Continue working on your portfolio! Let us know if you have questions!

Today you're also going to start building out your work/projects page. This page is arguably the most important thing on your website because it allows potential employers to see what you're capable of.

There are a few different ways you can tackle the portfolio and it really depends on what kind of what you want to promote.

Take this website for example: https://www.lewishazen.com/

There's a page with a summary of projects, and if you want to see more of a particular project, you can click to see a few slides with more work.

Now, take a look at this example: https://www.patcapulong.com/

Again, there's a page with a teaser of each project and if you want to learn more about a project, clicking 'View Project' takes you to a page like this: https://www.patcapulong.com/reach-labs An incredibly detailed narrative of the project that walks the reader through what Pat went through and explains the decisions that he made.

Here are a few more examples to help guide you in creating your projects/portfolio page.

https://www.verachen.me/

https://www.hyewonson.com/

http://katjaniggl.com/index.html

Once you're done - be sure to submit this page for feedback!

Today we're going to spend a little bit of time discussing negotiating salaries.

This can differ a little bit depending on if you're looking for an internship or a full-time position.

Full-time Position Negotiating

When you're negotiating your salary all you're really doing is countering the offer the company you are applying to has suggested. A company will generally offer the lowest amount of pay possible, known as low balling. One of many reasons being that if the person applying wants to negotiate, they aren’t upping an already high salary. Employers often expect you to negotiate salaries for a few reasons. It shows that you have done your research about the position, that you know what you want, you know what you’re worth, and your level of determination to get a job done. 84% of employers have more respect for employees who have negotiated their salary.

When you're preparing negotiate your salary, there are a few things that you should do to prepare.

Do Your Research

You need to know what your position entails and what you can offer the company. Look up salaries via glassdoor.com to see what that position makes at other companies and in your industry. You should also know the limitations of your company. You won’t be making the same at a startup as you would a Fortune 100 for the same position, and if there is a salary cap they won’t be able to exceed it.

Compile a List of Your Best Qualities

Employers will be more willing to pay you a higher salary if you can provide them with quality work. This is also where you want to highlight the skills section from the bottom of your resume. If you’re good with Excel, tell them what you can do; Know how to create a pivot table? Awesome. Go into detail about what you can do and what software/programs you can use. Employers want to see that that they’re making a wise investment in you.

Have a Number in Mind

Do not make a demand, but rather when they bring up salary, ask if they are willing to negotiate. State that with your level of experience you feel like X salary would be more appropriate. Finding out what the average pay is for candidates at the same experience level in the industry, will help you come up with a number that is acceptable to you. Hold your ground, but don’t be pushy.

Be Confident

You are asking the company to increase their investment in you, and thus you must sell them on why they should. It’s best to avoid salary negotiations until the employer makes a formal job offer. After they offer you the job, the negotiation talks begin. Since they already want to hire you, you can give them reasons as to why they should pay you more, but if you’re nervous it will show. You have a lot to negotiate for: bills, student loans, a new car, etc. The cost of living of whatever city your job is in should be kept in mind with salary negotiations. It would defeat the purpose of the position if you weren’t able to afford where you are living, because of the job salary. Whatever the reason of negotiating may be, it is important to you, so show the employer you know your value and can negotiate a salary.

Alternative Solutions

Some employers will simply not negotiate on the your base salary (it may be a long-standing company policy). However, they may be more willing to negotiate on somthing outside of the base salary. Ask them about an increased signing bonus, a bigger relocation bonus, etc.

Once you get to this stage of the process. Schedule a meeting with Andy or Allison. Every offer is unique and every student situation is different!

Internship Position Negotiating

While it’s not unheard of, it’s rare to negotiate a salary for an internship. Internships tend to be established programs which allot for “X” amount of interns to be paid “X” per hour. However, if it is an internship that’s not part of a standardized program, there is an option to negotiate. There is a different approach than with a job salary negotiation, since as an intern you may not have a lot of experience. So when asking for a higher salary, you have to show the company what you can offer them. If a higher salary is out of the question, then there’s always the option of asking for a stipend for things such as commuting.

If you're thinking about trying to negotiate your offer, read these answers via Quora for some guidance and then reach out to Andy or Allison to discuss your specific situation.