0:02

Welcome to Money Matters , the podcast

0:04

that focuses on how to use the money you have

0:07

, make the money you need and save

0:09

the money you want . Now here

0:11

is your host , ms Kim .

0:12

Chapman , welcome to another

0:14

edition of Money Matters . I'm your

0:17

host , kim Chapman , and today I

0:19

have a very special topic that I've been

0:21

dying to discuss income

0:23

versus benefits . So

0:26

if you're on a job hunt , if you're thinking about changing jobs , maybe

0:28

it's time for your next salary review

0:30

. This is going to be an episode that you

0:32

really want to listen to . We're going to talk

0:35

about what's better . What do

0:37

you consider more , your income or maybe

0:39

the benefits ? So joining me today is

0:41

our very own VP of Human

0:43

Resources at Neighbors , ms Yolanda

0:46

Whitmore . Welcome , yolanda , thank

0:48

you for having me . Oh , yes , I've

0:50

been dying to do this , so I'm glad to have

0:52

you on the show . So let's start the show off

0:54

just by giving a little information about what

0:57

does a VP of Human

0:59

Resources actually do .

1:00

Actually , here at Neighbors , the

1:03

Vice President of Human Resources Overseas , the

1:05

Human Resources Department . That

1:07

does include payroll

1:09

, as well as benefits and compensation

1:11

, recruitment , everything

1:13

that falls under the HR umbrella

1:16

. I am over that . I

1:18

do have two senior HR

1:20

generalists , one that specializes in benefits

1:23

and compensation and the other

1:25

one in recruitment .

1:26

All right , awesome and give us a little background about

1:28

how long have you been here at Neighbors .

1:30

Going on almost 18 years now

1:32

in a VP position .

1:34

A lot of seniority . I think we started

1:36

close to the same time . I just made my 18

1:38

years . So today , of course

1:40

, I pulled you in because we want to talk about

1:42

income , we want to talk about benefits , because it's

1:44

more than just you know , $50

1:46

an hour or $10 an hour . If

1:48

you look behind the scenes , I think there's a lot

1:50

of other information that someone

1:52

looking for a job should consider

1:55

. So my first question is what are the three

1:57

top three factors you recommend candidates

1:59

consider when evaluating a job offer

2:02

?

2:06

consider when evaluating a job offer . When you evaluate a job offer , the first thing

2:08

I tell anyone is to research that organization

2:10

or company because you want

2:12

to make sure that it does align

2:15

with your values

2:17

. People need to understand

2:19

that when you are looking for

2:21

a new position or a new job

2:23

, that you're going to spend majority

2:26

of your time at that job , so

2:28

you want to make sure it's something that does

2:30

align with what you , your values

2:33

, are . Do the research See . For

2:35

instance , is their culture something

2:37

that you are comfortable with ? I'm

2:40

just going to use us for an example . We are an organization

2:42

that's very big on volunteering . I'm just

2:45

going to use us for an example . We are an organization

2:47

that's very big on volunteering . So

2:51

therefore , if you're someone that just really are not a fan of

2:53

volunteering , this will not be the organization for you . So I tell people you

2:55

know that's one thing you definitely want to look at

2:57

. Also , you want to look at the benefits

2:59

. You want to see what type of benefits

3:01

that organization is offering , not

3:04

just when you say benefits of

3:06

health , dental and vision and supplemental

3:08

coverages . You want to look as well at

3:11

the overall picture of the benefit

3:13

, if this is something

3:15

that actually can

3:17

work for me overall , as

3:19

far as in retirement

3:22

, am I at an age now where

3:24

I'm looking for something that

3:26

I'm going to retire from

3:28

, or is this just a starting

3:30

point for me ? So benefits

3:32

may not matter at that point . So , but

3:35

that's an option that you want to look at as

3:37

well as work-life balance overall

3:39

, is this organization

3:42

or company that I'm looking for ? Is it going to work

3:44

within my life ? Is it something

3:46

that is going to have

3:49

me able if I'm married , I have

3:51

children ? Is it something that's flexible

3:53

, that's going to work with me in my life

3:55

? If I'm a person that has a four or

3:57

five-year-old child , working a 70-hour

3:59

job may not work for me , or a

4:02

job that's very stressful or very demanding

4:04

, this

4:06

may not be the job for me at this point in time in my life . So I'd say

4:08

those three things probably you would

4:10

want to look at when you're actually looking for

4:13

or actually accepting a job . All right

4:15

.

