Features

Ask A Progeek: Salary requests?

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So man, we keep getting questions – I’d call this idea a success.  So what’s next?

“A lot of these application forms insist you give them a salary expectation.  I was always told not to get into specifics about money until the end of the interview.  I was also always told never to leave anything blank in the application (also, the computerized ones count it as a required field).  So, should I talk about salary during the application or not?  And if not, how do I get around it until it’s time?”

Frankly, unless it’s a low-level job that’s going to pay low/minimum, everyone talks salary.  The key is to know HOW.

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Promoting Professional Geekery #27: Do A VLog

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Writing, blogging, etc.  All are ways to get out the word for professional geeks – that you can turn geek into a career (or at least geek out your current one).  Of course not everyone responds to the written word.  Some respond to diagrams, others to writing, others to speech, yet others to baked goods.

Since I’m not sure anyone has invited a way to communicate the fan-to-pro message via donuts, let’s see if you can help out your fellows by going beyond the usual blog or web page and go visual.

Try a video Blog, or vLog in the usual condensed internet vernacular.

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Promoting Professional Geekery #26: Do A Side Project

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Trying to help people see the virtue of professional geekery is often best done by showing results.  So if you want people at work to see the value in your geekery (and maybe get a few more geeks to stand up and wave the nerd flag high), why not start a side project at work that relates to your geekery?  It let’s you show off with a payoff.

Try things such as:

  • Like games?  Maybe you can lead a program to do ramification.
  • Like anime?  Maybe you know enough to suggest some artists, marketing companies, and more your company should work with.
  • Technical geek?  Come on if you can’t think of something to propose at work you’re not even trying!
  • Science geek?  Who knows what additional products, experiments, training, newsletters, etc. you can propose.
  • General pop culture geek?  Maybe it’s time to start a viewing party or movie outing now and then to build morale.

Take your geekery and make it pay off – with a side project.

What does this do?

  • It of course helps the place you work and and the people you work with (as long as it pays off).
  • It helps open some minds about new possibilities.
  • It shows the professional value of your geekiness
  • It reminds others to stand up and make their geekiness heard – and do something with it.

Results speak for themselves.  So remind people of the professional power of your utter full nerdity by making it pay off!

– Steven Savage