asking for a job description before interviewing, turning down an offer, and more

by Alison Green on July 13, 2013

It’s short answer Saturday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. How to ask for the job description before interviewing

I know the best idea is to keep a copy of all job descriptions you apply to, but I have a habit of not doing that. Most of the time, the posting is still up when you hear back, and more of the time you don’t hear back. I just got a request to interview for a position, but the posting is no longer available. Is there a correct way to ask the HR recruiter for a copy without coming across as unprepared?

Yeah, ideally you really should keep copies of them all, because some companies do take ads down while they’re still interviewing. But if you didn’t, just go ahead and ask: “Would you be able to forward me a copy of the description? It doesn’t seem to still be online.”

2. Did I mishandle my turning down of a job offer?

I declined a job offer and it didn’t go very well. During the interviews when the salary and position was mentioned to me and I was asked if it was acceptable to me, I said yes. I didn’t think that would be construed as a binding acceptance of the offer. So when I did receive the offer (which came by email without advance notice), I took a week to get back to them to decline. But apparently the team had already started to anticipate work for me. I was shocked to hear this. I know there are no legal tangles because I haven’t signed any papers, but I feel awful because every relationship is important. I have verbally and formally (email) declined the offer. Is there anyway I can improve the situation, and prevent this in the future?

They sent you an offer throughout email without telling that it was coming? That’s weird, and that’s on them — what if you were out of town and not checking email or your internet access was down for a few days or something? Not to mention, it’s just a weird way to do things. When you make a job offer, you call someone up and talk to them. You don’t just shoot off an email.

So they’re in the wrong here, not you. That said, in general you don’t want to sit on an offer for a week without some sort of response — even if it’s just, “Let me talk a few days and think it through.”

3. Negotiating a raise after a probationary period

I am in the final stages of a job interview/application. The CEO called and said I was the committee’s preferred candidate and they were going to call on references. During the interview they indicated that there would likely be second rounds, so I was really excited about this. He asked if I had any questions about coming on board. I said that we had not talked about salary, although they had requested salary history (I wrote that I preferred to keep it private, but I was seeking a salary in the low $50,000s). I mentioned this and he said that the previous person was making low $40,000s, but he would visit the budget and see if the mid $40,000s would be possible with a 6-month probationary period with a raise at the end.

What are the usual terms for probationary periods with a raise with good performance? How much of a raise would be typical? I’d like to start at $45,000 and raise it to $48,000. Does that seem unreasonable? I understand that we would need to agree on criteria for good performance. Should this be in the original offer letter or is this something we should discuss once I’m on board (looking at a start date in 2.5 weeks)? Finally, if they do annual performance reviews, would I then wait a year from the 6 month review to revisit my salary should they offer merit or cost-of-living raises?

That’s not an unreasonable amount. Frankly, it’s possible that it should be higher, but I have no way to say without knowing more about your industry. However, you should absolutely get this agreement in writing. If they balk at that, then you should take that as a sign that this is NOT a binding agreement — it’s a “maybe we’ll do this, maybe we won’t.” Far too many people have made agreements like this, not gotten them in writing, and then had them fall through. And not always due to bad intentions on the part of the employer — but people miscommunicate or misremember things, hiring managers leave the company, etc. You want it in writing if you want to count on it.

4. Yes

Is it legal for my employer to give raises and/or bonuses based on an evaluation that was never given to me orally or in writing?

Yes.

5. Explaining that kids and immigration status kept me from working

I am a recent graduate (June 2013) and during my time at school got married and had 2 children (1 and 3 years old) and also relocated from Canada to the USA. I am beginning to feel it’s time to get out and work, and also just recently received my green card allowing me to work. I am often confused when I apply to entry level jobs or jobs for recent grads and they tell me that I do not have enough experience. Why do these employers list the jobs as entry level when they expect you to have much more experience? I have 1 year previous working experience in my field, but I completed that in 2008/2009. When they ask why I haven’t worked, I most often say that during that time I wanted to focus on school, but none of the employers seem to like that answer. Should I just say, “I didn’t work while I was in school because I had children to take care of” or “I was waiting for immigration to grant me a green card.” I am really unsure how to explain the gap in my resume when I was unable to work due to children and immigration.

Explain that you weren’t allowed to legally work in the U.S. until recently. No one can argue with that.

As for the entry-level jobs, yeah, the definition has been stretched in recent years. You do generally need experience to get most white-collar, full-time jobs now, but that experience can come from part-time jobs, internships, and volunteering — which are all common for recent grads to do in order to cobble together the experience that then allows them to get hired for more stable.

