LAND $100,000+ JOBS IN A BAD EMPLOYMENT MARKET
Comments (0) This is the first of several blogs on landing a six figure job in a bad employment market. The national financial crisis, real estate bubble and war expenses all affect business locally and internationally. This forum will discuss ways to hedge your bet if you are considering a job change or engaged in a job search for a $100,000+ job.
The bad employment market takes no pity on executives in search of $100,000+ jobs. It’s a tough time to land a job and tough techniques are required.
First focus on your career, and not a job. Take the long view of your search; does company A have more staying power than company B who is offering you a bigger title or salary? Is that relocation really cost effective compared to a lessor job locally?
HOW TO LAND A $100,000+ JOB: Advice to anyone who has a choice about changing jobs is to reevaluate that choice; the devil you know is easier to deal with than the devil you don’t know. Are the reasons you want to look around based on things that can be fixed, altered or ignored? Can you buy yourself some time in order to prevent a hasty decision?
Stay in your current position long enough to shore up your references. Your objective is to exceed expectations on the one area you hope to leverage to a new position. Do not underestimate the power of an excellent reference.
Already left your employer? Get external visibility and be your own public relations guru. Get quoted, be a speaker and become a known expert on that topic or process. If you are an Agile and SaaS savvy executive, join the appropriate groups, participate in threads, blogs and write, articles for the ezine community. Are you an SEO expert? Volunteer to get high profile charities noticed on the web. Get involved in fund raisers, charity events and donate your expertise where it will get noticed.
Once you are known in your arena, networking for a new job is much easier. And networking is how to land the $100,000+ jobs.
ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE-HOW TO NEGOTIATE COMPENSATION FOR $100,000+ JOBS
During an economic downturn many executives and technology leaders believe they must take a cut in salary to land a new job. If you are already in a $100,000+ job, chances are your compensation is heavily weighted with bonus and other compensation variables.
Your base pay, however will no doubt stay the same from opportunity to opportunity. If you are unsure what your base should be do some research. Even people in place are seeing a negative compensation when incentives are considered. When you negotiate compensation for a $100,000+ job, focus on the base and accept that the incentives will fluctuate; that they are only indicators, not guarantees.
To keep your six figure income as high as possible, learn how the incentives are derived. Once you understand the parameters, offer metrics that demonstrate your ability to achieve the incentives, then, and only then, you can ask for more.
In many cases the incentives are tied to corporate performance. Talking points should include how you have had and will have a positive affect on the variables that affect corporate performance. If for example you are a Director of applications development, give examples of how your teams consistently beat the release dates with quality products which require minimal technical and customer support.
Once you have established an acceptable base and you have proved your point on why the incentives can be generous+, you have negotiated your $100,000+ compensation even in a bad employment market.
Themocracy