Connected Consultants Earn More

Are you a consultant who wants to earn more money? Then connect with your boss electronically. While it might sound like cyberspace brown nosing, it seems consultants who are constantly e-mailing and instant messaging feel more connected to their teams, have a clearer understanding about the direction of projects and attain higher billable hours, more gigs and, not coincidentally, higher pay. That’s the conclusion Kevin Purdy reached on Lifehacker, citing an IBM and MIT study.

A detailed study of 2,600 IBM workers’ communications found those with “strong connections” to their bosses over IM, email, and social networks generate noticeably more billable hours.

The researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and IBM looked at email, IM buddy lists, social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook, and every other communication protocol of thousands of workers over a year. They derived from all that bit-passing a theory that there’s a sweet spot involving an experienced, knowledgeable manager, or a very small group of them working with bigger teams, and workers who build “strong ties” to them:

“Receiving targeted and useful information directly from the manager with minimum information distortion, consultants with strong ties to management are even more likely to complete a project. This forms a virtuous cycle where strong connections to managers increase the chance of accomplishing a project, which then enhances a consultant‘s reputation and attracts even more connections to project managers.”

From their giant pile of data, the researchers average out that workers with “strong ties,” i.e. constant communication with the right people, earned $588 more per month than the average of the 2,600 consultants, while those with “weak ties” drew $98 per month less than the average. That drop, the study suggests, is due to consultants feeling confused about the direction of projects from contradictory management advice, multiple and mixed work requests, and, in the case of those avoiding contact altogether, otherwise feeling disconnected from the project direction. Also notable in the study is a finding that having a multiple general connections to colleagues at the same level doesn’t really show a monetary benefit.

Consultants should defer to the communication mode and frequency preferences of the project manager, but when in doubt, choosing to communicate more rather than less seems to be better for your boss and your pocketbook.

Talking Salary

It’s considered one of the toughest interview questions, and it’s going to get even tougher. Companies are in a cost-cutting mode, often filling positions at lower salaries than they paid previous employees. During phone interviews, recruiters also are making it the first question as way to weed out candidates.

What’s the question? Something along the lines of, “How much do you want?”

If you this is the first question you hear in a telephone interview, some career consultants suggest you decline to give a specific number until you have a better understanding of the role, the company and the total compensation package that may be involved. But that approach may not always work.

If the person insists, then offer a salary range. But make sure you do your homework. Judy Feuerherm, career management practice leader for Right Management Northeast operations, advises people to do their research on what the market pays for the role you’re  trying to obtain. “Call people at similar levels and network,” she says.

You also can ask the recruiter for the salary range to make sure you’re not eliminating yourself as a candidate. “A good recruiter is going to give you information so they are making the right match,” Feuerherm says.

Health Insurance Alternatives After COBRA

Michael Feinberg has worked as an IT contractor for several years, so he’s familiar with the headache of paying for health insurance out of his own pocket. Lately, his software architect consulting jobs have been shorter, as companies limit project gigs from around six weeks to three months. That means Michael’s gone from paying quarterly bills on his Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance premium (for a family of three) to monthly payments.  It’s more expensive, but he feels he has no choice.

For the multitudes who’ve been laid off,  the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is an option to continue with the health insurance offered by their previous employer. But what do you do when the 18-month COBRA time limit is up? “You have to think of it like a tree,” says Bettina Seidman, principal of New York-based Seidbet Associates. “There are a lot of options available as you move from business to business.”

Seidman says some fraternal or freelance organizations offer health insurance as an option for their members. For instance, Maberliz Baez, membership service manager for the Workmen’s Circle, a Jewish Fraternal Organization, says her group once offered health insurance for non-employee members. Now, it’s researching a way to reinstate it.  “We are looking into that option now,” she says.

Other options include Freelancers Union or the U.S. Federation of Small Businesses.

Do you know of any others? Share them by posting a comment.

Taking Hits: Training & Tuition Reimbursement

When times get tough, chunks of compensation packages typically go by the wayside, things like annual raises, bonuses, 401(k) matching.

So what about on-the-job training and tuition reimbursement. Are companies scaling back those too? “Unfortunately, the answer is yes,” says Jerry Luftman, distinguished professor and associate dean at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and vice president of academic affairs for the Society for Information Management, for which he conducts an annual survey of members IT budgeting and staffing plans. “Companies that have not had any tuition reimbursement caps are starting to put caps in place.”

While such moves may have short-term benefits, he worries about the long-term repercussions. “It’s a way of saving, but it’s a demotivator for getting their employees up to speed in the skills they need to be successful, and to make a really valuable contribution,” he says. By contrast, “it’s such a huge motivator when times are tough, to invest in your employees.”