4:15

So , yolanda , you mentioned that

4:17

a potential candidate should do the research

4:20

about the candidate , about the job or the

4:22

potential employer in terms of benefits

4:24

, but sometimes all of that information

4:26

is not readily available . So when

4:28

would you recommend that person

4:30

ask or inquire about

4:32

those specific benefits and salary ? Should

4:35

it be during the interview ? Should they wait

4:37

to see if they even get a job offer ? What is the

4:39

appropriate time to ask those additional questions

4:41

, for information that can't be found

4:44

on the internet ? Good , question .

4:45

Good question . First of all , let's

4:48

go to you're in the interview

4:50

. At that point you've applied for

4:52

the position . Usually positions , when they're

4:54

posted , they will have the information

4:57

of a salary or a desired salary

4:59

, or they may ask the question what your desired

5:01

salary is . So therefore

5:03

, if that information is provided

5:06

, you can always assume

5:08

that I made it to the next

5:10

step because I'm in the interview and they're comfortable

5:12

with my salary . So , whatever

5:15

I put as a desired salary Now

5:17

I'll take this . I explain this to my managers

5:19

as well . You don't want to waste anybody's

5:21

time . So therefore , if

5:23

we post a position or an organization posts

5:26

a position , say , this position is for $50,000

5:28

, and someone puts their desired

5:30

salary $75,000 , don't

5:33

waste that person's time because

5:35

we already know hey , what we're putting down

5:37

in

5:40

that job posting is the

5:42

salary that we're willing to offer . You

5:44

know , in a salary you can always negotiate

5:47

. But , however , the time

5:49

that you ask that question is in that interview . Do

5:51

not wait . If you sit down

5:54

and the interviewee

5:56

does not bring up I'm sorry , the interviewer

5:59

does not bring up salary as the interviewee

6:01

bring it up to that interviewer , ask that

6:03

person at that time before you walk away

6:05

and say , hey , I put on a desired

6:08

salary of XYZ . Are y'all

6:10

still comfortable with that salary that I requested

6:12

? They're going to say yes or no

6:14

. If it's no , it shouldn't be no

6:16

, because you shouldn't be sitting there if they didn't . You

6:18

know they did not , but if you did not put down

6:20

a desired salary at that time

6:23

, ask that question what is the salary

6:25

for this position

6:27

? And if they say , oh , it's $50,000 , but

6:29

you know that you're looking to say

6:32

I'm comfortable with $60,000

6:34

. You let them know , right there , be honest and say

6:36

, well , at my previous position I was making

6:39

you know $58,000 . Right now

6:41

, I'm looking to possibly make $60,000

6:43

. Are y'all comfortable with that salary ? They

6:45

can tell you , right then and there , they may be

6:47

, they may not be , but at that point you know , right

6:49

then and there , if that is something you want to move

6:51

forward with .

6:52

And I think what would be the real

6:54

question here is , with the example

6:56

that you gave the salary that they

6:59

offered is $50,000 . I'm

7:01

asking for $75,000 , and then we sit at the table . But

7:04

what happens then when I turn around and learn that

7:06

maybe there are an additional $25,000

7:09

worth of benefits ? Maybe I'm starting out with five

7:11

weeks vacation I know that's kind of dreamland

7:13

, but five weeks vacation . Maybe they

7:15

pay for my health care , maybe

7:18

they provide free

7:20

short-term and long-term disability

7:22

short-term

7:27

and long-term disability . How would I you know if that's the case ? If it's $25,000

7:29

worth of benefits which I don't think is far-fetched in a sense , because

7:32

sometimes I'll even look here at neighbors

7:34

my salary is X , y , z , but

7:36

then I also have to acknowledge that in

7:38

benefits , this is what I'm also gaining

7:41

. How should , I guess , a

7:43

particular candidate evaluate

7:45

that situation ?

7:47

Well , what I would suggest as well is , when you're

7:49

in that interview , ask the question about

7:51

the benefits . It also falls

7:53

into the situation of where you are in life

7:55

. I know a lot of people , depending on

7:57

where they are in life , benefits

7:59

may not matter , but then , on the other hand

8:01

, benefits may matter more than what the salary

8:04

is . So when you're sitting down

8:06

and in that interview , it's your time

8:08

as well to ask questions , to get to know

8:10

more about that organization . So

8:13

always ask about the benefits as well

8:15

if it's not provided to you at that time

8:17

.

8:17

How should candidates evaluate long-term

8:19

value of benefits like bonuses , profit

8:22

sharing and equity

8:24

in terms of the company ? How should we evaluate

8:26

those benefits ?