6. Asking for an alternate schedule one day a week

I’m a job seeker, and I also currently participate in a support group that meets at the beginning of the business day, once a week. If (hopefully when!) I get offered a job somewhere, would it be unreasonable to ask for the possibility of working, say, 11-7 on Tuesdays instead of 9-5 like the rest of the week? (Assume an office position that doesn’t completely hinge on being present at a specific time, as might a receptionist’s.) And is this something that should be considered a favor/benefit on the employer’s part if granted? If offered as proposed here, it wouldn’t actually be “flex” time; it would be a specific set schedule that just happens to be offset in time from the other days of the week.

Sure, you can ask about that. Plenty of employers will say yes, and some will say no, but it’s not unreasonable to ask. Most will consider it a benefit, and also flex time — flex time generally means starting and quitting times that are more flexible than the traditional 9-5 schedule, but doesn’t have to mean that it varies all over the place; it also includes things like a 7-3 workday or 4 days at 10 hours, or what you’re proposing.

7. My graduate program changed its name

I am in the process of the job hunt, and recently discovered that my masters degree has had the name of the program changed. It was only the second year of the program when I was enrolled with a fairly long multidisciplinary name (Community Leadership and Philanthropy Studies). The degree is housed in the School of Social Work, but has always included classes from other departments (including the business school). Now three years later, the name of the degree has changed to Nonprofit Management. The course requirements are essentially all the same, but the name is different. Were I in a situation where I needed to show my graducation documents, the name on my degree would read the old name — but if someone were to Google my degree and university, nothing official would come up. Should I just change the degree listed as Nonprofit Management and address the name change of the program at a later date with an employer if necessary? Or do I list the name of the degree at the time I received it?

Either is fine. If you’re asked about it, or asked to show your graduation documents (which is rare), you’d just explain the situation. This is one of those convenient dilemmas where it’s really not a big deal. Pick a way, explain if needed, and done.

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{ 71 comments }

{ 71 comments… read them below }

  1. Jessa*

    With number 5 I agree with Alison, there’s nothing wrong with saying you’re an immigrant and you’ve been in school and you’re now legal to work here. There’s not a thing wrong with saying that. It makes you look responsible and above board.

    Number 3- what Alison said in spades and doubled. OMG writing writing in 200 point headline writing. NOTHING matters if you don’t get it in writing and even then sometimes they weasel out of it. But not only do things change but people outright LIE about what they say. There are innocent reasons like Alison said, staff changes, they really honestly thought they’d have the budget cause the Zakharian project was going to make a fortune but OMG she went with Blue firm. But then there are people who will say whatever you want them to say.

    Also you want to agree on criteria. “Upon review,” is so subjective. You need to know WHAT constitutes satisfactory performance to receive a raise of x amount of money. And are there levels? If you do x do you get 2000 if you do y do you get 5000? Who does the review and if they are no longer with the company what happens? And does this review mean you’re not going to get a raise for x number of years after? I mean if their normal thing is we give raises every year great, but if this means you’re locked for a long time, make sure you take that into account.

  2. Felicia*

    #1 has sort of happened to me before – they sent me an offer by email without telling me it was coming, and they had assumed I would accept and were preparing accordingly, which was the bad thing here. I did respond to the email right away and said i needed a day or 2 to think about it. They were demanding a response within 4 hours, which was a big red flag. I ended up turning them down and then I got a really angry email in return about how I’d wasted their time and I was being unprofessional in rejecting them like that and asking why I even came to the interview. Um I hadnt accepted the job so they were the ones being unprofessional? I came to the interview to learn more about a job I was considering, and learned a lot of things I saw as red flags? I didn’t even respond to their angry email.

      1. Felicia*

        I was kind of conflicted about rejecting the job, but that angry email (and the speed at which they expected me to respond to the offer), made me even more sure that I made the right decision.

    2. Ruffingit*

      This is clearly a company who believed that interviewees are so desperate that they will accept any offer. They do not understand the interview is a TWO-WAY street to see if the company is a right fit for you.

      Definitely major, huge, big bullet dodged there.

