Many property management companies are small and are situated in a certain area while others have properties in many states. A good way to find an apartment management job is to call the local property management companies. Some companies like to hire married couples to split the work between administrative and maintenance duties. With some couples, it is a great way to work together.

On-site management is a must with some companies and they will usually provide a free apartment and free utilities. Another pro to this career is that supervisors will not visit the apartment complex every day and the apartment managers will have the opportunity to work while not having a superior breathing down their neck. By living on the premises, the manager can be home with his or her kids while at work.

Among the duties of an apartment manager is a lot of paperwork, taking care of rents and other monies, and enforcing the leases. Leases for low-income housing are often a lot more strict than at a regular basic rent apartment complex. Maintaining the apartment units is also an important part of the job. A person in charge of maintenance will have to keep track of contractors and make sure that tenants are not causing damage to their residences. When a tenant moves out, the maintenance person is in charge of fixing the apartment so it is again rentable. Low income apartment complexes also have strict safety standards that have to be regarded at all times.

There are not many cons to this career. However, enforcing the law and constantly being aware of the tenants is an integral part to this job. Statistically, there are more drug-related and violent crimes in low-income housing than at other apartment complexes. If the job requires on-site management, don't be alarmed if someone knocks at the door at two in the morning because they have lost their keys and need to get into their homes.

A beginning salary for management can be low. However, it does help if living on-site is available. The starting salary is usually between $12,000 and $20,000 per year. Yet, if the apartment manager can prove that he or she can maintain a small apartment complex, they could transfer to a larger complex making a larger salary. An experienced apartment manager can make between $35,000 to $50,000 per year.

For young people starting out, to families with children, to semi-retired couples, a low-income apartment management career can be rewarding and a great way to spend more time with each other while having a worthwhile career.

Chemists look for new knowledge and use existing knowledge about different chemicals. They study the properties of matter. Chemists may develop new products and materials. They often specialize in a subcategory of chemistry.

Salary

MN median yearly salary - $61,276

US median yearly salary - $59,870

Working Conditions

Always work in labs or offices

May be exposed to dangerous

Work within several feet of others in laboratory

Employment

Moderate employment opportunities, medium hiring rate, and below-average growth rate.

Skills

• Math
• Science
• Problem Solving Skills
• Creativity
• Ingenuity

Resources

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos049.htm

http://www.jist.com/

The second reason (and probably the most important one) why an applicant approaches a particular company for employment is because of the company's reputation. If a company was able to build a reputation of treating employees well and has a reputation of providing opportunities both for personal and professional development towards their employees, that company will find it increasingly easy to attract talents to accept positions in their organization. This principle is very academic, why would an applicant apply in a company with a reputation of maltreating employees? Employers' good reputation is actually a good selling point when inviting applicants to join their company and candidates usually bite into these feature.

However, companies usually face certain predicaments when too many applicants flock to their premises for employment. One of which is how to turn-down unqualified candidates. Poor handling of these candidates might back-fire on the reputation of the company. Turned-down applicants might bad-mouth the company to other applicants, friends, relatives, or to his existing co-workers. He or she will also stop from patronizing your company's products or services. No individual will look down on himself; rejection from a potential employer will never be taken lightly by the applicant. It will take a long time before he or she forgives the company for rejecting him/her from joining the company.

Given these scenarios, companies must consider the following when handling unqualified applicants:

1. Always respond to applications. Whether an application was received by snail mail or e-mail, the employer must acknowledge the application either by sending a letter or an e-mail. For unqualified curriculum vitae, the content of the “rejection” letter must be polite and should not be “too” direct to the point. Thanking the applicant for considering the company is a must. Responding to applications may entail additional cost to the company in terms of postage, but which is more important? The cost of the stamps or the cost of losing your good reputation?
2. Stop using the phrase “we will call you”. Applicants are so oriented with that phrase. If they hear those words, it means the end of the story. If the interviewer realizes that the applicant he is interviewing is not qualified (or over qualified) for the position, the interviewer should know how to end the interview gracefully. It's like breaking-up, you know someone will be hurt, but the rule is “less pain, the better”.
3. Do not make empty promises. During the interview, the employer must never promise the stars just to attract the applicant to join the organization. Interviews are just the tip of the iceberg, you cannot foretell whether the applicant is 100% qualified or not. Finish the entire recruitment process (including the training process) before promising something like salary increases, bonuses, etc.
4. Put your feet on the ground. Companies overwhelm themselves when they receive tons and tons of applicants on a regular basis. They usually feel proud and superior. These companies tend to developed the “come and catch me” syndrome. They'll hide and you'll seek them. In economics, there is the supply and demand curve, the higher the supply (applicants) the lower the price (salary offer). However, this behavior should not be tolerated and time will come this will back fire on the company's future operations… or reputation.

