Get the Job You Want

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Women'sWorld - Off the Shelves

Get the Job You Want...
...and Command the Salary You Deserve
by Julie Adair King

Women today contribute to the work force in fields from medicine to mining, at levels of the corporate ladder that were unthinkable 20 years ago. Thumb through the business magazines and you can fund all sorts of encouraging stories about women playing in the big leagues, commanding compensation packages that make the good old boys of the Fortune 500 blanch.

The bad news is that although many things have changed in the working world, many things have not. In too many businesses, especially in the fields traditionally dominated by men, women still do not get a fair shake.

On the other hand, we women must shoulder much of the responsibility for our status in the workplace. If we don't get the jobs for which we're well-qualified, if we don't earn the salary we deserve, it's sometimes our own fault.

For some reason, women often don't sell themselves as well in interviews as men do. We don't like to "brag" about past accomplishments. We downplay our successes and are quick to point out our shortcomings.

For many women two areas of the job search are particularly troublesome: interviewing and salary negotiation. Let's take a close look at these two critical aspects.

Acing That Interview

Before you embark on that all-important interview, do thorough background research on the company, the job being offered, and salary standards in that particular industry. Then create your own skills inventory - know exactly what it is you're selling. What benefits will the employer gain by hiring you? What accomplishments in your past offer proof of your abilities? What special skills and unique talents can you bring to the job that others can't?

When you go to the interview, keep in mind the following strategies:

Concentrate on the employer's needs, not yours.
Emphasize how you can help the company achieve its goals.
Focus on the bottom line.
Describe accomplishments instead of simply reciting your past responsibilities.
Explain why you approached the project a certain way.
Explain how the skills you bring will benefit the company (sell benefits, not just features).
Use strong, confident language.
Don't downplay your accomplishments or attribute them to luck.

Aside from questions about your skills, experience, personality, and goals, you will also likely encounter sticky questions such as:

"Are you married? Do you have children?" It's no secret that many employers believe that women who are wives and mothers miss work frequently, are reluctant to travel and often quit to follow their husbands to a new job location. Questions about your family life really represent a hidden objection. The interviewer doesn't really care that you have a loving husband or that you've chosen to have children. The issue is whether your lifestyle will affect your ability to do the job in any way. Which means that the best way to answer such questions is to 1) recognize the employer's fear, and 2) offer a brief statement that calms those fears. Don't belabor the point. As quickly as you can, direct the interviewer's attention to a new topic by asking a question about the specific duties of the job or the company.

"You're overqualified. Why do you want this job?" Like the proceeding question, this one is really a hidden objection. But the statement "you're overqualified" can reflect many different objections. One interviewer may be afraid that you'll want too much money. Another might worry that you'll get bored on the job. Yet another might be concerned that as soon as a better offer comes along, you'll be gone. Before you can answer, find out the interviewer's true objection. Then explain honestly why you believe the job is right for you and is not a step down but a step up that's in line with your career goals. More importantly, remind the interviewer of the additional benefits the company will gain because of your added experience.

"Why have you changed jobs so often?" The best response is simply to say that it's taken you a while to find the right career path, but that you believe you're on that path now. You must convince the interviewer that you're not going to go hopping off to some other job three or four months after you're hired. If you have an erratic work history because of some other circumstance that no longer exists - e.g. an ex-husband's frequent job relocation - it's important to stress that fact. It's doubly important, too, for you to emphasize your accomplishments in the interview. Make it clear that although you only stayed at each job for a short time, you contributed to each company during your brief stay. You can also "accentuate the positive" by pointing out that because you've been exposed to a lot of different companies, you have experience working with many different types of people and in many different environments.

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