Ultimate Blog Swap: In Today's Economy It Pays to Ask For a Discount

Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Dillon Bailey about setting SMART goals, and I’m excited to welcome Kristia from Family Balance Sheet to my humble blog.

Asking for a discount can be intimidating for many people.  We worry, “what if they say  no?".

What if that is the worst that could happen?

In my previous career, I would negotiate with vendors for better pricing and deliveries to help my company's bottom line. Currently the bottom line that I am responsible for is my family's, which is more precious to me than my previous employer.

Even with experience in negotiation, I can get intimidated at times, but just asking a simple question, "is that the best you can do?" has saved me and my husband a lot of money.

Some examples:
1. Three years ago, we were searching for a new vehicle. We had a budget, a trade-in vehicle, a down payment and a goal to get as much vehicle as we could for our buck. We test drove many vehicles over the span of a month and spent our evenings researching and reading Kelly's Blue Book online.

After much thought, we decided on a particular brand and model and had a price in mind that we were willing to pay. We visited a local dealer and met with a sales person. He explained the price of the vehicle and the promotions that were happening at that time and we listened intently. And then we asked, "Is that the best you can do on the price?". The sales person brought his boss over and he explained the promotion again. The particular promotions for the model that we were interested in were FREE oil changes for the first 50,000 miles and FREE state inspections. Sounded good, but another model's promotion included those things, PLUS FREE brakes, if needed, and 4 FREE tires, if needed, within the first 50,000 miles. That promotion sounded better to us, but it wasn't included with the model we wanted.

The price of the vehicle was within the number my husband and I had talked about, but we held firm; we wanted some kind of additional discount. After talking privately, the salesman and his boss came back with a final offer. They offered more than we anticipated with our trade-in, they gave us the free oil changes, tires and brakes for the first 50,000 miles plus free yearly state inspections, they took off the price of the Rear Entertainment System, and they gave us crossbars for our car carrier. We were pleased and accepted the offer. Our persistence paid off, and the fact that it was the last day of July and the dealer was looking to unload some vehicles might have helped too.

2. We recently re-carpeted our business office. We received several quotes, but there was one particular style/brand of carpet that we really wanted. When the salesman submitted his bid, we were glad that it came within our budget, but my husband simply asked, "is that the best you can do?". The salesman knocked another $200 off the bid and we were thrilled!

3. We are avid newspaper readers and usually pre-pay our 7 day subscription every year to save a little bit of money. But this year, when I received the bill, the yearly fee went up by $100. Ouch. I know the newspaper business is tough, but that price hike was a little hard to swallow. I called the customer service number and inquired about the price hike. She confirmed the increase, but told me that if I pre-paid a year's subscription right then, she would charge me the previous year's price.

4. Recently, I was shopping for a bridal shower gift from a store registry. My budget was $25, but since the registry was pretty much filled I settled on a gift that was $30. This particular store runs occasional coupons in the Sunday paper, but unfortunately I didn't have one with me. When I got to the register I asked the sales person if she knew if there would be a coupon in the next day's paper and if so could I bring it in for a price adjustment. She wasn't sure but told me that she would give me the 20% discount on my purchase. I was thrilled that I saved $6.00 by simply asking a question and my gift ended up being within my budget.

Some things to consider when asking for a discount:

• Be courteous and respectful. Rudeness will get you nowhere
• Be prepared with knowledge and information. We went into the car dealership with information from Kelly Blue Book about what was a fair price to pay.
• Be reasonable. Businesses and people are trying to make a living. For bigger items, your research will tell you what is fair. Try to get the best price possible, but don't go overboard.
• Be prepared to walk away.  We have asked many times for a discount and been denied.  Know where your line in the sand is.

In today's economy people are more choosy on where they are spending and placing their money. Companies know this and in many cases are willing to work with you to get your business. Many every day purchases can be negotiated. Food items close to expiration date, damaged, yet wearable clothing, new flooring for your family room. There are discounts to be found, sometimes you just have to ask.

Have you asked for a discount lately? Where was it and how much did you save? Let us know in the comments.  

Kristia writes about family finances, frugal living, and food at Family Balance Sheet.

Visit Life...Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!

Guest Post: The Life and Times of a New Librarian

Today my former roommate from library school, Lydia of the not-so-often updated blog, Metadata Maven, joins me in the last guest post of my series, The Life and Times of a New Librarian.  Lydia and I graduated SLIS in December and Lydia was able to find a job much faster than I, although her job path took her to the public library sphere, rather than to an academic library like she would have preferred.  Lydia is here today to share her experiences (the good and the bad), as a new public reference librarian at a small library. 

