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Resume Q&A: A Lower Salary for a Dream Job–Is it Worth It?

May 15 2022

Q. I was offered a dream job, but the salary is lower than I am making now. Is salary always important? If this is such a good fit for me and I love it, should I take it anyway? I know I will prove myself there and get raises—I have always received raises wherever I work. Do you think I should take the job or keep looking?

A. Is a lower salary important when it gets you a dream job? No one but you can really tell you if you should take a job when the salary is lower, but it could be the right move.

If you are out of work, need a better work-life balance, gain other compensation in the form of benefits or a less costly commute, have reached the highest level available at your current company, are burned out at your current job, are transitioning to a new career, or are eager for the challenges and experiences of your dream job, then accepting a lower salary may make sense.

You do not mention your gender, but women often feel that income is less important to a career choice or job search than other considerations, according to BestColleges. In fact, 34 percent of men consider the income potential of a job compared to 20 percent of women. Do a search for comparable salaries to make sure you are not underselling yourself.

You might also want to consider whether:

You are able to meet your needs on a lower salary. If you have not yet considered the impact on your budget, savings, or live style, now is the time to perform those calculations.
Your next raise will bring you to the salary you should have. If it will take years to make up the difference, you are sacrificing thousands of dollars of income and savings over the long term and never catch up to where you should be.
The company cares about its employees in other ways. Does the lower salary mean that the company is also stingy about training and development, benefits, work-life balance, time off—and pay raises?
The company expected you to negotiate a higher salary or other compensation and you simply took their first low-ball offer. Have you explained why you deserve a higher salary? If the company is offering below the common market salary for that position or for your experience, you have a good argument for higher pay.
Your next employer will recognize your true value. Will your lower salary make future employers feel that you paid less because you are worth less or because you value yourself less? Will they lower their offer as a result?

Should you decide to keep turn down this offer and keep looking, you should review your resume and LinkedIn profile to determine if they are consistent with and support the salary you want. Contact Robin’s Resumes® for professional advice on a resume and profile that will help point you toward your dream job at the salary you deserve.

Misleading Job Titles: Are They Hurting Your Resume?

Feb 26 2017

The companies you are applying to know what position they are trying to fill. They search for someone with a job title and history that matches their expectations for the position.

However, your own company might have a different approach to job titles. You should never change your job title on your resume: you should use the title your company uses. However, you may need to bridge the gap between your current title and your actual responsibilities, accomplishments, and contribution to your company.

Even the clearest job title, like Executive Assistant, might not sum up all you do. One executive assistant might take on project management responsibilities. Another might function more as a secretary. A third might run the company in the owner’s absence. Sometimes you need more than one job title at the start of your resume to show what you are really capable of: Executive Assistant & Project Manager.

Your accomplishments can include any duties outside the “normal” definition of your job title: “assumed leadership of the company in President’s absence.” Part of my job as a professional resume writer is to make sure that you give yourself credit for those extra duties.

Your job title might be too unusual. You may need to relate a title like Chief Strategist or Software Mastermind or Product Champion to a more standard title: Product Champion (Vice President of Product Development). Clever titles are fun but companies who are looking to hire do not have time to puzzle out their meaning.

Your job title might be standard for your profession but not well known. Someone who is hiring for the first time might not know the difference, for example, between a Corporate Marketing Director and a Chief Marketing Officer. Make sure your accomplishments clearly demonstrate to hiring managers and recruiters your responsibilities, knowledge, and contribution to your current company.

Take control of your career and your job search with a clearly defined title that reflects your value. Robin’s Resumes® is here to help.

Your Past Employers: What New Employers Need to Know

Jan 29 2017

Your resume is, in part, a history of your career to date. The companies you are applying to want to know if you have a track record of success in their industry, customer base and geographic reach.

Often job applicants seem to expect hiring managers and recruiters to be familiar with every company on the planet. It is much better and more realistic to assume that no one is familiar with the companies you worked for in the past.

You should include the following information about each company where you previously worked:

What they do (manufacturing, service, construction, healthcare and so on)
Their size ($5M revenue, 25 employees)
Their market (4 regions, global, EMEA)
Whether they are still in existence (formerly known as…, merged with…)

Most of this information you can find online with a search on the company name. You should keep your description very brief. For example: “Provider of analytical engineering solutions, with 6000 employees across 10 countries.” A large company may have many different divisions, projects, programs and markets. Focus your brief description on the areas that directly concern your job search.

