How to Close a High-Paying Job Deal . . . 5 Tips!

We all pray for that magic moment when we're offered a job deal. But having an employer put a deal on the table and accepting a final job offer are two different things.

For example, is it the RIGHT deal? And is it the best you can do?

Here are some alternative job search tips to keep in mind as you approach a bonafide job offer.

1. Although you may think that an employer's decision about you is based on your resume or your work history--it's not. Employers could really care less about what you used to do for someone else. They'll have an interest in you because they see you fitting in as a productive member of the team. This is what you want to probe and understand because this is where you have job deal leverage.

2. So, few job offers look exactly like the job description that may have attracted you to a job opportunity. In fact, as an employer gets to know you, the job deal itself is often tailored to accommodate strengths and capabilities that an employer has discovered in you as he/she has gotten to know you. This gives you the ability to help shape the job description to fit you goals.

3. Remember, if you can't get past an "interview" relationship, you'll never get a job deal. The reason for that is that an employer is going to hire you because they feel a connection to you that goes way beyond how well you answer interview questions. In short, the hiring decision-maker has to like you.

4. You accomplish this critical rapport and chemistry that's absolutely essential to a job deal by taking the time to learn something about the goals of the organization and specifically what are the hot buttons of the decision-maker who could be your next boss. The better prepared you come to the table the more say you'll have about how the job description can confirm to your own needs and the more leverage you'll to negotiate the best possible job deal.

5. Everything is negotiable if you've built a solid communication base with the hiring decision-maker. This means not relying on your resume to sell you to him/her. It means, instead, coming forward with a proposal (preferably written) that demonstrates how you would deal with specific organizational issues and addressing the passion of the employer.

Now, if these ideas aren't consistent with what you thought a job deal is all about, that's because you're still, thinking inside the box--specifically the old-fashioned 20th Century box. That's the one where everything is contingent on well you've written your resume. Hey! . . . New century . . . new job market . . . new expectations! Better jump aboard the 21st Century alternative job search system and non-traditional career advancement approach!