Archive for the ‘Offers’ Category

Interesting post over at Guerrilla Job Hunting. The general idea is that it can pay off to reply to a rejection letter.

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?

Even though finding an Entry Level Job is often “the hard part”, it’s not the only challenge that you will face. It can also be very challenging to get by once you’ve found one.

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.

Cat Sacdalan has guts. When life at work became unbearable, she decided to quit. While this alone doesn’t make her extraordinary, it’s how she quit that really takes the cake.

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.

I read an interesting article the other day called Five Ways to Botch a Job Offer. As the name suggests, it outlines ways that you can blow it at the end of the hiring process.

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.