RE: Strategy when dealing with HR depts.

[Stephen Arrants <sarrants -at- roidirect -dot- com>]

Perry --

Oh, I think I know the place you interviewed at.... I'd had a series of
interviews at a telecom company in Santa Rosa about two months ago.  Same
deal -- started at 9am, interviewed by one person after another.  Lunch with
some of them, more chitchat.  Positive feedback.  My salary request was also
high, but I was willing to go lower to reduce my commute (Russian River area
to San Francisco), since I'd be saving about $200/month on commuting costs
plus the "loss" of 3-4 hrs/day on the bus.  

Did the follow-up phone call to touch base.  Agreed on a salary, HR person
said she was sure that was OK and that I'd hear from them by the end of the
week.  I heard from them about a week or so ago.  The HR person couldn't
really remember me--wanted me to refresh her mind.  By this point I'd taken
another job in San Francisco.....

Anyway, 65K is low for the Bay area, but in the Santa Rosa/Petaluma area it
isn't unheard of.  Compensation is one of those areas that a lot of folks
get real emotional about.  think about the total package.  Stock options
(and is the company viable?)?  Good benefits (low cost, good providers,
etc.)?  Telecommuting option?  Also, how low can you go in salary and be
comfortable?  For me, the extra money not spent on Golden Gate Transit plus
the extra time during the workweek was worth a cut in pay.  As we say here,
your mileage may vary...

Also, think about what the position offers--more interesting work?  learning
and putting to work skills that make you more marketable later?  

I'm sure you're going to get a lot of advice about not going lower than what
you think you're worth, especially in the current market.  You're worth what
someone will pay you. Finding out what that figure is and getting as close
to it as possible is more of an arcane art than an exact science.  While HR
departments are on the side of the employer, they must also keep employees
happy.  They don't want to offer you something low and have you jump to
another company in a few months because they offer you $10K-$20K more per
year.  Again, arcane art, this time at their end.  

Most  offers are via telephone, with a follow up in snail mail or FedEx with
the NDA and contract.  As to the lowering your salary request--DON'T.  Let
them counter. Believe me, if they want to hire you they'll negotiate.  As to
requesting a decision, you might call to touch base with the recruiter and
state that you're still interested and enthusiastic and wondering what the
next step is.  Let him know that you want some closure/decision on this by a
certain date because you have some other irons in the fire.   They have
other candidates (surely); you have other offers (potentially).  I don't see
this as an ultimatum--this is a business deal.  You can't wait forever.  

Whatever happens, thank the recruiter, and send a snail mail letter to him
thanking the company for consideration.  You'd be surprised how many people
don't do this--and how many who DO get remembered in the future.


Good luck!

steve arrants

Stephen Arrants
Manager of Technical Communications
ROI Direct.com
415.439.7551
www.roidirect.com
						



-----Original Message-----
From: Perry_Moore -at- themoneystore -dot- com
[mailto:Perry_Moore -at- themoneystore -dot- com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 7:33 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Strategy when dealing with HR depts

I recently had an interview for 4 hours (4 people, 1 hr each) and was taken
out
to lunch. The key people expressed very positive words about hiring me as a
TW,
this was a week ago. When I met with the HR person, his first comment was
that
my requested salary (65k) was too high, so I indicated that 60K would be
fine.
On the following Monday, I contacted him, and he indicated that he had to
talk
with the key person(who said very positive things about me)and would get
back to
me. Now it is Wednesday, and nothing.

Should I lower my salary request lower ( I can live with this since the job
would cancel my current 2 hr commute)? Should I request that a decision be
made
by Friday( since another company as since inquired about my availability)?

Do most major firms in telecommunications offer a job in written form by
mail,
instead of by telephone?  It seems that if they were still interested, an
offer
would have come by now, offering what they would be willing to pay etc.

Any advice out there?

Perry in Santa Rosa, CA.