The Monster Blog

Due Diligence and the Job Offer: More Than Salary and Benefits

Success! I have received a job offer from one of the two firms I have been interviewing with. The offer is reasonable in terms of salary and bonus, but, of course, there is more at stake than the total compensation package.

 

So begins due diligence, part two, where I really take a look under the hood of this company.

 

The Firm’s Well-Being

 

Let’s start with my concern about the firm’s technical commitment and support. While waiting in the firm’s lobby for my final interview, I couldn’t help but overhear current employees complain about malfunctioning or non-existent computers. Hopefully, new hires receive new computers.

 

When I was originally researching this company, I discovered their involvement in a significant patent lawsuit. Perhaps this is the norm in their industry, but how often does a patent issue get escalated to a state Supreme Court? That seems unusual to me for what appears to be an otherwise solid manufacturing firm.

 

There are bigger picture questions that linger in my mind, too. In particular, a number of skilled folks recently departed the firm in a voluntary downsizing. According to my sources, some of those depleted departments are being “held together with duct tape.” Ironically, the human resources department suffered a 100% voluntary reduction in force. So what motivated many of the key people in this economic downturn to voluntarily leave their jobs? Is there something more at work here?

 

My Well-Being

 

No job offer analysis would be complete without taking a hard look at the health insurance benefits. At first blush, it appears there is no dental coverage. Doesn’t the firm care about the whole health of its employees? Despite the fact that I have seen more impressive company-sponsored healthcare plans, it is better than paying through COBRA for coverage.

 

Perhaps I have been spoiled by past employers who provided both short- and long-term disability. With this firm, I can elect to buy into group long-term disability, but strangely short-term disability coverage is not offered. Fortunately, I am in good health so I don't anticipate the need for any such insurance coverage. But Murphy's Law is always at play.

 

My Career Advancement

 

Finally, the intangible: The prospect of no real professional development. While I am grateful to have this job offer letter in hand, I have to consider that this may not be a linear progression at this stage of my career. But since it’s only a niggling factor, perhaps it’s best to ignore it and just get on with my life and new routine.

 

If you were considering a job offer, what would you want to uncover about your new prospective employer and job?

 

What’s the “New Normal” -- Especially When It Comes to Salaries and My Job Search?

These days, I regularly take 30-minute road trips to job search networking groups, seminars and other job-hunting activities. While employed full time, I used every single moment of my 15-minute commute to be on the phone (hands-free of course) with my sales folks or customers. I hadn’t listened to the radio in 9-plus years, much to the amusement of my stay-at-home girlfriends when comparing notes about favorite songs on the radio a few years ago. But now I routinely listen to business radio, and one term used over and over again is “new normal.” What exactly is that and how does it impact my job search?

If I distill down the term, it basically means the economy’s new center point as related to the stock market and the median salaries. In short, the stock market isn’t what it was before the economic meltdown, and most professions and jobs will not enjoy the same salary scales as previously earned.

The new normal in terms of job salaries is a big discussion topic in my job clubs. In some cases, I have heard of people taking positions at 40% to 60% of their previous pay, primarily given the need for family healthcare coverage. In other cases, I have heard of candidates securing positions equal or greater than their former salaries. Given all the information I’ve heard, it seems the new normal in pay scales can be anywhere between 40% to 120% of previously earned incomes. But everyone needs to remember that behind these figures are the rounds of negotiations and tactics employed within, both by the potential employer and the job seeker.

So what’s my new normal? Certainly, I’d value a bump up in pay, but that may not be realistic with my desire for a manageable commute. I’d also like to negotiate in some additional compensation, like company stock, as well as what used to be considered classic benefits, like a 401K plan with employer matching. So my acceptable new normal, given the competition in my field, would be an overall compensation package that might ring in at 80% to 90% of my previous pay. But don’t forget, another part of the new normal is that more responsibilities are assumed at lower-level job functions with no additional reward.

From what I hear from fellow job seekers, their new normals include longer commutes, fewer perks (if any) and less valuable benefits. I know a few folks who are going back to school for an additional degree instead of dealing with the new normal now. One is going back to school to complete her master’s in education to teach technology, and another has just taken the LSATs to pursue a law degree. Another 2 of my job club buddies are taking certification courses in fund raising to gain entry into nonprofit fund-raising roles. And yet another friend is pursuing his nursing degree.  All of them hope to move their compensation needle upwards by changing careers into other fields while still leveraging some of their experiential underpinnings from the careers to date.

