You’ve found it! Found it! The perfect job for you! It’s exactly the type of job you want, and you’re sure the work, people, and salary will be great, right? Maybe—but maybe not. This scenario is not uncommon to many of us. We have all gotten very hopeful at one point or another during our job search, and why shouldn’t we? There is nothing wrong with being hopeful; staying positive is a great attitude to have while looking for work. But the rules of finding a job can be a lot like the rules of dating—you don’t want to get too attached without getting to know each other first.

Things to Find Out Before the Interview

Job description. Job boards will usually have some kind of job description, but you may encounter jobs that don’t have a clear, written description at career fairs or other networking events. Ask yourself if you know the following:

•    Areas of responsibility and job functions
•    Required education, experience level, and technological experience
•    Location of the job
•    Time requirements (how many hours per week you are expected to work and the shift you are expected to work)

Based on this information, decide if this is the right job to apply to. If you cannot find this information in the job description, either try calling the HR rep to find this information out; or if this is not possible, apply to the job and find out this information during the interview.

The company’s products, services, and mission. Let’s say you’re a PR graduate who wants to work in meeting planning. You apply for a meeting planning position for PETA—but you own a crocodile skin purse and a fur coat. It doesn’t seem like your values align with the company’s mission, so this may not be the best fit for you. If you don’t find this information on the company’s About Us section on its Web site, you might be able to find out more on sites like www.zoominfo.com where you can get detailed information about companies and their industry leaders. You can use LinkedIn to find out more about the company by using the Search Companies option. You might also want to find out who will be interviewing you and search for that person through LinkedIn, using the Search People function.

Things to Find Out at the Interview

Company culture. The company wants to decide if you are the right fit for an organization, and conversely, you are deciding the same. Ask the interviewer about the company culture—the shared values and actions of the employees. This might be something difficult for an interviewer to define (and what the interviewer says may or may not actually be what the culture is), but pay attention to keywords like casual, friendly, busy, efficient, ethical, and so on. Take notice of the way the employees are dressed and how they interact with one another. Ask questions like, “Would I be expected to work more in teams or individually?” “What is the company’s growth plan?” “Why is this position open/what are the primary reasons for people leaving this company?”

Expectations for this position. Just because you’re interviewing for the same title you had at your last position, doesn’t mean the job expectations are the same! Find out the following:

•    What kind of traits does the ideal candidate have for this position?
•    What are some of the challenges in this position?
•    Do you see any significant changes in this position in the near future?

Things to Find Out After the Interview

With dating, there are certain things you may not want to ask your partner until you are “official.” The same is true with waiting to ask certain questions until you get the official job offer. After you have received a job offer, there is a litany of questions you may want to ask to find out if the job is the right fit for you:

•    What is the yearly/hourly salary?
•    How many paid vacation days do I have?
•    What is your benefit package?
•    Am I expected to work overtime? Do you pay for overtime?
•    When do you assess raises; what is the typical raise rate?
•    Do you give bonuses, and what is the typical bonus amount?

Just like finding the right partner may take a long time, so might finding the right job. Find out everything you need to know to create a successful partnership, and make sure you don’t settle!

Is your employer feeling the crunch of the current economic climate? So much so, that the dreaded ‘pay freeze’ has been put into effect? Do you feel that your efforts to go above and beyond have really done some good? You can still get the raise you desire. Here are some tips to help sway the scale in your favor:

Conduct Research: Before you saunter into the boss’ office and have ‘the discussion’ you need to be prepared with some relevant industry data. It would behoove you to have salary data regarding comparable positions so you can present your case from a position of power and intelligence. Knowing where you are in connection with the market will allow you to develop a productive and compelling argument when you sit down to the brass tacks discussion.

Demonstrate your value: Asking for a raise is not enough. You need to demonstrate that you are exceeding expectations. Come prepared (with examples) of projects you completed that generated revenue or saved the company money. You need to justify the raise. If you have assumed increased levels of responsibility, were promoted from a previous role, or created a new business strategy, come prepared to provide the details – down to the numbers of how you made a meaningful contribution.

Understand the company’s goals: Make sure you are doing things that are in alignment with what the company deems important. If a new program is underway, make sure you are applying your skills to meet that need. Pay attention to the initiatives that are important and apply yourself in those areas – within the context of your role; but don’t forget to be creative. Go above and beyond to show true value.

