Mark Anthony Dyson, Author at The Voice of Job Seekers

Someone told me not to take a job that won’t pay me what I’m worth

Someone recently asked me a salary negotiation question. I am not always crazy about the “pay me what I’m worth” statements. She wanted to know what I thought about what she was told by her best friend, “Don’t take a job that won’t pay me what I’m worth?” She said, “I am asking because I hear it often. I have been out of work six months and I’m ready to take the first offer. How do you feel about this advice?”

I responded:

It depends on the job seekers circumstance. There is not a one answer fitting all circumstances. In general, it’s terrible general advice because many people are not driven by money. Many people are energized by a career that’s lined up with his or her personal values. It is more important the impact of what they do is personally rewarding than being well paid.

At the same time, you should have a deep understanding of your value. You may not see it now, but in years to come without negotiating your salary is careless. You should always negotiate your salary and understand your market value. Always. Otherwise, the money you neglect to ask for will be lost in just a few years.

Mind shift

In fact, you must shift you mind. It is not only a salary negotiation, it’s a compensation package negotiation. You must consider the whole package than just being paid your worth. It’s right in principle, and wrong in focus. You’re worth is cash.

Areas to negotiate:

Salary

Salary increases

Days per week/month in the office

Time off

Perks

Educational Opportunities

Flex schedules and more!

Then again…

Not to take a job solely due to the lack of money for those who either in control of their career trajectory or they don’t understand the breadth of his or her profession. If you know the rigor of your profession requires mental or physical preparation or recovery, then you need to consider the compensation package accordingly.

People think its good advice because of their own values and feelings about money. It’s not good for anyone who cares about a career meaning more than money. Having meaning and money is ideal, but not always realistic. Many times you can only have one or the other. Whenever you get advice, you must translate it appropriately to your values and expectations.

I just worked with a nurse whose passion is traveling to third world countries as part of a group to help with its medical and spiritual needs. Although she works for a large hospital in a ideal situation, she is planning to do this full-time in the near future. She doesn’t care about the income, but looks forward to immersing herself into helping the poverty-stricken. She knows what the market value is for some of the work she’ll do and understands the range, but she looks for the value in the experience.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Teaching Young People Value and What it Means to Their Career (And Yours)

This article was originally published on the Good Men Project!

Learned values early on will benefit teens in the workplace and in life.

I didn’t value money the same way my dad did when it came to money. It changes from generation to generation for most of us in my view. For those of us who are Baby Boomers, we understood, and at times, we were forced to understand what our parents valued. It was critical because if you didn’t, you would miss out. It was Dad’s philosophy that counted the most.

My dad didn’t waste money in any way. He always talked about saving money.

He was so great at saving; he retired at 59. For many Baby Boomers like me, we will be working past 65, or won’t retire at all.

My dad saved coins. Lots of coins. He had a tray with a divider on his dresser categorized by types of coins: silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, nickels, and dimes. He didn’t waste money in any way. He always talked about saving money.

Me, the coin thing, not so much. I am thrifty, but not through coins. I just don’t spend a lot of money. My sons are the same way, and my wife as well, although she loves coin saving. She has tried to convince my sons to save coins but to no avail.

When both my sons were teens, my parents thought they were old enough to appreciate coin saving. When the new quarters were released, mom and dad started a coin collection for them. My parents called relatives and friends to help collect quarters from each state. It took them a few months to complete the collection but they did it! On a visit to New York, they wanted me to take the collection back to the boys. You should have seen the accomplishment glow in my parents’ eyes! They were extremely excited to share this collection with the boys.

The parallels are important for job seekers of all age but critical for our teen children to learn now.

Let me back up a bit. My wife loves coin-saving, so she can spend it. She would (and still does) save coins to go shopping as part of her MAD MONEY. To her credit, it was to save up for the boys to get what they needed and sometimes wanted. At times, it was for herself. That change was spent.

So back to my visit with my parents, who proudly presented me with the quarter collection they spent so much time and effort on. They asked me to take it back to them. With all of the parental data I collected, at that moment, I just asked them to hold on to it. That was four years ago, and they still have it. The reason wasn’t only the boys will want to spend it. In monetary value, it was $11.25. In its true value, it was hours, time, thought, love, encouragement, and hope in collecting it.

