August 2000

The past few months have seen major market shifts and the dot com craze is now tempered with a dose of reality, which I think is ultimately good. I talk about trends in this newsletter and, as promised, I’m beginning a series on the "Story of an Offer." The second and third installments will be out at the end of August and September -- I guarantee it. (Yes, they are written.)

My team and I are evaluating and updating our website. We’d appreciate your input. There is so much on it, it may be time for a good housecleaning and reorganizing. Another note, by the end of August we expect to have an on-line system in place (totally secure, of course) where you can update your record. Keeping up with changing e-mails and new contact information is a huge challenge. Thank you for your help.

MARKET TRENDS

COMPENSATION

THE TORRID PACE

TELECOMMUTING AND FLEXTIME -- IT’S EXPECTED

THE STORY OF JUNE, THE STORY OF AN OFFER -- CHAPTER ONE OF THREE

MARKET TRENDS

This has been an intensely busy and somewhat inefficient few months as the market has continued at a torrid hiring pace. We are being forced into frantic forward motion and making mistakes along way. By we, I mean job-seekers and hiring organizations alike.

The critical factors in this marketplace are:

• At least three good jobs exist for every qualified candidate -- at every level.

• Knowledgeable employers know this and are prepared to move quickly -- perhaps too quickly for job-seekers. Other employers have suffered and lost candidates they wished to hire (perhaps two or even three times for one job).

• Employers are now "selling" candidates on joining the company before they know if they actually want to hire the individual.

• The pace of the hiring cycle is now as short as two weeks, even for corporate hires.

• The response rate to a good resume is 24 hours.

• Candidates who just start to explore job opportunities are finding they are completely swept up by the pace.

• Hiring organizations are so short-staffed they will hire under-qualified, average performers and pay competitive market rates.

• Salaries and benefits are holding at the levels achieved this past spring. Signing bonuses are virtually a given as part of any offer and have become so substantial that companies are writing clauses in offers to protect themselves if a candidate leaves in less than one year.

• The average time to determine if a move to a pre IPO dot com is a good one, is from six to nine months.

• Now that we are in the second wave of the dot com cycle, the risks involved are becoming clearer and candidates are more selective about moving.

• Corporate opportunities are coming back in vogue.

• Agency positions are available everywhere and there is a feeding frenzy for good candidates open to considering agency jobs. Offers are made within days. Agencies are monitoring sites for resumes and responding in numbers that are overwhelming for candidates.

• The areas where agency needs are the greatest continue to be at the Manager (five+years ) to Director levels (8-12 years of experience).

• Career tracks, always jumpy in high tech markets, are becoming even more unstable -- staying one year in a position is the norm. Agencies hope to keep their junior to mid-level staffs for two years; three years is exceptional.

• Dot coms have created a demand for a hybrid -- the Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations. It has been rare up until the past six-months to find jobs that combine both disciplines.

• The appeal of taking a company public/creating tracking stock has ushered in a time for the ascendancy of the IR function beyond its accustomed place as a partner in the marketing/communications mix. It has become (in a limited but growing number of situations) a CEO priority.

• Salaries, signing bonuses, stock options, vesting programs -- the offers are becoming more complex and waiting periods are shrinking; month to month vesting after the first year is being offered more frequently.

• Growth, traffic and congestion have constricted commuting distances; jobs are in the wrong place for Bay Area homeowners; employers are becoming more flexible about telecommuting and flextime.

While I’d like to take the time to discuss all of these ideas, I’ll comment about several critical trends.