<p>D1 had a second interview today with a company and texted me, saying the founder told her he was going to call her tonight to discuss salary/benefits, etc. This is her first permanent job offer out of college and has not needed to have these conversations. She asked me (and her father) what kinds of important things she should ask about/ask for. She obviously knows what kind of salary she needs to live where she does and she knows what entry level jobs are paying. But she’s a single girl and the things that I might be concerned about (and H) are probably different than she should be. This is a start-up company (I don’t know how long it’s been around, but obviously long enough that they have 20+ employees and can offer benefits) that is growing, if that makes any difference.</p>
<p>I don’t have any particular insight (been in the same job for 20+ years) but I could believe younger people concentrate more on salary. Along with health benefits, she sgould also ask about retirement plan, leave policy, . . . I think it’s becoming more commonplace in private industry to be flexible on salary vs. paid time off, with many people preferring a few more days/week of vacation to additional salary.</p>
<p>Health benefits (specific - dental? optical?).
Vacation, comp time for nights or weekends?
Parking (if in a big city) Fees?</p>
<p>I think that mostly she should just listen to what the founder of the company tells her and take notes. At the end of the conversation she can thank him, tell him that she wants to think carefully about the offer he has made, and that she would like to set up a time to talk with him again by phone or in person, with any questions she might have. If there are any “dealbreakers” for her, she could raise them in advance, saying, for example, “I already know that one of the things I want to talk with you about is [fill in the blank].” I really believe she shouldn’t feel pressured to put out all her concerns during this one conversation. She should give herself some time to think.
Hope this is helpful.</p>
<p>I think it’s the dealbreakers that she’s concerned about. She doesn’t have much room to negotiate other things. She doesn’t have a car (lives in Boston), so no need to talk about that.</p>
<p>Comp time is a good thing; in her industry, there might be occasions where she’s expected to work an evening or weekend for an event. The question is, is it part of the job description or is she comped?</p>
<p>I don’t know that she has the leisure of taking much time to think. This was a situation where she was in the right place at the right time, made the connection through social networking and they want to move quickly. They are impressed enough with her credentials that I don’t even believe they’ve interviewed anyone else… literally, the experience she does have and her availability is almost a perfect match. The main office is in another state, so I suspect most further conversations will take place over the phone, unless they bring her in. Their office she’d be working at is overwhelmed and I wouldn’t be surprised if they ask her to start next week, literally.</p>
<p>I agree with the taking notes and then, perhaps, emailing specific questions.</p>
<p>By the way, this is great news!!!</p>
<p>oh… abasket, I sighed a sigh of relief regarding the vision benefits. She just had Lasik surgery in December, so hopefully no reason for vision benefits for many years! It would be nice to have dental, though.</p>
<p>She might want to ask about the extent of any travel that would be required. Since the home office is in another state, will she be going there for training or any kind of regular basis.</p>
<p>And congrats!!! Job offers of any sort right now are a good thing.</p>
<p>I should also clarify that the social networking was with people she knows well from college, so this isn’t a sketchy sort of thing that no one comes without any recommendations.</p>
<p>Well, understand that time may be a factor, but even if she could request to call “first thing in them morning” - and REALLY do that - like 8am! then she could at least get off the phone, take a deep breath, talk to you and your H and sleep on it. It would seem that that wouldn’t be too much to ask. Just overnight.</p>
<p>so far, no one has brought up any issues that would be dealbreakers. She’s young and single, and there’s no reason she shouldn’t suck up to some of the responsibilities of the job, like travel. The fact they he even mentioned they have benefits is a positive. Because we’ve been supporting her with more than 50% of her living expenses, she’s been able to keep her medical insurance benefits through H’s employer, so if anything, that might be the only compromise she has to make - medical insurance that might not be as comprehensive as what she has now. But again, she’s young and single. As long as they provide basic medical insurance, it shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>Agree with what has been said previously - she should listen, take notes, say she needs to sleep on it and may have questions tomorrow…and then call Mom and Dad.</p>
<p>Oh, and thank him several times over the course of the phone call for this wonderful opportunity.</p>
<p>I’d also have her ask more general questions about the company’s future, especially since it’s so young:</p>
<p>Where does he see the company being in 5 years? 10 years? How does he see her role in the company - now and in the future? Also maybe more specific questions about plans or goals based on what the company does (e.g. does the he foresee expanding into X market or Y line of business? etc).</p>
