Now I'm speaking from personal experience here when I say that it is not easy for a career counselor, often times known for their interest and expertise in all things "job search," to live with a job-seeker that might lack some of the same enthusiasm for the topic.  Okay, by now you probably realize I'm not speaking in the hypothetical.  My boyfriend finished graduate school without a job offer in hand.  Since we live together and spend a lot of time together, I naturally wanted to share all my resources with him.  My desire to impart to him every teeny bit of knowledge was not deterred by his evil looks, overt sighs, and avoidance of me.

Fast forward 6 months and boyfriend, now fiance, has finally secured his first, full-time permanent, job within his desired industry.  No, he did not spend 6 months sitting on his you know what.  From a maternity-leave coverage, to weekly per diem jobs, to a permanent position in a physical therapy clinic, the fiance was doing pretty well for himself.  So, needless to say, we were happily surprised, not to mention unsure of how to proceed, when a long-forgotten interviewer called him out-of-the-blue to ask him to come back in.  Turns out their former first-choice candidate "hadn't worked out."

Needless to say, his job search is an excellent example in perseverance, hard work, and luck - all of which proved to be essential in this job search story.  And, as far as this career counselor's concerned, I am more than glad that I won't be taking my work home with me anymore.  I'm pretty sure the fiance's glad about that, too.

Cover Letter Woes

So I've been totally ignoring this blog - and I'm not saying that this post is any indication of my return to weekly posts - but I had to post a link to this absolutely embarrassing cover letter sent to JP Morgan.  Given my line of work, I generally try to refrain from laughter at the expense of college-students/internship-seekers, but I'm hoping this letter will encourage future cover letter writers to avoid appearing like a pretentious, clueless, and lazy (note the typos and mention of Morgan Stanley) applicant.

The Outlook Chronicles: Including Salary Requirements In Your Cover Letter

So here's the set-up: without fail, I meet with students who, upon leaving my office, have a million more questions. Some of these questions they figure out on their own, some they e-mail to me for my two cents. Not surprisingly, I tend to see a lot of the same questions. So for those of you are asking yourselves those ground-breaking questions, like "should I text the hiring manager?," here are my answers to some frequently asked questions.

A student writes:

Hi Shimrit,

I'm working on finding jobs and networking, as per your recommendations, and I've come across a job that I would really love. It's as a program associate at a non-profit. They ask that applicants send in a resume and cover letter, which is no problem, but they also ask that applicants include past salary history and desired salary in the cover letter. Given that I've never had a salaried position, nor have I ever considered what my "desired salary" could be, I'm at a loss for what to do on this. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ann

And I answer:

Hi Ann,

This is a common request by employers.  Often, it is made in order to ensure that the applicant understands the industry standards regarding salaries. You have a couple of options here. You could simply state a range based on research and industry standards.  Glassdoor.com is a great resource for ascertaining salary ranges. You could also refrain from giving any actual numbers, but still indicate that you are aware of these norms, and that you didn’t get into this kind of work to become rich.  This second option is probably what I would do, though you run the risk of angering the employer by not answering the questions. Still, here's what I might say:

“My salary requirements are negotiable and dependent on benefits. I am aware of the salary ranges in the non-profit industry and believe that the value of the work I am doing is as important a consideration as the amount of money I will be earning.”

Of course, this type of statement has to speak to your own beliefs, so don't say this unless you mean it.

If you have any other questions, or want to run what you think a reasonable salary range for this position might be by me, feel free to reach back out.

Best,

Shimrit

How do you handle job descriptions that ask you to include salary requirements in your cover letter?

A "Real" Grad School Ad

I'm not saying that graduate school isn't the right step for some people (hey, I did it myself), but this video is not only hilarious, but in many ways sort of true. Also, it it wrong that this video made me miss both college and grad school.

Check out the video/social commentary on graduate school from the folks at College Humor.

The Thank You Note Question

To e-mail or not to e-mail, that is the question. The “thank you note” question to be exact. In an age of “every little bit counts,” I’m increasingly seeing students stressed over the appropriate format for a thank you note. So these students have come into our office to ask the career guru her advice, but unfortunately, there’s not straight answer to this question. That being said, I do have my own thoughts on the subject.

Send personalized, conversation-specific thank-you note via e-mail within 24 hours of the interview to ALL persons you interviewed with. This ensures that your note will be received before any immediate decision-making discussions take place. If this is all you do, you’re fine. Really, you are.

If you really want to go the extra mile, you may also drop hand-written thank you note in the mail ASAP. This is in addition to, rather than instead of the e-mail described above (see reasoning above). While most employers tell us that a thank you note sent via e-mail is fine, or that thank you notes don’t matter at all (WRITE THEM ANYWAYS!), some employers maintain that a hand-written note does set one very strong candidate apart from other very strong candidates.