The job
So… I got a new job! This is going to be a great next step of my career: I’ll be working in a business development position with exposure to C-level executives. My team has a direct impact on the company’s top-line growth – very exciting, but also high-pressure. (By the way, I actually wanted to share the news yesterday. But it was April 1 and I didn’t want to be accused of pulling an April Fool’s prank!)
I began seriously interviewing in January 2010. From September to December 2009, there was very little movement on the jobs front. For the last few months, however, I felt a marked improvement in both the quality and quantity of job listings and invitations to interviews. Many job leads I received from people I knew, however this job I actually found via online. After three rounds of interviews (including one with the CEO) and a background check, I was extended an offer.
Salary negotiations
Once you get over the excitement of a new job offer, you move on to the realities of salary negotiations. My original base salary was lower than I had expected, so I negotiated a $2,000 increase. I wouldn’t say I did the best job negotiating, not by a long shot, but I did it. I tried to be confident, positive, and professional. I emphasized my experience and fit within the organization, and reiterated my interest in the position. Even though I would’ve loved a higher than $2,000 increase, I am proud that I negotiated. After all, negotiations aren’t about getting everything you want, especially in this market. But knowing when to push (and when not to) helped us secure a deal that both parties can respect and agree to. Given everything, I am very happy with the new job offer and excited about the position.
My new target compensation (base salary + bonus) is a double digit increase over my previous target compensation. [I'm taking between a 5% and 10% decrease in my base salary, but my target bonus as percent of salary has increase significantly]. Having such a big portion of my total compensation as bonus means that it’s a bit challenging to budget. The wisest course will be to live and save on my salary, then allocate the bonus when it comes.
Looking ahead
I decided to accept this new job because it’s a great opportunity to challenge myself and to step up my game, so to speak. People have gone on from this position to top-5 business schools or managerial positions within the company. I am open to different opportunities for growth, but right now I think it would be an excellent foundation for business school in 3 years. I am so happy and thankful that I found a great position amid almost 13% unemployment (that’s California for you). I’m excited that I’ll be:
- Embarking on the next chapter of my career, with a great new job, where I will have the opportunity to make an impact within the organization, work with – and learn from – really smart people, and continue building my experience.
- Making and saving money again, now that I’m in a hurry to make up for lost time, I’ll have some very aggressive savings goals listed here later. 2010′s #1 priority would be to save as much as I can in 401K and max out Roth IRA. I also want to give my parents a weekend trip – at a bed & breakfast in Santa Barbara, perhaps?
- Giving back to worthwhile charities and organizations, because as important as saving is, I also want to cultivate a spirit of generosity in my life. I want to give to places that share my values and advocate causes close to my heart.
Thank you’s
Throughout this 6-month journey there were many people who have given their time, energy, and expertise to help me. I am deeply grateful to all of them.
One of the people whom I met via blog is Manisha Thakor – yes! the personal finance expert and published author has become one of my biggest mentors. She leads a hectic schedule with media, writing, and speaking engagements, but has always made time to provide insights and encouragement. I’m not quite sure where she finds the time, but I hope one day I can be to another young woman the mentor that Manisha is to me.
Many bloggers friends have been, in a word, amazing. Revanche and I commiserated quite a bit while we were both job-hunting. Her common sense advice and superb editing skills have helped me tremendously. And every time I ask for crossed fingers, she goes above and beyond and crosses all her appendages! 
Mapgirl and Cal Girl Finance gave me resume advice and job search tips. Kim’s Kitchen Sink, Dazed In Los Angeles and Budgets Are Sexy were my sounding boards on issues such as salary negotiation, career management, and thank you letters. Sam commented that things would look up in the first 6 months of this year – let’s just say that I’m glad he’s right.
There are so many of you that I still haven’t thanked by name, but I truly appreciated every comment, every email, every note (or tweet!) of support. You guys have stuck with me for a long time, and I’m glad that I have good news to share with you.
image source: topimages.blogspot.com
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Yay! I'm so happy you got a new job! And way to go on negotiatin a higher starting point, your are so worth it! Good job on giving it everything you got and never giving up. I am truly happy for you girlie, you deserve it.
Thank you.
I'd be lying if I said the process wasn't frustrating at times, but I'm so glad I didn't give up and it worked out.
Booya Girl! I'm so glad you made it happen, but i still think this is an April Fools Joke. Nah, just kidding.
I'm not really surprised someone with your talents got a baller job! Remember me when you move up the corporate ladder okay?!
Congrats again.
Thanks! Oh, I was a baller before this job.
Congratulations!! See, paying the extra money for the tailor worked out for you. I hope this is the job that propels you in the future, and you get where you want to go in the future because of it. Kudos, and congrats again. I'm so proud and happy to hear the news today.
Thank you. I think this would be a great experience. And I am so looking forward to saving for retirement again!
Congrats!!
congratulations on securing a job so relatively quickly in this economy. best of luck in the rest of your career! i hope to be where you are pretty soon.
Thanks. I wouldn't say it was so quickly – it took me about 7 months, but the first four months of that saw very little interview activity because the jobs just weren't there. So I'd say my job hunt really kicked into high gear in the last 3 months. Best of luck and don't give up hope – have confidence that you will be an asset to the company you join.
Congratulations! The company was very lucky you found them!
