Job Security, Pt. 3- The Leverage Niche

A few weeks ago I was catching up with an apps developer I hadn't spoken with in quite some time (we'll call her Mary). In years past I'd submitted Mary for consideration to many clients due to her sr. level experience developing middle tier apps written in a cutting edge and widely used coding language. As our conversation progressed she mentioned that she'd accepted a position with a new employer. With pride she informed me that she was no longer "just" an apps developer. Her new employer utilized a system where resources where rotated into different roles every so often. I came to find that in the short 18 months with this new employer she had worked in the capacity of systems engineer and most recently was in a business analyst role. While she was happy to be learning new skills and becoming a Jill-of-all-trades, I couldn't share her enthusiasm. I knew that Mary's in-demand skills where quickly becoming diluted and that her employer was minimizing her value to the organization. If everyone on a team can do everyone else's job it's a lot easier to be replaced isn't it? Mary or anyone else on the team could resign or be fired and the employer's operations wouldn't skip a beat. Not much leverage for a salary increase is there? Great for the employer, not so great for the employee. Very diplomatically I offered congratulations on her new position and made a note to call her in a few weeks so I could gently share my perspective on some of the positives and negatives concerning her new career path.


Decisions like Mary's are never made in a vacuum but a thoughtful analysis of where we fit in the marketplace regarding our skill sets is necessary to ensure that we make right decisions about our career paths and not emotional decisions. There are some very basic questions you can ask yourself to achieve a greater awareness of your leverage within the marketplace.


1. Define Your Niche
The first step in achieving leverage is to learn how to view your skill sets in the same way that hiring authorities will view you. The following is a general format I've used in presenting resources to clients over the years:
-Primary Skill, e.g. J2EE dev., Oracle DBA, Project Manager, Quality Assurance, etc. etc.
-Secondary Skill, e.g. Weblogic dev., Data Warehousing, Infrastructure Projects, White Box Testing, etc. etc.
-Contextual Experience, e.g. Portal env., Clustered/High Availability env., Small/Fast Moving Projects, Web Apps env., etc. etc.
-Type of Business, e.g. Consulting, Health Care, Technology, Ad Agency, etc. etc.
A typical resource summary may read something like this: J2EE dev. with Weblogic exp. in the Portal env. from a consulting background. Understanding how you fit into this matrix is crucial because it enables you to see yourself from a skill set perspective in the same way others do allowing internal (current employer) and external (marketplace) comparative analysis of your value equation.


How would Mary define herself based on this format? It would be pretty tough wouldn't it? She's all over the board and unless there's an employer out there that's interested in her unique amalgam of skills she's probably out of luck.


2. Assessment & Comparison of Internal & External Demand
The second step in achieving leverage is to understand your value equation from your employer's perspective and also from the perspective of potential employers. You may be surprised to find a big difference.
Internal- Ask yourself some of the following questions to assess your internal value equation:
-How easily could you be replaced by an internal resource? What about an external resource?
-How is the technical environment changing? Are you where the "puck" was or will be?
-How critical are the technologies you work with to the functioning of the business?
-Is your team hiring or laying off resources? How about the company as a whole?
-Has there been a change of management or ownership? How could that affect you?
-How's your companies industry doing as a whole?
-Are competitors outsourcing? What kind of resources are they outsourcing?
External- Ask yourself some of the following questions to assess your external value equation:
-What types of skills are in high demand on job boards? How do your skill sets match up?
-What kind of secondary skills are employers looking for? What about contextual exp.?
-Are you skilled in technologies that are growing or fading away?
-Are salaries for resources with similar skill sets trending higher or lower?
-How often does your phone ring regarding new opportunities?
-What part of the economic cycle are we in?
-What part of the technology/project implementation cycle are we in?
Reflect on your answers to the internal and external questions independently and then comparatively. You may find that you're considerably more valuable than you realized to your current employer or you may find that you're less valuable to your current employer than you would be to prospective employers. The importance of this evaluation is that it gives you an understanding of your value in the context of the marketplace as a whole.


Not enough information was conveyed regarding my story about Mary for use as an example in step 2. but I can tell you since she's been put on a skill set merry-go-round she's easily replaceable and as a recruiter, I'll unfortunately have a lot less to talk to her about from an opportunity perspective in the future.