While I had explored retraining or additional coursework earlier in my job search, I decided not to go down those paths given the lack of income for at least a year’s time. Now, given 5 months of job seeking and the new normal, I may see what it would take to earn my pharmacy degree. This strikes me as a rather flexible and always in-demand profession given a recent trip to the local corner pharmacy for some simple prescriptions for my sons.

How have you reconciled the new normal and your job search goals?

The Working Poor

Several years ago, I read a book called Nickel and Dimed. The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, went undercover to take low-skill, low-wage jobs such as hotel maid and waitress to see what life was like for these workers. What she found disturbed me: A culture of people living right under the public radar, struggling while trying to earn a living. I have never forgotten that book or the stories within it.

Unfortunately, while the book was first published in 2001, the working poor still hold a large -- and growing -- place in society. According to this article, Census data reveals the number of jobs paying poverty-level wages increased by 4.7 million between 2002 and 2006. We all know the economy is in the tank now; what’s surprising is the study period was one of relative prosperity, which means the tough times of today bode even worse for those below the poverty line.

It’s easy to think of the poor as jobless and living in a cardboard box. But the reality is that many work just as hard, if not harder, than anyone else, but struggle paycheck to paycheck and often go to bed hungry. One alarming statistic: 40 percent of adults asking for emergency food assistance were employed.

So why talk about this now? Well, today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is poverty. And in a financial crisis, with the holidays coming up and a pivotal presidential election less than a month away, we at the Monster Blog wanted to devote space to the issue.

Want to help? Then educate yourself about the working poor. While there are many agencies that advocate for low-wage workers on a state level, The Working Poor Families Project is a national initiative that deserves a mention. And here is a list from Blog Action Day’s Web site of resources dedicated to fighting poverty. Check it out, and whatever you decide to do, as they say, think globally, but act locally.

In a Tough Economy, Maximize Your Money

Let’s face it: The news has not been good lately. We wake up to a gloomy economic headline every day. Unemployment recently hit 6 percent. The stock market crashed to its lowest levels in years. Consumer confidence is down, and prices and inflation are up.

Times like these can make people edgy, angry and worried, mostly about their personal bottom lines. So how can you make sure you not only survive a tough economy but come out ahead of the game?

Taking control is the first step. These articles will help you maximize your money. And if you have tips on keeping your cool during economic uncertainty, post them in the comments below.

Pro Athletes Do Earn Their Millions

Weep not for Brett Favre and Philip Rivers, whose respective NFL squads, the Packers and Chargers, were bounced from the NFL playoffs over the weekend.

Though Rivers is headed to the operating table and Favre is once again pondering whether to hang up his cleats for good (my prediction: He won't), it's not as if the two men will need to work a second job this offseason just to make ends meet. Favre ($11 million total compensation package) and Rivers ($5 million) were among the NFL's highest-paid quarterbacks this season, according to data provided by Salary.com, which powers Monster's Salary Wizard.

I used to resent the exorbitant salaries that top athletes routinely command. For example, I once would have wailed against the fact that Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young took home just over $13 million (No. 1 among all NFL quarterbacks) in 2007, even though he's played only two seasons and hasn't exactly put up Canton-worthy statistics just yet (21 touchdowns, 30 interceptions and a meager rating of 69.0 through his first 30 games).

But with almost a decade of work experience now under my belt, it no longer bothers me that baseball, basketball, football and, to a lesser extent, hockey players just want the biggest portion of the lucrative pies that owners in today's money-making machines of professional sports leagues are willing to give them. In today's age of multimillion and multibillion dollar TV contracts, state-of-the-art playing facilities and non-stop sales of sports merchandise, you can be sure there's plenty of revenue to go around.

Today, I'm fine with the reality that guys who throw farther, run faster and jump higher than the rest of us can parlay their unique skills into astronomical salaries and a comfortable lifestyle for themselves. After all, if you were in their position, wouldn't you be trying do the same?

And while we're talking NFL, how about a little Super Bowl XLII prognosticating? I see the underdog New York Giants, led by Eli Manning ($6.45 million in compensation in 2007), keeping the score close for a while, but in the end, Tom Brady ($6 million) and the vaunted New England Patriots offense will pull away and win by 10, 31-21.  And hey, come to think of it: A Super Bowl title means a bonus check for the winning team, too!

