You will face many situations as you search for your next job, and as you'll see below, one of the worst things you can do is opt out of opportunities. Here are 10 newbie mistakes you should avoid:
1. You don’t get enough information about a networking contact before reaching out. You would probably feel more comfortable and confident reaching out to a referral contact if you knew something about them. Your success in securing a meeting with someone you don’t know will improve if your request explains why you want to meet.
The better option: When you receive the name of a referral or someone you should speak with, ask why. Find out how long your contact has known this person, in what context, and why it would be mutually beneficial.
8. You forget to ask the time frame for making the hiring decision. If you don’t know what the next steps in the hiring process are and what the company timeline is for filling the job, how will you know when to follow up? Emergencies, vacations and budgets can cause timelines to slip, so don’t assume no news is bad news.
The better option: Immediately contact the person you interviewed with, preferably via phone, and ask about the process and time frame. Also ask if it would be OK for you to follow up if you haven’t heard from the interviewer within that timeline.
10. You insist on making the same salary you made at your last job. Many factors impact your value in the workplace – only one of which is your previous salary. Turning down an interview or job offer based solely on salary could send the message that you are inflexible.
The better option: Do a thorough evaluation of what the salary ranges are for the types of jobs you are interested in. This means speaking to peers, recruiters and using online salary calculators.
See all 10 Fails and the complete USNews article
Hannah Morgan is a speaker and author providing no-nonsense career guidance; keep up with the latest job search trends and social networking strategies by reading her blog Career Sherpa and following her on Twitter @careersherpa and Google+.
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