I recently began my job as a reference librarian at a small, southern public library. While I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a reference librarian, I did know that the academic world was for me.   Having only ever worked in the academic library setting, adjusting to this new world was difficult and enlightening.   While in school, I never really pictured myself working at a public library because I did not think that the work would be able to hold my attention.  I also believed that I would spend most of my time answering basic questions rather than helping with in-depth research.  

And I was totally right.   Instead of spending my day helping students to complete their education, I find myself answering the phone and signing people up to use public access computers.  Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered going to grad school.  While I do sometimes have reference questions that require more work than a basic Google search, more often than not, my day is spent finding phone numbers and telling people how to create email addresses.  While I know these are necessary, I sometimes feel as if my job could be done by a competent high school student.  

Even when I do have someone in need of real reference help, I find myself becoming frustrated because they do not put in the effort needed to do any type of real research.  At least once a week I have a patron come in asking for journal articles they need for a paper.  After showing the patron how to access the databases and how to use them effectively, I leave them to their research.  Almost every time they leave within 30 minutes having given up on their search because I did not do it for them.   The general public does not seem to realize how difficult research can be.  I find my patience growing shorter and shorter as more and more people expect me to do their work for them.  While I am sure this same frustration is felt in the academic world, I believe that it would not be as bad because academic librarians are working with people who clearly care about their education, or they would not be in college. 

Collection development is my favorite part of my job, but even that has had to undergo a change as I became more aware of the, dare I say, simple needs of my patrons.  Rather than being able to let my history and literature loving heart run wild through the book catalogs, ordering all kinds of specialized, specific, non-fiction materials, I have to spend my time looking for sappy romance novels about cowboys and vampires finding love.  While I accept that these kinds of books have their place and that they do have value for some people, it’s totally lost on me.  Even when reviewing reference materials I have had to totally change my expectation of what the materials should provide for my patrons.  The first reference catalog I looked at I thought there was nothing of value because every item was listed as either middle school and up or 9th grade and up.  I thought to myself that these books would never work for me because I’m an adult services librarian.  Well, as I spent more time at the reference desk and interacting with the patrons, I learned that maybe middle school materials were at the correct level for majority of people that come into the library, which is actually a very depressing thought. 

The public library world isn’t all doom and gloom.  There are some bright moments when I believe that I really am making a difference.  Anytime I have a patron that actually stays and does research after I have helped them to get started makes my day wonderful.  Hopefully, as I continue to work in the public library, I will become accustom to the needs of the general public and will stop comparing this totally different world to the academic library world.  

Do you have any advice or suggestions for Lydia?  What can she do to better adjust to life in a public library?

Guest Post: The Life and Times of a New Librarian

Today, as part of my ongoing series about being a librarian in today's economy, my friend from library school, Lauren, stops by. Lauren is still in library school and is sharing her story about why she has chosen to postpone her graduation until December. Lauren has recently started blogging and her blog is awesome! If you missed the last two posts in the series, you can read them here and here.

I read a LOT of librarian blogs. My Google Reader fills up quickly every day with posts about the latest and greatest trends/news in a variety of libraries, about a variety of services (reference, cataloging, digitization, etc). I read everything from In the Library with the Lead Pipe, a blog with peer-reviewed type entries, to library_mofo, a LiveJournal community where librarians go to vent. When people ask me what my specialization or interest in library science is, I rattle off a laundry list.

Despite the fact that I do not have my heart set on one kind of library or type of position, I know without a doubt that I want to be a librarian. An information professional. The job title doesn't really matter. I am absolutely certain that this is the profession I want participate in, contribute to, and go above and beyond for. The Annoyed Librarian would probably hate me. But I have read about and experienced the difficult patrons, the criticism/questioning of the profession and library school, and the "do we have a future?" scares. I've questioned the choice a few times. And I'm in it for the long haul.

In spite of being focused on that goal, and gaining experience in several different settings since I began library school in January 2009, I spent a lot of this past semester feeling depressed. When the majority of my incredibly talented, hardworking colleagues graduated in December 2009 without full-time jobs (not for lack of trying since September), I realized that my plans to graduate a semester early, in August 2010, might need adjusting. Since I have student jobs, I would have a significant lapse in income, even if I could get a local part-time job. I have a substantial amount of student loan debt. My parents were badly affected by the recession; without going into the details, suffice it to say that moving in with them would create a huge burden.

Thus, about halfway through the semester, I decided to postpone graduation until December 2010. However, shortly thereafter, I also decided I wasn't going to let fear and depression take over. The job situation is bleak for everyone, but I knew I couldn't give up before I even started.

