Competing in a competitive worker’s market

Truly the hardest thing to do in today’s IT employment market is being competitive. The process of reaching the monetary goal that most Information Technology employees have set for themselves can sometimes be very tough; however, it doesn’t have to be impossible.

A large portion of today’s working IT class is unwilling to take a pay-cut to get a good job. It’s definitely unreasonable for most of us to take more than a 30% cut to be competitive but it’s SMART to find out what the market is offering and make yourself a little less expensive to be competitive against other prospective employees who aren’t even open to a $5 reduction in their consulting rate.

Employers are becoming EXTREMELY choosy and critical of those who come knocking their doors down for work and it’s quite understandable. Other than you, ‘the consultant’ providing important & necessary services for your employers, employers have a lot to offer even if you’re working as a C2C in a consulting engagement.

The most important thing to realize about today’s market is that the number of jobs available pale in comparison to the number of prospective employees looking for work. So next time a recruiter speaks to you about a ceiling rate take those words seriously and make yourself available for a little less to get that job.

--- Mel Aly, IT Recruiter, Documentation Strategies, Inc.