      1. FiveNine*

        I know it seems we’ll never, ever get out of the recession, but there are definitely some companies that have no idea the bad will they’re building up by openly talking about and behaving toward prospective employees as though they are all so desperate and will take absolutely anything and any kind of treatment. (This is an aside, and not a nightmare scenario by any stretch, but in 2009 I had lost my contracting work and was interviewed at an office supply store. I would have gladly accepted any position there at the time — and I had experience in, for example, a photo lab that should have translated at least partially well to their copy center. The manager happily told me that they had several hundred people apply, and that the store was on top of the world about its pick from among so many well-qualified (over-qualified probably) candidates. No one bothered to call me after the interview to say they’d offered the job to someone else, or to please keep them in mind in the future. I can’t tell you how many people/friends during the recession have built up a list of companies they applied to — and presumably thought well of at the time — who now will not set foot in those places ever again because of such treatment/attitudes/just basic lack of common courtesy.) I have to trust that one day that same manager is going to be shocked, SHOCKED, when someone does finally turn down a job there or (gasp!) they can’t find someone with more experience than a 16 year old on a school break to work the cash register.

        1. Ruffingit*

          Completely agree with you FiveNine. The bridge runs both ways and employers can burn it just as easily as employees can.

          1. Felicia*

            I also have a list of companies i won’t go anywhere near due to poor interview treatment. If I could afford to be picky I wouldn’t go near any of the companies that after two interviews never ever got back to me despite attempts to follow up.

  3. Felicia*

    #5 I have also been really frustrated that most entry level jobs say minimum 2-3 years relevant experience. It feels really unfair to the recent grad who can’t afford to work that long for free that long, especially in fields where part time jobs are uncommon or where part time jobs also say minimum 2-3 years experience.

    1. Zahra*

      Yeah, for me, 2-3 years experience should push to the junior level and entry-level should mean little to no experience (otherwise, it’s not an entry to working in your domain).

      1. Kam*

        I honestly think they are trying to take advantage and keep the pay grade low, another selfish tactic used by some organizations in this recession. They say “entry level” but they are looking for “junior level” so when you say you expect $xx,xxx. They say “whoa whoa, we can pay you this much for an entry level job!”

        1. Felicia*

          I think in a lot of fields, “entry level” doesnt really exist anymore, at least not in this recession. People are willing to take jobs that are a step down for them which means truly entry level people are left with nowhere to start. I lost out on an “entry level” job that said in the job description it required 1-2 years experience to someone who had more like 6-7 (the new persons name was on the company website and I looked them up on LinkedIn). It’s because in this job market, a lot of people are willing to accept jobs they’d normally be way overqualified and underpaid for.

          1. EngineerGirl*

            I disagree. If a career spans 30-35 years then anything under 5 years is indeed entry level. A lot of new grads don’t know what they don’t know and therefore think that they are now at junior level when they aren’t. The problem is more with the new grads expectations of what “entry level” means. Even in my day entry level meant 1-5 years experience.

            1. Esra*

              Most people I know would define entry-level as a position suitable for someone fresh out of school, or with a very low level of experience. Certainly not more than 2+ years.

              1. EngineerGirl*

                So a question – are most of the people you know junior level or do they span multiple positions? Because the only people I know that think entry level is less than five years usually have less than ten years experience.

              2. Lily in NYC*

                Esra, I have to disagree with you and most of the people you know. Entry-level to me and the majority of the working world is ~2 years experience.

  4. EM*

    #3 — DEFINITELY get this in writing with as much detail hammered out as possible.

    This same situation was presented to one of my previous managers when she accepted an offer with the company we both used to work out. She failed to have them put this in writing and at the 6-month mark, they refused to give her the promised performance evaluation & raise, stating there was no proof that it had ever been offered.

    1. WorkIt*

      Yes! Twice I have accepted a job with an informal agreement that I’d get a raise after a probationary period. Twice the powers that be had no memory of such a conversation ever happening. Amnesia.

  5. Seal*

    #7 – Colleges and universities discontinue or change the names of majors offered all the time. I would list the name of the degree you received, because that IS the degree you received. If there is ever a question of whether or not your degree is legit, you can always get a transcript from the school you attended. Conversely, if you are ever hired by a place that requires transcripts for new hires, listing a degree by something other than how it appears on your transcript will raise red flags.

    1. Ella*

      You might want to check with your school to see if they will issue you a new diploma or transcripts with the changed program name on them. I work at a university and know that we will do this for a small fee when a program changes its name. If it makes things more straightforward for you while job searching, or if the new program name is better aligned with your career goals, it could be worth it.

  6. fposte*

    So how common is it for U.S. companies to genuinely and regularly do the raise-after-6-months arrangement? Admittedly, I only hear about it when something goes wrong, but it seems to be mostly a candidate trap, since the advantages end up being mostly on the employer side.

