BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL IN AISLE 9.....

This is blog post #4 in a series about job hunting. This piece of the Continuing Saga deals with the job climate overall and salaries.

Nothing has changed in terms of companies trying to snatch up bargains. If they have two candidate that are equal in other respects, they'll choose the cheapest.

What HAS changed is that their expectations are lower.

The market is flooded, and I do mean flooded, with poorly-qualified personnel who have 5-10 years of experience. That's work experience, not necessarily "good" experience. These are the people who have hopped from job to job all over the country, never holding one job for longer than a year. All of them consider themselves "leads" or higher. You know who they are - you've interviewd or worked with them. The problem is that in terms of pay, they will undercut you every time. This glut of unqualified warm bodies has degraded the market.

That would not be true if all interviewers and hiring managers were as experienced and discerning as you are, dear reader. Unqualified people would not get work and the market would turn around.

Unfortunately, our field is still not necessarily well understood. Experience is not necessarily valued above certifications, degrees, and above all, cost. And there is little understanding of what is (and is not!) important in terms of experience. Consider a resource who has had a new job every 6-12 months for the past 5 years. They are applying for "lead" jobs. You cannot gain the type of maturity and experience you need to be a lead when you're starting anew at every position and only stay for a matter of months.

At my level, competition comes from Project Managers, and managers/directors, etc. in other IT areas. I don't know about your region, but here in the midwest U.S., PMs are a dime a dozen. There are a bizillion of them. They have no background in QA/QC specifically and they've never actually done the work. But they present themselves as managing development, operations, QA, etc. - which isn't exactly untrue. On a project basis. Many interviewers do not understand that there's a big difference between a matrix manager and a line manager. Matrix managers do not handle the same problems as a line manager, and they rarely have to have detailed knowledge about the problems facing a test team. Nor do they have to worry about career paths, mentoring, training, process/procedure, automation, tools, and solutions to knotty testing issues. Some have never even had to handle personnel evaluations. The same is true with managers/directors of other areas of IT. Managing a team of DBAs is different than managing a team of testers.

So if the interviewer doesn't know the difference between a qualified and an unqualified resource, they will inevitably choose the cheapest resource or the one with the best patter. At my level, that's an issue; one thing PMs are extraordinarily good at is patter. Considering their entire career is based on negotiation, that's not a surprise. So if you're at a manager level or above, you HAVE TO BE ON YOUR GAME when interviewing.

Particularly if you're not this week's special at K-Mart.

Overall, if an interviewer goes with "cheapest" every time, one can reason that at least they do their company a service financially, if not in any other way. Going cheap in leadership positions is a false economy, whether you're talking about a full-time employee or a consultant. It's the best, most experienced personnel that are going to know how to save you money and maintain service levels. This is an advantage you'll have over other applicants. Talk about the Great Things you've done to increase efficiency and cut costs while improving testing services. They may ask those questions of the next applicant, who won't be able to answer them.

The problem of "cheapest" has been fueled by offshoring and poor policies on the part of consulting firms. While I've certainly seen some differences in the FTE market, consulting has changed significantly in the past 5 years. And I have to say that I'm totally sympathetic to their woes. You've got to be both tough and smart to remain profitable in today's market.

Consider that local consulting firms have to compete for dollars against offshoring concerns. That means cutting their rates to make their applicants more attractive to potential clients.

In order to keep their admin and marketing arms alive, most consulting firms prefer a 40% margin or better on their billing rates. That means if they want to lower their rates to their clients, it is infinitely preferable to hire cheaper people than to lower their profit margins.

Again, many consulting firms don't know the difference between a good or bad QA/QC resource. They will hire resources on which they can realize the highest profit margin. And they're smart about it - normally you aren't hired at all until you've interviewed and have been selected by a client. The problem is that the highly-talented sales personnel will be presenting the candidate in glowing terms, and the client may not know what they're buying and just trust those things are true. Or they may not get ANY candidates they really like and just pick the best out of a bad bunch.

Regardless, client expectations are lower now than they used to be, staff are less experienced, and companies have become accustomed to paying less for resources. Their lowered expectations have bled into the FTE side as well.

So where does that leave today's job hunter?

Well, the good news is that you're still going to get plenty of opportunities. The market is good for QA/QC. The bad news is that you'll have a lot of competition from less experienced and cheaper resources.

I can't give advice in regards to compensation, because it depends on you, your situation, and your region. If you have a familly, mortgage, etc., maybe you'll want to take what you can get and just keep looking until the right thing comes along.

If, however, you can afford to be selective for at least a period of time, I'd suggest you do what your momma always told you. Don't give it away. Why not look for a company that offers you something that makes you look forward to going to work every morning?

I'm pretty practical, myself, and it's important to know the market. What's the going rate for your position in your region? Trying to get more isn't going to work in most cases. And if you're considering relocating, you wouldn't want to lateral into a position where the cost of living is double what you're accustomed to. You might have to move into a double-wide and take on roommates. When I'm offered a relocation opportunity, the first thing I do is spend some time on the net, researching the area.

Talented resources are, as they have always been, at a premium. It's easy to get depressed or discouraged when looking for something new, but nothing outside of you need affect the inside of you. Your attitude is something you come up with all by yourself. You need to honestly assess the market, yourself, and set your expectations accordingly. Then you need to hang tough. Every company won't be looking for the best. But some will. And those are the people you want to talk to, because chances are good you'd get a chance to work with others that are also the best at what they do. There's nothing like working for a company that gives "excellence" more than lip service.

You just need to tell yourself that you are not the Blue Light Special in Aisle 9. You are a BMW and not a rusted-out Pinto.

In terms of salary, I have a bottom line and if it isn't met, I won't even consider the position. Beyond that, I know the market, and I consider the position being offered before I decide what is fair compensation for that particular position. Just because I have a bottom line doesn't mean I want to come in at that level. My bottom line is not necessarily what I made last year plus 5K. My bottom line is what I require in order to maintain some level of comfort and pay my bills. I negotiate on terms until the company and I either reach an agreement or decide we won't be able to reach an agreement.

This is where your own faith in yourself, your worth, and your abilities kicks in.

You have to be willing to walk away if a company can't meet your expectations. And don't count on that company calling you back if you do. Yes, some will sweeten their offer. But some won't. You have to be willing to give it up without regret if the offer isn't what you feel is fair.

Your best chance to get what you want, need, and feel is fair is during the hiring process. If they aren't willing (or can't) pay you now, do you think that's likely to change once you're an FTE? Promotions, bonuses, etc., are not guaranteed. Ever. So if it's not "right" now, it may never be right. Do you want to spend the next 4 or 5 years just getting back to where you were before you joined them?

I'm probably like most you; I always feel bad about turning down an opportunity and wonder if I did the right thing. Second-guessing yourself is a favorite pasttime of job hunters. But I have to say, I've never actually regretted anything I've turned down. But I have, in the course of my career, regretted several opportunities I've accepted.

So overall, it's a jungle out there. But I'm wearing my trusty pith helmet (the one that matches my Coach bag), looking out for quicksand and hoping I don't get torn apart by a pack of rabid hyenas....