Meanwhile, here are a few Monster resources that can help you in your next salary negotiation -- even if it isn't for six figures a year:

• "Salary Negotiation Know-How"
• "Be Paid What You're Really Worth"
• "The Negotiation Dance"
• Salary & Negotiation Tips message board

 

Are You Thankful for Your Benefits?

This past Labor Day, I was watching the "Today" show, and in between stories, they were doing some labor trivia. And when they discussed how employers are not legally obligated to provide paid vacation, it just struck me.

I know that paid vacation is not legally required, but I realize that’s a benefit I take for granted. I’d never work somewhere that doesn’t offer vacation to full-time employees. It’s such a must-have for me, that in my head it’s become a given.

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a study on leave benefits, and as of March 2007, only 77 percent of workers had paid holidays and vacations available to them. And this doesn’t even go into other benefits like health insurance.

What benefits make or break a job for you?

For more information, visit our Salary & Benefits section.

Offshoring and You: Why Economic Statistics Matter

The week's BusinessWeek cover story headline, "The Real Cost of Offshoring," promises a tale nearly as juicy and exciting as an offer to see Paris Hilton relaxing in her new digs -- will they call it the Slammer Hilton? -- courtesy of the LA County sheriff. Well, OK, maybe not. That's why they call economics "the dismal science."

But we should all pay attention anyway. BW's offshoring piece is, in fact, about a study of an arcane portion of the economic statistics underpinning the calculation of the US gross domestic product (GDP). Ho-hum? Think again. Susan Houseman, senior economist at W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, has been looking into the impact offshoring has on the calculation of manufacturing productivity statistics, and by extension, US productivity as a whole.

In case you don't read the political policy wonks, rising productivity is a cornerstone of US economic policy and one of the most closely watched economic statistics by Wall Street and Washington. Dr. Houseman's paper "Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Productivity Measurement in U.S. Manufacturing" suggests the impact "mismeasurement and cost savings from outsourcing and offshoring have had on measured productivity growth in manufacturing...is significant." This means the last 10 years of economic policy assumptions and decisions affecting broad areas of the US economy -- like jobs and trade -- might be based on faulty numbers. Oops.

In his blog "Economics Unbound,"  cover story author and BusinessWeek chief economist Michael Mandel describes the issue this way: "Cost gains and productivity improvements in the global supply chain are being credited to the US economy -- in effect, creating 'phantom GDP.' In reality, both domestic GDP and domestic productivity have been growing slower than the official statistics show, and manufacturing is in much worse shape."

Yes, economics matter. And for some resources to help keep your career from being washed offshore, check out:

• "Offshore-Proof Your Career"
• "Ride the Offshoring Wave or Get Washed Away"
• "Where the (Few) Manufacturing Jobs Are"
• From the Monster Blog: "Global Layoffs: Not Just About IT Anymore"
• From the Monster Blog: "Offshoring, Literally"

Related Blog

Careers: You vs. Offshoring   
 

Attention Workers: You Have 180 Days to Rectify Your Paycheck

Have you ever wondered if your current employer (never mind past employers) is providing you with equitable pay? If so, you can file a discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. If you intend to act, however, please note: You must do so within 180 days of your last paycheck, or so sayeth the Supreme Court, in a rigid ruling handed down last week.

The ruling came out of a case filed by Lilly Ledbetter against her former employer, Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Ledbetter claimed that Goodyear underpaid her for years. To her dismay and others, while the Court recognized the wrong done against her, the majority decision rejected Ledbetter’s claim. In his majority comments, Judge Samuel Alito said that Ledbetter should have acted within a 180-day window "after each allegedly discriminatory employment decision was made and communicated to her" to file her suit.

In other words, American worker, the onus is on you to find out if your employer is providing you with equal pay, and if they are failing to do so, you must act within a six-month window of your “paycheck accrual.”

How many of us would be willing to push the envelope with our employer, and in doing so in such short order, essentially risk our job security? What if you discovered, as Ledbetter did, that you’d been below your pay scale for years? Well, dear worker, you’d simply have to fuggedaboutit.