    1. Eric*

      My company does, by default, for all new hires. Generally, at the end of 6 months, you’ll either get a raise or get fired (can only think of the latter happening once). Offer letters used to tel you what the raise would be to at the 6-month mark, but they don’t anymore.
      We are also the sort of place that does annual reviews and raises for everyone, every year.

    2. Victoria Nonprofit*

      I did that at my first post-grad school job. I was offered the high end of the salary range, but it was still low given my degree and experience (most folks with my background didn’t go into the world of small, regional, poorly funded nonprofits), so they also offered me a 10% raise after six months. I was totally naive and didn’t get it in writing, but they honored our agreement (and continued to give me good raises throughout my time there – I still miss it!)

  7. CC*

    I think #2 meant that his saying “Yes, the salary is acceptable to me” was taken as an acceptance of the offer, whereas the OP assumed it just referred to salary and didn’t know he was accepting the job by saying that. Then they were later upset when he declined the job offer they sent by e-mail.

    1. Felicia*

      I think the employer’s assumption makes no sense – because the candidate can’t accept the offer until they actually have an offer. And although the OP should have responded to the email right away , even saying they needed time to think about it, email isnt the best way to make an offer and you shouldn’t act like a candidate accepted until they actually do. Although salary is important , it’s not most peoples’ only consideration in accepting an offer. I think by the way the company responded the OP should be even more confident in their decision to reject the offer

      1. Ruffingit*

        Totally agreed. Saying a particualrly salary is acceptable does not a job offer acceptance make because there was no offer here. In my mind, a job offer will include the salary, a start date, etc. It’s not just “Yes, $80,000 a year would be acceptable to me.”

        If you flip this around, the absurdity of it becomes even more apparent: What if this was a job candidate believing that an employer offering a salary number is a job offer? Everyone would say “You’re insane.”

        1. CC*

          I am agreeing with you both here. I posted to clarify since it sounds like they’re not upset about the amount of time it took him to reject after they sent the e-mail, but about the fact that they thought he’d already accepted. (Which yes it’s ridiculous, since stating a salary does not equal making an offer.)

          1. Kimberlee, Esq.*

            I think I actually disagree with all of this. If the salary talk and position description were demonstrated as hypothetical at the interview, then yeah, there was no offer. But if they said “So the position is Project Manager of the Teapot Division, and the salary will be $587K. Does that sound good to you?” then yeah, I would assume that was a preliminary job offer, and would expect to see something in my email in the next couple days.

            Yeah, it all could have been clearer, but the fact that OP didn’t pick up on it being an offer doesn’t necessarily mean that others wouldn’t have, you know? And if I, as an interviewer, had thought I’d made the offer already, I certainly wouldn’t feel the need to call them separately and tell them an offer was coming to their email. I already did that.

            I guess the moral of the story is that we should all be as clear in our communications as possible, but I really see this more as a common misunderstanding than anything that either party did “wrong.”

            1. Ask a Manager* Post author

              If you assumed that was a preliminary job offer, you would generally be wrong :)

              Employers verify that their planned salary is going to be okay with candidates all the time, without intending it as a signal that an offer is forthcoming, using that type of wording. A job offer really has to include the words “we’d like to offer you the job.” Anything else — discussion of salary, benefits, the upcoming time off you’ll need, their excitement at the prospect of working with you — isn’t an offer. And I don’t just mean that in the sense of “it’s not a formal offer” or “don’t get your hopes up because it could fall through.” I mean it in the sense of “the employer is not signaling to you that they plan to make you an offer.”

              1. Ruffingit*

                Agreed wholeheartedly with Alison. I just don’t see “Does that sound good to you” as wording that indicates an offer. An offer to me is “So WE’RE OFFERING YOU the position of Project Manager of the Teapot Division, and the salary will be $587K. Does that sound good to you and when can you start? We’d like to have you on board by Monday, June 1 at the latest…”

                I’ve just learned at this point in my career that if there is not a clear and definite sentence similar to or exactly “we want to offer you the position” then it’s not an offer.

              2. Grace*

                To me, an interviewer asking if a salary is good with someone is just basically saying “This is what we’ve got. Should we still consider you a viable candidate or should we cross you off of our list?”

                It’s just another way of whittling down the potentials to the one they want to hire.

