Re: Need interview advice :)

[Lynn Gold <figmo -at- RAHUL -dot- NET>]

Cheryle Wiese wrote:
>
>I am going on a second interview for a Documentation Writer position
>this afternoon and am in a slight state of *panic*. Any responses
>(private email is fine)to the following questions would be very much
>appreciated:
>
>1) If the interviewer does not mention salary or benefits, should I
>bring it up? How? It wasn't even hinted at in the first interview, so I
>haven't the foggiest what they are offering. I need to know, because I
>have a first interview another company on Thursday and want to be able
>to make an "apples to apples" comparison, should it be necessary.

Granted, this answer is going to be a bit late for Tuesday, but...
DO NOT bring up salary.  Let THEM do it.  Let them come up with what they
think you should make; you might be pleasantly surprised.

>2) If a job offer is tendered by "company a" is it appropriate to ask
>for some time to consider the offer? If so, how much time?

I'd say two to three weeks, and try to stall them off a bit longer if you
need it.  You should play straight and tell them you're considering an
offer from a second company and want to see what they both look like before
you make your decision.  If this gets the person at "company a" upset,
remind them you'd rather go with them AFTER seeing the other offer than
before, wondering what you'd passed up.  (It's TRUE, isn't it?)

When dealing with "company b," tell them you've got an offer in the wings
from another company.  This will cause them to come up with their offer
faster and possibly get you a better offer from them.  OTOH, if "company a"
is your first choice, tell THEM you have the offer from "company b" and let
THEM bargain.

>3) In the first interview with "company b" would it be appropriate to
>mention that I had recently interviewed with another company, and was
>curious as to when they would be narrowing the field for second
>interviews?

Absolutely.

>Why do I ask? History. Two years ago, in another profession, I was
>interviewing with two companies for similar jobs. One company offered me
>a job, but I really wanted to work for the other company. So, I bought a
>little time and called the second company and told them my situation.
>They responded with a job offer. Is this peculiar? Of course, I may not
>get ANY offers, so this could all be wishful thinking. I just want to be
>prepared and make the best possible decision. Thanks in advance for any
>advice. :)

Your situation is normal.  Most of the time you wind up with at least one
offer, sometimes you wind up with two, and on rare occasion, none.

My experience has been you get a better idea of how the company operates
when there's pressure on.  In one job search, I had one company that REALLY
wanted me and another couple that were interested but the feeling wasn't
mutual, and another where they wanted me and I was interested.  When the
pressure was on, MY "company a" was REALLY cool, while my "company b" was
pretty lame.  In the end, I enthusiastically went with "company a," and it
was the right move.

--Lynn

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html