8:28

Well , honestly this is my opinion when

8:31

it comes to bonuses as well

8:33

as profit sharing as well , as

8:35

you know , receiving some type of shares

8:37

in a company , I think that's

8:40

not something you may want to consider

8:43

in the beginning . That's just me personally

8:45

. I think you don't see the benefit of

8:47

any of that until you're within an organization

8:49

roughly about three to five years . That's when you want

8:51

to start focusing on that as far

8:54

as , like , hey , I can see the benefit of this of

8:56

me . You know , I decided that this is my

8:58

career , this is where I want to grow , this is where

9:00

I want to retire from . At that

9:02

point , that's when you can start focusing on those

9:04

things . As far as that , because a bonus , for instance

9:07

, an organization can probably offer bonuses

9:10

and then take that away . That's not something guaranteed

9:12

in a salary , as well as those other

9:14

caveats . But one thing I would say and suggest

9:16

is that looking to see what they do

9:18

offer as far as retirement plans , such as

9:20

a 401k , things of that

9:23

nature , so

9:27

that kind of actually sometimes would sway you into saying , yes , this is an organization I

9:29

am looking for because I want to make sure

9:31

I have somewhere that actually

9:33

contributes towards a retirement as well . They

9:35

can offer a 401k , but are they contributing

9:38

to that 401k and , if so , what percentage

9:41

are they contributing ?

9:42

So definitely 401k . I think I

9:44

mentioned vacation . What are , I

9:47

guess ? And from an HR perspective , what

9:49

are some of those key benefits that

9:51

, if you are looking to invest some time

9:53

with this particular organization , maybe even

9:55

look to retire ? What are some of those

9:57

benefits that you should really be looking

9:59

for ? And then would it be different

10:01

if I know this is just a temporary

10:03

holding spot . This is just a job to

10:06

feed the family for the time being Maybe

10:08

. I'm in school and I'm working on getting

10:10

a degree where I know that this

10:12

is not going to be my last job .

10:15

Another good question , and I

10:17

can give you several different scenarios as far

10:19

as because it depends on

10:21

where you are in life . Again

10:24

, when someone is sitting across from you in an interview

10:26

, you honestly don't know where they are in

10:29

life . They may explain

10:31

to you what their situation and circumstances are

10:33

. On the other hand , they may not . So

10:35

, pertaining to what your needs

10:37

are at that point in time in life depends

10:40

on , sometimes , the benefits I can give

10:42

an example of . I'm

10:44

a middle aged woman in my

10:46

late 30s . I just got married

10:48

. I had a successful career . Unfortunately

10:51

, I was laid off . My husband

10:53

I'm a newlywed so my husband he's

10:55

been at his job for over 10 years . However

10:57

, his job doesn't offer the best

10:59

of benefits . He has a very good salary , but the benefits

11:02

are not that well . So

11:04

I know that I'm at the age where

11:06

we're looking to start a family , and start a family

11:08

quickly . So therefore

11:10

, I know that I

11:12

need to look for an organization or a company

11:15

that possibly will assist me , that

11:17

may offer fertility benefits , will

11:22

assist me , that may offer fertility benefits . That will probably be more of a game changer for

11:24

me than a salary would be . If I'm someone that is

11:26

actually 21 and just graduated

11:28

college . Hey , I'm excited

11:31

, I'm ready for somebody to pay me for these four years

11:33

. I just did so . At

11:35

that point I may not be looking for the benefit

11:37

piece , I'm looking for the salary piece of

11:39

it . So who's going to pay me the most ? Because

11:41

at this point in my mind , I'm not worried about benefits

11:43

because I'm only 21 . You know , my parents

11:46

are not about to retire . For the next 10 to 12 years

11:48

I'm going to be on their benefits until I'm 26 years

11:50

of age . So therefore I'm not worried about

11:52

the benefits or what benefits this company

11:54

is offering in all honesty . So

11:56

that's more the mindset of some of the younger

11:58

kids that are actually coming out of college

12:00

that do have the benefit to be on their parents'

12:02

coverages . Or then I can be someone

12:05

that is dealing with health issues or a health situation

12:07

where I'm considered morbidly

12:09

obese and I have tried

12:12

everything and I keep getting denied

12:14

for any type of surgeries or procedures . In an organization

12:16

that I was working for , they do not offer anything as

12:18

far as saying , hey , you

12:24

know they have any type of weight loss solutions or anything that will support that as far

12:26

as even with weight loss surgery . So a benefit I see with this organization

12:29

is that they do show that they have

12:31

where they actually may cover

12:33

90 to 100% of weight loss procedures

12:35

. So I may say , hey , this is more

12:38

of a benefit for me than what the salary actually

12:40

is . So sometimes it

12:42

depends what those benefits can be . Even

12:44

we can look outside of those things

12:47

and say a benefit can be as

12:49

far as working from home , a flexible work

12:51

schedule , things like that , because

12:54

you can look at when you work downtown

12:56

even in here in Baton Rouge I

12:58

worked downtown years ago . One of the benefits

13:00

was that I had covered parking . And when

13:02

I tell you that's a life changer when it's 100 and

13:04

some degree weather and you have to understand

13:07

as well , downtown sometimes those

13:09

people have to pay for parking . So

13:11

having free parking is even considered

13:13

a benefit . So you know you have to look at

13:15

your benefits and what

13:17

you're looking for in the moment . That's

13:20

what I say .