  8. kasey*

    #1 a last ditch trick before you have to ask the company… (this is not ideal), but you can sometimes enter: the exact title, name of company and possibly the location (work off of the info they sent you) into the googler and then click the blue small “cached” link. this works for a lot of things, like a removed listing, seeing other versions of pages/sites – but you can still access the cache (for a while).
    Take a screen shot of the postings you apply to and make a folder, easy peasy.

    1. Elizabeth*

      Google has taken away the blue Cached link. Now you have to click a small green down arrow beside the web address and then click Cached to see the cached pages.

      1. kasey*

        ha, oh yup, same thing, just added a step. I still love and sometimes use Camino for browsing and you see it there.

    2. CatB*

      There is also Wayback machine. If there’s a snapshot of the site there you can see that page as it was.

    1. Brandi*

      #4 How am I to know what I am doing well at and where I need improvement if I am never given an evaluation in person by my manager? Am I allowed to ask for these “so-called” evaluations from my personal file?

      1. Ask a Manager* Post author

        Sure, you can ask. In some states, you’re required to be allowed to see anything that’s in your personnel file. (Tell me what state you’re in and I’ll tell you if yours is one of them.)

        But if there’s no written documentation of them and/or it’s not “in your file,” then that won’t get you anywhere. Why not ask your manager for feedback on how you’re doing, and where you could do better?

          1. Ask a Manager* Post author

            There’s no law in Missouri that requires that the employer show you your personnel file, so yes, this one is completely up to them.

            1. Brett*

              If, by chance, you are a public employee, Missouri does consider personnel files to be public record (all parts of it except SSN). So, you could request your personnel file as a sunshine law request. The agency has an option to redact reviews for all employees, but this rarely happens.

      1. PuppyKat*

        That’s what I was thinking, too!

        In fact, I’ve been having a hard time concentrating on the nuances of some of the questions sent to AAM recently—ever since the professional cat was proposed.

  10. Vicki*

    Re: #1 – Given that you’re practically expected to bring along copies of your resume to hand to interviewers who don’t have one, it seems fair to ask for a fresh copy of the job description before the interview.

    Also: one of my reusable questions when I’m interviewing is, “Could you please describe the job to me in your own words?”

    1. Elizabeth West*

      Ooh, I like that question. You should get a much better idea than if they just regurgitate the printed job description, which is probably overblown anyway.

      1. Julie*

        Me, too! I have a list of job interview questions that I’ve seen on AAM (in addition to the advice in the guide to preparing for interviews), and I added this one to the list.

    2. Treece*

      I never got a full job description for the job I have now. The original description was 5 sentences long but it is a well known and respeected company so they still get a lot of applicants with just a 5 sentence description. At the interview I asked for a copy of the job description and was told no. I asked again after I was hired and again told no. I know it exists because the hiring manager was reading off of it during the interview. I’ve been there a year now. I guess my job is mostly “other duties as assigned”. She got so mad at me last time that I asked that I don’t want to ask again. She holds a grudge like no body else I know. Bizarre.

      1. Ruffingit*

        Yeah, that is bizarre. She sounds very angry. It’s hard to work with people like that, my sympathies.

  11. QualityControlFreak*

    #7 – It might be worthwhile requesting a transcript in any case. Depending on how your school’s database works, your degree might be listed on your transcript with the current name. Good information for you to have, whether you need it as part of an application or not.

  12. Elizabeth West*

    #1–job description

    If you dont’ have Adobe, download Cute PDF Writer (it’s free). When you apply for a job, before you navigate away from the description, print it using the program (just click Print and choose it as the printer) and it will convert the webpage into a PDF file for you, which you can save in your Jobs folder on your computer. You DO have a Jobs folder, where you are keeping your materials, don’t you? :)

    I also tried to find a link to the company’s website (if listed) and copy and paste it into my Jobs spreadsheet, so I could refer back to it if I got called for an interview. Sometimes it took a while and of course, I had slept in between. :P

    1. Rana*

      Great advice! A number of printers will also offer a “save to PDF” version, so all you have to do is select “Print” in your browser, and then save the page to PDF. Easy peasy.

    2. Nicole*

      Yes! I do this with all the jobs to which I apply. I keep a folder called Job Applications and then add sub-folders for each job. Within each sub-folder is the job description (printed to PDF), the cover letter and resume I used when applying, a list of references, copies of any emails back and forth, a text file of notes (such as the date I applied and a summary of any phone conversations I had with someone at the organization), etc. It pays to be organized when you get a call for a phone screen or interview.

