Job Hunter Newsletter
Generating Multiple Offers
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Job Search Minute Video - "What salary range are you seeking?"
- Job Search Tip of the Week - "Generating Multiple Offers"
- Help Spread The Word!
- Job Search Links
- Free Job Search Book
- Job Search Video
So you think you're ready to ace your interview? Maybe so, but first try reviewing some of the toughest interview questions. How would you answer the question: "What salary range are you seeking?" Need some help? Check out our one-minute-video tip:
www.CollegeGrad.com/job-search-videos/what-salary-range-are-you-seeking.shtml
CollegeGrad.com features more than 60 job tips in one minute video format. Review them all at:
www.CollegeGrad.com/job-search-videos
- Job Search Tip of the Week, by Brian Krueger, author of "College Grad Job Hunter," the #1 book for entry level job search:
"Generating Multiple Offers"
A rather nice situation--yet still perplexing--is to receive an "early offer" from one of the companies with which you have interviewed. By "early," I mean in relation to other potential job offers. You may have had eight interviews in the last month, three of which resulted in second interviews, but one of which resulted in an immediate offer. Worse things can happen.
Yet it still creates a dilemma. Sure, if the offering company is your first choice, accept the job and send the others your regrets. But if not, then what?
The first thing you should do when you receive an early offer is to make the other companies immediately aware of the offer. Your stock will go up markedly the moment you have been "put into play." It is simple human nature to covet what others have, and the price of membership has just gone up for those who want to join in the fight for the coveted prize. That which is difficult to obtain always holds greater value. Interested players are now required to react immediately or lose you. If they are truly interested, they will react. If they have just been stringing you along with a load of others, they will cut you free. Be prepared: you may be isolated with your lone offer. But if you are good, you may receive multiple offers.
The second thing to do is ask the company that made the initial offer for as much time as possible to make your decision. The amount of time you request may depend on the other pending offers (have an idea as to when they might be ready to respond). One week to make the decision is common and you might be able to get as much as two weeks (or more, especially if the offer is made in the first semester of your final year). But this is not the time to go out and start new contacts from scratch. It's time to wind down your search and cash in your chips.
If you are willing to entertain offers from other companies, it is your personal obligation to inform these companies that you have received an initial offer as quickly as possible. You may have only one or two others that are even in the running. If so, restrict these multiple offer tactics to them.
Contact the person within the company who would be your Hiring Manager. Let that person know that you have received a competitive offer and tell the manager which company made the offer. The reason for giving out the company name is that you usually will not have to disclose the dollar amount, since most industry insiders have at least a general idea what others in the field are paying. Do not be surprised if the manager suddenly backs off, because they may realize that their company cannot match the other company's wage/benefit package or other perks. If you have scored your initial hit with an industry leader such as P&G in Consumer Products, Boeing in Aeronautical Engineering, Microsoft in Software, or another market leader, you may find it difficult to draw a second offer. The giants are tough to beat. It takes time to put together a competitive offer and some companies may be just as willing to back away as fight. If this happens and you have a true preference for the secondary company, let them know in very direct terms that you are still more interested in them than the company that made the initial offer.
You will find that once the first offer comes in, it is often quite easy to generate others. If you have done an excellent job of developing yourself differentially from your competition, employers will know they have to react quickly to sway you to their side.
You may have the uncommon luxury of choosing from among multiple job offers. While others are scratching and begging for an offer--any offer--you actually have the difficult (?) decision of deciding which employer you like best. Keep all the negotiations open and honest. You will find that honesty is not only "the best policy," but also your greatest competitive advantage. If one company comes up $2,000 short of what you would accept, discuss it with the appropriate party. The employer would much rather shoot at a specific target. For more specifics on negotiating your offer, see the "Successful Job Offer Negotiation" section at our site.
Next newsletter: "Successful Job Offer Negotiation"
- Help Spread The Word!
Do you know of someone who can benefit from the information in this newsletter? Simply forward this e-mail to them and tell them to subscribe at http://www.CollegeGrad.com/newsletter. Thanks for spreading the good word!
Job Search Links:
- Searching job postings
- Setting up a job alert
- Post your resume
- Update your posted resume
- Creating your resume
- Quickstart resume templates
- Creating your cover letter
- Career information/exploration
- Employer research
- Top Entry Level Employers
- Interviewing techniques
- Salary info--how much are you worth?
- Job offer negotiation
- Job Search Book Online
There are at least two other entry level Web sites that offer books on job searching, proclaming that they will tell you everything you need to know about entry level job search.
However, there is a very important point about these books they don't mention up front: they cost money.
At CollegeGrad.com, we give you two things they don't:
- The #1 entry level job search book ("College Grad Job Hunter").
- It's free.
It's that simple. So don't buy the hype. Read the real information you need for FREE:
http://www.CollegeGrad.com/book
Don't ever pay for books or reports or resources of lower quality when you can access the very best quality information for free.
P.S. Yes, you can buy "College Grad Job Hunter" in hardcopy format as well at Amazon.com for $15 (actually, 30% off that price), but the online version is better. Why? Because the version at Amazon.com is being continually updated at CollegeGrad.com. So the most current version of the book is actually the online, free version.
