Imagine that you receive a phone call saying, "We'd like to offer you the job." What a feeling that would be! And if this happens, and it will, what is the first thing you should do? You probably think you should say yes, right then and there, before they change their minds. Am I right? Well, if that is what you are thinking, you are wrong! No matter how tempting it may be, tell whoever calls you that you will need time to think it over and you will get back to them in a day or two. (Do not push your luck by trying to take a week to decide.)
What do you have to think about? After all, this is a job made in heaven with the agency of your dreams. Is it? Maybe, but first look carefully at everything that you know about this position and everything that you do not know.
What is the exact position?
Make sure you know what you are being hired for. If you were responding to a classified ad, then you should have a fairly good idea of what you are being hired to do. If you went in for an interview when there was no specific position available, did your interviewer or the person who called to offer you the job explain what you would be doing? If you write copy but told your interviewer that you wanted to work in the copy department, you could just find yourself working in the copy department as an errand person or a proofreader. Would you be happy doing that?
If you are at all vague on what you might be hired to do, the first thing you will have to do is to ask for a job description this could be verbal or written. A written job description is always preferable, but if the agency does not have written job descriptions, and many do not, then you might irritate them if you insist on one. If the job description is given to you verbally, be sure to listen to it carefully and take notes. Then decide if this is exactly what you want to do and would be happy doing. If not, you will have to talk with your interviewer and try to negotiate the terms of your position. But do it before you say yes. Do not think that you can wait until you get in there and try to change things.
How about salary?
It is certainly not the first question you want to ask during an interview, but if the meeting with your interviewer goes well, it is definitely appropriate to inquire about the salary and benefits package. If your interviewer says something like, "Oh, it's in the mid to upper twenties, but we can discuss that later," when you are offered the job, the time for later has come.
Always, before you say yes, ask what is being offered in salary and benefits. When you are given an answer, do not think that the offer is written in stone. There is still time to negotiate for more if you need it.
The first thing you need to do before you begin negotiating is to figure out how much money you need to live comfortably and how much you want in order to be happy. Are those amounts the same or different? If they are different, can you realistically expect to get your salary offer up to that level? Trust your intuition to be your guide. If you hear that little voice inside of you saying, "What, are you crazy? If you tell them you want that much, they'll tell you to take a leap." Listen to that voice. Also, check with your network contacts and see what the average salary and benefits package is in a comparable agency for someone with your experience. Then if you believe you have been shot a low ball figure, make a counteroffer and see what happens. The agency people may make you another offer of half the increase you are requesting. Can you live with that? Also, be prepared for the possibility that your counteroffer will be turned down altogether. In that case, you can say you will accept the position at that salary with the understanding that you could have a salary review in six months. That, too, may be accepted or rejected.
Now you will have to decide if you can accept the initial salary quoted and the benefits that go with it. If this is your first job in advertising, it may not be prudent to be extremely fussy or stubborn. But on the other hand, you do not want to put yourself in a position to be taken advantage of. Once again, trust that inner guidance to lead you to the right answer.
How about benefits?
If you are young and just getting started, you may not think that a health insurance policy or paid vacation days are important, but they are. If anything happens to you an illness or an accident medical costs are outrageous. Paying for one visit to an emergency room with a broken leg and a cast can cost a month's salary or more. Health insurance is important; do not short change yourself there. It is sometimes better to accept a little bit less in salary in return for a better benefits package. And you do not have to pay income tax on benefits.
In addition to health insurance, paid vacation time and paid sick days can be important. You may also be able to negotiate tuition reimbursement, particularly with some of the larger agencies.
Conflicts with your personal life or integrity
If you are not sure, go back to Step One and review all the questions you rated concerning work environment preferences, job structure preferences, and your values and attitudes about money. Then think back to your interview. Did anything happen or was anything said that would lead you to believe that there would be any conflicts with any of your preferences in these areas? You may not remember at first but when you look at the questions in Step One, you may notice a few bells going off.
The rejection
What if you do get that rejection letter? What do you do then? Nothing? Walk away and forget that you ever heard of that agency? Well, you could do that. But how would that help you when it comes time to go to your next interview?
If you did not get the job, it could have been that someone else more qualified, more intelligent, or more attractive came along. But the real truth could be that the person the agency hired was no more qualified, no more intelligent, and no more attractive than you. It could be that you answered a question or two in a way that gave your interviewer the wrong impression of you. Or you may have lacked certain kinds of work in your portfolio. Or maybe you forgot to tell your interviewer an important piece of information about yourself that could have turned the tide in your favor. If you did something that you could have avoided or corrected or made clearer, do you want to take a chance that you will do that same thing during your next interview?
Every rejection and every failure that you experience in your life is nothing more than an opportunity to find out what you could have done better. If you learn from that experience and apply it to the next situation, it will put you another step closer to success.
Call your interviewer and explain that you want to learn from this experience and would like to know why you were not chosen for the position. An honest answer will help you overcome any weaknesses in your interviewing skills. If you find out that the decision not to hire you was based on a lack of certain experience or training, knowing what areas to focus your efforts on in the future could be extremely valuable.
