Negotiating Your Perfect Salary for a job

This article is from Brighter Monday 

The interview session is going so well and you can bet the last coin in your bank account that you have this job in the proverbial bag. Then the question of how much you are expecting them to pay you hits you in the face and your steady train of well-thought answers halts. You struggle to find a favorable answer that will not sound ridiculously high to the panel and at the same time, will not undervalue your skills and experience.You try to remember the calculations you made while seated at the reception, nothing comes to mind so you blurter, “I am ready to go with your existing pay scale.”The panel members cross their arms, exchange glances and seal a fate you will live each day at the work-place regretting you had known better.

So how do you avoid putting yourself in a regrettable situation? The following pointers might come in handy.

1. Understand that you MUST negotiate

There is not up for negotiation – pun intended. You must be ready to negotiate. Understand that it is a business transaction where you are selling your experience and knowledge for the best price. The panel on the other side want the best package for the most affordable price. They will always start the discussion at the lowest because they expect you to negotiate your way up. Do not take it personally when the panel places what you consider beneath your expectation on the table. They too have a budget they have to work within and they want to stay within these limits as much as possible.

2. Understand your Value

Self-awareness is extremely critical. You need to have a full understanding of your skills, capabilities, unique selling point, strengths and weaknesses. Conduct an honest SWOT analysis with the aim of knowing your strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. For instance, if your qualifications match the requirements and you have the required experience it gives you more grounds for negotiation. If you lack experience, your unique selling point and individual strengths come in handy to assist you negotiate for your ideal salary.

3. Understand your potential employer and the industry

You must conduct research about the position you will be interviewing for. Ask your professional connections the estimate value of the position in question. Look through job websites and concentrate on adverts that openly give a range of expected salary. With such information coupled with your experience and strengths, you can then formulate your ideal least acceptable value. Also, kindly note that a company’s pay scale will depend on its size, market share, annual revenue, among other factors. You most certainly don’t expect an SME to match a Big 5’s pay scale for a certain similar position.

4. Understand that you must balance your negotiation

Money is an important factor to consider when considering a job offer, but it is not the only factor. There are times where the potential employer will present a fixed offer. Do not let that put you down. Probe about additional benefits, working hours, perks and bonuses, transport and meals, and do your research about the work environment. You might find that what you consider to be missing in the salary area is abundant on other benefits. Decide what is important to you and let it help you make your decision. You might not have power of negotiation about what goes to your bank account, but you definitely have the power to negotiate how you spend your time at work, your perks and bonuses, and your personal time. Learn to negotiate for the complete ideal package.

5. Understand the modalities

First, you must understand that the salary talk should be last. You priority goal should be marketing your skills, experience and unique selling points. By the time the salary talk comes, your interviewers should have a clear picture of how lucky they will be to have you in their team.

You must fully understand the job at hand and your specific involvement. Write down the roles listed in the job advert for reference. During the entire interview listen to what the interviewers are saying and ask questions where necessary. Know who you will be reporting to as it will help you gauge the importance of the role in the company hierarchy. Ask about the company’s organogram. Such facts will help you in your negotiation.

Always take time to think. Even when an offer is made, pause and think about it. Jumping too quickly into a deal makes you look desperate and no one wants to hire a desperate employee. Any panel will respect your request for time to think about the offer. DO NOT mention that you need to consult your spouse or parent (even if you have to). You should always come across as a level- headed, above- average-intelligence adult, with the ability to make their own decisions.

When all is said and done, you will get what you negotiate. You know what you deserve, negotiate your way to it.

What determines your salary?

By setting the proper value on the services you provide, you will set your rates where you can charge what you deserve and also be successful. How do you know if you are charging enough?
Consider these things:

1. Your Training- Consider how much education have you had to build the expertise that you offer in your services? Know what skills make you unique from your competitors or colleagues who offer the same services/ are in the same position as you. Your employer will be paying you for your expertise, and will be paying you for what they need from you. Therefore, never underestimate the value of that – your employer will only pay for time spent getting their top notch work done. You are the expert, after all!

2.  Your experience- Think of how much work experience you have in providing the services you offer to your clients? Your employer should be paying you for your years of experience as well. Experience is equivalent to time spent on task and this contributes to your expertise. The thing you do with the least amount of effort is the thing you should be charging the most for.. and that only comes from experience! For instance, those in management level work less but earn the most, while the others work more and earn less.

3.Your own growth- Most Kenyans Lack a reading culture. No wonder someone said that “If you want to hide something from a Kenyan, keep it in books.” Make it a habit to keep learning something new every day. By being in continuous learning mode, you will always be growing within your profession and maintaining that expert status. In fact, to become an expert you only need to read 3 books on a particular subject.
Also, consider working with a mentor to help in your own growth as a professional. Study new areas of your profession and keep on top of your ideal client industry trends. Being proactive will always keep you ahead of the curve and this will keep your pipeline of clients and potential clients full.

