TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Curmudgeon that I am, I'm a hard person to hire. I've never had to choose between two offers and have often been in a financial situation where I pretty much had to take the first thing that came along.
Nonetheless, I've always had the gumption to walk away from interviews like the one you describe rather than cave to a question I did not want to answer. The first question to ask yourself is, Would I want to work at a place where someone can get away with that kind of arbitrary policy? I sure as heck wouldn't.
That said, when it comes to salary, I was brought up to believe that it should be the last thing discussed in an interview. First determine if there is a good fit, in terms of skills, culture, duties, etc.; then decide if you can come to an agreement about money.
This can backfire, though. One time I had a couple of great phone interviews, then drove to the company (six hours away) for onsite interviews. First I spoke with the person I'd be reporting to, the person who had interviewed me on the phone. She asked what I needed to earn and didn't flinch when I told her. However, she never communicated this to her boss, who managed the company for a private owner. My final interview was with him, and when we finally got around to money, I mentioned the same figure (nothing outlandish, really). By the time he retrieved his jaw from the carpet, I was out the door and he was calling the woman who had brought me in, to come into his office so he could yell at her in person. Oops!
"Scott Holstad" wrote:
>
>* One person stated I should simply refuse to provide any salary information.
>
>
>Regarding the second response, I have tried that tactic and found myself in a situation where I was told then that the interview was at an end - and I was out of the job candidate pool. So, I'm curious. Have others found themselves in this type of situation, and if so, how have they handled it?
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
TECH*COMM 2001 Conference, July 15-18 in Washington, DC
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