13:21

So , talking about benefits and I

13:23

know that you mentioned earlier things like bonuses

13:26

maybe that's a benefit that

13:28

maybe you shouldn't necessarily consider , because bonus

13:31

may come and bonuses may go Are

13:34

there any benefits specifically

13:36

that are less likely to change

13:39

in terms of a job , the ones that

13:41

would kind of be key ? For example , I

13:43

would imagine if somebody took a job because their company

13:45

matches 401k contributions

13:48

at 3% 4% , is that

13:50

something that's likely to go

13:52

away versus covered parking

13:54

? They may say , okay , you get a hundred dollar

13:57

allowance for covered parking and I

13:59

can understand that being something that go away . But

14:01

are there defined benefits , kind

14:03

of a play on HR words that

14:06

they should look at that would have long-term

14:08

benefits versus something that may be

14:10

here today or gone tomorrow ?

14:12

The only thing that you can possibly guarantee is your

14:15

health benefit , retirement plans

14:17

. They can always be frozen depending

14:19

on what is going on within that organization

14:22

. That is not a guarantee . That

14:24

is not something that is etched in stone

14:26

to say , hey , that is something that will

14:28

always be there for you . So

14:31

it's always good to do that type

14:33

of research when you can find out

14:35

or verify certain things , when you can

14:37

ask in an interview Some people

14:39

want to know what is the financial stability

14:41

of an organization , and some ways

14:43

to find that out is to ask those questions . As

14:46

far as , hey , has there been a layoff

14:48

within the past couple of years ? If

14:50

so , can you explain the reason why ? Have

14:53

you seen an increase in your organization

14:56

as far as with salaries

14:58

and bonuses over the past several years

15:00

? Have you given raises over the past several

15:02

years ? Things like that

15:04

you can ask , so you can kind of know a little

15:06

bit about our organization's financial

15:09

stability . But as far as to

15:11

say , if anything is etched in stone to say

15:13

, hey , this is something that will be guaranteed

15:15

to stay , the only thing would possibly be , of

15:18

course , would be medical because of the sizing

15:20

of an organization . So

15:22

if you're with a small one it depends

15:24

. They can also have outside

15:26

resources for that . But within

15:28

a medical piece that can actually

15:31

change as well , where an organization

15:33

at one point can cover 100%

15:35

of an employee's benefit packet

15:37

and then , depending on the

15:40

price of insurance , the premiums

15:42

, you may see at that point where your organization

15:45

says , hey , we're only covering 90 percent at

15:47

this time , or 80 percent , so

15:49

those things can change . There's not

15:51

anything that we can truly guarantee in

15:53

benefits .

15:54

Ideally , it makes sense that a salary

15:57

during an interview might be negotiable in

15:59

terms of OK , you know , let's meet in the middle

16:01

. What about benefits ? If you're offering

16:03

me three weeks , or if

16:05

you're offering to pay 3%

16:08

toward 401k ? Are benefits

16:10

typically something that's negotiable in

16:13

an interview ?