Negotiate on your own behalf: When you make an appointment to meet with the boss to review the increase, you must be prepared to offer other options. For example, if you want a $5,000 increase, you might be offered $2,500. Are there other things (non-monetary) you can request to bridge the gap? You might suggest an extra week of vacation or something else that translates to cash. Similarly, you might be told that nothing can be done at this time, at which point you might want to negotiate a six-month review for a raise upon meeting certain agreed-upon goals.

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People often think that December is the wrong time to find work, because “who leaves a job at the holidays” or because “bonuses are pending” but that’s definitely not the truth. Far too often, people decide to put their job hunt on hold between Thanksgiving and New Year's, but that's a huge mistake. Although new budgets often take effect in January, HR teams receive job requisitions for budgeted new spots much earlier than that, and it’s quite likely that waiting until January might mean that someone else got the job of your dreams.

It’s also very likely that you might be one of the few qualified applicants for a great job when you’re interviewing in December, simply because other candidates think it's a bad time to hunt. After all, positions become open for a variety of reasons: people find better opportunities or they move or even get promoted. With the economy starting to recover, more work equals new jobs, but this is definitely a case of being in the right spot at the right time.
There are also many personal benefits to continuing a job search at this time of year, such as avoiding holiday depression simply by being dressed each day and feeling a sense of worth. Let’s also remember that being active is powerful – and being home depressed, simply waiting for the calendar to change to January can feel really powerless. There are also many hidden opportunities to being out there job hunting. Even if you’re not chosen, for instance, you might be offered temp work or freelance assignments, which can lead to networking opportunities and of course INCOME. And we know that someone who is already employed, even in a temporary capacity, is a far more attractive hire than someone who isn’t.

There are also some very unique opportunities in December -- holiday parties, for instance, are a great time for networking. You never know who will be there or what opportunities they might have opening up at their company – so be sure to remain professional and poised at all times – this isn’t the time to take risks or be the life of the party! And definitely have business cards with your contact info in your pocket.

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For this holiday season, give a gift that will make a positive difference in the life of a job hunter. Give him or her The Ultimate Job Search Toolkit.

Get 25% off of the course by entering in"holiday" as the discount code. This promotion is good until the end of December, so be sure to order it before the end of the month!

When I begin the process of career discovery with my clients and ask the question “What are some of the elements you are looking for in your career?”  Most of them will quickly respond, “I don’t know what I want, but I know what I don’t want!”  They then quickly click through a list of all the things they don’t like about their jobs. 

Our results and level of satisfaction directly correspond to those things on which we spend our time and attention.  When we spend all of our time and attention focusing on the things that we don’t like about our jobs, we have no time and energy left to spend on expanding the things we do like about our jobs.  If the movie we are replaying over and over in our head is focused on all the negative things about our jobs, those are the things we tend to notice during the day.  Often, these items quickly become larger than they really are.  Likewise, if our thoughts and actions are devoted to those things that are positive, we will look for more opportunities to pursue these items during the day.  As a result, more of our day will be spent on things that are fulfilling.

As a Thanksgiving activity, rather than spend 30 minutes each day between now and the end of the year complaining to your co-worker over coffee about all the things you don’t like about your job, why not spend that same 30 minutes, each morning counting your career blessings?  That’s 14 hours that you will be focusing in a productive and positive manner!

Here’s your assignment: 

1) Start a gratitude journal.  Each morning write down what you are thankful for in terms of your career.  Try to come up with something new each day – this forces us to look for the positives rather than the negatives.  Focus on what you like about your job, your field, your co-workers, your company or your industry.  Remember what your mom used to tell you, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  Try to talk nice to yourself.

2) Tell someone at work what you are thankful for – it just may make their day as well.  If people know more of what makes you thankful, they may send more of it your way. Sadly, we all know that a negative work environment is contagious.  It’s hard to stay positive, when everyone around us is negative.  Let’s try to shift that momentum and see if a positive attitude can be contagious as well.

3) At the end of each week and at the end of the year, re-read what you wrote.  What themes are appearing?  Are there any projects, tasks or assignments that you could volunteer for that would give you more of the things you like in your job?

If you take on this challenge, I’d love to hear about the results you achieve.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you would like help counting your blessings and using your gratitude journal on your journey of career discovery, feel free to contact me.  Good Luck!