4. Your confidence- One of the biggest parts of valuing yourself is your confidence level. Confidence comes with experience, for sure, but it’s important to feel good about what you are charging. Remember you should not overcharge or undercharge your value. How confident are you that your rates are high enough? Setting your rates to be the ‘market’ price or the best deal in town, is potentially announcing your lack of confidence to the world.
When you really understand your own value, you will be able to convey that to your clients/ employer, and they will recognize your value as well. You will not fell under paid.

Skills to writing a perfect Curriculum Vitae (CV)

7 Ways to Make an Impact With Your Cover Letter

Job hunting today is a tedious process due to high competition in the job market. But even with so many applications; do you ever wonder why you never seem to receive calls from employers? The success or failure in a job hunting process is contingent upon the way one someone writes his or her cover letter.

Writing a good cover letter is sometimes more important than writing a resume. I say this because the bearing of the letter is definitely heavier than that of the resume. It is the first thing that your prospective employers read about you.  The assertiveness and the command of your letter make them think twice before sending your portfolio to the paper shredder.

Most recruiters spend less than a 60 seconds going through your CV. Therefore, you have a very limited amount of time to arouse enough curiosity (in the mind of the employer) to warrant a look at your resume. A catchy cover letter is what drives the hiring manager to go through your CV.

How do you create a cover letter that employers find genuinely interesting?

1. Avoid verbosity – Don't use two words when one will do, in short, avoid too many unnecessary verbs in your sentences. Remember you have limited space to make an impact; therefore you need to choose your words carefully.

2. Write to sell - Every word you use in your cover letter needs to be focused on four things: the position for which you are applying, the organization in which you will work, your ability to meet (and exceed) the needs of the employer as well as your desire to work for the company.

3. Be personable, professional and persuasive - Address your letter to an individual (the contact person) and use the organization's name in the text at least one time. If you do not have the name of a person to reference, use the internet or the phone and find out who is handling that vacancy. Get creative if you have to, but never use "To Whom it May Concern".

4. Be relevant - Write anything that may be of relevance to your desired and highlight capabilities that are important and related to the job position you're applying for.  Remember to match your accomplishments and abilities with the needs of the company (specifically the expectations for the open position).

5. Focus on your achievements and not on the tasks you were assigned to perform. Majority of people do the mistake of filling up their cover letters with all the responsibilities they were assigned to work on which back fires them in the interview sessions as the employers are interested in what you have accomplished and not on what you were assigned to accomplish.

6. Let the employer know you want to work for them and state specific reasons for your conclusion. Hopefully, you will have done enough research about the organization to know why you would want to be a part of their team.

7. Proofread. Check for any grammatical errors before you send your cover letter. Nothing will work against you faster than a misspelled word. In fact, that is often one of the first screening measures taken in identifying which job candidates make it to the next level. If your materials are not perfect, they may be the first to end up in the trash can.

Positive Thinking in the workplace

How to Stay Positive Thinking in the Workplace 

“A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes”. Mahatma Gandhi

Positive thinking is expecting, talking and visualizing with certainty what you want to achieve, as an accomplished fact. A positive attitude brings strength, energy and initiative. The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

Workplace diversity is one thing that should be appreciated. We are all different in various dimensions; in age, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities / qualities, race, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, parental status, religious beliefs, work experience, and job classification.

Some of us do not like the work/ job that you do, a colleague at work, the environment at work, stressful workloads, the deadlines to beat, the pressure to perform, your boss e.tc. In a way keep in mind the 90/10 Principle. 10% of life is made up of what happens to you …90% of life is decided by how you react…… Having a positive attitude at work makes the time you spend at work more pleasant and calm, but staying positive is sometimes difficult. In fact, sometimes it can seem like Mission Impossible. Instead of falling victim to the negative work attitudes that surround you, make an effort to buck the trend.

Look for the good in your co-workers and your workplace. By learning how to communicate with co-workers effectively, you will gain recognition as a force of positive attitude in the workplace.

Be Appreciative

It is always nicer to get a pat on the back rather than to get stabbed in the back. If you're wondering "how do I change my negative attitude," start by observing how you communicate with co-workers. If you practice asking useful questions, giving accolades and being gracious at work for two weeks, you'll notice a difference in the people you work with and in your own feelings about work

How to Communicate With Co-workers Effectively:

1. Give thanks. Thank co-workers for the work they do that makes your job easier - including the peers, managers and office assistants. Even thank the security guard for making you feel safe at work. Cultivate a thankful, positive attitude in the workplace, and in return you'll notice a change in how co-workers treat you.

