Ask for feedback

If you feel like you established a solid rapport with your interviewer but didn’t ultimately land the job, you can always ask them if there’s anything you can do to improve your performance going forward in the interview process.  You may receive very positive feedback to the tune of, “You were absolutely great, but we hired someone who was just a little better qualified.”  Conversely, you might receive constructive information to help you improve, such as, “We didn’t think that you adequately researched the position before we talked.”  Either way, if you feel comfortable asking for feedback, getting another person’s perspective on your interviewing skills can be invaluable.

Connect on LinkedIn

Let’s say that you come in second for a job, and the company you interviewed with lets you know their reasoning when they deliver the bad news.  If you got beat out by someone who was just a slightly better candidate, you might consider connecting with your interviewer on LinkedIn and asking them to keep you in mind for future opportunities.  If the interviewer was truly impressed with you, you can capture that momentum and use it to establish an ongoing relationship.

It’s important to realize that some people you meet during the interview process will not feel comfortable continuing to communicate with you afterward.  Don’t take this personally—company policy may not even permit them to do so.  However, for those who work in an environment that allows them to provide you feedback or continue building a professional relationship with you, making the effort to build that connection can be an asset to your job search.

Global resume authority Jessica Hernandez of Great Resumes Fast is a former HR Manager who partners with professional- and executive-level candidates to create authentic, branded resumes and cover letters.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

According to the article Starting salaries of new college graduates drop:

The National Association of Colleges and Employers said in its quarterly report on salaries that 2010 graduates’ average starting salary was $48,661, down 1.3 percent from the initial salaries of 2009 graduates.

As if new grads need more bad news in this economy…

Among the perks, the rental car of your choice…

Unlike other companies that have recruited him (and forced him into compact cars), Microsoft let Tony pick his rental car. He went with a ” mid-sized SUV, since my wife doesn’t let me have one.”

…a larger than average per diem…

…arriving the night before his interview. Microsoft gave him a $150 per diem, which he used to take a friend out for dinner.

…and a sneak peak at some of their latest technology.

During Tony’s interview, which was last fall, Microsoft let him see an early version of its unreleased operating system, Windows Phone 7.

Before seeing it, Tony emptied his pockets into a little locker outside the lab where Microsoft kept the phones which ran Windows Phone 7. He then walked through a metal detector. After that, he saw the new mobile OS, which left him quite impressed.

Sounds like a very memorable experience. Too bad he turned down the job!

Have a amazing recruiting experience? Leave us a comment!

Here are the details:

The National Association of Colleges and Employers said that average salary offers to 2010 bachelor’s degree candidates are down 1.7% to $47,673, compared to $48,515 last year.

But there is some good news. It appears that not all sectors have been hit hard. For instance, technical degrees are showing salary growth over 2009.

Want to know more? Get the whole story here

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If you are in this situation, reading How To Deal With Job Rejection might help. It’s one man’s thoughts on how to come to terms with the inevitability or rejection.

In his own words:

Much like love, getting a job is about making a good match. You, the candidate, must match the job better than anyone else the company considered. Precision matters here. If you’re not a strong enough candidate, they won’t hire you because you won’t be able to do the job. If you’re too strong a candidate, they won’t try to hire you because you might want too much money or you’ll leave at the first opportunity.

Don’t let rejection get to you. Just pick yourself up and carry on. Job hunting is more of a marathon than a sprint.

This is news to me. I have received plenty of rejection letters in my time but I have never responded to one in this manner.

Here’s the idea…

…write a gracious reply, thanking the company for their time and reaffirming [your] strong desire to work for them.

Seems to have worked for this person. But I would probably caution you against this technique. Companies usually send out rejection letters once they have an accepted offer in hand. I would guess that most successful candidates don’t turn down offers that they have already accepted (especially in this economy).

So while you might get lucky, your time would be better spent moving on to other open positions rather than following up on rejection letters.

Anyone disagree?

Truth be told, I’m a bit of a personal finance junkie. While I am still paying down my student loans (and will be for the next several years), I do my best to avoid any kind of consumer debt. The thought of running up large credit card balances scares me.

That being said, I know first hand how difficult it can be to get by on an Entry Level salary. It was a big shock when I landed my first job offer, only to be surprised at how small the offer was. But I wasn’t alone. Many of my classmates and friends ran into the same problem. Often, your first job pays you barely enough to live on (or in some cases less, depending on your current lifestyle).

So when I read Stretching An Entry Level Salary As Much As Possible (from The Sun’s Financial Diary), I thought it would be worthwhile to share some of their tips.

Most of the article has to do with how you can modify your lifestyle to suit your income. One of the best pieces of advice has to do with how you can reduce your housing costs:

Rent a smaller unit. Rent an apartment unit that is fairly small but closer to work. Once you graduate from college and starting working as a young professional, rent will probably become your largest monthly overhead expense.

This is great advice. You can even take it a step further and find a roommate. This is a great way to cut down on one of your biggest expenses.

Hopefully, when you land your Entry Level Job, it will exceed your salary expectations. But just in case it doesn’t, give Stretching An Entry Level Salary As Much As Possible a read.

Not one to go out without making a statement, Cat decided to express her displeasure by crafting her resignation letter in crayon.

Behold, the greatest resignation letter I’ve ever seen:

Want the rest of the story? Read Best Resignation Letter Ever.

It’s a pretty easy read. However, there is one example that warrants repeating here:

Playing games:

Negotiating salary is one thing; dragging your employer along is another. You have every right to think over an offer and review the terms and conditions, but people have better things to do than wait for you to twiddle your thumbs. Many job offers will come with a deadline that requires you to respond within a matter of days.

One reason you might be tempted to delay giving an answer is because you have another offer you’re waiting on. Choosing one over the other is hard when the situation is so uncertain, but you do need to pick one or you could end up losing both.

I’ve been in a situation before where I’ve had multiple offers and it is extremely stressful. When this happened to me, I eventually chose the larger company and politely rejected the smaller firm.

Well guess what? I hated the job at the big company. I woke up every morning with knots in my stomach because I hated my job so much. So what did I do? I called up the smaller company and asked if there were still any openings. While the original job had been filled, there was another opening and I was hired a week later.

This was only possible because I didn’t burn any bridges. I didn’t botch the job offer because I was honest and open with both parties. If you are ever faced with the same situation, treat both companies with the same amount of respect. You never know when you might need another job.

Check out the other four ways to botch a job offer.

It’s extremely frustrating to me that someone may have to turn down an offer due to the lack of benefits. But that’s exactly what happened to Lindsay Straub. She was about to accept a job offer when her Mom called…

She told Straub that come fall, she’ll get kicked off the insurance she currently has as a dependent through her mother’s employer. This new job doesn’t offer insurance, so Straub had to turn down the job.

This is such a tragedy. Especially when you consider the numbers quoted in the article:

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, nearly 80 percent of recent college graduates who are looking for jobs haven’t found one.

So many New Grads, so few jobs. Such a sad situation.

The article goes on to list some suggestions about how to handle a lack of insurance. I would council any Entry Level Job seeker to take a look at this article and get a head start on protecting themselves.

Have you had insurance issues? Leave us a comment!