Job application questions

Mike Danger

Two questions, one short, one not so much:

1. "What salary or rate of pay do you expect to receive if employed?" How do I answer this? I honestly have no idea what the going rate is for anything. I'm looking at jobs in information technology, if there's any kind of master reference for that.

2. I was looking at a job opening at a nearby college a week ago, and it was great -- really great. However, I was about to leave on vacation, and didn't have the time to fill out the application. When I got back, the opening was gone from their site. Could I write to the organization and ask if it's too late to apply, or would that be a faux pas? I'd really hate to miss out on this one if there's a slight chance I could still get in.

Mojo_Jojo

1) "I am open to any reasonable offer"

2) It can't hurt to try, but it's very unlikely you'll get anywhere.

LewieP's Mummy

1. Look at job adverts for the sort of job you want, average out the salaries offered, aim for that.

2. You lose nothing by asking if a) they could or have extended the closing date. But, they probably won't, and to prevent that kind of thing happening, build up stock answers to person specifications - e.g. they always ask about organisation/time management/prioritisation and team work and using initiative, so work on your answers to them now so you can just cut/paste with a bit of tailoring rather than starting from scratch. Always keep your job applications, merge them together under subject headings so you build up your stock answers, that way you're ready to apply for the next job.

Mike Danger

What if they restrict me to an actual number? (for example, on this application, I can't type in any words - the field is restricted in terms of the number of characters you can enter)

Deebaser

1. Go to salary.com and glassdoor.com. Beyond that think about it, what are you willing to accept? What skills do you bring to the table? How much experience do you have?

2. Honestly, you probably won't get anywhere going that route. That said, unless they have other listings you are interested in, go nuts.

bowen

http://www.jobsearchintelligence.com/NACE/jobseekers/salary-calculator.php

Try to shoot for around 10% of that number at the lowest. Salary.com is another one that I use but they give employer's guides as well too, so I'm hesitant to use them as my primary source. Obviously if you have specialized training you can talk up your value.

I always start with the "I'm open to any reasonable offer." as well, if they absolutely refuse without you saying anything, then come out with gun's blazing and shoot for the highest amount for your area and skill.

Another thing you should do is make up your budget, and know what you can absolutely work with at the minimum so if someone lowballs you you are confident in going "sorry but I can't even fathom doing this for less than $[budget]" Keep in mind, again, that you're discussing gross income and not net (so you have to figure in taxes too). Also talk up compensation in terms of vacation time, health/dental insurance, and anything else you want. comp/flex time, will you be salary, overtime concerns, early termination (if they fire you before a year or two) etc. Make sure to get a signed contract outlining what you want there.

Don't even bother with the school like deebaser said.

amateurhour

For question #1, what Deebaser said, Glass Door is especially nice if it's with a larger company and they list the job code on the actual job listing, because you can get an average of what that position pays for that company across the nation.

Darkewolfe

Salary.com will give you a reference, but sometimes their salaries are grossly inflated. You should really spend a lot of time figuring this out, and that means researching it. It's your responsibility (and to your own HUGE benefit) to know how much money your job skills are worth in a given setting. Not having done the preliminary research to have an idea what you're worth is a red flag, and it either means you're a major rookie and should be low-balled as much as possible, or just not someone who does the research.