Career Marketplace Blog

In this article from the Wall Street Journal, Dennis Nishi tells job seekers, Job Offer? Check It Out.

Read an excerpt of Nishi’s article below. Read Full Article

While working as a financial consultant in Miami, William Kaiser was offered a full-time job in the compliance department of one of his bank clients. The pay was fine but Mr. Kaiser had other potential concerns.

“As a consultant, you might not be working for a full 12 months. There’s always an attraction to be in a full-time opportunity—if it’s a good fit,” says Mr. Kaiser, who started prodding his professional network for inside information about the workplace culture at the bank.

That’s when he found out about the spate of turnovers in the department that he would be working in. The bank also had past issues with its compliance practices that might not have been fully resolved. Mr. Kaiser graciously declined the offer.

In this tough job market, not everybody has the luxury of turning down work. But settling for a job that you could end up hating poses risks that can negatively affect your career. It can, for example, visibly taint your attitude toward work and co-workers, or typecast you into a job role that can be hard to break when you’re ready to move.

Read On

In this article for LifeHacker, Amy Gallo explains, Should You Accept the Job Offer or Walk Away?

Read an excerpt from Gallo’s article below. Read Full Article

The hiring manager calls with great news: the job is yours. Phew, the hard part is over, right? Maybe not. Determining whether to take a job offer can—and should—be a difficult decision. In a bad economy or if you’re eager to get out of your current job, it can be tempting to accept any offer. But before you take on a job, you need to evaluate the situation carefully.

What the Experts Say

Read On

In her article for U.S. News & World Report, Alison Green explains, How to Kill a Job Offer at the Last Minute.

Mistakes Green describes in this article include:

• Refusing to answer until you’ve heard from other employers
• Not responding to the offer right away
• Making over-the-top-salary demands

Read Full Article

In this article from U.S. News & World Report, Alison Green explains, How to Follow Up on Your Job Application.

Read an excerpt from Green’s article. Read Full Article

Job seekers often struggle to figure out when they should follow up with an employer after applying for a job, or whether they should follow up at all. Here’s some guidance on how you can follow up appropriately at each stage of the hiring process.

After you submit your application. Like it or not, after you submit your application, the ball is in the employer’s court. They might not even be reviewing applications for a few weeks, or they might have hundreds to sift through. So this stage of the game is about being patient.

Job seekers are sometimes advised that they should call at this stage to “check on their application” or to try to schedule an interview. But most employers don’t respond well to this, viewing it as overly aggressive and, yes, annoying. After all, you’re not the only person applying for the job; multiply your phone call by 200 to 300 applicants, and you’ll see why employers are annoyed.

Read On

In this article for About.com Dawn Rosenberg McKay explains, How to Evaluate a Job Offer.

Read an excerpt for Rosenberg McKay’s article below:

In this article for About.com, Dawn Rosenberg McKay suggests Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Accept a Job Offer.

Questions for McKay’s article include:

• Have I Been Offered a Fair Salary?
• What Do I know About My Potential Co-Workers?
• Can I Handle the Commute to This Job?

Read Full Article

In this video from the Chico State Career Center, learn how to negotiate your salary during the interview and job offer process.

Career Center – How to Negotiate Salary

U.S. News and World Report article, Great Interview But No Offer: Why You Didn’t Get the Job, Lindsay Olson explores possible reasons you didn’t get the job.

Reasons to look for in Olson’s article:

• You didn’t sell yourself
• The job specifications changed
• You sounded desperate

Read Full Article

Check out this U.S. News and World Report slideshow, 21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew from Alison Green.

View Slideshow

Tips from this slideshow include:

• We actually want you to be honest
• We want you to ask questions
• We need to know your real weaknesses
• You should address being overqualified in your cover letter
• The phone interview is not a casual chat
• We want you to talk in the interview, but be concise

Read full article

U.S. News & World Report article, 5 Things to Do When You Get a Job Offer*, Alison Green gives great advice on what you should do before you accept a job offer.

Tips from this article include:

• “Always, always, always get every detail of a job offer in writing, if you want those details to be respected.”
• “If you don’t feel like you have a good understanding of the manager, the culture, or the expectations of the job, now is the time to ask.”
• “Listen to your gut.”

Have you accepted a job offer you later regretted? How did you handle the situation? Tell us more in the comments section.

*Click link to read full article.