If you made a significant contribution to the health or growth of a company, you should provide before and after figures or a percentage of change. Projections are also acceptable for recent accomplishments (“Acquired five new clients, projected to bring in $4M each over the next year”).

As always, make sure you use the current version of the company name (Wal-Mart is now Walmart), include the location where you worked and provide the dates when you were employed.

You should not offer the following information: reasons why you left, the name of your supervisor and the amount you earned, unless you are applying for a federal government position and the information is required.

Robin’s Resumes® helps job seekers like you with clear, accurate and concise resumes that show their full potential to employers. Contact us today.

Five Tips to Keep Your Job Hunt on Track

Aug 28 2016

In the midst of a job hunt, you can easily become frustrated or off track if you ignore these five tips:

Organize, organize, organize. You need to remember which jobs you applied for at which companies, which version of your resume you sent (if you have multiple versions), and who you spoke with when. You cannot rely on companies to contact you when they promised—or at all. So if you mentioned in your cover letter that you will be contacting them, be sure to follow up. You also need to track contact information and thank you letters you sent out to helpful people you met while networking or interviewing. A spreadsheet program is excellent for keeping your job hunt organized, one you can quickly call up on your computer or smart phone when recruiters or hiring managers call.
Do not wait for job postings on the major online job boards. Sometimes companies post jobs only on their website or through social media. Sometimes recruiters have information about jobs that are never posted at all. Occasionally, a company is not even aware that they need someone with your talents until you send them a cover letter and resume explaining how you can solve their problem.
Step away from the computer. While your online job hunt is important, personal connections are most likely to bloom into job leads, referrals, and interviews. Attend industry meetings, chamber of commerce events, job fairs, and networking events; arrange to meet contacts one-on-one, and never forget that all important thank you note. During personal meetings, you should not be begging for a job, but asking for information. Remember to show an interest in the person you are speaking with: they are more likely to help your job hunt if you hold a conversation rather than a self-absorbed monologue.
For some jobs, especially retail or smaller companies, it can be best to go in person to the location where you want to work. I wrote a great resume for a person I have known all his life (it later got him the job he really wanted), which I modified to highlight his retail sales and management accomplishments. He arrived at a new city and sent the resume to online listings for retail jobs—and got no response. I told him to go to the stores directly and talk to them, and in less than a day he had 3 job offers.
Hand your resume and cover letter to a professional resume writer. Even high-level marketing gurus—those experts in branding and writing about companies in all sorts of online and print venues—choose to work with a professional resume writer during their job hunt. Your resume must make its way through computerized applicant tracking systems, Human Resources departments, and hiring managers. It must describe the skills, education, and accomplishments that companies are looking for. It must be concise, focused, well-formatted, and accurate. Professional resume writers know how to deliver all of that and more.

Robin’s Resumes® has helped countless individuals toward a successful job hunt. Contact us today so we can begin helping you.

Matching Your Resume to the Marketplace

Dec 27 2015

Here are the problems that arose with three job seekers:

Bob wants to transition to a new career but his search always leads him back to the same position he holds now.
Carol decides her future job title is critical; she’s determined to move up to the VP level.
Frank applies for anything and everything indiscriminately.

In each case, there is a disconnect between the job seeker and the job market.

In the first case, to qualify for a different position, field, or industry, Bob and his resume must both look to the future. Bob must be comfortable looking for, writing about, and talking about the transferrable skills and accomplishments that would most impress a new employer. As discussed in an earlier blog post on transitioning skills, Bob must focus his resume on the requirements of the job he wants, not the jobs he held in the past.

In the second case, because job titles have become all important to Carol, she is bound to overlook relevant job listings. Companies of different sizes, in different locations, in different industries—even divisions within those companies—differ in their use of job titles. A Director in a larger company may actually be above the pay and prestige level of a Vice President in another, smaller company.

In the last case, Frank’s main goal is to get a job (any job). However, companies are seeking someone who will meet their specific needs and advance the company’s goals. It is not the company’s duty to figure out where Frank fits; it is Frank’s duty to show where he fits. Frank’s resume must demonstrate that his skills and accomplishments will benefit the company or the company has no reason to consider him.

Before you decide that you are locked into a career path, that your job title is a deal breaker, or that it is okay to have no idea where your career is going, please inquire about my professional services as a certified Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) and a certified resume writer. I can help you with the steps that lead to a winning resume and the interviews you really want.