Congratulations! This is an exciting time. Good luck!
Congratulations! Good call on not posting this yesterday….you would've spent half the day convincing people it wasn't a joke. (Why would anyone announce something big on April 1st?! lol) I'm happy for you, and it gives me hope that something GREAT will come along for me as well!
I hope so too. And I hear you on the no-big-news-on-April-1 stance.
Congrats on getting a new job! Send some of your good luck my way, as I am having a rough time of it, and I would love some pointers! I know we work in totally different fields (I work in fundraising for non-profits), but any additional tips would be awesome!
hey Lindsey, I don't have any experience with non-profits, but I'd be happy to help how I can. Just let me know.
WOOOOOHOOOO!!! Congrats!!! I am so happy for you!! That is so great.
Congratulations! I'm so glad you found such a great job — all your hard work has paid off!
Wahooooo!!! Congrats, that is such great news! I’m so happy for you and it sounds like a great opportunity! Gives me hope about my job search now that both you and Revanche have both landed great jobs.
.-= krystalatwork´s last blog ..Long weekend plans =-.
I think the market is definitely turning.. and my limited understanding is that Canada has weathered this economic storm better than the U.S. has. Things will look up for you, hopefully sooner than later!
Yay! Congratulations! Good job on the negotiating. When do you officially begin?
In several days. I'm excited.
Congratulations!
CONGRATULATIONS!
WoW! That's awesome news. It's such a blessing to have a job. I knew you'd land a job soon. And thats amazing that you negotiated your salary!!! And such a blessing to give back to charities. I love this post, it has to be my favorite. It's just inspiring. Have fun in business school! (I'm speaking it in advance lol)
You knew? You should've told me so I would've stopped worrying.
Congrats on the new job! I would like to recommend a book to you ( I know, MORE READING!). It's called Expect to Win by Carla Harris. She is the Managing Director of Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and wrote this book to give women advice about taking control of their careers. I'm 100 pages in and I only wish that I had read this book sooner. Her "pearls" as she calls her pieces of advice will truly be beneficial in the early days of your career at this new company! Again, congrats!
Thanks for the recommendation. I will check it out. Have you read Basic Black by Cathie Black of Hearst Publications? A few of my friends and I all read and liked that book.
Congratulations! Hope now it is my turn to find a great new job. Please do pray for me!
I will.
Let me know if you want any specific resources. I'm not sure how I can help, but if I can, I'd be happy to.
CONGRATS!!!
$2000 is nothing to snort at. It's a lot of money
Thank you. I don't mean to say $2,000 isn't important. I do appreciate the company making an effort on their end. That's what negotiation is, right? Asking for something, both sides reevaluate, then come to a deal that both can respect and live with. That's what happened here.
you delurked me with your post on patience, and am glad that keeping your patience and working hard got you your new job. Gives me hope for my own job hunt!
Best of luck with the new gig! When do you start?
Excellent deal! Great to hear the great news!!!
I thought it would just be a matter of time, especially now that the economy has picked up!
Sounds like it's going to be a great experience!
Congratulations!! That's such great news!
You are so very welcome! And, again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Also Called "National Fun Day" =-.
You are so very more than welcome! And again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey, way to go!
.-= Forest´s last blog ..Selling Books – March 2010 =-.
I have been following your blog for a long time and just want to say Congratulations! Good luck in your new role.. You totally deserve it!
Thanks for sticking around!! and thanks for delurking.
Congratulations!!
Yaaaaay! I'm really happy for you and the opportunity does sound really great. You will do so well!
Congratulations! So happy for you.
I'm interested to see how the increased salary affects your budget/savings. I haven't posted it on my blog yet, but I just took a job offer that's about 20k higher than my current job… so it's going to be fun to figure out what to do with the excess!
Congrats! Happy for you. So does this mean you are staying in California (for now)? Do you have to move at all for this new job?
I'm staying in CA, not sure about moving. It'll be a much longer commute if I don't move, but I'm in my dream apartment and I'd really prefer to stay if I can make it work.
Congratulations! It sounds like an amazing opportunity. It also sounds like you are near Santa Barbara, a beautiful city and inspiring city.
I am SO GLAD for you!!!!
And congrats on facing the fear and negotiating that $2k – definitely nothing to sniff at.
Happy days!
Congrats! I'm glad everything worked out.
congratulations
so happy to hear this news!
HOOORAY! Congrats WH! I knew you'd pull through! I'm excited about your new opportunity and I'm sure you'll do great!!
Best,
Sam
I am so proud of you. You sure don't hear this often in this economy. Imagine what you can pull off in a couple years, girl!!
Thank you! Your comment means a lot. I've been following you on your house-hunting journey and I'm crossing my fingers for you!
Yay congratulations on the new job!
Congratulations! I'm happy for you and really impressed about the negotiations. I can't say I've ever been confident enough to do so.
Congratulations! Woohooo! That's really great news. I'm so happy for you. I'm looking forward into reading articles about this new chapter of your life.
Congratulations!
Hooray!!! This is great news! Congratulations!
Major congrats, sweetie!!! So excited for you. And isn't Revanche the best? She's been an absolute doll to me.
Congratulations, Well-Heeled!! All of us PF bloggers had complete faith that you would find a job again. And it sounds like it will be a FANTASTIC job!