Tell Me What You Want... What You Really Really Want

Do you know what you want for your next job? The Spice Girls were on to something here. Though, if the recruiter or HR representative asks if you want to be their lover, there is a whole other set of issues to discuss.

Back to our discussion, do you know what you are looking for in your next position? You need to be intentional when you apply. You need to be decisive when you interview and explain what you are looking for. You want to be excited when you receive your next job offer.

How do we get to that point? First step, list making. Make a list of job titles you would consider. Make a list of desired benefits. List a salary range you would be comfortable with. List locations (cities) you would consider working from.

Next step, rank the items in each of these lists. Which are non-negotiable? Which are items that may be considered pipe-dreams unless you worked at Google? Which can be labeled as “want” instead of “need”?

Final step, assess your final lists. The world would be very different if everyone got what they wanted. Sorry to break it to you, but it doesn’t work that way. You need to be realistic about what to expect and what can truly be worked out. If your last role as a Customer Service Rep paid 40k a year, the likelihood of you getting 100k, even though it is on your list, is not very realistic. If you stated that you were looking for 100k for a similar role to a recruiter, they would very quickly dismiss you as a candidate much like Kanye as a presidential candidate.

There are tools to assess what may be realistic and what to expect. Glassdoor.com has many organizations in its database and gives you a glimpse of benefits and salaries each organization has. Payscale.com and Indeed.com have salary tools that help give you an idea of what salary range to expect in your specific region.

Now that you defined what you want. Apply to those jobs that fit your needs and confidently state what you are looking for in your next interview. There is nothing more intriguing to a recruiter than a confident candidate that knows what they want and what to expect.

This post was sponsored by Stallion Consulting Group, LLC.

Stallion Consulting Group provides one-on-one career coaching and training and partners with companies to improve their recruiting processes. Use code HappyHour20 to get 20% off of any career coaching solution. (Code expires 2/28/17)

#Glassdoor #Payscale #Indeed #JobSearching