The markets are in turmoil and every day I am hearing more stories of IT executives getting laid off.
More than stories, I am getting calls from friends and friends of friends of people that just got laid off and they are asking for advice and if we have any roles for them here at NewConfig.
If you find yourself in the same situation as the people above, then the advice in this email is for you. You can also pass this advice on to anyone else you know in a similar situation.
You were the crème de la crème. The Cream of the Crop. Some of the highest-paid employees in the firm. You know how to navigate the corporate world and succeed. You make more money than many businesses.
You have options. Many options. In this email, I want to discuss some of them. This is not an exhaustive list since every circumstance is different, but it may get you to think of things you have not considered yet.
Golden Parachute?
If you were with the company for many years, most likely, they have given you some sort of compensation package for you leaving. This is usually about a month of pay for every year served. For example, if you worked for five years, you would get five months of pay.
My advice is to use this golden parachute on the job market by not decreasing the base salary you want for at least two months before the parachute runs out.
This gives you more time to negotiate and makes you more comfortable and relaxed during the interviews. You have less to worry about if you are still getting paid.
Once your parachute has only about two months left, then I want to lay out three options for you as an IT Executive. In this example, I will discuss an IT Director, but this can apply to an IT Manager, Senior Manager, or a VP too:
1. Look for Full-Time options as an IT Director in your area. This is the obvious choice. While you are still being paid by the company, I do recommend you put down you still work there since technically, they are still paying you.
Passive job seekers are much more in demand than active job seekers. Not sure why, but it is what it is. You can even look for a VP of IT role or a step down to Senior Manager if the pay is similar. All depends on the size of the organization.
If you cannot find something within two months, a huge bargaining chip you can pull out is salary.
You can lower your salary requirements and get more interest. Law of Supply and Demand: the lower the price, the higher the demand. However, I do not recommend this until your parachute is running out or you have been searching for 2-3 months with no results.
2. Consulting: Accenture, Deloitte, Cap Gemini, KPMG, TCS, etc. Consulting companies will you pay as much and in most cases, even more than Fortune 1000 companies. The caveat is that you have to travel. A lot. It’s less travel than it used to be. It used to be very week. Now it is about 2-3x a month.
3. Independent Contractor Option: I would not recommend this unless it’s 100% remote and if you are running out of options. Independent Contractors usually pay between $80/hour to $120/hour. That is between $160,000 a year to $240,000 a year, which is similar to what you were making before you were let go. However, there are no benefits. No vacation time. No 401k. You are in business for yourself. Contractors are hired fast, and they are fired fast too. They are the first to go when the project is complete since they are the most expensive.