negotiating; further on networking

Interesting questions and feedback, thanks. For the individual who was asking about negotiating salary, I just don't think this is the time to do that. There are so many candidates for jobs, most of them well qualified, that firms and businesses don't really have to negotiate in most situations. You don't want to be viewed as a prima donna or otherwise high maintenance from the start. These days, firms and businesses figure if the candidate won't accept on the terms offered, they can just move on.

An interesting aside I thought I would mention. I talk about networking a lot, but thought you could use some examples. Recently, I was at a seminar. At the end of the seminar, some people stayed around to introduce selves, exchange business cards, etc. I re-introduced myself to a lawyer I had worked with some years back. We had a good conversation. In fact, I need to email him to tell him I enjoyed the program (he was partially responsible for it). But here's the networking part. Another woman walked up to the same guy while I was leaving. I don't think she knew him. But, she went right out and asked him if he knew anything about a job recently posted at a great, interesting company for a counsel in the area of practice that the seminar focused on. The funny thing is that I had seen that job and it interested me too, not that I was necessarily applying but I thought it sounded like a fabulous opportunity with cool issues. This lady was reaching out to the speaker guy to see if he had details about the position -- but she probably wanted to see if he had any connections there. Now, I am not sure how effective this is overall if he doesn't know her and thus probably wouldn't be recommending her....but I thought it certainly showed some initiative and using networking to at least on the surface find out more about the job. I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation so I am not sure if it was a productive one, but at least the lady did something proactive, which is more than I did just kind of thinking about the job. Remember, thinking doesn't get you the job, you need to undertake steps to move your resume forward.