Biases to watch out for while job hunting?
post by malthrin · 2011-05-21T19:28:03.877Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 8 commentsI'm in the process of searching for a new job. I'm currently employed, but I'm dissatisfied with my salary and career growth options. I've done a couple of phone interviews and one face-to-face interview already, with several others lined up next week. The face-to-face interview went well, and I'm anticipating an offer from them next week. However, while considering how I would evaluate that offer, I caught myself awarding them points in reciprocation for their implicit praise in singling me out as a worthy candidate. Now I'm wondering what other biases I might be falling prey to in this process. Thoughts?
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comment by jsalvatier · 2011-05-21T22:05:05.901Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Not exactly what you asked for, but User:ameriver recommended the book What Color Is Your Parachute during the course of the Special Relocation Task Force. I've looked through it a bit, and it looks quite clear and taskified. In particular the advice on salary negotiation seems relevant. It argues:
- Negotiating your salary can benefit you a lot ($10,000's per year)
- Trying to negotiate is rarely offensive
- The best time to negotiate is after they've decided they want you to be their employee for sure but before you've agreed to be their employee
It also gives concrete advice on how to negotiate:
- Try to offer them a range of salaries where your lower bound is slightly below their upper bound
- To determine their upper bound, try to find the salary range of similar jobs in their company or other similar companies
The bias that springs to my mind as relevant here is Anchoring on a number they give you. What Color's advice seems like it would help for avoiding that.
Replies from: malthrin↑ comment by malthrin · 2011-05-22T00:18:17.030Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Yes, I am prepared to negotiate on compensation. I attempted to negotiate a larger raise at my current position during my last review and convinced my superior, but he was overruled by HR. While I failed in that instance, I'm now more confident about arguing my side of salary negotiations.
My situation is somewhat complicated by being represented by recruiters for all of these opportunities. My current thought is that getting two+ offers through the same recruiter would be ideal; he'll be incentivized to argue my case on compensation much more than if there was only a single offer that he needed me to accept.
Replies from: jsalvatier, MartinB↑ comment by jsalvatier · 2011-05-22T06:55:26.348Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Do you have advice on how to get find and get recruiters to help you?
Replies from: malthrin↑ comment by malthrin · 2011-05-23T01:09:48.911Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Recruiters spend a significant amount of time combing LinkedIn and various job sites for good candidates - they're already looking for you, the trick is to convince them that the effort/reward in placing you is good. So, things to do:
0) Have a decent resume. It should be easy for the recruiter to see a) your skills and b) what sets you apart from the crowd. 1) Post your resume on industry-specific sites and update your skills on LinkedIn. Make sure you can be contacted via these sites. 2) Respond promptly to initial communications. This is big; if you're difficult to contact, that effort term goes way up. 3) Represent yourself well on the phone call. The content is important, but so is the delivery; the recruiter is gauging how well you'll perform during interviews.
If you make it that far, you will probably be invited to meet your recruiter face-to-face. This is mostly a formality to make sure that you are punctual and that you don't smell bad.
I started job hunting in earnest two weeks ago. I've spoken with 5 recruiters on the phone, met with 3 in person, and turned another 6 or 7 away because I felt like I should give the first set time to work.
Replies from: jsalvatier↑ comment by jsalvatier · 2011-05-23T02:33:33.305Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Thanks! For context, what field are in?
Replies from: malthrin