In the Court’s dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the majority opinion “overlooks common characteristics of pay discrimination,” noting that even a small difference in pay “will expand exponentially over an employee’s working life if raises are set as a percentage of prior pay.”

Perhaps judges Alito, Thomas, Scalia, Kennedy and Roberts are unaware of this compound math, or of the continuing pay inequities of working women, to say nothing of discrimination cases that impact the paychecks of minorities in the workplace. What about the majority of working America, workers who, much like Ledbetter, are living paycheck to paycheck, trying to provide for their families? Does the Supreme Court expect them to come forward in a “timely way” to confront the company boss about their paycheck?

Note to the aforementioned Supreme Court judges: Fuggedaboutit.

Informative articles on salary negotiation:

Are You Underpaid?

Renegotiate Your Hourly Rate

Determine Your Value

Related Blogs:

"4Her Information: What she needs to know"

“The Supreme Court Doesn’t Have to be the Last Word”

Summer Movie Economics

The last few weeks in May mark the start of the summer movie season, when Hollywood places big cinematic bets and hopes the seats in front of the screen will be filled with the likes of you and me.

The business of the movie business has always fascinated me, especially after my stint as a theater usher a number of years ago. In fact, I was present for the first great summer movie event -- Jaws -- which began the current summer blockbuster movie approach to filmmaking. I learned that while movie ticket revenues mattered to the studios, sales of popcorn, candy and soda mattered to the folks who run the theaters.

According to this index, the average cost of a movie ticket in the mid-’70s was about $2. Last year's average was $6.55 -- though most of us can't get in to see a film for less than $9 or so. So how long do you have to work to afford a movie ticket?

According to blogger Gary Picariello (looks like I'm not the only person interested in these statistics), the Cinema Index shows the US is the second-cheapest place to go to the movies, after India. It takes just 24 minutes of work to pay for a ticket, based on an average US net hourly income of $15.20. Hmmm.

How about comparing to the minimum wage? Back in the mid-’70s, the minimum wage was $2.10 per hour, so a ticket cost just about an hour's work. But at 2006 prices and minimum wage rates, the average ticket costs more than an hour and a quarter of work time. Add in those snack bar goodies, and the total could be three hours or more.

With budgets now exceeding $300 million per film (or more than the entire GDP of a small country like the Federated States of Micronesia), it's worth considering what a movie is worth to you.

So here are a couple of plugs: You can find the blockbusters everywhere -- but try to go and see Away from Her and The Lives of Others before they leave your neighborhood art cinema. Both are worth the ticket price, no matter how long you have to work to pay for it.

If you'd like to work less to earn the cost of a ticket, consider these salary negotiation resources:

• “Power Relationships and Negotiation”
• “Salary Negotiation Know-How”
• Salary & Negotiation Tips message board 

Related Blogs

• Thompson On Hollywood
• Green Cine Daily
• Movie Economics

Working on Thanksgiving

I've had several jobs that required working over a holiday (movie usher and newspaper reporter, to name two), so I'm always cognizant of those who aren't sitting around the table at home on the holiday. If you stop to think about it, there are lots of people out there working, such as:

• Public Servants: Police, firemen, ambulance drivers, 911 dispatchers, plus all those transit workers.
• Utility Workers: Those who work on power plants, gas pipelines, water and sewer systems, not to mention emergency plumbers on call for those holiday drain catastrophes (been there, unclogged that).
• Travel Workers: Everyone from airline pilots and baggage handlers to turnpike toll takers and, our current favorites, the TSA screeners.
• Hospitality Workers: Hotel staff and, of course, restaurant chefs, waitstaff and helpers, for whom this is one of the big money days of the year.
• Healthcare and Pharmacy Workers: They help us recover from Aunt Minnie's pie -- or worse -- and the caretakers for friends, like Fido, who must stay where they are.
• Soldiers and sailors, spacemen and submariners.
• Reporters and entertainers, sports figures and all the supporting cast members (count me among them).
• Even retail workers and the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline staffers are working on Thanksgiving Day.

While my thanks are not exactly in the same vein as the American Management Association's paean to the Puritan work ethic or Tom Peters' "Tribute to Brand Yous," I'm happy to offer my modest thank you to everyone whose work this and every holiday keeps us safe, on-the-go, well-fed and entertained.

Happy Thanksgiving -- and enjoy your alternate day of celebration -- whenever.