Whether or not you get a bonus, you may well want to persuade your boss to give you more money.  The subject is no longer taboo.  You need to raise the issue gingerly, however.  If you can demonstrate to your superior that you’re underpaid, simply ask for the money you think you deserve to receive.  Sometimes the answer will be “Sorry, everybody gets the same raise this year”.  In that case, if there’s a bonus pool where you work, ask your supervisor what it would take to either start swimming in it or get a larger bonus than you were promised.  You might want to set target goals with your boss and then update the list periodically.

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Getting More Money From Your Boss

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• Don’t get yourself into trouble. Sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed how many people sabotage their careers by saying or doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.  Be careful of what you zap over your e-mail.  Likewise, if your boss is the buttoned-up type, but your off-the-job lifestyle is anything but, keep that part of your life quiet at the office.  Alarmingly, workplace privacy rules are so scant that your boss can legally monitor your every on-the-job move.  This means everything from searching through your office file cabinets to browsing your “confidential” e-mail to tapping into your phone calls.  To be safe, don’t send anything over e-mail that you wouldn’t want to fall into the hands of your boss. And unless you have a physical disability that may affect your job duties, use discretion when discussing your medical history with your supervisor.  You never know what bias your boss may have against, say, someone seeking psychiatric help or relief from a substance abuse problem.

If all this sounds a bit scary, remember that you do have some rights, and keeping your job may, at some point, depend on your defending them.  To find out about the cornucopia of information that may be contained in your employment file (anything from salary history to suspected drug use to your political bent), call your state attorney general’s office and ask if your state is one of the 18 that has laws in giving you access to your employment files.  For more advice on exactly what types of issues your boss can raise on the job, phone the American Civil Liberty Union’s National Task Force on Civil Liberties in the Workplace at 212-944-9800.  The ACLU can also help you interpret state privacy laws and dispense on possible legal actions.

• Make the most of the job review process. Most medium-size and larger employers have formal review policies for their workers, appraising their deeds annually.  Yet in the fast-paced workplace of the ’90s, where situations change with the blink of a computer screen, a once-a-year report card may be inadequate. Your manager, in fact, may not have a handle on how valuable you’ve been over the past 12 months -unless you make a point to show him or her.  By asking for feedback (and this often means volunteering for extra work), you set yourself up for special notice.  You can take control by asking to get together with your boss, say, once every other month to informally discuss your progress, goals, and short-falls.  Consequently, the annual review will hold few surprises and will be far less daunting.

• Don’t disappoint your boss. Keep yourself from taking on more work or responsibilities that you can reasonably handle.  Otherwise you’ll have one unhappy boss.  Unfortunately, one bad break can stick in your boss’s mind for months or years and could be used against you if he or she needs to lay off staffers.

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Holding On to the Job That You Have - continuation

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• Learn to be a master of more than one trade. You can’t make yourself indispensable, but you can make yourself less expendable.  The surest method to keep things moving your way is to get comfortable juggling several tasks. Adaptable types -anti specialists, if you will -show employers that they are malleable to change.  Your best strategy:  Try your hand at several key functions that interest you.  A marketing executive, for example, who adds superior purchasing skills to his or her resume’ will open far more career doors over the long term.  True career champs excel in two or three complementary areas.

• Update your skills and stay flexible. When is the right time to hit the books to keep current?  The answer:  Don’t wait until your colleagues do.  Don’t delay until a plum position opens up, forcing you to scramble and acquire the skills needed to fit the bill.  Instead, scope out positions that pique your interest and assess what tools you’ll need to bolster your qualifications.  A tip:  If you’re aware of a course that you think would make you a better worker, tell your boss.  Even if tuition reimbursement isn’t a part of your benefits package, he or she may be impressed enough to find tuition fees in the department budget.

• Understand the corporate culture, and adapt. “No eating at your desk.  Stockings mandatory for women.  Docked pay for showing up late”.  These sorts of work rules may sound old-fashioned, but many companies, particularly small, family-run businesses, abide by them.  Whether you can is another issue -and one that you should consider before you accept a job where they are strictly enforced.

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1st page - Holding On to the Job That You Have

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• Ferret out sources for start-up cash. Franchisors often provide start-up capital for their franchisees.  Other owners of fledgling businesses will have a tougher time getting financing, though.  The most common source of money for entrepreneurs are friends and family members.  After you try tapping your circle, you may want to try your state’s economic development office, the Small Business Association, banks, or even venture capitalists -speculators whom you repay with money, equity in your business, or both.  Once you go to serious lenders asking for money, you’ll need to have a business plan that sings and the expertise to pull it all off.

