InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
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October 14,
1997
I've been working for a computer technology company for about three years. My main duties have
involved on-site installation and support of networks, but I've also managed to become a Novell
CNA and achieve Sun's highest level of certification. My engineers want me to become an
MCSE
and take charge of our Windows NT and Unix departments.
I really enjoy my job and don't want to leave, but I am severely underpaid. I regularly get offers
for $20,000 to $50,000 more than what I'm making now. I've told management at my current
company that if they want a commitment, we need to come to a long-term understanding. I like
the people I work with and don't want to leave, but I feel I'll never get the salary I deserve. I
have the ability to accept a new job as a Unix administrator with one of our competitors at
double my salary--but I know I won't be as happy sitting in an office staring at a screen all day.
What are your suggestions?
I can appreciate your loyalty to your current company and your mature outlook in your
understanding that there's more to career growth and happiness than just money. However, you've
conditioned yourself to believing that you couldn't be happy anywhere else. There are quality
peopl
e everywhere, and part of your professional growth is going to be based on the people you
surround yourself with. In effect, you're preventing yourself from obvious financial growth, but
also from professional growth, because when a candidate is drastically under-market, companies
have a tendency to as `what's wrong with this candidate--why is his compensation so low; does
he really have technical depth; can he not communicate with users; does he have poor
decision-making skills? You'll find yourself having to explain your way through an interview. My
suggestion is to start a job search immediately and conduct it around criteria that consist of
technical challenges, professional growth, chemistry, work environment, and compensation.
What is the best way find another job while you're employed. Should I use a recruiter? I'm
somewhat apprehensive about giving them too much information. How do I find a good recruiter.
Also, should
I use the name of the company I presently work for, or simply use a generic term to
keep word of my interest from falling onto the wrong ears?
The best way to search for another job while you're employed is by working with one or two
highly regarded recruiters that you can trust, and vice versa. Remember, an effective recruiter
must not only know your interest, but serve it with a high degree of integrity, as many do. These
people represent the largest pipeline of opportunity in the marketplace. Take your time to do
your "due diligence" via referrals from friends and co-workers of recruiters. Regarding how you
represent the company you're with: I would urge you to use the company name unless there are
circumstances that you feel will breach your confidentiality. Companies have become more
skeptical of candidates who identify their companies with terms like "Large National Insurer." It
indicates a lack of trust in your character.
I have over 10 years experience in the IT industry, the first five in mainframes, the last five in
client-server. I have the opportunity to become a consultant and work on a year 2000 project,
with the potential to earn a lot more money. Should I leave my client-server project, and if so,
how long is it advisable to wait before trying to move back into a more relevant technology?
You obviously recognize that you have a window of opportunity over the next 24 months, and it
sounds like you've been successful making the transition from mainframes to client-server.
Positioned the right way, you shouldn't have any problem re-entering the world of client-server
programming, particularly considering all of the exposure around year 2000 initiatives. I would
strongly recommend you take advantage of the chance to cash in on your experience. It should be
comfort
ing to know that after all these years of trying to migrate to client-server, you now have
opportunities that the client-server crowd doesn't.
How do employers balance potential vs. work experience? Which is more important to an
employer?
Potential is the hands-down winner to me, and I would agree that the recipe for potential is
innate skills combined with attitudes, traits, and education. However, most employers will base
their decisions on work experience. The smart ones, the category leaders, are the ones who have
recognized that limited work experience and a high degree of potential are the lifeblood of their
company's success.
I made the decision to leave my current position in a bootstrapped startup Web-based software
firm. I've turned down a couple of offe
rs because they weren't the right fit. The "double duty" of
full-time job and full-time job search is starting to wear me down. I must devote substantial
time and energy at work to push my projects forward, but my heart and long-term goals are with
the on-going job search.
Can you give me any insight into how to balance these two responsibilities? I have revealed
little to my current employers about my job search. As far as they know, I am, for the sake of
my career and as a responsibility to my family, putting some thought into other options. My
explanation is that, working for a startup with little funding and resources, I'd be foolish not to
have thought through alternatives. Is there ever a situation where it is best to bring an employer
in on my plans? Should they not know a thing until my new start date is set?
The approach you're taking is the best one. It's clearly a challenge to conduct a career search, and
at the sa
me time hit your deliverables at work. But if you weren't capable of meeting challenges,
you wouldn't have had two offers to evaluate already. Keep up your stamina and keep doing what
you're doing. You are clearly a stronger candidate while you're employed, even though your initial
thought might be that leaving might let you free up time for your job search. I don't recommend
that you tell your current employer of your intentions. You're with a small startup that has the
pressures of day-to-day operating income and new client development. I'm confident it would
only intensify the pressure-cooker you're working under.
I'm in the Coast Guard as a financial manager, attending college, so that in two years, I'll
graduate and retire at the same time. My goal is to be a DBA and help design Financial database in
Oracle. I help test for our newly developed financial database being designed throughout the
Coast Guard and am the assist
ant project manager on the development on our own financial
software. Am I going in the right direction when I make the change to the more technical side.
There's an overwhelming need in the marketplace for people who bring business/analysis skills
to the table. More important: Some of my recent searches have required people who have
experience in the military. There is a perception in the marketplace that people in the military
represent a keen sense of integration skills; in particular, finance-service companies have been
attracting people coming out of defense and the military because many of the system initiatives
have become much more complex. Tailor your resumé to indicate your understanding of
business issues--even though that business is the military.
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