Can I ask for a raise after six months?

Q: I have been working for a small company for six months. My duties expanded dramatically soon after I was hired. When I got here, I walked into a disaster. It took a lot of hard work, but now I've got the department going like clockwork.

I think I've demonstrated that I'm worth more than my current compensation. Is it appropriate to renegotiate my salary at this point? What approach should I take? If terms cannot be met, should I look elsewhere?

NICK'S REPLY: Like many people, you've learned that no job is what it was purported to be — whether due to management's ignorance or conniving, or to the vicissitudes of business.

Six months is not too early to approach your boss if you can justify your request. (In fact, it may take six more months to get the raise!) If you suspect the company won't respond well, then start a quiet job search before you make your request, not after. This will give you true leverage in the negotiation if only because you know you have other options.

Be responsible and friendly about this. Your presentation for the raise should discuss how much you have saved the company (an estimate is OK), next year's challenges (be specific), and how you're going to tackle and meet them.

Finally, show how your next year's plan will profit the company. Raises are rarely given as rewards for past performance; they're offered as inducement for even better performance in the future. If you think in terms of a business plan, you'll have a potent argument.

In preparing the plan, interview key managers and personnel about your job functions to establish support for your presentation. If the company doesn't see its way clearly to pay you what you're worth, you'll have an alternative already on deck, which is better than having to create one at the last minute.

Management will act surprised that you're seeking a raise this soon, so walk softly and focus on the future profits you can help create. That will get their attention.

THE HEADHUNTER TIP: Don't be a jerk.

Employers make a big deal about ethics and integrity when they evaluate job candidates. Yet most companies cavalierly ignore these principles of good conduct when they interview job candidates. Not a week goes by that I don't hear from a reader who, having devoted hours of time talking to an employer, doesn't get a call back — ever.

Cardinal sin No. 1 when recruiting is leaving the candidate hanging. If you do not follow up with every candidate with whom you've had contact — any kind of contact — you are an irresponsible, foolish, rude, disrespectful, ignorant, thoughtless company. You don't deserve the attention of the professional community from which you recruit. You're a jerk. There is no excuse for your behavior.

Companies need to be more sensitive about their behavior. Stop for a minute and think about how your company is perceived by job candidates you've had contact with. Don't be a jerk.

THE HEADHUNTER CHALLENGE

When should I start job hunting?

I will graduate from college next June. For the past year I've had an internship at a company where I must stay until I graduate, but I have identified some companies I'd like to work for. When should I start sending out my resume for a job after graduation?

POLL

1. Start sending out your resume now.

2. Find out whether the current company will hire you before you start applying elsewhere.

3. Wait until your internship is almost over.

4. Don't worry too much. Your college career center will line up interviews for you.

Read The Headhunter's expert opinion online at www.appealdemocrat.com. Keyword: headhunter

Write to Nick at P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833; or www.asktheheadhunter.com.

COMMENTARY

I continue to be astounded that colleges don't do more to teach students how to tackle the job search. Even if your school has a career office (I'm certain it does), the fact that you're not sure how to start a job search is a sign that the career office doesn't work!

The company where you intern is of course the place to start, if you like it there now. But don't wait for a decision about hiring you before you start looking elsewhere.

You should start a full-bore job search now. In fact, I counsel students to start job hunting no later than their sophomore year. It takes time to develop the contacts and relationships that lead to a good job. Because employers and other professionals in your chosen field have a soft spot for enterprising students, it's a good idea to get out and mingle in the professional community as early in your schooling as possible. To borrow from Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the people you'll meet!"

Start using your internship relationships to further develop your contacts. It's good that you have already identified companies you want to work for. Scour your current employer's organization for people who can introduce you to the companies you want to meet. That is, don't wait for your target companies to start recruiting on campus or until they start posting jobs in your career center or online. If you poke around diligently you'll find an employee, a friend of an employee, or a vendor or a customer who knows people at your target companies. Use these contacts to get introduced.

Gather good references from your current employer and use them liberally when talking to prospective employers.

Perhaps most important, exploit your school's alumni roster. Alumni are usually glad to advise students at their alma maters. Ask your alumni office to introduce you to professionals in your field who have been out there working for a few years. Alumni are a very underused resource for new grads. Many are tickled to be asked for advice and guidance. Some will go out of their way to help you. The chain of contacts you develop can lead you to the companies you want to work for.

But don't wait. Start your job search immediately.