      1. voluptuousfire*

        +1 on the Cute PDF writer. Free and works like a charm. I keep a folder full of job descriptions and save the files with the title of the job, the company name and the date. It helps so much.

  13. cncx*

    for #7, my school did the same thing and I put on my CV:

    BA , Chocolate Teapot Making (now called Chocolate Teapot Design since 2012), College of Teapot Artistry at the University of Teapots.

    That way they can google the parts if they really care and put the pieces together.

  14. Anonymous*

    Also for #7, be careful that you’re not accidentally “upgrading” your credential – for instance, if it’s now a (say) AACSB accredited program housed in the business school, it could look like you’re misrepresenting the fact that you graduated from the previous version.

  15. Julie*

    RE: #3 – A long time ago, in a previous job, I had a commitment, in writing, to revisit my salary after three months. But a few weeks after I started, the company split into three different companies, and by the time three months came around, we had just been given three months’ notice, so there was no review, and I didn’t pursue it. Everyone was jumping ship, so there wasn’t really anyone to ask about it, and I was only going to be there for three more months, at most. Ever since then, I’ve wondered what you could do if you have something like that in writing, but the company still decides not to do what they said they would do.

    1. fposte*

      Unfortunately, your choices in a situation like that are limited: mostly you can pursue it with higher ups or pursue legal action. In this situation, it’s not likely that suing for the 3 months’ difference in salary would have won you more than it cost in attorneys’ fees, even if the written agreement held up as a contract, which certainly isn’t guaranteed. Sometimes a sternly worded attorney’s letter can shake something loose before things go to court, but it doesn’t sound like it would even have been clear who it would go to, and I doubt it would have ended up helping. (Though the amount might have been small enough to be eligible for small claims, now that I think about it, which can be a surprisingly effective jurisdiction against large companies sometimes–though it’s still on you to do the actual collecting of the money if you win.)

      I think the biggest work contracts do is in keeping people *out* of court by ensuring expectations are clearly stated. Outside of small claims, it takes a fairly significant financial injury before filing suit is likely to get you enough money to make it worthwhile.

      1. Ruffingit*

        This. With three months left, the hassle of trying to collect the money likely wouldn’t have been worth. I have seen situations where companies are bought out by larger ones and as part of the buyout contract, a commitment is made by the new company to honor employment contracts of old company. But in those situations, the old company usually told the employees that or they were otherwise informed when told of the buyout.

        So yeah, really what you decide to do in a situation like you describe is dependent on how much money is at stake. A few thousand dollars? Eh, might not be worth it. 6 figures or more? Yes, possibly worth the time to pursue.

  16. Grey*

    #1 I keep a text file on my computer where I just copy and paste all of the ads I answer along with the date that I did.

    Not only do I have a copy for future reference, it prevents me from applying to the same job more than once.

  18. olso8153*

    I’m going to comment on the reader that asked about the “raise after 6 months” question – be prepared to hear an excuse as to why they can’t give it. I got an “evaluation” that was basically “this employee is average” and then heard “there isn’t room in the budget for a raise” despite evidence to the contrary on both accounts in my verbal reviews which contained phrases such as “We didn’t expect a person fresh out of college to have such technical skill” and “It’s surprising that we were able to get someone of this caliber for much less than we were paying our previous person in this role”.

    It is one of (but not the primary) the reasons why I am currently back on the job market.

  19. Grace*

    #3 – definitely get it in writing and be careful how it’s worded. You don’t want to be rated average or acceptable and not get a pay raise because you don’t walk on water.

    I learned this lesson years ago. I was hired into a student position in a command where I had been working as an admin contractor for years. I accepted because they assured me multiple times that the command would be paying for the classes (and I had people who were in the position prior to me telling me how all their classes were paid for). Well, time comes and all of the sudden, all of my paperwork is rejected because they “hadn’t budgeted” for it. I had to quickly find another job because I was already in debt with my undergrad degree and I just couldn’t afford to go to school on my own dime. :-\

    It worked out in the long run, but it was disappointing and scary at the time.

  20. at8408*

    I’m curious about #7 and how it would effect education verification. I recently got a job offer, that would go through pending a background check and education verification. I was not asked for transcripts as I have usually been asked for by jobs requiring my degree. When it’s done by a third party though (as through a background checking service) how would the name change come up?

  21. Sara*

    Hi I am writing an email to confirm a Skype interview but the interviewer has not provided any information on the busienss itself or the job description (it’s an interview I got through a friend). Can someone help with the wording? Im not sure how to accept an interview and ask for a job description and info on business. Many thanks

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