This week is a continuation of analyzing What Color Is Your Parachute and this week chapters five through eight will be discussed. Last week spoke about the importance of realizing that the job hunting ways have changed and that people need to adapt to these changes in order to have a better chance to get a job. This week however speaks about things such as salary negotiation, what to do when job hunting is not working, and two chapters that are a self inventory about each individual reader's strengths and weaknesses. These chapters help the reader see where they might need to improve specific skills in order to seem more appealing or apt for a job.
Chapter five starts out in dealing with how to successfully negotiate a fair salary. By successful, it means being able to get a fair wage, not pull more money from the company. When applying for a job, never bring up wages or salary until the interviewer has said that they want to hire you. This way you don't come off as cocky or arrogant. But occasionally interviewers will ask questions about wages and salary, and this chapter outlines responses that help with dealing with these questions. Some responses vary from general ranges of a fair wage to bringing up that discussing salary is premature. Another big tip is to never be the first one to bring up salary, again it makes you come off as arrogant and just in it for the money. Also researching a typical salary in the field makes it easier to answer questions about salaries if they arise. Knowing an average number will help you know if they are trying to low-ball you or if they see potential in you and are willing to pay more than average. These are all for when you are interviewing for the job. But after knowing that the company wants you, learning how to negotiate a salary however allows you to see how much a company will pay to get you. This shows you the interest level that they see in you. If they are willing to pay an arm and a leg for you, then they have a very high interest in you. A final tip is to get all agreements about salary written or typed and signed. Sometimes people forget what they say and it just isn't fair. Getting agreements in writing clears any type of problem there could be.
Being able to negotiate a fair wage is important, but what happens when job hunting just isn't working? This book has three rules and they all are: Never Give Up. There are plenty of jobs out there, you just have to know where and how to look for them. It also give two types of approaches to how to find a job, the traditional and the parachute methods. The traditional way is looking for jobs online or offline, seeing if any look interesting to you, then putting a resume together, and going in for an interview hoping to get the job. The parachute approach is much different. First you must look at yourself and see what your gifts are, what you love to do, and then seeing what types of jobs fit your gifts and loves. Then after doing this self evaluation, look for any organization or company that fits you. After finding one, go there in person, not a resume sent there, but in person and if you can get a bridge person, someone who knows you and someone for the company. LinkedIn is a great tool to help find bridge people. This approach makes the hunt more about you liking what you would be doing instead of just finding a job to do.
As stated earlier, the parachute approach needs a self evaluation in order to see what gifts you have and what you love. This can be hard to do especially if you don't know how to start a self evaluation. Luckily, chapters seven and eight are all about self evaluation and self inventory. Chapter seven lays out an outline of things you can do in order to start your self inventory. It also says that you must be critical and truthful about yourself in order for this to work. Being truthful helps you see what you can bring to the table and what you are passionate about, which will help you see what you want to do with your life. This tells you how you should be thinking when you are evaluating yourself. Chapter eight however, has open charts and other figures that were discussed in chapter seven, but now they are blank and are meant for the reader to fill out. Throughout the final chapter of this analysis, there are more than 15 charts and figures that give a complete evaluation of what you are, and what you want from a job. It shows your gifts and how you can use those gifts in a job. This chapter is meant for the reader to see who they are as a person and what they need to look for in a job, so when the right one comes, they know for sure that it is the job for them.
This week's chapters relied heavily on self inspection and seeing what you like and should look for when seeking a job. Knowing what your preferences are and how to use them for your advantage helps overall when looking for a job.
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