Money is Arbitrary

And still necessary

In the end we all need each other.

That’s what keeps running through my head.

I came to write about salaries and how to negotiate around them and all I can focus on is - humanity. My humanity. Your humanity. OUR collective humanity.

That’s not going to get you a job, it may make your job feel worthwhile.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Layoffs are happening at a rapid rate. The faster companies grow and hire, the faster they dump manpower (i.e., humans) when the shareholders get antsy about performance and bottom lines and profits. Gone are the days of ramping up slowly and building experience and meaningful corporate stories.

Not an economist, I observe. I watch companies large and small with curiosity. As a result I see patterns. Others could see the patterns too if they want. It’s all about paying attention - to what the humans are doing and how they seem to be feeling. I anticipate the dumping of large amounts of people (easier to get rid of than equipment I’m afraid).

I’ve been a recruiter at that fire-sale.

When companies like Nike and Google and Docusign and Estee Lauder and Tesla (and a dozen + more) reduce their workforces by thousands. Bright, competent people who were being paid more than the market could bear are suddenly hitting easy apply while they try to wrap their head around being unemployed.

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

And this is how we get to salary negotiations and candidates getting frustrated that they cannot find a job that pays their old salary and offers all the perks to which they’ve become accustomed. It seems cruel, doesn’t it?

Money is arbitrary.

It’s a means to an end. Not the end.

Companies determine what they can get with their money.

When the money dries up (or slows down) they tighten their belts and let the chips (humans) fall where they may.

It’s a spiral.

You get picked up by a BIG NAME dream company and cannot believe how much they are going to pay you to do a job that you are (at first) vaguely competent at. You believe them when they tell you the story of what will be your tenure and growth plan and you promptly invest the first two paychecks in a bigger place to live or a new car (or both!).

Soon you realize not only are you more than competent at your job, you’re picking up the work of the three other people they kept promising to hire.

Then you’re not able to sleep, have dinner with your family or attend your aunt’s funeral because … work.

During your review you got a bump and more shares that will vest after 7 years. Not enough to pay the big debts off but enough to help you feel like you are being noticed.

Then the economy switches direction.

The anticipation of a big launch for the newest thing that you and your team have been creating is falling flat and your company CEO has to make the hard decision to tighten the belt and let you all go.

There are definitely MBAs and Economists and professors that can paint a more SPECIFIC picture. In the end all their analysis removes the individual human from the equation.

If you’re applying for jobs that are a close fit to your experience and competencies and recruiters are calling - you’re doing something right! If you’re gasping at the potential salaries of those jobs because they are below what you were making before the layoff, you’re likely caught in a fire sale.

The recruiter is in the unique position of having nearly too many ideal candidates for each opening (think of all your amazing colleagues who also applied for this same job!). The recruiter’s company has a set budget (because they don’t want to end up having to tighten their belt in 18 months time!) and the recruiter needs to say within that salary band.

This is why you find yourself choosing between moving forward to a series of interviews or mindfully removing yourself from the running due to the pay band.

Only you can decide which is the right answer for you.

My goal here is to give you a realistic look at WHY the jobs you may be seeing are so far below what you were making before.

If you want to talk more about your particular situation - schedule here.

As always. You are valuable beyond your job title. You are meaningful to those whose lives you touch every day. Never let your work blind you to the humanity all around you.

Hugs,

Peggie

Here’s a template you can adapt and use to reach out to new connections on LinkedIn. This is useful for gaining insight about a company before or after you apply, and for meeting others in fields that are adjacent to yours. These folks tend to be great referral sources for job openings!