They key to remember to is they probably don’t want to hire just anyone. They are looking for they best they can get. So, do your research and ask. If you don’t ask, you already have your answer…its no!

There is also the matter of acting with respect throughout the negotiation process as you did through the hiring process. Don’t take it personal that they will try to hire at the most advantageous pay rate for them. Of course, you will work to help understand that they get what they pay for…this is your leverage.

Remember this too: the wage you accept will impact your attitude on the job. It will either be in a positive way or a negative way. The salary you accept now determines the raises you will get later because raises are based on percentages usually.

All that being said to help you see the importance of negotiating, here are some techniques you may want to consider.

• It is important to buy time when a number is thrown out there. Pausing for just a few seconds when a number is mentioned can give the impression that they will have to come up on something so you can meet in the middle. It could be money, time, or perks that they come up with but something more. They say a number and you pause as you are considering your response. Sometimes those few seconds can make you thousands of dollars! If not now then certainly as you work for them years and each future raised is based on what you accept at the start.

• You also buy time when negotiations are closing for the day. You sum up what they are offering and say, “I will sleep on it and speak with you tomorrow if that sounds okay with you.” Or you may sum it all up and say (as long as it is true), “I expect another offer to come in soon, when is the latest I can get back to you? Can I reply by Friday, does that sound acceptable?”

• Sometimes you do have to say “no” to an offer if you feel they are just too low and it will affect your attitude and work ethic to accept. There is power in walking away if they refuse meet your needs and you feel you can get your needs met elsewhere.

• One technique to use is to say something like this, “after careful consideration, I must decline your job offer. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and please do call if the budget changes.” That way you give them room to come up to your expectations if they are really pained to see you walk away.

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• Use bullet points for easy scanning.
• Keep paragraphs to no more than two to three sentences long.
• Use the title of the job you are applying for as a resume objective.
• Use a strong summary of qualifications. This section needs to be a big picture view about the dynamic and professional person you are.
• Don’t use I’s on resumes. Instead, start sentences with action verbs.
• Use common section headers such as Professional Experience or Related Experience or Education instead of something unique.
• Use year dates for the jobs held throughout your resume…2008-Present; 2006-2007; 2004-2006.
• Use keywords relevant to the type of  job you are applying for on your resume.
• Get rid of the responsibility/job duties bullets. Instead use accomplishment statements. One way to do that is to finish the thought by telling, “which resulted in…” at the end of each bullet point.

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VA’s can specialize in bookkeeping, clerical, multimedia…whatever they are good at and enjoy.

You can also freelance picking up a project at a time on sites like:

http://www.elance.com

http://sologig.com

http://guru.com

http://odesk.com

Here is a professional association to check out and learn more about Virtual Assistants.

http://www.ivaa.org

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You may also want to add a space on your accomplishment log to mention how you felt while working toward each accomplishment. Say a 1 to 5 star rating, 5 being the best. This will help you recognize what activites juice you up so that you can make arrangements to do more of those.

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1. Identify what the next level looks like.
2. Track your accomplishments.
3. Identify your personal brand.
4. Start talking to people and thinking often about what you are wanting.
5. Plan your networking.
6. Be on the lookout for the right opportunity.

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• www.Pipl.com
• www.google.com
• Meta‐search engine (i.e., www.dogpile.com; www.Mamma.com; www.Metasearch.com)

2. Social Networking – Begin building online profiles using some of the following sites.

• www.Twitter.com
• www.LinkedIn.com
• www.Plaxo.com
• www.Facebook.com

3. Blogging – Consider starting a blog about your industry and how you participate in an innovative way.

• www.Blogger.com
• www.WordPress.com
• www.TypePad.com

4. Automated Research – Set your searches up to be delivered to your email inbox or set up an RSS reader for sites you frequently visit.

• Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts)
• RSS Feed Aggregators (www.google.com/reader, www.bloglines.com, www.FeedReader.com)

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It is important to think of career coaching and lifelong learning as investments rather than only expenditures. Better yet, make career development a line item in your annual budget so that money spent on it is not just emergency spending but thoughtful, pre-planned spending instead which has a much better chance of long-term, positive impact.

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People really underestimate the importance of thinking about the the lifestyle they prefer when choosing too. It reminds me of a story I once heard about a fisherman who goes out to fish for a few hours everyday to earn his living. Then comes home, enjoys lunch, plays with his kids, then goes to town to play guitar each evening with his wife. Some vacationers come to town and one guy can not resist telling the fisherman how he can get more wealth by building up his fishing operation. Long story short, the fisherman is already living how he wants to live! The point is that that often lifestyle choice is a good way to weed out distractors. You might like to hear the short story for yourself though.

Another thing to consider early on in your decision making process is your natural strengths. This is very important because a fulfilling career is built upon natural strengths which enable one to work with ease and to gain expertise faster. Sometimes defining your strengths can be tough because we often tend devalue what we do well — everyone can do that, it’s not special…that kind of inaccurate thinking.

So one action to take is to record what you believe your strengths are. Then take some time to go to 3-6 people who know you well and ask them what they have observed that you do easily and well. Take notes and compare responses, including your own, to come up with a list of your natural strengths. Another good tool to try which I have mentioned before to get more data about your natural strengths is Marcus Buckingham’s “Now, Discover Your Strengths.”

Next, you can take what you have learned about yourself and start comparing that data to what is required in careers you are considering. You do that not only with internet research but with invaluable field research a.k.a. informational interviewing. Can I just tell you, it is amazing how much the view of a potential choice can change after talking to a few folks already in the career field. I cannot overemphasize how learning about careers in this way brings career choice to life (in addition to the other perks of actually talking to people and building networking relationships)!

Mostly though, I encourage you to follow what appeals to you now as that is a big indication of your intuition at work. Follow your nose with an understanding that you may not end up where you thought but career choice a process not a destination. I encourage you to dive into the process one optimistic step at a time.

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If you’ve ever scrambled to find papers and wracked your brain to piece together dates you’ve held jobs or received educational certifications, then you know what a headache it is to have disorganized professional records.

If you’ve ever agonized over writing a resume because you can’t remember what you accomplished in past positions, then you know the feeling of missing – or almost missing – a deadline to apply for a position.

Or, if you’ve ever not gotten the raise or promotion you were hoping for because you didn’t have your thoughts put together well enough to build your case, then you know firsthand that disorganization can lead to missed opportunities.

Weekly career tracking is important for several reasons.

1. Investing the time to do it now and as you go along will save you time in the long run.
2. Details are much easier to record while fresh in your mind rather than having to hunt for them later.
3. Knowing the specifics and being able to speak confidently about them will help your confidence and credibility when applying, networking, and interviewing.
4. If you ever get stuck in a career rut where you don’t know what to do next, you can get ideas by easily taking an inventory of what you have done previously.
5. Someday you might need a school or college transcript to apply for a job or educational opportunity, and now you will have the details of how to do it at your fingertips.
6. Tracking attendance to conferences and membership in professional associations will ensure you get the most benefit for your time and money spent.

If you haven’t kept up with these details so far, then you’ll have a good bit of extra work to get started, but once you’ve established a baseline record, keeping it up to date will be a piece of cake.

When you take ownership of your career materials and records, you take ownership of your career direction. Career tracking is meant to help you secure the most satisfying, rewarding, and—if you desire—money-making opportunities at any moment in time.

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