While I knew I would have to work twice as hard as before, I chose to channel my fears into getting more involved and stepping out of my comfort zones. I have always been shy, and often let others take the lead in groups. But I realized that I had nothing to lose—in fact, I had much more to gain by working on myself and facing my fears. So I started small, and co-presented two posters at the Alabama Library Association conference. Then, I decided to take on a new leadership role, (UA student group president of SLA), determined not to make it just a line on my CV, but to seek out opportunities and programs that would benefit my fellow students (SLISers note: stay tuned for this, and hold me to it!). I wanted to go to both of the 2010 SLA and ALA national conferences to network with professionals while I could still afford the student rates. I took on three part-time summer jobs. I began the process of lining up a not-for-credit internship for the fall. I am finally starting the blog I always claimed I didn't have the time or creativity for. While none of this guarantees me a job, I now have several librarians and professors willing to provide references for me, and that is at least one weight lifted off my shoulders.

I am not listing these things to brag on myself or deem myself superwoman. FAR from it! I am only one of many librarians-to-be out there trying to carve a path for myself. But this is how I am staying focused and preparing for that grueling job search. Every single one of these actions originated from tips my mentors gave me (the original tip: get a mentor… or several!), and I wanted to pass them along to those who are similarly discouraged. If it's feasible for you, take advantage of being a student as long as possible (here's a great article on this: http://liscareer.com/katopol_school.htm). Whether you work full-time or part-time, get involved however you can. Start small, and make changes in manageable increments. Go the extra mile when you have the opportunity.

The job situation is not going to get much better unless we advocate for libraries and find a way to demonstrate our worth to key decision-makers. That change has to come from the top, and is a subject for another post. But for now, there are many factors in finding a job that we have absolutely no control over. All we can really control is our level of involvement and commitment to our future profession, put ourselves out there, and hope for the best.

After months of tossing and turning, I'm finally able to go to sleep at night. I'm living in the present, not the future, knowing that I'm doing the best I can with what I have, and that has made all the difference.

If you have any advice or comments for Lauren, please feel free to share in the comments!

 

Guest Post: The Life and Times of a New Librarian

As part of my series on life as a new librarian in today's economy, Jenny is stopping by to share her story.  Jenny is a reader of the blog and we've been emailing back and forth over the last few months about our various experiences in job hunting.  She's had tons of interviews, but just hasn't found the right fit yet.  If you missed last week's post from Megg, check it out!

First off I'm not technically unemployed. I just not employed as a professional librarian. I work as a library assistant part time at two different libraries. Like a lot of public libraries mine are having budget issues. Both libraries have said they'd give me a full time job if they could, but they can't.  I graduated in May 2009 with my MLS. I had one interview previous to graduation. I saw the job ad on a state library association's website. At the interview I learned that the job title was different from the one advertised. I didn't want the job that they were discussing. It didn't even sound like the job I applied for.

The short version of the rest of post grad 2009:
interview #2 wasn't qualified for
interview #3 thought I was perfect for but the library apparently didn't
interview #4 same as #3
interview #5 wasn't qualified for
interview #6 again thought I was qualified for but maybe over educated for.

You may ask why I applied for jobs I wasn't qualified for. I have learned that a lot of jobs are different from the ones advertised. You learn some interesting things during job interviews. 

The first week of 2010 found me interviewing another job I felt I was perfect for. A week or so later I got the most uplifting and encouraging rejection letter ever. I almost felt like framing it.  I didn't get another interview until April. It was approaching the year mark of my graduation. I knew it wouldn't be easier but I never imagined a year would go by. Then, like in October, I ended up having two interviews in one week. Interview #8 was another case of misleading job ad. Interview #9 I liked the library itself but not the job. 

In May I received a call to have an interview with a library that I had applied to be in their applicant pool. I actually got the call for the interview before I knew I was official in the pool.  After doing the world's longest and most detailed questionnaire that gets scored and you have to receive a certain score to get into the pool. Interview #10 was for a department I had never worked in. About two days after this phone interview the youth services department head calls me and said they went with someone else. It was the first time I received a rejection phone call.

I thought I rocked interview #11, which was an interesting one. I had modified my interview techniques. Added a few interesting questions to the part of interview when they ask if you have questions. I also changed the way I dressed. Before I was strictly a dress wearer to interview. This time I wear a blouse and pants. Still a rejection letter shortly followed.

The library from interview #10 called me again. This time it was for a reference librarian position. A couple days later I got a rejection e-mail. Boo.  Lucky #13? I should have known it was too good to be true. Except I am sort of to blame on this one. I did a questionnaire and a phone interview. I had a face to face interview schedule but I decided to back out of it. It was a combination of the fact that this library was 5 hours away from my friends and family plus the salary wasn't really at the professional level and that's why I went to grad school. Also shortly after canceling the interview I received some bad news in regards to a relative. It's for the best that I'm not having to pack up and move at this current moment.

