@candidateplanet
, thanks, I just watched that video as well and enjoyed it. One thing I wouldn't mind seeing your take on would be a more detailed look at how to set the value for the lowest compensation one would be willing to accept. Like, if someone already has a job and is looking for a better salary, I guess the current salary + some increment would be the easy answer there. I think this question gets harder for people early in their careers. I assume that doing research is important to understand the salary range for that kind of job in whatever city/town one resides in. If relocation is involved, it's probably really important to make sure that one understands the cost of living in that area. For example, I suspect that a salary that sounds great in many parts of the world would not be good enough in the Bay area, just because of the cost of living.
Another thought your videos evoked for me is that one should avoid assigning too much value to the salary as a measure of respect or self-esteem. Of course no one wants to be taken advantage of, but I think just chasing money from the point of view of "so-and-so is making this much, therefore I should make more" is also a mistake. We can get a little bit caught up thinking too much about compensation and not enough about whether the whole situation is a good fit.
Anyway, I hope my comments are okay. I didn't want to hijack your post, but your videos just got me thinking. I'd love to read your blog post following the conference!
Your comments are wonderful! I appreciate you taking the time to share these thoughts and have a conversation with me.
In terms of minimum: there are ways to increase the quality of our data as decision-making input, but I think decision-making will always be deeply personal, both as a process and in terms of every person's unique situation and concerns.
I'm comfortable being a sounding board for a specific person and scenario, but general advice... maybe I could (in the future) share anonymous stories that shed light on possibilities.
As you say, early career candidates (and also career/role switchers), can encounter "minimum number" uncertainty in terms of past history, though the market ranges also tend to be more strictly defined and the roles more consistent than, for example, what "Senior" means across companies.
At any rate, since finding one's second job becomes a lot easier than the first, I generally advise early career (and early second or third career) candidates to not stress too much about the first job once it's on their doorstep and there are no other options on the horizon. Especially when rent is coming up and you don't have "current tech job" or "many years working in tech" savings buffering your job search.
However, candidates can do a lot of work before that point:
Finding companies that are a good fit in multiple ways (ie growth opportunities and respectful compensation; good commute and resonating mission, etc)
Clustering applications and interviews together to reduce the chance of receiving offers in isolation. (It's tricky to tell a company to slow down because they're not you're favorite, so if possible, tell the other companies to speed up.)
Impressing interviewers to increase your "we want to hire this candidate!" leverage even if you don't have other offers
PS - Candidates who have been considerably underpaid for too long can have similar ambiguity on an emotional level, though I've found it a lot easier to validate expectations and negotiate compensation.
As for relative jealousy: you give sage advice; if only it were an easier pill to swallow!
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
@candidateplanet , thanks, I just watched that video as well and enjoyed it. One thing I wouldn't mind seeing your take on would be a more detailed look at how to set the value for the lowest compensation one would be willing to accept. Like, if someone already has a job and is looking for a better salary, I guess the current salary + some increment would be the easy answer there. I think this question gets harder for people early in their careers. I assume that doing research is important to understand the salary range for that kind of job in whatever city/town one resides in. If relocation is involved, it's probably really important to make sure that one understands the cost of living in that area. For example, I suspect that a salary that sounds great in many parts of the world would not be good enough in the Bay area, just because of the cost of living.
Another thought your videos evoked for me is that one should avoid assigning too much value to the salary as a measure of respect or self-esteem. Of course no one wants to be taken advantage of, but I think just chasing money from the point of view of "so-and-so is making this much, therefore I should make more" is also a mistake. We can get a little bit caught up thinking too much about compensation and not enough about whether the whole situation is a good fit.
Anyway, I hope my comments are okay. I didn't want to hijack your post, but your videos just got me thinking. I'd love to read your blog post following the conference!
Your comments are wonderful! I appreciate you taking the time to share these thoughts and have a conversation with me.
In terms of minimum: there are ways to increase the quality of our data as decision-making input, but I think decision-making will always be deeply personal, both as a process and in terms of every person's unique situation and concerns.
I'm comfortable being a sounding board for a specific person and scenario, but general advice... maybe I could (in the future) share anonymous stories that shed light on possibilities.
As you say, early career candidates (and also career/role switchers), can encounter "minimum number" uncertainty in terms of past history, though the market ranges also tend to be more strictly defined and the roles more consistent than, for example, what "Senior" means across companies.
At any rate, since finding one's second job becomes a lot easier than the first, I generally advise early career (and early second or third career) candidates to not stress too much about the first job once it's on their doorstep and there are no other options on the horizon. Especially when rent is coming up and you don't have "current tech job" or "many years working in tech" savings buffering your job search.
However, candidates can do a lot of work before that point:
PS - Candidates who have been considerably underpaid for too long can have similar ambiguity on an emotional level, though I've found it a lot easier to validate expectations and negotiate compensation.
As for relative jealousy: you give sage advice; if only it were an easier pill to swallow!