I didn’t want to give that away to be under-appreciated. At least at that time.

The parallels are important for job seekers of all age but critical for our teen children to learn now:

1.- Employers will not give away what they value to someone who doesn’t try to understand. A career is more than duties and responsibilities. Whatever you contribute to an employer is increasing the value of the position and the company. They need to know you will and how you will.

2.- Do you understand your value? Is it only summarized by its cash value? That’s the difference between finding a job or gaining a career. How much work have you invested through time, education (not necessarily college or trade school), enduring hardships, and learning through failure?

3.- Employers mostly hire those who establish value wins for both sides. If there isn’t a sense of satisfaction for both the employer and candidate, then eventually everyone loses. If I gave the coins to my boys at that time, although appreciated initially, them squandering the collection would have broken my parents.

Similarly, by hiring the wrong person, employers would feel their investment is similarly squandered. Hiring today takes nearly 60 days although it is bound to get shorter in days to come. In the meantime, companies are scrutinizing each candidate more and more.

4.- Does your reputation (or personal brand) determine how you will be entrusted with a sacred opportunity? What are others saying about your behavior, work, and response to a crisis?

5.- Do you know why it’s a sacred opportunity – to the employer? Your research needs to tell you why. Your actions must display that you’re convinced you should bring dignity to that position. How? Focus on skills and measured results as proof!

No one has equal value as no one values equally. What we value as parents will change, upgrade and downgrade and for our children, it will be the same at a faster pace. In years to come, they will have two or three remote jobs, and learning what employers need will be critical as the expectation for good work, perpetual learning, and business savvy are basic means for survival.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

How to Get Job Referrals With a Small Network

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For this last summer episode, this is a recent interview with Margo Wickersham who has a Blab show. Originally, she was going to have Hannah Morgan on her show. However, at the last minute Hannah couldn’t do it so Margo called me to fill in. You will see we had quite a robust conversation–get that coveted external referral!

How important are referrals to your career? Let’s talk about it. I would love your feedback in one of three ways:

Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number
Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message
Send email feedback to [email protected]

Let me tell you a little bit more about Margo Wickersham. She provides business coaching and training for entrepreneurs through her website, MargoWickersham.com. She is a long-time executive and senior manager in the marketing space. Her Blab show is geared towards helping business people and job seekers thrive with advice and tools useful to achieve success.

Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

Everyone has a skill set regardless of who you are. Even if you’re a Certified Nurse Assistant who has to sit with a patient with behavioral challenges, you have to be patient and courageous. Everyone has to extract from themselves what makes them marketable and referable
Investing in your network’s worth is the way to engage future referrers way before you need to find the next job
Your family and friends are still part of your network. Many unemployed job seekers don’t want family and friends to know, although not always as useful, they are emotionally vested
Margo added a good referral network doesn’t happen overnight but overtime
Many levels and layers are essential but it’s about relationships, context, and community
Being a good referrer helps you understand the dynamic. Margo mentioned “paying it forward” was essential in adding value to your network
Referrals whether giving or receiving should be an overflow of the heart. Build context!
Disrupt the hiring process by getting a referral. You “jump the shark” and automatically considered with candidates deemed highly-qualified by the ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
Margo shares a story of how she was able to re-connect with LinkedIn contacts and got a referral and a job
Familiarity is practically everything, even if it is not a close contact
Trust equity is associated with the person who refers you. The interview becomes a conversation rather than interrogation
Referrals can be positively disruptive, often meaning you’ll be memorable
Relationships even after the referrals is essential to your career and personally. Gratitude and the value exchange positively adds value
Giving more than taking says much about your character
How do you connect to more people when you just are in contact with 20? LinkedIn is the best at increasing your connection numbers quickly

Need help with your career goals, directions, or efforts? Do you need coaching or instruction? I am here for it!

Also, join our Linkedin community! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

This is the last show of the summer. The next one will be Sept 6. I will be publishing new articles (up to 3x a week) on the blog. If you’re a career pro and love giving career advice, let me know. I would love to have more guest writers during my hiatus and beyond. Thanks for being among the thousands who listen every month. There’s so much more to come so stay tuned!