Be Proactive in Attaining Your Leverage Niche.
Now that we've examined where our leverage lies and how our value equation is seen by both internal and external clients, we now must analyze the results. Analysis will point our career compass in one of two general directions: redefine & modify skills and/or seek a new opportunity. As simple an exercise in logic as this sounds, you'd be surprised at how little most individuals utilize this or similar processes when thinking through career moves. As I mentioned earlier in this post, it's imperative to make right decisions and not just emotional ones. If gaining more leverage and job security requires redefining & modifying your skill set, you may have to consider moving on to a new opportunity to fulfill that end. If gaining more leverage and job security requires working for a different employer, you may have to redefine & modify your skills to achieve that goal. Acquiring that certification you've been meaning to get, finishing your degree, or simply becoming proactive in keeping your eyes open to new opportunities (which is something everyone should do always) may become necessary. Whichever approach is right for you, if you understand your niche and compare your value both internally and externally, you'll know what your next best move will be in maximizing leverage, job security, and earning potential. Best of all, you'll be able to take comfort in the fact that you'll be moving in the right direction.

Never stop moving forward. Our complacency is our own worst enemy.

For further information, feel free to contact me directly.

Resource Acquisition- Thinking Outside The Box

I think we can all agree that economic and business environments as we've known them have changed dramatically in the past year right? Because of these changes new winners in business will emerge while others will fade into obscurity. Unless you're one of the smartest and most adaptable, you chance becoming a statistic. Being a winner will partially depend upon the processes your organization has in place to identify, acquire, and retain resources. Traditional recruitment models utilizing contingency fee based approaches (headhunters) on the one hand and internal recruiter/job board approaches on the other certainly have their advantages. Depending on where we're at in the market cycle and the availability of resources, these respective approaches can be both ineffective and costly if implemented incorrectly. The question any thoughtful person must ask is how can inefficiency be ironed out of an existing resource acquisition model? To answer that question, thinking outside the box to discover a "new way" is imperative. Target IT Resources suggests considering a Differential Approach to resource acquisition that is iterative in nature and geared as a flexible solution evolving with market conditions in real time thus maximizing efficiency and ROI.

My father used to say that if you're going into surgery, you need the precise and steady hands of a surgeon, but if your car has broken down, you need the strong and calloused hands of a mechanic to fix your car right so you can drive with confidence. One of the keys to success as we enter this new era in American business will be the partnering with organizations that can effectively act as both surgeon and mechanic depending on what conditions dictate. This unique ability will help to make your business stronger and set you apart from the competition.

For further information on Target IT Resources Differential Approach, please contact us directly at 952-465-0156.

The HR Corner- Getting The Most Out Of Recruiters

After years of recruiting I've found that about half the folks on the human resources side like us 3rd party hired guns and the other half don't particularly care to speak with us unless absolutely necessary. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, here's a few suggestions to consider regarding getting better results out of your recruiter (and maybe pay a little less if you play your cards right).

1. Timely Feedback: This is by far the absolute number one determining factor in the level of effort a recruiter will allocate to your search. Remember, the vast majority of recruiters are paid on a commission basis which means if they don't make placements, they don't eat (and their wives and husbands get mad at them). Because of this, recruiters are very cautious and selective when resource planning their time. I can tell you from personal experience that I'd much rather work for a 20% fee where I'm getting feedback and my candidates are being interviewed than to work for a 25% fee where no one's getting interviewed and communication is sparse to non-existent from my counterpart on the client side. Not only will you receive better ROI on your recruiting dollars and time by offering feedback, you'll also increase productivity by getting resources in place sooner rather than later.

2. Communication: Sometimes you just can't push process right? After all if only that darned hiring manager would get back to you on all the resumes you've presented to her or if the "C" level geniuses upstairs could finally make a decision on moving forward with this req. or not, you could get your job done right? Don't keep your recruiter in the dark, let them know what you're up against. What this does is to create an advocate. Knowing what's going on gives them a sense of security about continuing to invest time with you and work on your behalf (so their wives and husbands don't get mad at them for not making any money). Studies have shown that individuals are 70% more likely to respond positively to requests when provided with reasons for doing so rather than when presented with only a request and no reasoning behind it. e.g., No Reason Provided: "yes, please keep sending me resumes for the Purple Squirrel Developer req.... yes, I know you've sent 3 candidates and we haven't gotten any feedback yet, but we're still looking...." e.g., Reason Provided: "yes, please keep sending me resumes for the Purple Squirrel Developer req.... yes, I know you've sent 3 candidates and we haven't gotten any feedback yet, but the hiring manager just got back from her two week vacation and process should get up and running again...." See the difference?

