The Return of the Salary Hunters
The recession showed us some unexpected hiring times. All hiring rules changed, salary negotiations were non-existent, offer-to-join conversion rates were high, 'great work' was more important than 'great salary'. The end of recession brought a sigh of relief to all of us. Companies are ramping up hiring efforts, campuses are seeing heavy hiring activity and packages have gone up and India Inc. has declared the much awaited salary raises . All this is great.
This also brings back the challenges of hiring. All of the following, which had become history are now back, with a "vengeance":
RETURN OF THE PING-PONG SALARY HUNTERS
Taking an offer and negotiating salary or role is a good thing. But taking an offer letter and showing it to another company to get a better deal, is kind of being overly opportunistic. Now, taking another offer letter and showing it back to the last company that gave the original offer letter (ping-ponging) is plain "evil". It is not just evil, it is a bad idea. For a five-ten % salary hike the person is potentially leaving a bad impression on his future employer.
Remember that it is much more important to work for a great company, for a company that has a solid roadmap, it is much more important to work with a great team, where you can learn for the next X number of years you spend in that company. It is much more important to work for a company that values your work, and rewards not just with a great salary but with accolades and encouragement that go much longer and deeper than fifty-hundred thousand rupees per year.
RETURN OF THE MULTIPLE OFFER HOLDER
Almost all offers recently are met with counter offers, not just one but many. I think it is not a bad idea to negotiate salary with other offers with counter offers, though I think it is somewhat naughty to do that. The priorities should be clear when someone wants to work for a company, whether it is a small salary difference that can pull the person to a different company, or is the vision and the roadmap and the team is more important.
Salary is definitely important; after-all EMIs need to be paid each month! But beyond that, there are many more things that are much more important. One can never compare companies purely by the salary that they offer.
It is always a better idea to work for a great company with a great team and a great vision. The most important, like I said, are the team, the quality of work, the work environment, the company's vision, its market leadership and the learning that it provides.
Think deep and thing wide before you take that plunge.
This also brings back the challenges of hiring. All of the following, which had become history are now back, with a "vengeance":
RETURN OF THE PING-PONG SALARY HUNTERS
Taking an offer and negotiating salary or role is a good thing. But taking an offer letter and showing it to another company to get a better deal, is kind of being overly opportunistic. Now, taking another offer letter and showing it back to the last company that gave the original offer letter (ping-ponging) is plain "evil". It is not just evil, it is a bad idea. For a five-ten % salary hike the person is potentially leaving a bad impression on his future employer.
Remember that it is much more important to work for a great company, for a company that has a solid roadmap, it is much more important to work with a great team, where you can learn for the next X number of years you spend in that company. It is much more important to work for a company that values your work, and rewards not just with a great salary but with accolades and encouragement that go much longer and deeper than fifty-hundred thousand rupees per year.
RETURN OF THE MULTIPLE OFFER HOLDER
Almost all offers recently are met with counter offers, not just one but many. I think it is not a bad idea to negotiate salary with other offers with counter offers, though I think it is somewhat naughty to do that. The priorities should be clear when someone wants to work for a company, whether it is a small salary difference that can pull the person to a different company, or is the vision and the roadmap and the team is more important.
Salary is definitely important; after-all EMIs need to be paid each month! But beyond that, there are many more things that are much more important. One can never compare companies purely by the salary that they offer.
It is always a better idea to work for a great company with a great team and a great vision. The most important, like I said, are the team, the quality of work, the work environment, the company's vision, its market leadership and the learning that it provides.
Think deep and thing wide before you take that plunge.
Labels: hiring recruitment salary
posted by Unknown, permalink
8 Comments:
Hi Mukul,
This is really great thought and good article,
Just want to make additional note:
Company should also take care those employees, who are not work for salary, means should take care work/growth (interest of area and expertise) and EMI’s :)
Regards
Prince
Even though everything you said is true and in a way idealistic, you don't always get what you had been promised and no one is f'in liable. So whats the point in you playing by all the ethics and company being opportunistic? This is true about the big companies at the least.......
I think anytime a candidate is only driven by money is not a good candidate, sooner he/she will find more money somewhere else. It holds true for employer too, what all incentives (work/life balance, growth, culture) they have to provide.
Love the title and of course the content is right on...you forgot to say recruiters are once again in demand!!! and good ones are on a roll...life is good again!!
The IT job market is open enough to accomodate all.
There will be candidates who want good work and others who want more salary.
There will be companies who will have vision or others who need to maintain their existing products.
The problem arises when the candidate becomes greedy and wants good work at high salary, or the employer becomes greedy and wants to pay peanuts for maintainance.
The candidate's needs as well as the employer requirements change over time, so a mismatch will occure once the honeymoon is over.
Mukul,
Ping-pong might be an indirect darwinian reaction to the you-are-laid-off-today event that is more of the norm than the exception now.....
I guess the term overly-oppurtinistic has a positive connotation when applied to an exec ...
-Taher Vohra
"I work for money. If you want loyalty hire a dog" :P
I really like that. In this blog I am wondering something which is better for any other.
Good work….!!!
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