Career Track Live

Advice for Young Professionals

The Washington area is a magnet for smart, ambitious young workers. Post columnist Mary Ellen Slayter writes a regular column for these professionals who are establishing their careers locally, and offers advice online as well.

Mary Ellen Slayter is author of Career Track, a biweekly column in The Washington Post's Jobs section. She focuses her chat on issues affecting young workers. Her latest column, on home-based businesses , ties into our Inside Job special feature.

Read Mary Ellen's latest Career Track column.

The transcript follows below.

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Mary Ellen Slayter: Good afternoon! This week we're talking about small businesses. My most recent column was about how to know if a home-based business could work for you. I'd love to hear from any of you who've been successful at it. Share your story and tips!

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Baltimore, Md.: Mary Ellen: I work for a state university so salary information is public information and readily available to all on the Internet. When I was looking at this information (on my own time) I realized that a number of people in the same department as me and with the same title as mine are making significantly more than I do. Is it appropriate to use this information (along with other information about compensation at peer institutions as well as my recent accomplishments and achievements) to ask for a raise?

Every where I look says "when asking for a raise be prepared with information about how much others in your field are making." I cannot get a much better comparison than my own office and my own institution.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Mary Ellen Slayter: That's tricky. I mean, yes, it is public information. Still, there's something about pointing specifically to your co-workers' pay that might rub HR the wrong way. But it is good that you have that information, since it gives you another data point (and a very reliable one, as you pointed out!)

How does the peer-institution information match up with your department's pay? Could you make a generic reference, such as "My research shows that typical pay for this position is XX to YY. I think my performance rates an increase to XY." If they disagree, you can then ask what you need to do to qualify you for that range. That may also tip you off to the reasons for the discrepancies even among people with the same title in your department.

Any chatters who've dealt with this?

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Washington, D.C.: Have two questions: 1. Why do some companies frown on interviewing candidates or give less than driven attitudes for applicants who have worked at staffing agencies?

2.How long does it general take for a background check and are you able to get a copy?

Mary Ellen Slayter: 1. I don't think this is true. I know at least when I was temping, the companies I worked for were always looking at me like a potential hire. Maybe not as much when it was basic admin work and I was just filling in for someone who was sick that day, but definitely when the work was a project requiring higher-level editing, database or writing skills.

2. It depends on who is doing the check and why. No, it's not my experience that you'll get a copy. Usually all they do is check your police record and credit report anyway.

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Alexandria, Va.: Four years after graduating from college, I am at the same company where I got an entry level job. Last week I was offered a position at a new company with a nice pay raise. My current company has counter offered to beat the new company's offer. I would like to stay, but I've heard that once you resign it is bad to accept a counter offer, as you get treated differently and are seen as disloyal. Is this the case at most firms?

Mary Ellen Slayter: Well, now that the money's the same, which job holds more appeal and long-term potential?

Counteroffers can be tricky. If you're sure you would prefer to stay with your current company, why not talk to your boss about your worry? His or her response could either be reassuring or tip you off to some problems down the road.

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West Orange, N.J.: My daughter wants to major in sociology/women's studies. She eschews material gain. Will the high ideals this instills be reciprocated by the job world when she graduates? Are there any meaningful statistics on the placement of BAs in sociology and psychology? Should I be ready to mortgage the house to pay for an MBA or something "practical?"

Mary Ellen Slayter: People with BAs in psych and sociology do just fine. I also know plenty of gainfully employed women's studies majors. The secret to finding a job after graduation lies more in the internships and jobs you take while in school than in the classes. What kinds of work is she interested in? If she wants to do nonprofit work, suggest that she take marketing or accounting classes on the side. Or run for an office at one of the college organizations that she supports. Anything that can help her get experience in dealing with fundraising, budgets, Web sites, etc.

Oh, and don't mortgage the house to pay for her MBA. For one, it won't really help her career until she's been out in the working world for a while. And second, once she decides she needs the MBA (if she ever does), she'll be able to get her employer to pay for it, or barring that, mortgage her own house.

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Seattle, Wash.: The question that comes to mind when someone offers you a raise not to leave is, "Did I suddenly become that much better at my job this morning?"

If I was worth the money six months ago, why didn't I get the raise six months ago.

You could always ask them when you became that much more valuable, and see if they'll backdate the pay raise.

Mary Ellen Slayter: I think I would always wonder that, too.

I mean, is this the only way to get a raise out of these people? By threatening to leave?

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Anonymous: What do you do if you work for a small business owner who's completely unprofessional, disorganized has no people skills, provides zero direction for your job (unless you count "you can figure something out") and is incapable of making a decision and sticking to it? I'm job hunting, but in the meantime, without an HR dept., there's no one to talk to about these issues. There's the boss and then there's everyone else, no hierarchy, no structure, no clue. How do maintain sanity here in the face of mounting frustration, and dissatisfaction?