2. Acknowledge a job well done. One of our favourite ways to create positive energy at work is to give a "Most Valuable Player" award. Once a month, stage a vote for the office MVP - asking each voter to include why their nominee should get the award. You can even have employees vote on what the award will be, from premium parking to a tiara or crown.

3. Celebrate. Take the time to celebrate birthdays, holidays, life changes and achievements. Not sure how to celebrate? Bring in a Nerf football; bake cookies and bring them to work; or put up a graffiti poster where people can leave positive comments.

Recharge Yourself

A favourite quote of ours is "A dead battery can't charge a dead battery." Stop complaining about negative work attitudes and lend your own energy to creating a more positive attitude in the workplace. Be the office live wire! How to Communicate with Co-workers Effectively:

1. Be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is infectious. If you're going to spend eight hours a day at work, why not make it more than just tolerable. Make an effort to smile, laugh, and enjoy your job. If you work to create a more positive attitude in the workplace, others will follow.

2. Practice random acts of kindness. Each day try to do something kind and helpful. Offer to cover for a co-worker so they can attend their kid's soccer game, bring a busy colleague a cup of coffee, or volunteer for a project. You don't have to create elaborate situations, just keep your eyes out for opportunities to do a good deed.

3.  Look for opportunities to have fun. We all know someone who can make anything fun--and make time fly. Be that person. It's amazing how a joke here and a silly celebration there can breathe life into a stale office. Before you know it, other people will start coming to work with more bounce in their step.

Avoid Negative Work Attitudes

Negative work attitudes create a vicious cycle that can rob energy from an organization. If you're famous for your awful moods and stinging commentary, try something new.

How to communicate with Co-workers Effectively:

1.  Resist sarcasm. One of us grew up on the East Coast where sarcasm seems to be as natural as breathing. It's tough to break the cycle of sarcasm, but it's worth the trouble. If you're feeling sarcastic, challenge yourself to come up with something clever to say that energizes the positive attitude in the workplace, rather than depleting your co-worker’s energy.

2. Look for the good. It's easy to get caught in an office drama trap. Instead of blaming and gossiping, focus on the good qualities of your co-workers. You'll be surprised by how much of a positive attitude in the workplace this will create and how much more productive you and your co-workers will be.

3. Stab 'em in the front. This came from one of our uncles. He was fond of saying, "Friends stab friends in the front." Again, resist the temptation to stab co-workers in the back. Instead, challenge yourself to be honest with co-workers without being mean.

There are times when we must go through negative situations. Maybe people say something negative about us, or they show rejection or even resentment against us. In such situations, it may be difficult to stay positive. We may be inclined to react negatively to them. That won’t do us any good though; doing so will just make the situation worse. People may behave even more negatively to us. Our day would be filled with anger and disappointment. At the end, nobody wins.

Staying Positive in Negative Situations

Staying Positive in Negative Situations

There are times when we must go through negative situations. Maybe people say something negative about us, or they show rejection or even resentment against us. In such situations, it may be difficult to stay positive. We may be inclined to react negatively to them. That won’t do us any good though; doing so will just make the situation worse. People may behave even more negatively to us. Our day would be filled with anger and disappointment. At the end, nobody wins.

Though it’s not easy, it’s important to stay positive in negative situations. Beat the negative situations by staying positive. Here are 15 tips on how to do it; pick the ones that work for you:

1. Never respond when you are not calm. If you are not sure that you are calm, don’t respond. Take time to calm yourself down first.
2. Take a deep breath as a first step to calm yourself down.
3. Speak in gentle tone to reduce the tension of the situation.
4. Realize that you can find opportunities in negative situations. Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”
5. Look at the content of what people say to you for something positive that you can act upon to improve yourself. Don’t just reject the whole messages.
6. For the rest of the messages which is negative, simply ignore it.
7. Maintain positive view of the people. Maybe you don’t like their messages or behavior, but that doesn’t mean that you can hate them personally.
8. Realize that having negative feelings will just hurt you, not them. So there is no reason for you to have any negative feeling.
9. If you make mistakes, be open to admit it.
10. If you make mistakes, remember this quote by George Bernard Shaw: “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
11. If you can, listen to motivational audio program to feed positive thoughts into your mind.
12. Talk to a positive friend who can encourage you.
13. Remember your favourite quotes to give you inspiration and motivation. This is one reason why you should have quote of the day.
14. Look at the negative situations as your training sessions for real life. The higher you climb in life, the worse the negative situations would be, so you’d better be prepared for them.
15. Realize that you can’t please everyone. In fact, nobody can. Sometimes you need to just let some people go. Realizing this will relieve you from a lot of unnecessary burden so that you can focus on the people that you can positively interact with.