• Finally, before signing on with a franchise company, check it out. A franchisor is a business that licenses its concept to many business owners to create a uniform chain of stores or outlets.  The most popular examples are food businesses, such as McDonald’s and Burger King.  These titans typically require a pile of start-up cash, in excess of $500,000.  Plenty of other franchisors ask far less, however -sometimes under $25,000.  they typically include franchisors of decorating, cleaning, travel, and auto services businesses.

Because they require less start-up capital and the concept is already proven, franchises generally pose less risk than a business started from scratch.  But never forget that a franchisor merely provides a foundation for your business; it’s no guarantee that your operation will succeed.    For a listing of more than 5,000 franchisors nationwide, plus information on how to check out the financial soundness of a franchisor, call the International Franchising Association in Washington, D.C. (800-543-1038) and ask for the Franchise Opportunities Guide.  For $21, they’ll send you a copy.

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Tips for Four Types of Job Seekers - continuation 3rd part

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• Make sure you’re motivated by a good idea, not by bad circumstances. You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating:  Nine out of ten businesses fail within five years after opening.  So you really need to consider what is driving you to strike out on your own.  If your entrepreneurial desire springs from general worker malaise, think twice.  A start-up requires that patience of job and the passion of Julio Iglesias.  People who are not prepared to face endless hours and potentially years of red ink are poor candidates for being their own boss.

• Write a solid business plan. A business plan clearly outlining your company’s raison d’etre will help you to define both short- and long-term goals for your business.  Researching your plan should also help you focus your concept and even gauge demand for your product or service.  Luckily there are many excellent resources for helping you draft a solid plan complete with cash-flow projections. You might take a business-plan writing class at a local college.  Another valuable resource is the U.S. Small Business Administration (202-205-7701), whose small business information centers nationwide offer free publications and one-on-one advice sessions on writing plans.  Additionally, check your local software supply store for titles to help polish your plan.

• Take stock of your financial condition. It takes time to start earning money from a new business, typically 18 months.  Can you survive without a paycheck for that long?  Make sure you’ve gotten enough dough to support yourself and your family for a while before plunging into entrepreneurship.

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Tips for Four Types of Job Seekers - continuation 2nd part

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3. If you’re over 40. Recent surveys have confirmed that age discrimination is alive and well in the workplace.  This especially applies when trying to get in the door. In 1993, 700,000 people over age 50 were out of work and on the job trail. During that same year, complaints filed with state and federal regulators about age-bias soared to 30,000 -up nearly 30% since 1990.

Forty-something workers can get a boost from an organization called Forty-Plus.  That’s not a suit size, but a nonprofit outplacement group with more than 20 chapters located in 13 states plus Washington, D.C., providing great networking opportunities and job search seminars.  Call 202-386-1582 for more information.  Another excellent resource, limited to job hunters who are over 50, however, is the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which sponsors an eight-session job primer called AARP Works.  AARP also has a free publication, Age Discrimination on the Job, which gives 20 pages of useful legal facts, plus addresses and phone numbers for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 50 field offices nationwide.  To get a copy, write for publication D12386, AARP, P.O. Box 22976, Long Beach, Calif. 90801.

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Tips for Four Types of Job Seekers - continuation 1st part

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Be cautious about sharing your new-job aspirations at the office.  True, some bosses may appreciate your candor and welcome the news that you’re ready for a fresh challenge.  Before letting your superior in on your plans, though, be sure your boss is as progressive as you think.  Otherwise you could be out the door sooner than you’d like.  Also, keep in mind that using company resources to check out a job or interviewing on company time can easily cost you your current job -before you’ve safely landed another.

You may want to join estimated 100,000 Americans who hire personal career coaches each year.  The nation’s 4,000 coaches typically charge $200 to $500 a month to help you determine your top skills, figure out your goals, and devise a plan to get where you want to be in your career.  You can get free referrals from the International Coach Federation (888-236-9262; www.coachfederation.org) or the Professional and Personal Coaches Association (415-522-8789; www.ppca.com).  One word of warning:  Anyone can call himself a career coach.  So before you hire one, ask the prospect what qualifies him or her to coach you and how this coach would handle your particular situation.

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1st page - Tips for Four Types of Job Seekers

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Try to get the company to make you an offer before you reveal your most recent salary.  If you’re asked first, however, take a few minutes to spout all the responsibilities the job entails.  Really build it up.  Then, put on a poker face and cite a figure that’s in the high end of your range.  You may wind up negotiating from there.

If the interviewer hits you a pay offer that is downright chintzy, you have a few options:

• Hedge. Explain to your prospective boss that while the job sure feels like the right fit, you’re still weighing a few other opportunities (even if you aren’t).