Of course, he acknowledges, sometimes such cuts are absolutely necessary. “I understand if you need to make a tradeoff between training or educating somebody, and firing people – that’s a balance.”

Even with the downturn, however, there’s typically still some tuition reimbursement. “No one has pulled it back entirely,” Luftman says. And while fewer companies are footing an employee’s entire tuition bill, he estimates half still pick up the whole tab.

Interestingly, while the economy may be in shambles, Luftman says the typical student profile, as well as enrollment levels, seem to be holding steady at Stevens. “Eighty percent of my students are working professionals, with the average being about 10 years of experience,” he says. When it comes to enrollment, “we’ve not really seen the numbers go down here.”

Want a Raise? Prepare, as well as Perform

This isn’t the easiest time to ask for a raise. In fact, it’s hard to imagine many people even thinking about it right now, unless they’ve been ignoring anything resembling the news for the past three or four months. But then, when you think about it, you realize events might put some in the uncomfortable position of having to. I think about a friend of mine whose spouse recently lost her job, cutting their family’s income nearly in half. And, even in this environment, there are people who’ve just got a really impressive sense of their value.

Whatever the motivation, remember two things if you want to ask for a raise this year: It’s possible, but even if you get one, it’s probably not going to be as much as you want. That, at least, is how Dana Mattioli of The Wall Street Journal sees it. Among other things, she notes most raises will got to top performers: “So if you plan to ask for one, make sure you’ve done an honest self-assessment about whether you’ve made significant contributions in 2008,” she writes.

As always, you want to make a strong case for yourself when you talk to your boss. This year, that means pointing out where you’ve saved the company money, brought in new business or in general gone beyond the call of duty. The more specific you are – especially in areas that touch the bottom line – the more solid the ground you’ll be on.

And there’s this, which is a point I think many people don’t consider:

Contrary to what many workers might believe, bosses in this climate are eager to hold on to strong workers, so they may be willing to find a way to increase compensation of valuable people, says Jack Chapman, a salary coach in Chicago. “They have fewer people, higher costs and thinner margins, so bosses are really appreciative of people who can step up and contribute,” he says.

Whatever you do, and even if your request is turned down, take the long view:

If your request for a raise is turned down this year, take it in stride and consider a longer-term view. In the interim, many experts agree that now is the time to position yourself for promotions and raises once the economy stabilizes. “The market actually affords career opportunities, because businesses are highly focused on solving problems and if you can help solve those problems you become integral to the organization,” says Jeff Summer, principal with PricewaterhouseCoopers and lead of the accounting firm’s talent-management practice. Mr. Summer advises figuring out what your organization’s goals will be in the coming year and aligning your skills to help them adjust to the difficult market.

Negotiating Salary in Tough Times

So far in 2009, job seekers in the Dice Discussions have been more upbeat in their comments about the IT job market. The good news: More job seekers posed salary negotiation questions during January, because they were requesting advice to help negotiate job offers. The bad news: Job seekers were often stymied, because employers wanted to hear their minimum salary request, sometimes after just one interview, and once the job seeker named their price, the discussions ended.

Even the bad news contains a thread of good news for job seekers according to Calum Coburn, global managing director for The Negotiation Experts, a negotiation training and consulting firm, and author of the article “32 Salary Negotiation Tips.” Assuming your requested salary was within the market range, an employer’s refusal to negotiate could indicate they just can’t afford the talent and experience they need. Coburn says it’s better to have found this out sooner rather than later, so you can move on to more viable prospects.

“When an employer asks a prospect to name their rate, it’s usually good news, because it means they’re interested,” says Coburn. “The bad news is that it could mean they are just kicking the tires; they aren’t really serious about making an offer, or they are just on a fishing expedition, to see if they can afford someone of your caliber.”

Salary negotiations will undoubtedly pose challenges this year, so here are a few negotiating tactics to help you come out ahead:

• Do your homework:  Know the market rate for your skill set and how you stack up, before entering into negotiations.
• Find an inside source: Coburn suggests job seekers solicit compensation intel from a company employee who’s not involved in the hiring process. Knowing the company’s general compensation structure, philosophy and market position will help you plot your negotiation strategy and determine your compensation request.
• Negotiate in-person: Ideally, job seekers should negotiate face-to-face, so they can read the negotiator’s body language and engage them in a back-and-forth discussion. If you are asked to name your rate, ask the negotiator if they have a range in mind before naming your price.
• Know your price: If you don’t have all the information you need to make a firm demand, (such as the cost of benefits, etc.) qualify your request by stating that based upon the information you have today, this is the salary you’re requesting. If you quote a range, be sure you can live with the lowest salary you quote.
• Have options: The more irons you have in the fire, the better you’ll negotiate. Even part-time or contract work will help you negotiate with confidence and walk away from negotiators, who are just kicking the tires.