3. The Philosophy Is Velocity: this is a little trick that may give you leverage on fees, let me explain: Recruiter A does 10 placements a year at $10k per placement making $100k, Recruiter B does 15 placements a year at $9k per placement making $135k. The difference is that Recruiter A makes a placement every 5 weeks and Recruiter B makes a placement every 3 weeks. Which recruiter would you rather be? Which fee would you rather pay, $9k or $10k? Let your recruiter know that you're ready to push process and move fast, it may save you some money.

Final word- I've always found it upsetting when I hear recruiters treat candidates, clients, and potential clients with anything less than complete respect and professionalism. Similarly recruiters appreciate being treated in kind. After all, everybody's trying to make a living and we're all in this thing together correct? BE NICE. Remember, to a recruiter, you're one of two things: a client or a source. You can minimize recruiting pressure on your organization by being courteous and open to partnerships whether they be for current needs or needs in the future. Give them a reason to view you as a client and not a source.

Job Security, Pt. 2- Then and Now

Remember summer vacations back in high school? Parties, sleeping in, lounging around all day, dreaming about "what you'd be when you grew up". As I prod my 17 yr. old son to get a job and decide which colleges he's interested in while he savors his pre-senior year summer vacation, I can't help but remember my own father's admonitions: get good grades, go to college; get a good office job; work at an established company. Some of it sunk in, some of it didn't, but what was dad really saying? After hearing his mantra in subsequent lectures over the years in hindsight what I believe he was trying to convey was put yourself in a position where you can make good money (good office job) and do it someplace where you can be securely employed for years (established company). Not a bad game plan right?


JOB SECURITY THEN: Dad started our family in the 1960's and his world view reflected that of the time in America- a post WWII economic powerhouse with little or no economic competition from the rest of the world. When dad was raising us kids, there were big US corporations where many individuals worked a lifetime (he worked at Honeywell) and got the gold watch and big party when they retired. Back then, all you had to do was get a college degree, save, live within your means, and the American dream was yours for the taking. Globalization was an abstract concept discussed only by futurists and those in academia. Who could conceive that American dominance would ever be challenged? In a world like that, why approach a career in any way other than what dad had recommended?


JOB SECURITY NOW: the Pax Americana that we've taken for granted is being replaced by economic parity among nations. Globalization has become an ongoing central theme in our day to day lives as our international brethren give us a run for our money economically speaking. US corporations once a paragon of stability and long term employment have diminished in stature and become environments more conducive to lessening our security than what we find in considering organizations progressively smaller in size. The B.S. in Comp Sci you earned (that you're still paying off) doesn't seem to have that magical quality it once had to ward off unemployment. Competing resources in Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe are redefining your value equation in ways once thought unthinkable. Saving seems to be harder and harder as ever increasing taxes and rising prices pinch your lifestyle. Globalization has redefined our world view and dad's advice doesn't seem to be relevant anymore. What's going on here?


WELCOME TO AMERICA 2009: As Rebecca Metschke, author of the new book The Interview Edge says, "the only job security you have are the skills you bring to the marketplace". Re-read that quote and contemplate the paradigm shift she refers to: Security can no longer be derived from employers, government, unions, etc. etc., it can only be derived from ourselves and what we bring to the table in terms of marketable skills. Metschke goes on to explain that "most of us don't pay attention to our own marketability" and that we need to "continually measure your effectiveness; analyze your key competencies; assess those areas in which you have gaps in your knowledge and/or experience; develop and refine your unique selling proposition". Metschke has truly hit the nail on the head with her analysis. Being cognitive of these factors plays an important role in determining whether we wake up in the morning and go to work or wake up in the morning to look for work. There is however a piece of the puzzle missing from the self-analysis that Metschke advises. It's a piece that's absolutely imperative to achieving security and MUST be taken in to consideration when formulating a career path: analysis of the marketplace itself. What good is closing a knowledge gap if employers aren't willing to pay you for that particular knowledge? How can you refine your unique selling proposition if you don't know what sells? Making career decisions in a vacuum is akin to throwing darts at stock quotes taped on a wall to determine where to invest.

The ability to remain viable in an evolving marketplace will be largely based on identifying niches where you can provide value and maintain leverage.

