job search - lessons learnt

it had been an stressful job search process. and reflecting on the process, i would say there are 2 key lessons learned.

firstly, there is a need to stage this whole process. have a clear game plan when it comes to staging the job search and the interview process, especially so if there are more than one interview. if not managed properly, it will convolute one's decision-making process and stress one out. just look at how i (did not) manage the interview process between the 2 jobs. of cos, i would also say there was a little bit of luck cos if i had not had a bad back, perhaps the other company would have made the offer. and the second interview for this offer would have come a little later. but things did not turn out that way. my bad back delayed things. and so things turned out the way it did. in a way, from the company's perspective, the key thing is - strike while the iron is hot. but heh heh, in life, luck, just like hope, is not an option.

secondly, there is a need to prepare ourselves well. doing so would allow us to be in a better position to negotiate. we need to be fair to ourselves. negotiating a good outcome is a win-win thing. there is a need to do our homework before we even go for the interview. in my case, i asked for a certain amount. it was based on my gut feel of the market rate. and although i was right about it the market rate, the number i quoted was a tat at the lower end. and when the company came back with a number, i started getting greedy. and when i found out the market bracket, i wanted more and i started to think how to negotiate. it stressed me out. but the point was, i had no grounds to negotiate.the company had been fair to me. in fact, they gave me more than what i had asked for.

having said this, i am still happy. the company had been more than fair. the overall package is still better than what i had asked for. and certainly, it is more than my previous employment. 

:-)