<p>If they haven’t made her an offer yet, showing interest in the company and what she can do for them (instead of what’s in it for her) will show the founder that this is someone he wants to have on his team. Plus, before she commits to a company she should be sure it’s the kind of place she wants to work.</p>
<p>The basics of employment (salary, comp time, benefits) are well-chronicled by others.</p>
<p>It’s a lot more important to ask questions that might concern you in 1-2 years from a career standpoint. </p>
<p>This is a small firm and she is already in a satellite office - you want to know what they plan with that office and if being there is a limiter to her career in the firm long-term (don’t ask that way - word it diplomatically). </p>
<p>Ask him to tell what kinds of things in a year would make him thrilled with whomever he hires- she may not get as much a chance now to interact in the future. </p>
<p>Who has been successful in the firm in similar roles and what did they do to achieve that.</p>
<p>There are tons of tidbits you will never know about a firm until you get there and you want to minimize how big that list is as best you can ahead of time. The quirk potential is very high in a 20-person firm- have her try to figure out the culture as best she can to make a more informed decision.</p>
<p>Scanned the other replies… nobody asked about stock? She should ask about stock, and what the founder sees as her role and potential role in the company, ie will she have the opportunity for significant advancement. I don’t think she should be asking things like how many hours per week are expected, weekends too? how much travel, because with a startup the founder should want people that are fully committed to making the business a success.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>She needs to find out when her benefits begin. The fact that they have them is great, but do they begin on Day One? First of the next month? After a three month wait? Etc. (If it’s not for several months, she can ask if they would pay the premiums that it’s costing under your plan to keep her covered.) (And if he says yes, she needs to follow up and ask if that reimbursement would be grossed up. That means, will they also pay the taxes on the amount they pay her to pay the premiums.)</p></li>
<li><p>She may have asked this during her interviews, but: What is the most important priority that the Big Man sees?</p></li>
<li><p>How will he view “success” in this job after three months?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a 401(k) plan? If so, is there an employer match? If so, what is the vesting schedule?</p></li>
<li><p>When will her first salary review be? While she feels the salary they are offering is reasonable for her at this stage, she expects to be contributing significantly more in a very short time. If he says there will be a salary review in a year, ask if there is any way that could be accelerated? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Congratulations!!!</p>
<p>Some great suggestions here. She and I have been emailing… even though she asked H and I for our input, she’s the kind of person that needs to not talk to us on the phone at this point, but get our input through email. Hearing our voices at this point is not what she needs… she just needs neutral information.</p>
<p>That being said, in one of our emails, she admitted that she’d been intially wrong about the number of employees. There are 5 core full-time employees, and when various client work comes up, they have a network of consultants they use. So the five-employee vs. 20-employee reality puts a different spin on things. It’s a risk, but if she takes it and it works out, she will come out way ahead of the game as far as her future is concerned because she will be given responsibilities that most entry-level jobs don’t offer.</p>
<p>I did just leave her a voice message suggesting she tell the guy she’d like to think it over and get back to him in the morning… then she can call us and we can run through everything with her.</p>
<p>If the company only has 5 employees, and she is eventually fired or resigns without another job, the company is not required to provide her with COBRA coverage.</p>
<p>While my daughter thought her hourly rate was decent at her current job, she didn’t realize, or she misunderstood, that she would only be paid for 35 hours a week even though she works 40+ hours. She works in non profit and it seem this is how the staff is paid. She hardly ever takes a lunch break and when she does she is eating at her desk while she continues to do her work.</p>
<p>Her medical benefits did not kick in until this month; she was considered temporary full time from August-December. After her review she was able to receive benefits and an upgrade in job title, but not pay. The health benefits are huge in my book; it is saving my husband $200 a month as he was paying for her individual policy after she graduated and could not stay on ours. My daughter is paying a big $1 a month for health insurance that includes dental and vision; the vision alone is great as she gets about $250 worth of contacts as well as glasses each year. We dropped our dental years ago as what we paid was more than what we received; my daughter has not had a cavity in her 23 years, so other that twice yearly dental cleaning, she has never been to the dentist.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If she could get an individual policy for this amount, and we paid for it, we’d still come out waaaaaay ahead in the game for what we’ve been supplementing her minimal income with!</p>