16:14

As far as like health , dental and vision

16:16

, that's not negotiable as far

16:18

as I can , you know , because that's something

16:20

that you know . Hey , I got to go out and be

16:23

it for that every year , so , no , that's not

16:25

negotiable . But as far as like

16:27

, hey , you know , I was

16:29

actually looking for

16:31

this salary . However , I

16:33

see y'all offer one week of vacation

16:36

. What is it if I can say , hey

16:38

, can I get two weeks of vacation or

16:40

whatever ? Those are things that you can possibly negotiate

16:43

. I don't see . I tell people

16:45

in all honesty , you can actually

16:47

ask for everything under the sun you want . You

16:49

know all you can get is a yes or a no

16:51

. But you know , be reasonable in certain things

16:53

, you know . So you can always

16:56

say I see that . Y'all

16:58

state that you know in the first

17:00

. I'm just going to give an example Within

17:02

the first six months , y'all offer 40 hours

17:04

of vacation . Is it possible ? I can

17:07

get that 40 hours of vacation

17:09

up front versus getting them at six

17:11

months . That's a negotiation and

17:13

that's something that some organizations are willing

17:15

to work with . However , they say you know

17:18

, are you ? You're like , hey , I

17:20

have a vacation that's coming up , you know

17:22

, within the before I receive vacation

17:25

time . Is it possible that I can get that

17:27

time to use for this vacation ? Those

17:29

are some type , some negotiation tools that you

17:31

can have . Or even in the aspect

17:33

of hours , if a company

17:35

or organization has flexible hours

17:37

or what have you and say

17:39

our

17:44

organization has flexible hours , or what have you and say , ok , we're open from 6 am to 6 pm , you

17:46

know , and you can ask the question . They say , ok , this , this job , is from nine

17:48

to five . And you can say , well , hey

17:50

, is it possible that I can work from seven

17:52

to three ? You know , because I have to pick

17:54

my child up . Is that still something that

17:56

is possible for this position ? That's

17:58

negotiating .

18:00

And I won't harp on this particular question

18:02

too long , but I do want you to give a little

18:04

feedback in terms of what

18:07

should a candidate consider if

18:09

they have the option between hourly or

18:11

salary ?

18:12

Honestly , that's not an option

18:14

usually given . A reason being

18:17

is because under FLSA guidelines

18:19

, a job is based

18:21

on the duties . That makes it an hourly

18:24

or salary position , not a title

18:26

. So that's not something that

18:28

a person can come in and say

18:30

hey , I want this position to be hourly versus

18:32

salary or vice versa .

18:35

Do you see any benefits one over

18:37

the other ?

18:37

Honestly , no , no

18:40

, I really don't . I know

18:42

some people feel more value in saying

18:44

, oh well , I'm an example of a position

18:46

or what have you , or oh , I'm in a salary

18:48

position that makes me more of a professional . That's not

18:51

always the case . Some people prefer

18:53

to be early because that gives them a benefit

18:55

of actually receiving overtime

18:57

. You know

19:00

, it depends on what

19:02

that job is . In all honesty , and I

19:04

always give the example of I

19:06

can , I can label a name , I

19:24

can give a title to anything . In all

19:26

honesty , I it's called the CEO

19:29

of OOO or what have

19:31

you . But if my duties are

19:33

to actually file papers

19:35

, to answer the phones , you know

19:37

when the doorbell rings , go , greet the go

19:39

, greet the members or customers , that's

19:42

not a salary position . That is actually

19:44

based in under FLSA guidelines

19:46

as an hourly position . So

19:48

that's why I always inform people don't

19:51

get hooked up on titles all the time

19:53

. It's actually the duties that are listed

19:55

underneath that job title in

19:58

that job description . What base

20:00

is it on if it's an hourly or salary

20:02

position ?

20:03

All right . Are there any particular

20:05

questions , like the top two or three

20:07

questions that , regardless

20:09

of what position you're applying for , that every

20:11

candidate should make sure they

20:13

walk out of an interview having this

20:15

particular information .

