May
1, 2003
by David Streit, former Director - End User Support,
Corporate Finance, Deutsche Bank
1: Don't rely on recruiters alone to reach your target company.
Senior positions may be handled through recruiters and they can play
important roles. But try to go after a target company privately before
involving recruiters to avoid tagging yourself as a higher-cost candidate
due to the recruiter fee. There are many methods to contact your target
companies: targeted mail (letter with a follow up phone call), direct
mail (no follow up phone call), networking in through a referral,
or apply directly through their web site. If all else fails, THEN
tell those recruiters you have a relationship with (or have been referred
to) about specific companies you're interested in. Perhaps they will
have placed someone there or know a hiring manager. 2:
Directly address the "exact match" dilemma.
Recognize that in a tight job market, more and more hiring managers
are looking for an exact match, and address that limitation. In
a cover letter, create a table with two columns entitled "Requirements
of the job", and "What I have to offer," matched
line-by-line. It's rare someone is an exact match for the requirements
of the position. This strategy will help get a hiring manager's
attention and get your resume past the screening stage if you meet
most of the requirements they seek. If you get to an interview,
you can ask the hiring manager to talk to your references for further
confirmation you can do the job. If a candidate's prior salary was
higher than the range the hiring company is offering, some recruiters
say their client won't interview the candidate. You can address
this issue in several ways. Tell the recruiter you would be willing
to accept lower starting compensation in return for an increase
three or six months later once you've demonstrated your worth to
the organization; or accept the lower starting compensation and
ask for non-cash sweeteners: options, restricted stock, or valuable
training courses. If they won't budge on compensation, suggest that
you'll accept the lower compensation if they demonstrate there are
opportunities for training, promotions, lateral moves, or additional
project work that can lead to greater responsibilities and compensation
later.
3: Consider consulting on the side, but be prepared.
If you are considering consulting as a cushion, learn ahead of time
(even now, if you are currently working) about the risks and responsibilities
of consulting. Read a good book on the subject to learn what you
are getting into - there are tax and management issues to learn
and many other realities of running a business. It brings in needed
income, and gives you valuable project work to put on your resume
to show you've been active. Long-term, your clients may ask you
to join full-time once they've seen the work you can do. Finding
clients is the hardest part, but former employers may be a good
starting point since they know you.
4: Broaden your horizons. Rather than doing "anything"
in order to stay in the job market, consider looking at a career
change which would use your transferable skills. Perhaps a technical
sales or sales support engineer role would suit you, especially
if you have solid business or industry skills combined with your
IT technical experience. If you need an interim job, consider stepping
down to a lower-level position in a function you once performed
in order to stay current. Or, consider professional temping to get
exposed to companies and to demonstrate your competence and character.
Temp positions often lead to full-time jobs because you've performed
and have become an "insider". Professional temping also
provides medical and retirement benefits if you work enough hours,
and compensation which can rival a full-time job with more flexibility.
You may find you enjoy this lifestyle, and it can tide you over
until the IT labor market improves
5. Get out of the house and off the Internet job boards.
Go to events; join associations in the industries you're interested
in; check out your college alumni groups and their reunions. Going
to reunions is very helpful because you already have something in
common with other attendees! If you're out of touch with school
friends, check out a website like Classmates.com; a one year membership
will get you the email addresses of your classmates, and may lead
to a valuable connection with people who already know you and would
be willing to go the extra mile for an old friend. Meeting people
is the best way to broaden your network. Let everyone know you're
looking. Make up a batch of professional looking business cards
and hand them out so contacts have your information at hand if someone
asks if they know someone. Don't be shy or worried about your neighbors
knowing your business. They know you and therefore are more likely
to tap into their network to assist you! Similarly, join support
groups and attend their meetings. There are many choices here, available
through your church or temple, from private career counseling groups,
and industry-specific groups. Many of the IT industry groups have
discussion groups on Yahoo!, so search the listings to find relevant
groups.
Most of all- keep your head held high! Some of my recent discussions
with recruiters have been hopeful; they see some improvement in
the IT job market in recent weeks, and are hopeful for a stronger
recovery within the next six months.
© David
Streit, 2003
About the Author:David Streit was most recently a Director and
the lead technologist for the U.S. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
Group of Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for M&A technology,
desktop and server support, and End User Services Manager for Corporate
Finance at the former 280 Park office. Mr. Streit has previously
worked as a senior PC analyst at Morgan Stanley; a lead project
analyst in the MIS applications group for Deloitte & Touche;
a senior manager responsible for tax computer support and technology
for the New York tax practice of Deloitte & Touche; and as an
independent PC consultant. Mr. Streit received his BA from Lehigh
University, and his MBA from Rutgers University. Mr. Streit has
been a member of Technology Managers Forum since its inception in
1994. David can be reached at streida@optonline.net.
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