Stay tuned for Job Security Pt. 3- Finding The Leverage Niche

Heard On The Street: Socialized Medicine and the Health Care Industry

Over the past few months I've been in contact with many technical resources in the health care industry and what I'm hearing has been quite surprising. My knee jerk expectation was that in light of proposed government-run, socialized medicine that health care and it's peripheral industries would be destination spots from a career perspective for technology resources. What I'm finding at least in part has turned out to be quite the opposite. Many employers have initiated hiring freezes and in some of the more grim scenarios bill rates are being slashed and lay-offs commonplace. Although I can't speak to what's happening across the nation or in every niche sub-sector of the industry, I can tell you most of the sentiment out there that I'm hearing can only be described as pessimistic.

On a more positive note, there has been some very targeted hiring within health care specifically in the Websphere and Oracle DBA realms to name a few. I'm not sure that I could extrapolate some sort of "bigger picture" from this other than to say that the pendulum has simply swung to favor a new group of resources for the time being, but it is intriguing and I'll be keeping a close eye on further developments.

As the future of health care in America plays itself out in the coming months and years, I'll continue to share with you what I'm hearing on the street.

Job Security, Pt. 1- Fact or Fiction?

Good Sunday afternoon and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. My family and I spent a relaxing Saturday with Aunt Connie & Uncle Boomer (long story) at their lake home in Grand Rapids. It's a beautiful place and we spent the day lounging in the sun and the evening drinking oatmeal stout and frying up some fresh crappies for dinner. It doesn't get much better than that right? But alas, here I am back to the real world.....


Tackling the subject matter of job security as a centerpiece of discussion has it's genesis in the trends and events I read and hear about that seem to be more commonplace everyday: off-shoring, lay-offs, wage freezes, bill rates halved in the middle of contracts, individuals once highly sought after and highly paid now unemployed and without prospect, etc. etc. Indeed the economy and information technology marketplace we once knew is gone forever. The important question many of us ask is "how will this affect me?" or more specifically, "how will this affect my job security?" A message I've emphasized for a number of years with many of you is that job security as we know it has taken on a much different meaning. Because of this shift it's important to re-evaluate our understanding of how job security is defined and how we should chart our career paths accordingly. But before you can make those big decisions, you need to take the time to understand how the market has changed, why it's changed, how it will likely change in the future, and lastly, how can you position yourself to benefit from these changes. This series of "Job Security" posts are geared to help you answer these important questions and intergrate the knowledge acquired into your decision making process so you can move forward with confidence knowing you're on the right path.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Job Security- Then and Now

OPPORTUNITY/perm: .net (ASP) perm gig in SW 'burbs

Marketing and Advertising has been a very active sector this year regarding the acquisition of technical resources; individuals with .net exp. continue to be in high demand as well. Expenditures on marketing & advertising is a leading indicator of economic activity to come so this type of pattern supports my view that by late summer/early fall, we'll experience a trend upwards in resource demand.

Here's the latest:
A marketing & advertising firm in the SW metro is currently looking for a
.net Web Developer with an ASP.net focus. Framework exp. is necessary due to 3rd party app. integration. Ideally, we're looking for someone with Ad agency type exp. (not corporate). Microsoft server exp. and Pageflex is a big plus. Qualified resources will have focus in the web based env. (not enterprise env.). This is a FTE perm gig and we're looking at either a jr. or mid level developer.

Feel free to contact me for further detail.

How Will This Economy Affect You?

Hello Everyone, this is my first blog entry in what will hopefully become a useful and well received tool for those of us in the Twin Cities (and beyond) IT community.

What you'll get from following this blog is an insight on the market place through my eyes and ears. I'm in regular contact with technical resources of all kinds as well as the individuals that hire them. My network stretches from the desktop support guy to the enterprise architect; from the CEO to the HR assistant; from the Fortune 500 company to the start-up, and everyone in between. What this gives me (and you as a reader) is a unique, first hand knowledge of what's going on out there.

I'm sure you'd agree that to stay marketable, one has to be well informed to navigate a successful career path correct?

If you're in the process of building your business or a team and want to make the smartest decisions on how best to move forward, it would make sense to have all the facts before making those decisions right?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, I believe you, your colleagues, and friends would be well served to visit Mike Reitz's Recruiting Blog and benefit from my vision.

Continued good luck,
Mike