When recruiting an applicant, companies should look at all candidates as customers. They have needs and wants that you have to satisfy. And once you have satisfied them, you will be assured of loyal, hard-working, and productive employees.

• Ask colleagues and other people in your department what the standard procedure usually is for evaluations and raises," says Babcock. Keep a running list of your accomplishments and contributions, and log on to websites like monster.com, salarydirectory.com, carrerjournal.com, or wageweb.com to get an idea of the salary range for the type of job you have. When it comes time for your next review, you'll be prepared.
  Talk the talk.
  

"Negotiation is a skill," says Babcock

• "The more you practice, the better you'll get at it." If you're nervous, start small by negotiating outside the office. For instance, the next time you're at the farmers' market, ask a vendor if he'll give you a price break on the strawberry you're buying-say something like "If I buy three quarts, can you sell them all to me for $10, instead of $4 each?"
  Aim high-then higher.
  

Figure Out Your Ideal Raise

•  Figure out what your ideal raise would be-then tack on a few percentage points. Think 5 percent is reasonable? Propose 7 percent or 8 percent, since your boss is likely to meet you in the middle.
  

Determine your alternatives.

• Before you speak with your boss, think about what will happen if you don't get what you want. Will you look for another job? Will you stick with the status quo? Most important, what else would keep you happy where you are? The answer is your BATNA-the best alternative to a negotiated agreement-and the more you flesh it out, considering all of your alternatives, the more bargaining power you will possess. "If your boss says no to a raise, see if there's something else she can offer, like a few days a month of telecommuting or an extra week of vacation a year," suggests Babcock.
  Toughen up.
  
• A denial isn't personal. Wash, rinse, and repeat this statement until you believe it. When you're not afraid of hearing "no," there won't be any questions you're too timid to ask.

 

 

First, make sure what you are going to do, and show your ability to your boss, and if you have the related experience, you can try to let your boss understand that you need a higher salary. However, do not state it directly, for it may make your boss feel unhappy.

Second, after you show your ability and experience to your boss, you are wise to let your boss know that you can bring more profit to him directly or indirectly. That means you are worth a higher salary, and your boss will raise your salary himself or herself, because he knows that you are valuable for him or her, and the company can benefit more.

Third, remember: never push your boss to raise your salary by giving him or her pressure. Maybe, you can get a higher salary by doing this; however, it will harm your relationship with your boss. As soon as there is another person can do the job, too, you will find the axe in front of you.

Fourth, it is necessary to give your boss a hint that you want to have a higher salary. If you don't let him or her know, there will be no higher salary for you. You should make it known to the boss by skillful negotiations in a friendly way.

Fifth, the skillful negotiation needs your preparation ahead. Think of the points that give your favor, and try to find a better way to express it to your boss. Be well prepared for the negotiation, listing, brainstorming, organizing your ideas, etc. That's very important.

If you follow the tips, you are more likely to have a successful negotiation about your salary. Good luck.

When the recruitment process has advanced to the interview stage, the recruiter, typically from the human resource department, needs to decide what kind of interview would be used. Some of the criteria affecting this choice of interview type is the nature of the job, industry, or field, age of applicant, corporate culture etc.

• Unstructured Interview - The interviewer has a list of points that needs to be covered though the interview flows naturally like a chat. This method is very useful for relaxing the interviewee. The interviewer, however, should go through every point and must carefully note down all the answers and evaluate them systematically.
• Critical Incident Interview - Candidates are given some job-related critical incidents. They are then interviewed about what actions they would take in these particular situations. The interviews are then scored using a scoring system.
• Behavior Description Interviews - Candidates are asked what actions they have taken in prior job situations that are similar to situations they may encounter on the job. The interviewees also may need to give justifications for their actions. The interviews are then scored using a scoring system.
• Structured Behavioral Interview - This technique involves asking interviewees, standardized questions about how they handled past situations that were similar to situations they might encounter on their job. The interviewer may also ask probing questions for details of the situations, the interviewee's behavior in the situation, rational for particular decisions and the outcome. The interviewee's responses can then be scored with behaviorally anchored rating scales.
• Comprehensive Structured Interviews - This technique is wider in scope than the previous technique. In addition to the former, interviewees are asked about job knowledge, worker requirements, and how the candidate would perform various job simulations. This method of interviews is a way to assess a candidate's current level of knowledge about different dimensions of job performance, which are difficult to quantify (i.e., "tacit knowledge," "emotional intelligence," or "practical intelligence" related to a specific job).
• Oral Interview Boards - The main difference here is that instead of one or two interviewers, there is a panel of interviewers firing questions in rapid sequence. Each member of the panel then rates the interviewee on such dimensions as work history, creative thinking, motivation, and presentation. The scoring procedure for oral interview boards is typically subjective. This technique is very time-consuming and expensive and may not be feasible when a large number of applicants must be interviewed.

