I’ve had a lot of candidates lately tell me they are interested in making a career transition or are open to considering new roles beyond their existing skill set. While I’m usually a fan of Gumby-like flexibility, it pains me to say now is not the time for plasticity.

Here’s why: the economy still stinks; therefore, organizations are taking very few risks when it comes to hiring. This means they are hiring people who have backgrounds that very closely match the openings on hand.

If you’re old enough to remember Gumby (and, ahem, I’m only old enough to remember Eddie Murphy’s rendition of him), you remember when the economy was good. Ok, maybe it hasn’t been that long. The point is that in the good ol’ days, organizations had the luxury of taking hiring risks. For instance, they might hire a private sector salesman for a fundraising role. Or, they might hire an individual with a lot of creativity, strong writing skills, and not a lick of specific communications experience for a communications manager role. They made calculated risks; and while many of those bets paid off, they could afford it when one crashed and burned.

But now organizations are more risk-averse. They are insisting on candidates who have already held similar positions. If they ask me for a major gifts officer, they want someone who has major gifts experience in a nonprofit setting. If they ask me for an executive, they want a nonprofit manager with proven leadership experience.

So, I hear you, my dear candidates, when you say, “I’m Gumby, Dammit!” But let’s save that pliability for a little later when the economy improves.

Whew! Last month’s tip about providing requested salary information inspired a lot of great feedback! It’s going to take several months to get to all the great ideas, but let me start with the most common question I received: how does one determine an appropriate salary range?

Yikes. That’s like answering, how do you fall in love? Hell, if I know!

I jest. However, determining one’s salary isn’t something you can easily calculate with a simple formula. Rather, it’s a very subjective, imperfect science that involves many factors. Let’s walk through some of the factors hiring managers and candidates should consider when determining salary.

1. Years of experience – How many years have you spent in the working world? Were your roles fulltime? Part-time? Do you have long gaps in between jobs?
2. Work history – What types of positions have you held? What sorts of responsibilities have you had? Did you manage people? What value did you create in these roles?
3. Quality of employers – Did you work for solid, reputable entities?
4. Longevity – How long did you last at each role? Did you have good reasons for making job changes?
5. Salary history – What do you earn now? How has your salary record progressed? Have you been overpaid? Underpaid?
6. Location – Where do you live? What’s the cost of living?
7. Role at hand – What is the new role under consideration? Does it involve more responsibilities than your current role? Fewer? Will it involve a significant change of lifestyle (i.e. lots of travel, long hours, etc.)? How does your work history apply to this role?
8. The market – What does the job market look like? Is there a surplus of talent or openings? How’s the economy? Are organizations scraping by or living as if we’re in the 80s?
9. Now, take all these factors, add in a healthy dose of subjective value, equal parts pride and humility, eye of newt, a pinch of turmeric, and voilà! There’s your magic number.

Right, so you see how complicated this is.

Since I can’t give you a magic number, let me just offer some things to consider as you develop your salary requirements.

• Some people are getting pay increases with new jobs, but many people are making lateral moves or even pay cuts in order to move into stable positions.
• If you’re on the job market now, don’t expect a big pay increase when you take a new role. If you’re currently at 50k, your salary expectations probably shouldn’t be 70-80. A range of 50-60k or 55-65k would be more realistic.
• Perhaps it goes without saying, but if you are currently unemployed, you will have less leverage in salary negotiations.
• If you’ve been in a position without significant raises over the last few years, you shouldn’t feel entitled to a large pay increase in your next role to make up for it. Remember, this is a tough market, and most organizations are tightening their belts.
• Consider the role and the responsibilities of the job. If you’re applying for a position of less responsibility, there’s a good chance you’ll take a pay cut. If you have clear fundraising or revenue-generating expectations, salary might be higher. For many organizations, the value a new hire will bring to the organization relative to other employees is a major factor in determining salary.

Now, if anyone has thoughts on the love question, I’m all ears.

Job hunters, huddle up.

I care about you guys. So, it pains me when I see you do things to shoot yourself in the foot. Namely, when you don’t provide salary information when requested in job postings.

Let’s first think about the main reason nonprofits want your salary requirements up front: they need to know whether you’re in the range they have budgeted for the role. It’s just that simple. There’s no evil conspiracy to tell your ex-wife how much you earn now or to nickel and dime potential hires. It’s just dollars and sense, so to speak.

I’ve heard a gazillion excuses from candidates about why they don’t want to provide salary information. Usually, candidates are afraid to undersell or oversell themselves. However, if you’re employing a salary strategy that marries honesty, reality, and your salary history, then you have nothing to fear but fear itself. So let’s put excuse-making aside and get down to the crux of the biscuit.

When candidates fail to provide requested salary information, hiring managers are left to think that the candidates didn’t pay attention to application directions or that they are unable/unwilling to follow instructions. Now hiring managers will either spend time asking you for the same thing twice or eliminate you from the running for submitting an incomplete application. Either way, you’re not doing yourself any favors by avoiding the salary question.

[Side note: clever statements such as, “I will provide salary information after I learn more about the role.” or “My salary requirements are negotiable.” are equally if not more frustrating to employers than avoiding the question altogether. Not only do these responses fall short in providing the necessary information, but they also send signals that the candidate believes he/she is above protocol.]

So, next time you apply for a job that requests salary information — for the love of Jerry Maguire and trite movie lines — show me the money!

I’ve had a string of strange experiences lately that I want to share with all of you — especially those on the job hunt.

I’m working on a job opening which calls for, among other things, a) knowledge of a particular software program, and b) experience with a specific sort of research. Applications have been pouring in like, um, spaghetti sauce (trust me on this one). But I’m shocked and amazed how few folks are including these key qualifications in their resumes and cover letters. Perhaps more surprisingly, when I follow-up with candidates to ask whether they have these bits of experience/knowledge, many of them actually DO; but they just didn’t take the time to mention them! Baffling, isn’t it?

So this whole thing has me thinking about spaghetti sauce, specifically, Prego, and its catchy little tagline: It’s in there.

When applying for a job, your application package ought to embody the slogan. If you’ve got the required experience, make sure it’s mentioned in the resume or cover letter. If it’s not there, how do you expect hiring managers to know you have it?

Many hiring managers don’t have the time or desire to follow-up with candidates and poke and pry in order to determine if they have the necessary qualifications. They will assume a candidate doesn’t have the experience if it’s not included in the application package, and that is only logical.

So do yourself a favor and create an application package that accurately reflects your background and how it relates to the job at hand. You’ll thank me later. And I’ll respond, naturally, Prego.