20:17

Number one is what's

20:20

the salary ? You want to know

20:22

what the salary is for that position , and

20:24

the reason why is because if it's not what you're

20:26

looking for , don't waste that

20:29

employer's time or your time on

20:31

that . But honestly , you should know that information

20:33

prior to the interview . But if you have not , make

20:36

sure you know the salary as well

20:38

as the benefits , you

20:41

want to know about the benefits , what type of benefit

20:43

offers ? If they don't have that information

20:45

, ask who can you reach out to within the organization

20:47

to go over benefits , because keep in

20:50

mind that salary at

20:52

that point that , like you said , when

20:54

it combines with the benefits , may be

20:56

more of a salary that you're looking

20:58

for than what you thought . So

21:00

I always say always look at both of them together

21:03

. So you always want to know about the salaries

21:05

and the benefits of that organization . And

21:07

also , what a lot of people don't ask and

21:09

I ask and this is going to be more than three

21:11

I'm going to say , because this is part of benefits is

21:14

ask when the benefits start , because

21:17

one of the things is , some people need to know

21:19

how soon those benefits will begin . And

21:21

I'm just going to plug this for us , because one of the pluses

21:23

for us is our benefits for full-time employees begin

21:26

on day one , and that's rare

21:29

for a lot of organizations and companies . So

21:31

that's always a selling point for us . Our benefits

21:33

do begin on day one , whereas a lot of

21:35

companies would be 60 , 45 , 90 days

21:37

. It just depends . So , therefore

21:39

, that's why I always say know the benefits

21:42

. Therefore , that's why I always say know

21:44

the benefits , but know when those benefits would begin for you with that

21:46

company . Also , you want to know as well as when

21:48

will you know a response of a

21:50

positive or negative in this interview ? Will

21:52

you move to the next phase ? Or

21:55

you know , hey , when we find out if this

21:57

position is filled . You need to know

21:59

that because you don't want to be waiting on pins and needles

22:01

. And they , you know a month

22:03

. They say , oh well , we'll know in three , you'll know

22:05

in three weeks . We're still interviewing blah , blah , blah . Or

22:08

, hey , I know , we'll

22:10

know by the end of this week . So you know

22:12

by Friday if it's Monday , and

22:15

by the end of the week is Friday . If you haven't heard

22:17

from them by Friday , reach

22:26

back out on Monday or what have you . And one thing I always say as well if you forget to ask any

22:28

questions , or any of those top three questions that I just stated , or a question that comes

22:30

to mind , reach out to them during that

22:32

time frame . Do not wait until

22:35

someone makes an offer to start asking 15

22:37

million questions to them at that point , especially

22:40

when they stated to you on Monday

22:42

hey , we'll have a decision by Friday . If you

22:44

thought about those questions , reach out

22:46

, call , send an email and say , hey

22:49

, this is something I forgot to ask you

22:51

. Can you please provide me with that information

22:53

? So that's why I always tell people don't

22:56

be afraid to have a communication with that person

22:58

. That can be your potential hire . And

23:00

also one thing I wanna say as well

23:02

is I'm a big person on people's

23:04

time . Don't of wasting of time . Let me

23:06

put it like that . When I know some

23:08

people always are they hear this

23:11

about Google or on social media like

23:13

, oh you know , if somebody makes you an offer

23:15

, don't , don't just say yes , just just

23:17

wait , just just wait , hold out a couple of days

23:19

.

23:20

You know desperate .

23:21

Yes , yes , yes

23:24

, don't seem desperate . Just hold out a couple of days , because you know they may offer you more money

23:26

, especially if they need you , you know whatever , don't

23:28

waste your time and don't take chances like

23:30

that . And the reason why I say that is because you

23:33

may not have been the only candidate that person

23:35

interviewed and you may have been the number

23:37

one choice , but you don't know how close the

23:39

number two choice was to you . And

23:41

I'm just going to give an example as far as , like , somebody

23:44

calls to make you an offer on that

23:46

Friday and they spoke to you that Monday

23:49

, by that time you should have known

23:51

if you were willing to accept that , if you were going

23:53

to accept that job offer or not . Now

23:55

understand , if you had an interview

23:57

that Friday morning and they call you three hours

23:59

later and make you the offer , you haven't

24:01

had a time to review anything at that point

24:03

. So I understand when you would say okay , can

24:06

you give me until Monday to actually

24:08

let you know what I decide

24:10

, because at that point you're just getting the benefit

24:12

packet that you possibly asked for . So you

24:14

had a chance to review all of that information

24:16

. But if you had several

24:19

days , you should know by that point if you're

24:21

going to say yes or no on that Friday

24:23

. So if you're going to say , oh well

24:25

, give me about 72 hours , can you give me another

24:27

week , or whatever , I'm just going to be

24:29

honest . Me personally , I'm going to go to the number two candidate , because

24:31

the number two candidate probably only had a

24:33

smidgen of something probably different that

24:35

made you the number one candidate . For instance

24:38

, if , oh , number one was just as great

24:40

as well as number two candidate

24:42

, was

24:45

just as great as well as number two candidate , the only difference was is that number one possibly

24:47

had three months more of management experience , for instance

24:49

, but this person was just as good , and that's

24:51

the only thing that deciphered them was we

24:54

can say they had more management experience

24:56

. But at that point I'm like I can't

24:58

wait , because at this point I'm trying to fill this

25:00

position and if I wait another week that's

25:02

putting me back , you know . So

25:04

therefore , I could say , right , then you know , no problem

25:07

, I'll rescind my offer and I'm going to call candidate

25:09

number two . So that's why I say sometimes you don't

25:11

want to play those games .

25:12

Okay . Are there questions

25:15

that a candidate

25:17

shouldn't ask about salary ? I have a 19

25:19

and 24 year old and of course you know they're at that

25:21

age where they change jobs like they change underwear

25:23

, and they'll come home and I'll have a

25:26

hundred questions , I you know . When do you start

25:28

? How often do you get paid ? When

25:30

do you get paid ? And I get blank stares

25:33

as though you like they were afraid

25:35

to ask those questions . So are

25:37

there questions that may seem inappropriate

25:39

, or maybe it seems like your only focus

25:42

is the money and at 19 and 24 , that

25:44

is their only focus . But yet they come home without

25:46

this information and they're just going to wait to

25:48

see when the direct deposit hits their account and say

25:50

, mama , I got paid today .

