WILL IT HURT ME IF I LEAVE MY FIRST JOB TOO SOON?

Q: I'm a new college grad, and I've been at my first job for seven months. I am very unhappy and want to quit. My parents say it is a mistake to leave if I don't have another job waiting. I don't see the purpose of staying if I am unhappy.

Will it be detrimental to my future if I quit this way? I wake up every morning with absolutely no desire to go in there, and feel trapped because none of the resumes I have sent have been answered yet. Please help.

NICK'S REPLY

No, you won't be ruined if you leave your first job so soon. The business world is pretty forgiving of new grads -- as long as you don't take undue advantage of that mercy.

Make sure you know why you're leaving. Is there something wrong with the job or employer? If it's a bad match, what would make a good match? Are you expecting something unrealistic from the job?

I'm not suggesting it's all in your head, but when a new grad starts out in the work world, it's possible to have a stilted view. I'm pressing this because you should make sure you understand what's going on, or you could find yourself jumping from job to job without ever knowing why.

Your reaction to your first job is not uncommon. I suggest you talk with people you trust in your company and carefully analyze the situation. No matter who or what is causing the problem, if you made a mistake in taking this job you don't want to repeat it.

If you decide this really is the wrong job, I don't think you will do your career irreparable harm by leaving now. If you are generally enthusiastic, motivated and skilled, it might even help you to hunt for a new job without being emotionally saddled with an unhappy one.

Just bear one thing in mind: The choice is yours, as are the consequences. I offer perspective and advice, not guarantees.

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THE HEADHUNTER TIP

Recover from interview failure

We all know that "what goes around, comes around." When you're job hunting, a failed interview is an opportunity to plant seeds that might pay off for you later.

When your interview is done and it seems the job is not for you, or it seems you cannot convince the employer you're right for the job, leave some good things behind. But do so with the idea of helping the employer, not to help yourself. For example:

1. Ask, "Is there anything I can do to help you or your company in any other way?"

2. If you can, recommend another good candidate for the job.

3. If you can foster some other relationship that might benefit the company, do it. For instance, you might offer a sales lead.

Recover from interview failure by demonstrating your value. Give the interviewer something to remember you by.

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THE HEADHUNTER CHALLENGE

Can you convince an employer to raise a job offer?

You made the grade! Your interviews went so well that the employer offered you the job! Trouble is, the offer is very low and you'd never accept it. Having nothing to lose, you try to convince the employer to raise the offer. What's an effective way to do this?

POLL

1. Be ready with data from salary surveys to prove the job is worth more.

2. Explain what added value the employer would get for a higher offer.

3. If you have it, show an old pay stub that proves you are worth more than the employer is offering.

4. Don't bother negotiating if you're that far off. Employers don't negotiate very much.

(Cast your vote for The Headhunter Challenge poll online at (your newspaper Web site here). We'll post the results along with The Headhunter's expert opinion.)

COMMENTARY

Salary surveys are the straw man of compensation negotiations. They are easy to knock down "because this job is different from the one in the survey." Old pay stubs pose the same problem.

If you have nothing to lose, then your best choice might be to educate the employer about the value of a talented worker.

Many years ago I worked for a small, scrappy, successful company that cut the floor out from under its competition every day. No one could touch us -- not on value and not on price. But we always turned a very nice profit. Our competitors could never figure out how we did it. It's a good lesson in shrewd customer relations and sales, and it offers a good model for negotiating salary assertively.

When a new sales rep at our company would whine to the company president that a prospect could not afford our price, his answer was always the same. "Sure they can afford it. Just lower the price."

This drove new sales reps to distraction because they were not permitted to sell at a loss. "But we'll lose money!"

"No we won't. Take something out of the product to reflect the drop in price and point out what the customer would forgo to save a few dollars."

This approach worked well for the sales force because it focused on what the prospect could afford. Find out, "How much do they want to spend?" Then sell at that price. Remove features from the product or service to make the product reflect the price. (Or offer a different product that costs less.) The instruction to salespeople was clear: Never walk away from a deal. Always let the customer spend what the customer says she wants to spend.

But the challenge was also clear: Your job is to sell the benefits of the product and to help the prospect realize she will get what she pays for.

At that little company (which grew into a very big company), the most valued sales skill was knowing how to give customers what they asked for, and then to show them the benefits of buying greater value.

My good buddy, technology consultant Bob Lewis, puts it another way: Never say no, even when you can't say yes, suggests Bob. "Your alternative to yes and no is, Here's what it will take. You can get from here to there, but not for free."

When a manager suggests a job offer at a salary of X dollars, you can tell him you might accept it, "If what you've described as the job is all you want me to do for you." When the manager gives you a quizzical look, offer more. "Well, I could do the job you want. But I could do a lot more. For example, I can show you how I believe I could increase your departmental profitability by 5 to 10 percent. I'd expect a higher salary for that, but that's up to you."

If you can help produce more profit, you might be able to justify a higher salary. What an employer can afford is always a function of how much they get for their dollar. They just don't know that until you explain it.

Not all managers will follow you down this path, just as not all jobs are paths you should follow. If the manager declines to pay more to get more, you can politely decline the offer of "a job that won't take advantage of my skills." A simple "No, thank you" is all that's called for.

Does this approach to a higher salary always work? No, it works only when you can actually deliver more value and when the employer "gets it." But asking for more money for its own sake never works.

COPYRIGHT 2009 NICK CORCODILOS