Leading Edge Career Clips

There are certain numbers that are typically off-limits, particularly in the workplace: age, weight and salary. But if you're young and just beginning to build your career, you're more likely to readily divulge that information. Sharing paycheck details with friends, peers and even colleagues is empowering, according to an article in The New York Times, and young workers are leveraging the data to inform negotiations with employers.

Since your friends' salaries are unlikely to appear on their Facebook pages and you're not apt to broach the subject with them, we'll share what we recently learned about average compensation from survey respondents who self-identified as director-level or above in their organizations. ExecuNet members can also create salary reports based on very specific criteria to help determine real-time market value.

By Age:
Age 61+	$184,800
Ages 25-40	$184,900
Ages 51-60	$203,900
Ages 41-50	$207,500
By Function:
HR	$185,300
Marketing	$186,400
Consulting	$190,600
Sales & Marketing	$193,500
MIS/IT	$201,000
Sales	$204,000
General	$216,700
Finance	$235,900
By Industry:
Business Services	$187,300
Healthcare	$194,200
High Tech/Defense/Aerospace	$206,000
Financial Services/Banking/Insurance	$225,700
Life Sciences (Pharma/Med/Biotech)	$230,800
Energy/Utilities	$233,600

Additionally, according to ExecuNet's recent market intelligence reporting, total executive compensation increased 5.7 percent in 2007 and is expected to grow another 6.2 percent in 2008.

The Once and Future Job Board

Peter Weddle writes, "We are now coming to the end of the reign of first generation job boards." He refers to these as "Gen 1" job boards - abundant on the web and found in ads everywhere - that included the following features:

*  a searchable job database
*  often (but not always) a resume database
*  job search-related content, usually an article or two about writing a resume or interviewing, most likely written by an intern.

They focused on active job seekers, but had two downsides: 1) they appealed to 16% of the population and fewer than one-in-five U.S. workers; and 2) in the last ten years, corporations have launched career areas on their own web sites, attracting a large number of job seekers to their company.

The Gen 1 job boards are now evolving into what Weddle calls the "Gen 2" job boards that will still offer the traditional job search services of Gen 1 sites.  But now they will reach 100% of the population and also provide career self-management features, functionality, and content. One example is Dice, which recently added a discussion forum. Features of Gen 2 job boards do/will include:

*  Forums and bulletin boards for professional networking
*  Games, polls and other features that teach career self-management principles
*  Educational programs, conference schedules, and other information that will help visitors advance themselves in their profession, craft, or trade

Weddle believes the people who will most benefit from the format shift are:

* Workers. These sites can help a person find a new or better job, and can assist them in advancing their career, as well. Weddle suggests that "For that to happen, however, they must know about these new kinds of sites and how to identify them. That's where you can help, of course. Make an introduction to Gen 2 job boards a part of the counsel you provide to your clients, especially those who are in transition."

*  Employers. The broad appeal of these new sites enables hiring organizations to reach prospects that aren't looking for a job as well as those who are-the so-called "passive job seeker." Weddle's is working hard to make sure that employers know two things: the potential of these sites have  and how they can shop for them online. Weddle's features them in their publications and in the training they provide to both corporate and third party recruiters.

*  Career Counselors, and Coaches. According to Weddle: "Very few of these sites have staff on board with the requisite career management knowledge needed to support their new focus, and that vacuum creates an opportunity for you. For example, you may be able to barter writing a regular career column for them in exchange for promoting your consulting practice or you may offer them a product or service under a licensing agreement. This is a brand new market so there are no standard practices or even fixed assumptions, but there is the potential for you to expand your business, if you can figure it out."

Source: Weddle's Newsletter For Career Counselors and Coaches, April 24, 2008

Real Earnings March 2008

Real average weekly earnings rose by 0.2 percent from February to March after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.  Increases of 0.3 percent in both average weekly hours and average hourly earnings were partially offset by a 0.4 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
 
Average weekly earnings rose by 3.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, from March 2007 to March 2008.  After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings decreased by 1.0 percent.  Before adjustment for seasonal change and inflation, average weekly earnings were $607.49 in March 2008, compared with $580.99 a year earlier.

Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm

ExecuNet’s 16th Annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report Finds Economic Uncertainty Is Creating New Opportunities and Challenges For Corporate Leaders   

www.execunet.com – April 24, 2008 – Increasing demand in the High Tech, Healthcare, Energy, and Business Services sectors combined with a shortage of qualified talent and sustained economic growth overseas is driving better than expected job growth at the executive level according to ExecuNet’s 2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report released today.   

Published annually for the past sixteen years by ExecuNet, an exclusive membership network of business leaders, the Executive Job Market Intelligence Report is designed to provide corporate leaders, executive recruiters, and human resource professionals with proprietary market intelligence on key trends and developments affecting the corporate leadership employment market. 

“Job growth at the executive level is not moving in lock-step with the rest of the employment market,” says Mark Anderson, President and Chief Economist at ExecuNet.  “Thanks in part to an aging workforce and global economic growth, the demand for executive talent continues to increase while the threat of a recession looms.”       

According to the report, despite evidence that the economy could continue to shed temporary and entry-level jobs, recruiting and retaining executive-level talent will remain a challenging priority for companies in 2008.  Following a healthy 24% increase in search assignments in 2007, more than 70% of search firm and corporate human resource professionals believe there is a shortage of executive talent, and two-thirds (67%) say the war for executive talent has intensified over the last year amid increasing economic uncertainty.

“Unfortunately, many of the opportunities created this year will remain out of reach to those who fail to read beyond the headlines,” says Dave Opton, CEO and Founder of ExecuNet.  “However, given the current pace of change, the consequences of ignoring opportunities to enhance your network and failing to closely monitor the marketplace are clearly rising.”   

Based on a simultaneous survey of 4,349 executives and 718 search firm consultants and corporate human resource professionals, and analysis from ExecuNet, this year’s report was produced in partnership with Goldjobs, Financial Executives International (FEI), Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), and Dillistone Systems/Filefinder.   

Highlights From The 2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report:    

Employment Market Outlook
Executive recruiters expect search assignments to climb 17% in 2008, while corporate recruiters are forecasting a 10% increase in executive-level job opportunities at their companies.

The industries expected to generate the most executive job growth in 2008 include:  High Tech, Healthcare, Business Services, Pharmaceuticals/Biotech, and Energy/Utilities. 

Job Satisfaction
Approximately 60% of all employed executives report they are satisfied with their current jobs.  However, for the 40% who are not, boredom and a lack of advancement are the most cited sources for their discontent.

Just 12% of executives pointed toward compensation as the reason why they’re looking to leave their current company.

Executive Compensation
Total executive compensation increased 5.7% in 2007 and is expected to grow another 6.2% in 2008.

Despite increasing shareholder scrutiny, approximately half (51%) of all executive compensation packages negotiated in the past 12 months featured perks, including company cars, club memberships, housing, and favorable loans – up from 38% in 2006.

Technology
Nearly all (86%) corporate human resource executives and 61% of search firms report that they do not routinely post positions with a total compensation of $200,000 and above on public websites.

A staggering 74% of executives believe their resume probably never reaches the decision maker when submitted electronically through a company website, and 72% agree or are unsure that most positions listed on online job boards are phony or already filled.

Age Discrimination
Despite an average age of just 49, 44% of executives expect that their age will negatively affect their ability to land their next position.

Recruiters don’t deny that age can be an issue, but 71% of search consultants say their clients are less focused on age than they were in prior years; and 57% of corporate HR executives say that when over 50, the candidate’s age is not a negative factor in hiring decisions.

For more information on these topics and others including executive tenure trends, the fastest growing functions, and most effective job search strategies, a free summary of the 2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report is available at http://www.execunet.com/marketreport.   

For more detail on candidate sourcing, compensation packages, and the market outlook, recruiters can access a talent market summary at http://www.execunet.com/TalentMarketReport

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