i interact a fair amount with fresh grads as we always seem to be hiring junior staff... and when making job offers to them? i've gotta be completely honest. i feel cheap. offering you a starting salary of thirty-something-thousand a year just seems cruel. and i'm here in Washington, DC after all; it can be expensive to live here. sure, this isn't New York City, and it's not San Francisco either, but still, Forbes ranks DC the 10th most expensive US city to live in.
okay, okay. i know... these fresh grads are coming to me with liberal arts degrees - most of the kids entering into PR or public affairs have studied communications, journalism or political science. this isn't a technical field, and they need to work their way up the ladder. and sure, in many instances, i'm giving them their first professional job. yes, that's a memory i like being part of... but still - i don't like dashing their dreams. and i know most of them have expectations that go beyond my offer so my thirty-something-thousand a year offer doesn't knock their socks off - and i always want to make an offer that is fair, and will make the prospective hire feel good about their decision to join my firm. but with fresh grads in particular? it's tough. and i really wish their expectations were better managed before coming to me. who's telling them anyways that they should/could demand say... fifty-something-thousand a year for a communications or PR job, fresh out of undergrad? oh that's right... they are millenials. and they all talk amongst each other about pay.
so here's something i'm going to try next week. i'm going to do my usual career-chat with our current crop of interns... of course we'll do resume and interview do's and don'ts as we always do - but i've decided that this time, i also am going prep them for that first job offer and talk about the PR industry's salaries. and to start the discussion, i think i'm going to ask them what they expect to be offered in their first "real" PR job. i'm already giddy thinking about the responses they will give me: $46K! $50K! and then i'll burst their bubble and knock 'em over with the reality. they need to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, right?
and while i'm on my soapbox with them, i think i might as well take the time to have the talk with them about this being a career path and there being earning potential in the end - but they've gotta pay their dues. it's a reality check conversation, really. to not forget about the big picture - to think about the long term. it seems this is the party line of late... think about the long term. we've been saying the same thing to staff about their 401(k)'s... but that's an entirely different blog posting.
Comments