25:53

No , in all honesty

25:55

, keep in mind , it's just not the young kids

25:58

we honestly know , especially during

26:00

new hire orientation , when

26:02

we actually go through the process of explaining to

26:04

them hey , when is your , when your first deposit

26:07

is going to hit , when we fill out this information

26:09

during benefits orientation , all of those

26:11

things . So we notice

26:13

a lot of people don't ask that question . So

26:15

they just know hey , this is my salary . They don't

26:17

know if they're going to be biweekly , annually

26:19

, once a month , twice a month , first 15 . They really

26:21

don't know . Is it a question that a lot of

26:24

people miss ? Yes , it is so is it a question

26:26

? that you want to ask . You definitely want to , because

26:28

you want to know hey , when am I going to get my first paycheck

26:30

, or how often does this happen , you

26:33

know ? Is this once a month ? Because at that point

26:35

I need to know . If I

26:37

worked at a previous job and I was used to getting paid

26:39

every other week and now I'm only getting paid once

26:41

a month , I'm going to have to learn how to rebudget

26:43

.

26:44

Absolutely , and that's my favorite word

26:46

right there Budget , budget , budget , budget . And

26:48

that's why it just kind of floors me

26:50

that you see candidates that will have a job

26:53

and they come back with little information

26:55

and it's almost like they're afraid to ask questions

26:57

. That's why I was curious , you know , what are those questions that

27:00

they shouldn't ask ? Is there any ?

27:02

There's not a such thing to me as

27:04

don't ask , especially in an interview

27:06

. That's your opportunity to

27:08

ask those questions . And , to be

27:10

honest , from

27:17

me personally sitting in interviews , I'm intrigued more so by the people

27:19

that do ask questions . To ask , you know , because I feel honestly

27:22

they're more . They're more serious about

27:24

a job and a career because

27:27

they've done the research . They're asking the questions

27:29

To me . They're more serious about

27:31

this search . They want to know any

27:34

and everything as much as possible . And

27:37

they're genuine questions because

27:39

you know you can always get those same run

27:41

of the list questions that they tell

27:43

you on Google . Make sure you ask these questions

27:46

from somebody listening to a TikTok

27:48

video . You know , anytime you're going to interview

27:50

and it's funny because you can see those questions asked

27:52

but you can tell they're not genuine . You can barely

27:54

like they're asking the questions but they're not even listening

27:57

to your answer per se . You know they can

27:59

say , oh okay , so what benefits do you offer

28:01

? And you know we give them the information and

28:03

they're like , oh OK , but you didn't see them write down

28:05

anything . And then it's like , oh well

28:08

, you know they'll ask the next question , but you

28:10

know they've gotten the information because that's what they

28:12

said these are the questions that you need to ask in

28:14

an interview , but if you're not genuinely

28:16

asking those questions , it's not questions that you

28:18

really don't want the answer to don't

28:20

ask them .

28:21

I guess , before we wrap it up , any final

28:23

tips again for any of those

28:25

listeners out there . They're out there

28:27

in a job hunt . Maybe they have a job and they're

28:29

just looking for something different . And they're

28:32

looking at , you know , I've got this

28:34

position being offered to me , this position

28:36

being offered to me . You know , the salaries

28:38

may be the same , maybe the benefits are different

28:41

. Any last tips , last pieces

28:43

of advice for them to consider .