The main purpose of the recruitment interview is to get information on certain pre-defined issues. In addition the recruitment interview also should give an in-depth impression of the interviewee. Whatever technique the interviewer chooses, the overall impression the interviewer gets should also be noted down and should be considered when making the final decision. A hunch ignored at the interview could have in many cases helped avoid an expensive wrong recruitment.

Employers often use salary requests to weed out the unsuitable job hunters from the candidate pool. If you put in too high a request, the employer naturally thinks you are too expensive for them. On the other hand, if your salary expectation is too low, the prospective employer might think that you don't value yourself and thus many not be a valuable employee for them.

There are three kinds of advice experts give on how to tackle the issue of mentioning salary expectations. These advices may seem contradictory, but each advice has sound logic. Read them carefully and decide what is suitable for your particular case.

Three strategies for replying to salary requests:

1. Ignore salary request
2. Get around the salary request
3. Meet salary request with a range

Some experts will tell you to ignore the salary request. Now, what are the repercussions? If you totally ignore the salary request, the employer might think that you overlooked it because you are unsure of what you deserve, you are careless in filling forms or you are desperate and want to negotiate about salary but would accept whatever you got. If the employer specifically mentions a salary request, they have reasons for doing so. Usually, the salary request is a method for making sure that the candidate knows her/his market value.

The second advice you'd get is “Don't think that employers are so easily fooled if you omit your salary expectations! They will wonder why you didn't mention it.” So, try to get around this dilemma by using phrases like “Each position in my career has brought fresh challenges. I've been promoted regularly with suitable benefit packages. I'd rather discuss this issue of salary and benefits face to face during the interview.”

The third advice from the experts is “Meet the salary request directly with a range.” One good way is to put a little more than the minimum you can accept as the lower figure on the range and the higher figure a reasonable notch higher. A typical example would be “Depending on the nature and scope of my responsibilities, I could negotiate for $35,000 - 45,000.”

Overall, if the job ad doesn't mention a salary request, it is better that you don't either. There is a possibility that you are screened out if you give the wrong salary expectation. You have better leverage in negotiating a better salary package during the interview process itself.

Job hunting is not easy, especially in the current economy. Dozens of people compete for the job you are aspiring for. Your application and references open the door, but face-to face interviews make or break you. According to S. Barnes, here's what you say when the interviewer asks…

1. What do you think this job involves?

   Answer:

   “I understand you need someone who has a thorough knowledge of word processing and spread sheets. Since I'd work in the branch office with two other people, I imagine you need someone who is versatile enough to fill in with answering phones and waiting on customers.

2. Do you perform better alone or as a team player?

   Answer:

   “I enjoy being part of a team. Working with colleagues to achieve common goals is one of my new strong points. However, I'm also a self starter, and I'm equally at ease accomplishing assignments on my own.”

3. What did you dislike most about your last job?

   Answer:

   “My last job was satisfying in many respects, but it didn't give me enough challenges or opportunities to grow in my career.”

4. What problems did you solved in your last job?

   Answer:

   “I enjoy solving problems but I'm even better in preventing them.”

5. What kind of supervisor do you prefer?

   Answer:

   “I work well with most personality types. My favorite supervisors expected me to work independently under their direction. I appreciate a boss who knows I will use good judgment when it's appropriate to make my own decisions and when I need input from a superior.”

6. 6. What is your greatest weakness?

   Answer:

   “My computer skills meet the requirements of this job, but I'd like to be more proficient. I've signed up for an intermediate level class at the junior college to help enhance my knowledge.”

7. What occupies your time off the job?

   Answer:

   “A balance life is important to me, so I work hard at maintaining good relations with family and friends and involving myself with community events. I find it makes me a better employee when I successfully achieve that kind of harmony in my life.”

8. How would you get ahead of this organization?

   Answer:

   “I'd like to know more about career ladders in the company and the kinds of additional education, skills, and experience you expect before an employee is promoted. I understand I would need to prove my capabilities and value to the company before I could be promoted.”

9. 9. How long would you commit to this job?

   Answer:

   “If you offer this job to me, I intend to stay with the company. Ideally, I'd like to remain until I retire. My career is important, and it's possible that a different challenge might make me leave at some time in the future. Right now I'd be happy to commit to doing an excellent job for you as long as we're both satisfied with my performance.”

10. What are your salary requirements?

    Answer:

    “I'd be interested to know what your company pays for positions which require my qualifications. Naturally, I'd like a salary that compensates me for my skills and the effort I put into the job but I'm willing to negotiate a figure that would be acceptable to both of us.”

Remember that most interview questions are directed to see if you have the ability and the desire to do the work and if you can get along with other people.