Mary Ellen Slayter: If it's any comfort, most HR departments wouldn't be able to help you much either.

Just keep reminding yourself that you're on your way out the door ...

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Washington, D.C.: Hi, Mary Ellen. How long should a new college grad stay at a first job? I'm working at a law firm and really not enjoying it. I'm thinking about going back to school for a master's, but I gave the firm a verbal promise of at least a year before I started -- would it be horrible to leave after six months if I am unhappy? Thanks!

Mary Ellen Slayter: Start looking for a new job now; it'll probably take you six months to find something and you'll be in the clear.

Just promise me you won't go to grad school yet. Wait until you've worked for a few years and have a clearer idea about what you want. Wouldn't you hate to be in this situation all over again post-grad-school?

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Greensboro, N.C.: Before pursuing a home-based business, are there certain ways one can determine whether one will be able to function professionally and efficiently, avoiding the many environmental distractions one can encounter at home? What are the best ways to prepare to deal with those distractions?

Mary Ellen Slayter: To some degree, you just have to go for it, experimenting along the way to find what works. But look around your house now and think about how easy it will be to carve out hours of uninterrupted quiet time. Can you set up a dedicated work space, where you'll be able to take phone calls in peace?

Only you know your work habits and how cooperative your family or roommates will be. Some people just don't get that you're working as long as you're at home.

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Washington, D.C.: I want to start my own business in marketing. I'm able to create my business plan, but I'm just nervous taking it to a bank/loan officer because of past credit issues. What should I do? I want desperately to quit my job and begin doing what I really enjoy. I'm ready to endure the sacrifice and hard work, because I know it'll pay off.

Mary Ellen Slayter: Well, you can either fix the credit issues OR find a way to start the business without going though the bank. Marketing work is very service-oriented, and thus easier to self-fund than other types of businesses. You need to be prepared to invest your own money before asking someone else to invest theirs. What do you need the loan for?

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RE: Sociology degree: I have a BA and MA in sociology, and I make a decent salary (in the $80,000). While I know it's not nearly as much as some pay, it's not bad for a social science degree. My husband also has a master's in the social sciences and he makes in the $90s. We are in our early 30s and there's always room to go up. Good luck to the daughter!

Mary Ellen Slayter: Yep! There's this myth out there that liberal arts degrees are somehow worthless. They're really not.

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Monroe, La.: Any good pointers on how to find legitimate work from home positions--not start your own business or take surveys online scams.

Mary Ellen Slayter: Monroe! Wow. I grew up about 70 miles west of there and have lots of family in Monroe.

In my experience, the best work-from-home jobs are those that could also be on-site jobs. You work for a place for a while, show they that you're reliable, then you ask to work from home for a day or two to see how it works out. If it goes smoothly, you switch to the home office completely, making appearances only for required meetings. People with valuable, specialized skill sets are often able to negotiate arrangements like this from the start.

As you pointed out, most of the jobs that advertise themselves overtly as "work at home!" positions are scams.

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Vienna, Va.: Two questions: 1. Resume anxiety, can not deal with the stress of finalizing my resume. 2. Do you recommend re-writing your resume for specific jobs?

Mary Ellen Slayter: 1. Hire someone. Just get it over with.

2. Tweaking, yes. Rewriting, no.

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Alexandria, Va.: I am a graphic designer employed by the same D.C. company for the past eight years. I have the discipline and experience to freelance from home and it would benefit me personally and professionally to do so.

I think the easiest way of beginning is establishing a DBA, but I am not sure if that is the best way of beginning. The biggest thing holding me back though is the dread of marketing myself. Is there help available for people who are just starting out or have a small operation but have little or no capital for a marketing consultant?

Mary Ellen Slayter: Have you called the Alexandria Small Business Development Center?

They have a ton of resources. www.alexandriasbdc.org

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Potomac, Md.: Dear Ms. Slayter,

I am pretty new to the "real world" application process because I am a new college grad, so my question is more based on proper etiquette.

I applied for a position at a university down in Texas, but then just recently came across a similar position at GW. I interviewed about a month ago with the Texas school, so I should be hearing from them soon, but I would like to wait and see if GW will contact me for an interview because I'd prefer to work in this area to start since it is now a possibility.

If the situation arises, how to I tell the Texas school I'd like to wait on accepting the job without sounding uninterested in the position and losing the possibility of the job entirely?

Thank you in advance for your help and guidance.

Mary Ellen Slayter: Cross that bridge when you come to it. Go ahead and apply to GW.

If you haven't gotten a response from GW at all by the time Texas makes an offer, assume they're not interested.

If GW has set up an interview by the time Texas comes through, see if GW will move the date up while you stall with Texas. You usually have up to a week to decide if you are going to accept or reject an offer.

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Mary Ellen Slayter: That wraps things up here. Thanks for all your comments and questions!

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