Over the last couple of years, some executives may have experienced a longer gap between jobs than ever before in their careers. As someone who wants to move to the next step in the interviewing process, you are anxious to hear back from the hiring manager after an interview. What can you or should you do? Following up after an interview is crucial. CareerBuilder conducted a survey in 2011 and found that 22% of hiring managers dismiss candidates who don’t send a thank you note after the interview. Wow! What that says to them is that the candidate has poor follow-through and perhaps even lack of interest in the position. Not a good image for the hiring manager to have if you expect to get called back.       ... Read more

When a candidate makes it to the interview stage they breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the job search strategies they have implemented are working, at least to this point. But wait. The interview can make or break a hiring decision. As a jobseeker, you may have read articles about what you need to do to ace the interview and are comfortable with the approach or tactics. But do you know the secrets that hiring agents and interviewers are using to screen you out?       ... Read more

Think of Coca Cola. Do you have a picture of a can of Coca Cola clearly in your mind? What do you see? Red and white/silver aluminum can with distinctive lettering. Now picture a glass of coke, just an ordinary glass with a dark colored beverage inside. It could be Coke, but it could also be Pepsi; it could even be root beer. If the ‘resume’ of Coca Cola just talked about a carbonated soft drink in general terms, and didn’t relay the unique taste, the secret formula that creates the taste, the color of the can and distinctive script that identifies the Coca Cola brand, the general public would murmur a collective sigh of ‘ho-hum’. There are many carbonated soft drinks on the market today, why should they try Coca Cola? Hiring agents might feel the same way about a candidate if ... Read more

A visitor to my SalaryNegotiations.com website asked this question:  When looking on salary.com and other websites, they don’t have the specific job I’m looking for.  How do I give them a salary range without going over or under, but still getting the highest salary they can afford?:
My answer… and I welcome others’ comments.
TWO strategies.

First, let them go first and reply by adding 25% to their offer.  It’s unlikely that will leave money on the table, and you can come down from there to what you think is your best offer.

Second:  There’s also glassdoor.com, vault.com, payscale.com, jobstar.org, and many other sites to find a competitive salary on.