• Try to get the money in a more circuitous way. Ask if part of the money you’re requesting could come from a bonus pool.  Or see if you can get the firm to commit to giving you a raise of a specified amount of money in six months if you meet certain goals laid out in advance.

• If you’re in the upper rungs of management or know that you’d be quite a catch, ask for a signing bonus. Even if the firm can’t offer you a fat salary for starters, it might be able to sweeten the pot with a signing bonus -cash paid simply for your walking in the door.  If so, you may want to negotiate further, say, taking a $5,000 signing bonus and tacking on another $5,000 to your salary vs. accepting a $10,000 up-front bonus.   This way your annual pay increases are assured to be larger.

• Walk away. Granted, this strategy takes guts, especially if you’ve been offered an alluring job.  One possible advantage here:  By sticking to your guns, you’ll be giving the employer a taste of your convictions.  That may cause the firm to pony up the money you want after all.

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Getting the Pay You Deserve

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So how do you sell yourself properly?  The key is to show the potential employer that you know a great deal about what the firm needs, that you have what it takes to get the job done, and that you’ll fit in well with the current workforce there.  Here’s where having done your library research will really pay off.  And if you know someone who now works for the place, or did recently, all the better.  Pump that person for information about what the interview will be like, whom you’re likely to see, and what you might do to prepare.  The more you know going in,
the better you’ll be once you’re in the interview.

Although you want to demonstrate to the employer how great you are, there’s a wrong way and a right way to do this.  The wrong way is to just keep talking about what a terrific person you are and how people like you.  The right way is to impress on the interviewer how your qualities and skills will benefit the firm.  Try to give at least one example of something you did at your last job that would be helpful at this job.

Also, show the quizzer that you’ve given a lot of thought to the interviewer and the job by asking dazzling questions of your own.  Be getting a conversation going, you’ll raise the chances that the interviewer will remember you as someone smart and thoughtful.  Don’t be shy about asking key questions such as how many people will report to you, how often you’ll be expected to travel, what kind of savings and pension plan is available, what kind of health, life, and disability insurance coverage you would receive, and so on.

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Acing a Job Interview

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With over 7,000 temporary employment services nationwide, there are plenty of places to hunt for work.  Aside from reading the classifieds, try calling personnel managers at companies where you’d like to work and ask for recommendations of whom they use.  Incidentally, you’ll find temp agencies in the Yellow Pages under “Employment Contractors -Temporary Help”.

If you are one of the millions who tap away ferociously on such on-line services as CompuServe or America Online, broaden your job hunt by surfing the various bulletin boards.  There’s no solid search on how effective this mode of job searching is, but recruiters are watching cyberspace carefully for possibilities.  You should, too.  For fees of anywhere from $10 to $50, some employment agencies will post your resume’ on one of several electronic databases seen by recruiters nationwide.  Or you can do it yourself.  Plugged-in types can now zap their vitae over the wires via services such as the Internet’s Online Career Center, which on any given day is clogged with 30,000 resumes’.

John Guare’s play and film Six Degrees of Separation carries a tantalizing theory:  For every person on this earth, there are but six individuals who separate us.  Meaning your aunt in Milwaukee, be some labyrinth measuring no more than six folks, has some connection to the pope.  Well, in corporate America this rule applies doubly.  And that’s why networking is a great way to land a job.  Far from the mere drudgery of attending industry conventions and collecting a Rolodex of business cards, however, serious networking requires careful orchestration.  It’s one thing to meet someone who may help advance your career.  It’s quite another to find ways of compelling that person to remember you and help you when you need assistance getting a job.

Successful networking is like a pyramid game -each person you elect into your circle gives you access to a completely new set of job contacts.  There are several ways to network like a pro:

• Join professional associations on the local level. You may feel lost at a trade group’s national get-together, but moving in on the regional scene gives you a terrific chance to get to know key players in your field.  Increase your visibility by joining a committee or helping to organize career workshops and networking get-togethers.

• Check out your college alumni network. In the past few years, many colleges and universities have stepped up their alumni programs.  There may now be a local chapter of your alma mater in your area.  Or your college might now have an electronic resume’ service for its graduates.  Call your school’s alumni office to see what kind of job placement is available to alums.

• Sweat the details. After you’ve met someone you’d like to include in your network, keep up the relationship with small gestures.  Thank-you notes after a lunch date are de rigueur.  You’ll stand out even more by sending a new contact things like relevant newspaper clippings, the names of other people in the field, or reminders of upcoming events.

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From Resume’ to Job - continuation

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