You may have a job and are still
looking for one or you may totally be without a a job, but assume you get that
all important call. Congratulations! You've been offered a new job. Time to celebrate,
right? Not quite. While the bulk of the heavy lifting of applying and
interviewing is behind you, a few crucial steps remain before your first day on
the job. Anybody who is working knows this.
After the job interview, you will
send a thank you note to your interviewer as always (refer to earlier articles)
and then two important phone calls will likely occur before the deal is sealed.
The first call is the one in which you'll be offered the job, and the second
call will come to enquire whether you accept or decline the offer. You may be
in a job right now and you feel you got a raw deal! No it is because you did
not ask the 10 questions.
So, which questions are these?
Ask the following 3 questions:
1.
When do you need an
answer by? Always
ask how many days you have to make your decision. You should be given at least
a 24-hour buffer to think over an offer. This gives you time to think about follow-up
negotiating questions. Also, by asking this question, you're signaling that you
may want to discuss the offer, so they'll be expecting your negotiation to come.
2.
Can I receive a copy of
the offer and the benefits package? In the
flurry of excitement that accompanies a job offer, sometimes candidates forget
what the actual offer is. Make sure you request a follow-up email with the job
title, the annual salary, and a complete copy of the benefits package.
3.
If I have questions about the benefits
package, who should I speak with? If you
receive an offer from your potential boss, he may not be able to help with
questions about dental and vision plans, for example, so find out whom to
direct your questions to (perhaps someone from the human resources department).
Prioritize your questions if you're happy with the salary, there's no need to negotiate that point. If you're concerned about flextime, ask about that instead. Keep in mind that this conversation needs to happen on the phone not through email. Emails come off more demanding than you'd think. If an employer opens up an email and sees a list of questions, they will get put off. Also, the speed of their answers gives you an indication of where you have negotiating room, but you can't tell that through an email
4.
When is the start date? Make sure you're on the same page concerning your start
date. The employer may think you can start ASAP, but you may need to give two
weeks' notice to your current employer or need more time to relocate.
5.
Is the salary
negotiable? If
you're unhappy about the salary, now is the time to negotiate. If the person
you're speaking with hesitates when you ask if the salary is open for
discussion, there's probably room to negotiate a higher salary. If the response
is a quick, firm "no", you need to decide whether you want to settle
for it. Now is also the time to ask about a signing bonus.
6.
What are the core hours?
Make sure you know what daily schedule you're getting into.
Is the typical workday 7 to 4 or 9 to 5? Figure out whether you'll be working
40, 45, or 50+ hour weeks.
7.
Who will I be reporting
to? You should have
already covered this in the interview, but make sure you know who your boss is.
Supervisors can make or break a job, so you want to make sure you can get along
with yours.
8.
Can you confirm that I
will …… as we discussed in the interview? The key phrase in this question is "as we discussed in
the interview." If there is something you discussed in the interview, you
should confirm that it stands as part of the offer.
9.
Will the company help me
with my moving expenses? If you need to
relocate for your job, this is a required question. The company may offer to
pay for your movers, which can relieve the financial burden.
10.
Can I have all this in writing? After wheeling and dealing to get the perfect offer, ask to
get a confirmation of everything you negotiated, even if it's just an email
that sums up the modified offer. If you're happy with the offer agreed upon
over the phone, accept it before relocating or quitting your current job.
All that is needed is that when you
get a job offer, you need to know very well what you are getting yourself into.
Be careful not to regret afterwards and saying that you wished if you had
asked. The best thing is that you need to be very gentle and conversational in
your negotiations. Do not make it sound like you are demanding anything but
just enquiring. If you were the top candidate, be sure there is a back-up of
the second best candidate and therefore do not blow up opportunities.
Be very friendly with you desires
and put yourself in the shoes of the employer.
All the best from us.