Like Elizabeth I currently live with my parents to save money. It does allow me to be a little more picky about my potential jobs than some other people. And to be honest there's only a couple of the 13 jobs that I'm sad I didn't get. Like my mentor told me "You're interviewing them not vice versa." I just haven't met my match yet.


Thanks Jenny!  If you have any comments, support, or advice to Jenny, please share!

Guest Post: The Life and Times of a New Librarian

Today we have a very special treat.  Megg, from The Life of a Not So Desperate Housewife, is joining us for a guest post.  I met Megg in graduate school and she is an amazing author, a fellow cook, and an aspiring YA librarian.  As part of my new series on life as a new librarian in today's economy, Megg is sharing her experiences as an unemployed librarian.  Stop by Megg's awesome blog to say hello and wish her luck in her ongoing job hunt!

I had a plan.

It was simple. Graduate with my MLIS, get married, move (all within a month), get a job, work for a few years, buy a house, have a baby, work part time. Sad to say, I've been married five months and  have only accomplished the first three things in that list. Sometimes, things don't go as planned.

I went back to school knowing I wanted to work with teens. While I love children and would accept a children's librarian position in a heartbeat, my passion lies with teens and young adults. Upon arriving in King County, it became obvious to me that the best way to get a job in the public library system was to apply for the librarian job pool. (As a side note, if you're wondering how I discovered this, it was by receiving multiple rejection letters for jobs I knew I was over-qualified for. Talk about frustrating.)

So, in an attempt to follow the plan I had so carefully set up for myself, I applied for the librarian job pool, passed the initial phone interview, and headed out (in a brand new interview outfit) to the in-person interview.

The interview seemed to go well, and I was pleased with my responses when I left. To their credit, there were very few of the “typical” interview questions, such as, “What are your weaknesses?” (this question is my weakness!) and “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” Instead there were a lot of, “Tell me about a time when...” and I thought I had used great examples from my myriad of work experience. One of the most disappointing facts I was told throughout the interview was that the pool is very competitive. Confident that at least I didn't graduate from University of Washington like all the other applicants, I assured myself I was in the clear. I was told I would hear back in a couple weeks, so I went on vacation and put the whole experience out of my mind.

A week later (boy are they fast when they make a decision!) I got a call from my husband, who was not yet on vacation with me. I had received something from King County Library System in the mail, and he had opened it, only to find out that I had not made it into the pool. It was then that I realized that my plan was definitely not going the way I had thought.

For a few hours my world fell out from under me. There was never any thought that I wouldn't get into the pool. After all, I'm a fun, perky librarian eager to make my entrance into the world of public libraries. Who wouldn't want to throw me into a pool of hundreds of applicants. My biggest worry was that I wouldn't get a job from the pool for a year, not that I would have to wait one more year to simply reapply for the pool.

Was I disappointed? You better believe it. Did I feel like a failure? I still do. I'm still wondering what I was thinking by leaving my 40 hour job as a reporter (which, granted, did not afford me enough money to move out of my parent's house) and putting myself into debt which will follow me for the next 10 or so years. But at the end of the day, I have to remember something. I need to be flexible. I'm living in an economy where my dream of working in a public library just isn't feasible. I'm also living about 20 minutes from a huge city with multiple colleges and several community colleges. There are options, but I, with my blinders on, refused to see anything but my plan.

How will it work out? I have no idea. But I can also tell you that 4 years ago I could never have imagined that I would be living in the Pacific Northwest, almost as far from my family as I could be, babysitting and watching Wife Swap while my husband works 40 hours a week. I did not anticipate this, and yet, I'm happy. Would I love to be working 40 hours a week? Of course. But I think my rejection from the pool was simply someone's (God, fate, whatever you choose to believe) way of telling me that His plan is much much greater than mine. And I know that whatever job I do end up with will be sweeter for the waiting.
 

The Life and Times of a New Librarian

I haven't been especially good about blogging about my job.  Mostly that's because it keeps me incredibly busy all day long.  I'm constantly learning new things and every day is a new adventure.  Medical librarianship is so not where I thought I would end up, but I'm really enjoying it.  I hope, sometime very soon, to share some of my experiences and what's it like to be a newly employed librarian.  

On a similar note, I've decided to host a series of guest blogs on what it's like to be a new librarian in today's economy.  There has been lots of depressing news going on about library closures and jobs lost.  I thought it might be interesting to get some different perspectives (other than mine) on what it's like to be looking for a job, to be newly employed, or to be a library school student.  The series will be entitled "The Life and Times of a New Librarian" will (hopefully!) run every Thursday over the next month or so.  Right now I have two posts lined up and am working on getting a few more.  If you fit any of the above categories and are willing to share your experiences, please email me!

The first guest post by my friend Megg will be up on Thursday.  I hope you are as excited about this new series as I am!