32 Reasons Why Geeks are Severely Underpaid by Calum Coburn
The full article has 32 points and 5 sections. For your full benefit, I slim down the article to the Top Ten most applicable rules. These rules are not slanted to just IT personnel. They are rules that everyone should use when they are job hunting.
TodaysTen: IF YOU ONLY HAVE TIME FOR ONE:
Centuries of gathering around the night fire listening to stories by village elders had molded our brains. Humans take in and remember facts better and in more emotion if they are linked. What better way to link facts and emotions than into a story? You should at least have a story that was rehearsed. A story can be used many times and improved. Interviews are boring events for the interviewer. Make a lasting impression with a humorous story and you will score a deep impression.
21. Tell them a Story...or 3. Most IT pros know their facts. This isn't enough. You need to be able to make your facts come alive and dance in the form of a convincing story. They've going to buy into YOU, so you need to be memorable and persuasive. One of the best ways to make a great impression is to rehearse your stories. Which stories? Your successful war stories. You know, the Mission Impossible projects you pulled through against all odds. Get skilled at painting scenarios vividly, gather the essential facts on just how challenging it was, and how much money you saved your company. You need to sing your own praises. Yes, it's not as romantic as someone else singing them for you. Unless you can wheel your ex-boss into the interview room, you need blow your own trumpet. Modesty doesn't put much money into your bank account. So investing in your storytelling skills is likely to have a higher rate of return than another technical or degree qualification. Write your stories out and take them to a friend in the Marketing Department for sharpening (Marketing folk can be VERY useful to have as friends when it comes to salary negotiation time).
The Top Ten Points
1. Negotiate. Yes, just by choosing to negotiate, you'll be raising yourself above most of your competition. How? A Society for Human Resource Management survey found that 8 out of 10 recruiters were willing to negotiate salary and benefits with job applicants. Yet only 33% of applicants surveyed said they felt comfortable negotiating. In our experience, the remaining 2 out of 10 who weren't prepared to negotiate with their recruits are either unattractive to work for, had unwisely started with their best offer, or will be forced to revise their thinking when they realize their true choice.
4. Get all offers in writing. You don't want to commit yourself or turn down other positions without first knowing exactly what is being offered. So don't make a decision before it's in writing. Remember that just because it's in writing, doesn't mean it's carved in stone. An offer in writing is a starting point for negotiation. Compare their written offer with your meeting notes (you are taking detailed notes at the end of each meeting, aren't you?).
6. Set your sights high. Are you aspiring high enough? Most geeks don't ask for enough, this is a sad fact of today's marketplace. Agencies and employers typically make an offer, waiting for the IT professional to argue for higher salary, only to be surprised with a meek acceptance. This is usually the symptom of low aspirations. So raise your own price and you're guaranteed to achieve a better result. At first reading, this may sound like a contradiction, we know. Think about this for a moment: one of the most significant ways in which employers judge your ability is through your confidence. If an employer is presented with 3 candidates with roughly similar CV's, and 1 says that he's worth more, who are they going to trust the high risk all important project responsibilities with? A higher aspiration communicates confidence, and confidence inspires confidence and with it higher salaries.
7. Ask for More. Following on from 6 above, there's another strange reason why it's in your interest to ask for more. Executives hate to be wrong. So when your boss has made a decision to take you on, they are making a personal bet on your potential. If you perform well, you make them look good to their peers. If you don't perform, they look bad. Everyone wants to back a winner, the most obvious way to measure the weight of their bet on your potential is the figure they put on your head. So it's in their interest to promote those that they reward the highest - as this proves them right. Are you following? This means that the more you get paid, the greater your chances of a promotion - and thus continues your upward spiral. It's not necessarily fair, but a subtle human principle of psychology. So either make this one count in your favour, or risk someone else in your organisation leapfrog your future progression.
9. Get on the inside track. Get to know people in your target organisation, or better yet - in your target department. Inside information can be the gold dust you need to strike gold. Knowing the right people, winning their trust and asking the right questions can be the key you need to gain the upper hand. This takes time, so start asking your friends who they know.
10. Do your homework. Visit their website - read it, get to know all you can about their industry - past and present. Even if your role is a supporting type that's safely tucked away from the coal face of the changing harsh market, every employer wants staff who are interested in making a difference. Find areas that you're passionate about, remember these just before your interview to fuel your passion for getting this role. This isn't easy to do when you have many interviews to attend, so be selective about the roles you want to take seriously enough to research. It helps to stick to one industry, especially if you're already familiar with the industry. As always, write your questions down and ask your interviewer or friends who have the inside track. Use theh web and other resources to your advantage to know the real worth of your skills and role.
16. Do not fill in salary boxes. Seen the forms that ask you for your last positions' salary or contract rate? Leave it blank. If they ask for your salary expectation, tell them that you're 'open' or are 'negotiable'. Why? Once you state a salary, this rate will form the ceiling beneath which the negotiation game will be played. Similarly, if you give a salary range, you can guess which end of your range you'll be anchored to.
21. Tell them a Story...or 3. Most IT pros know their facts. This isn't enough. You need to be able to make your facts come alive and dance in the form of a convincing story. They've going to buy into YOU, so you need to be memorable and persuasive. One of the best ways to make a great impression is to rehearse your stories. Which stories? Your successful war stories. You know, the Mission Impossible projects you pulled through against all odds. Get skilled at painting scenarios vividly, gather the essential facts on just how challenging it was, and how much money you saved your company. You need to sing your own praises. Yes, it's not as romantic as someone else singing them for you. Unless you can wheel your ex-boss into the interview room, you need blow your own trumpet. Modesty doesn't put much money into your bank account. So investing in your storytelling skills is likely to have a higher rate of return than another technical or degree qualification. Write your stories out and take them to a friend in the Marketing Department for sharpening (Marketing folk can be VERY useful to have as friends when it comes to salary negotiation time).
26. Sell your Value. Sell your value, and make your value visible. Stress what you have to offer the employer. Explain why you are the person for their job. Explain why you deserve a good raise or bonus by pointing out your accomplishments. State your sources from your prior research to underpin your facts. The interview chair is not time to become shy or timid.
29. Many Goals to Score. Flesh out your goals and interests before going into every negotiation, in as much detail as possible. Make our Salary Negotiation Checklist your own by adding in extra columns. The more distinctions you make, the more material you have with which to negotiate. If you walk into a negotiation with only 1 goal, you risk being stuck in a deadlock. With 2 goals, you risk a to-and-fro dilemma. With 3 or more goals and issues your options begin to open up, and with some creative juices you can build the perfect job offer. So divide your goals and negotiation issues into sub goals and sub issues.
If you still need help in persuasion skills, try Top Ten Sales Killers