Some ‘Best Companies’ Are (Gasp) Hiring

Fortune magazine is out with its annual publicity-generating list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, and the headline-grabbing fact is that many of them are hiring. In fact, 20 of the companies have more than 350 openings each. While IT obviously plays some role at every business on the list, it’s interesting to scan through the winners to see who the real stars are.

Some readers have noted Google dropped from its perennial perch at number 1 to number 4 after cutting some perks. That opened up the top spot for North Carolina-based NetApp. Cisco, Qualcomm, and SAS are all in the top 20. The highest ranking dot.com other than Google is online shoe store Zappos, which is celebrated for its exceptionally loosey goosey work atmosphere.

Keep in mind this list isn’t the “100 companies with the most job openings.” In fact, some, such as Google, are actually laying people off. The list’s real value is in seeing what perks are surviving in tough times, and how the best employers treat their employees even when profits are drying up. You can sort the list to see who scores high for telecommuting, health and child-care benefits, sabbaticals, and more. Maybe that information can help you determine what you should be expecting from your own company… and what you shouldn’t expect.

IT Salaries Spiked in 2008, Despite Slowdown

There’s no doubt the economy has people worried about their jobs. If they’re not afraid of losing them, they’re wondering about raises, or whether their pay might be cut. But here’s an interesting note: According to Dice’s annual salary survey, technology professionals in various cities are seeing a spike in salary increases.

Overall,the average IT salary rose 4.6 percent last year, to $78,035. True, the economic spiral was just gaining momentum when the survey was conducted between August and November, but still, that’s a pretty good number. What’s up with that? Tom Silver, Dice’s SVP & CMO (and, ultimately, our boss), noted, “Today many technology professionals are seen as core assets where they work.” In other words: Tech is in the business mainstream, and companies need their IT staff to keep their doors open. Pay is reflecting that.

As is typical in these things, some cities experienced a bigger increase than others: Charlotte saw a jump of about 15 percent, to an average IT salary of $81,426. St. Louis salaries rose about 13 percent.  New York had an increase of 5.8 percent, Chicago 3.8 percent, and both Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., experienced 3.6 percent rises.

Most tech professionals (22 percent) are concerned about keeping their skills up to date. Job elimination is the big worry for 20 percent, lower salary increases for 14 percent, cancelled projects for 12 percent and increased workload due to staff cuts concern 10 percent. Here’s something else you might expect: In the fourth quarter, Dice saw a 67 percent increase in the number of resumes posted to the site, year-over-year.

The CIO’s Four Promises

Tough times demand committed management. Over at CIO Insight, writer (and CIO) John Parkinson isn’t going to take this recession lying down. In an op-ed piece, he outlines the steps he’ll take as he faces managing through the recession. “There are ways to cope with the inevitable desire to pull back investments and either slow down or cancel projects,” he says. Here are some of his ideas.

First, tough economic times are not an excuse to go after your technology vendors. I want my key vendors to continue working with me when things turn up, so I need to keep them engaged now. I am, however, going to expect some degree of shared sacrifice.

Second, I will focus on hanging on to my best people. If I take care of them now, they’ll remember that when things improve and there are more opportunities outside our company. I probably won’t be able to do much for them financially, but I can invest in recognition programs and, even more important, in training programs to build skills and interest for the future.

Third, I’m also going to focus on the things we do in IT that help the business defend revenue and maintain margins. I like to think that we always do this, but there can be many distractions when things are going well. So we will increase the level of scrutiny on every project and focus even harder than usual on the cost levers that we have to work with.

Fourth, I’m going to look at our core spend in several areas to see what I can eliminate, reduce or defer without hurting operational performance or stacking up major problems for later.

“All in all, it’s going to be an interesting year,” he says.

Indeed.

Hot Skills and Certs

Supply and demand, not certification, continues to be a primary driver of premium pay for IT professionals. Data from the third quarter IT Skills & Certifications Pay Index, a survey conducted by research firm Foote Partners, shows the need for blended business and technical skills  mean certifications have less clout during negotiations.

“Certifications are important in some highly technical areas like security, but in most cases, they serve as a tie breaker when employers are considering candidates with equal experience and similar backgrounds,” says David Foote, CEO and chief research officer for Foote Partners.

Foote adds the reputation and technical competency of the certification provider garners value in the marketplace, so candidates should consider vendor-dependent programs when contemplating an investment in certifications.

After the jump: In-Demand Customer Facing Skills