28:46

Well , number one , it's a blessing to have two offers

28:48

on the table right now , so good for

28:51

you . But one thing

28:53

I would you know . A good takeaway would be

28:55

look at everything , the

28:57

overall pictures , like you said . If they're

28:59

apples to apples , there's something

29:01

that's going to make a difference , whether it

29:03

be what works with your

29:05

life . Is this an organization

29:08

that's been around for a long period of time

29:10

? Is this organizational reputable ? Is

29:13

this organization showing growth

29:15

within a company ? Are they actually growing

29:17

or is this company ? Have they

29:20

had layoffs in the past year or two , or

29:22

is this company had any layoffs

29:24

? Does it show when

29:27

you look online on

29:29

social media that the company

29:31

is engaged or their employees are

29:33

engaged ? Are their employees

29:35

posting positive information about them

29:38

, or is this company not

29:40

? Doesn't have any type of footprint in social media

29:43

? Does this organization

29:45

actually give to the community

29:47

? If that's something you value , it's

29:49

a lot of different things that would actually

29:52

weigh out one versus the

29:54

other , but it depends on what you're looking for

29:56

at that moment in time and sometimes

29:58

I tell people as well is that

30:00

does it fit your culture ? Does

30:02

their culture fit your lifestyle ? And

30:05

I say , for instance , that you may have an organization

30:07

that is like you said , apples to apples . But then when

30:09

it comes to , oh , I'm more of a

30:11

casual person , but this

30:14

company is , they're okay with casual

30:16

. They wear khakis , they wear

30:18

polo fit shirts , you know , we're

30:20

fine with it . But this company

30:22

, yep , whereas

30:24

you have this company right here that only

30:27

like you can only wear suit and tights and as well as you

30:29

have to wear pantyhose , ladies , you know

30:31

okay . Or this company only wants

30:33

hair , you know , a natural hair color , that's

30:35

all you can wear , whereas I'm more

30:37

of a company . You know , I'm more of a free , flowing

30:39

person where I , you know , I like to express

30:41

myself and how I express myself is with

30:43

hair color , and they're okay with it

30:45

. So at that point , those things sometimes

30:48

will decide what would be the best fit

30:50

for me . When you have two organizations

30:52

that are actually apples to apples , that

30:55

would then break down what is different

30:57

is what works best for you and what fits more

30:59

with you and your lifestyle .

31:01

That makes me think of another question Is it appropriate

31:03

during an interview to ask for a company

31:06

handbook before making a decision ?

31:08

Why would it be ? A lot of people

31:11

have their company handbooks posted on

31:13

their internet . Some

31:15

companies do and where you can ask for

31:17

that , it should not be a problem at all , because

31:20

you want to review what their policies are

31:22

up front . You can actually know

31:24

about their attendance policies , their

31:27

occurrences , things like that . If they do

31:29

offer those , do they offer performance

31:31

reviews ? Do they actually have

31:33

annual raises ? Or how do they

31:35

look at their vacation time , their holidays

31:38

? All of those things would be posted in their

31:40

handbooks .

31:41

And I know the focus of this has been

31:43

more of what the interviewee should

31:46

or shouldn't ask . Are there red flags

31:48

if I'm the person being interviewed ? Are

31:50

there red flags , for example , if I'm

31:53

singing an interview and I ask you for the handbook

31:55

and you were a little hesitant about providing that information

31:57

? Are there red flags that I should be looking

32:00

for , that maybe this is not the company

32:02

for me because they're not willing to answer

32:04

certain questions .

32:06

I won't honestly say that , because sometimes

32:08

the person that may be interviewing you

32:10

may not be an HR

32:12

person , it may be a manager

32:14

that actually may not know the answer at that

32:16

point in time . They may have to speak

32:18

to someone else to give you that information

32:21

. So sometimes a person may

32:23

an interviewee

32:25

, may ask an interviewer a

32:27

question that may take them off guard

32:29

and they may not know the answer to it you

32:31

know at that point in time . So I won't

32:33

say just don't automatically assume

32:35

. Oh well , you know something may be shady

32:37

about that . It may just be the fact that

32:39

that person may not know that information

32:41

up front , you know .

32:43

so I'll put you on the spot . Has there ever

32:45

been a question that has kind of thrown you

32:47

off , you know , because

32:50

you just didn't expect that question . It was very

32:52

unusual , something no one's ever asked

32:54

before , that you either couldn't answer

32:56

or just weren't prepared , just didn't expect

32:58

it .

32:59

I'm not to think on that one . I really don't know

33:02

and , to be honest , the reason why is because

33:04

I haven't interviewed in a while , so

33:08

so I can . Honestly

33:10

, I may not have an answer for that

33:12

one right now .

33:14

Well , there's that stump , question then .

33:15

Yeah , it's honestly a stump question . You know

33:17

, honestly , I just haven't had opportunity

33:19

to interview in a while . So I

33:21

do listen to them but I just me personally

33:24

to interview . I haven't had , you know , I

33:26

haven't had a chance to so .

33:28

Okay , well , on that note , I think we will wrap it

33:30

up . Yolanda , Thank you so much for joining me

33:32

. Thank you so much for having me .

33:33

This was fun To talk about this subject .

33:35

I'm sure it is helpful to a lot of individuals

33:37

out there on a hunt trying

33:39

to figure out what's the best

33:42

offer . Hopefully they are getting multiple

33:44

offers it is not just that one offer

33:46

out there but hopefully this will help them decipher

33:49

what's going to be the best course for them . So

33:51

thank you for joining us .

33:51

Thank you so much for having me .