strike while the iron is hot

People, people, people. How the heck are you? Me… I’m good. Thanks for asking. I, like the weather, am making a change. Out with the jobless winter and in with the employed, new spring. Don’t jump ahead of me here. I didn’t get an offer YET but it’s close ~ sooooo close. I can feel it.

For me spring-cleaning is in order. This is no basic clean up job we’re talkin’ here. I am moving! Yup, leavin’ my digs of six plus years and witnessing the mayhem of moving. Not going far ~ only seven or so miles. Where am I going with this topic you ask? Good question. I’ll get there in a sec.

Do you know if you have bad credit landlords can decide not to rent to you? Do you know if you have bad credit Home Depot does not have to extend you a credit card to buy stuff to fix up your new place? Do you know if you have bad credit utility companies will charge you a deposit because you are a financially risky customer? [last one I swear] Do you know that you can get turned down for a job because you have bad credit?!

So you might have known those first three BUT the fact that employers run credit checks on potential employees is a BIG DEAL. Accountability for everything in your life starts with you. In this scenario, your financial life is talking to your professional life. Is it a good conversation for you? Check it out.

Once you have made it through the interview rounds and you’re in the middle of the process – it’s important you know what to do and what to ask for. Of course you have now checked out your credit so there’s no scare there but what other issues are you going to face during the pre-job offer period?

Negotiations between you and your (cross your fingers) new boss are a critical time in determining where you start and what you’re worth. As Stuart Smalley would remind us, your good enough, your smart enough, and doggone it, they're going to hire you! This link is industry specific but I think it offers a good shake down on how you should be thinking during the negotiation process in addition to pointers on what you could be asking for from an employer.

A site I would like to direct you to and leave you with today is the Salary.com site. Man do I love this puppy. It totally tells me how much I could be making in XYZ job based in XYZ location. It’s fun info. A good resource tool but honestly I have never found myself accurately portrayed in the average data numbers. See what it says about you…


PS – for all you students out there, LinkedIn just launched a student job search effort on the social (professionally oriented) networking site. For more info on social networks check out the last blog posting 

> let’s get our arms around it.