Accepting a New Job: “When Can You Start?”

Accepting a new job is a terrific feeling.  But if you have been looking for a while, or if you have gotten the offer for a dream job, you may be skittish about answering the impending question: “when can you start?”  You may want to tell the company that you can start tomorrow, and then are stuck not giving your current employer any notice.  This is not a good business practice and can cause problems later onEmployers will understand if their newly hired candidate needs two weeks to give their current employer proper notice.  In fact, many employers will see this as a sign of respect on the part of the new hire.  They will know you take the company’s policies into consideration with your decisions, and this will make you even more attractive as an employee.

Accepting a New Job: Relocation

So you have received a letter offering you a new position.  Congratulations!  There’s only one problem: you and your family have to relocate to another state.  This is usually something that is made clear before the interview, but some companies decide at the last minute that you would be a good match with another branch of the company.  Now what do you do?

Examine the offer carefully.  Is the company offering relocation assistance?  How soon do you need to be in the new office?  If the company insists that you move within two weeks but doesn’t offer to fly you out to find a new home and isn’t willing to reimburse you for at least some of your moving expenses, you may want to reconsider the position.  The cost and hassle of relocating is significant, especially for families.  If you really want the job, go back to the company and try to renegotiate for relocation assistance and a house-hunting trip.

Finding a Job: Reviewing Job Descriptions

After you have registered with a job search engine, you will be ready to start looking over the posted job descriptions. A few good things to remember are not to underestimate your abilities, but not to overestimate them, either.  Be aware of what you are qualified to do and what you have little or no experience doing.  Don’t apply for a nursing job when you do not have a nursing degree: it is a waste of your time and the interviewer’s time.  But don’t hesitate to apply for jobs in your field that will be a challenge; challenges can keep you from becoming bored at work and can further your career.Make sure you meet all of the criteria for the job; if the position requires 4 years of experience, you can apply if you only have 3 years of experience, but don’t bother if you only have 1 year of experience.

Finding a Job: A Warning about Job Search Engines

While jobs can rarely be found without using the internet and its multitude of job search engines, there is a sense of awareness that job applicants have to have in order to successfully use these websites.  Protecting yourself from harassment and identity theft is important when you have personal information posted on a public website. Remember that when you allow anyone to see your resume that ANYONE can see it.  Your phone number is often on your résumé; if you don’t want it to be made public, you should consider making your résumé private and only sending it to out, not allowing just any employer to see it.  Also, set up a new email address to put on your résumé. Often junk email is part of the internet job search process, so prevent your regular email from getting full by having all job search emails go to a special address.

Finding a Job: Job Search Engines

In the lightning fast World Wide Web, today’s job applicant has to do more than just look in the local newspaper for job openings. Most employers don’t list in newspapers anymore, and instead have switched to advertising their job postings online.  So the job applicant’s search has become an internet search. Job search engines like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com are great because they allow you to find exactly what job you are looking for.  Simply enter your application information and upload your resume.  You can choose to have your resume available for public view or you can send it only to companies with openings that interest you.  The sites also have detailed descriptions of the open positions so you can determine whether or not you will fit the offered job.  Savvy searchers must be wary of unnamed companies, and companies that are national and do not have local branches. These often are “work from home” scams, or will require you to pay money to sell a product.