- Change in job duties-Throughout your career, job duties, tasks, and responsibilities change. When they do, it is an ideal opportunity for you to renegotiate your employment package.
- Change in qualifications-Many IT professionals continually upgrade their knowledge and skills. As they upgrade their abilities, they increase their marketability in the IT industry. Professionals trained in the latest technologies are very valuable to companies and this expertise provides considerable leverage tor negotiation.
- Length of tenure-Proving your value to an employer can often create good terms for renegotiation. In an industry where employee turnover is so high and skilled staff is difficult to find, employers are often willing to recognize the efforts of a faithful and productive employee.
What Can I Negotiate?
When renegotiating an employment package, it is important to remember that it is comprised of more than just a salary. An employment package is far more complex, making the negotiation process a little trickier.The following list contains some of the negotiable components of an employment package:
- Salary-Salary is perhaps the biggest and trickiest negotiation of them all. Salary renegotiating is that delicate balance between being greedy and underestimating your value. Finding this balance requires a detailed knowledge of your marketability outside of the company as well as your value to the company. Be aware that overestimating your value to the company and your marketability can produce very bad results. At the least, you won't get what you are after, and at the most, you will be looking for a new job.
- Training-After sufficient tenure within a company, some employees renegotiate their employment package to include training. In IT, having training paid for is almost equivalent to a salary increase. IT professionals need to stay competitive and training plays a large role in this objective. Training does not come cheap, so having your employer pay for some or all of your training can be a huge benefit. Some employers, however, are more likely to include a salary increase rather than training because training increases a professional's marketability within the industry. Employers do not want to pay for training and then have their employees move on to greener pastures. In many cases, employers actually require that legally binding contracts be signed by employees to ensure that they get a return on their investment from the training.
- Hours-Although not always open for discussion, some jobs in IT are flexible in the actual number of hours worked as well as when the hours are worked. For those with family commitments, this component can be a particularly important factor.
- Benefits-Many companies offer other benefits including medical, dental, retirement benefits and stock options. Many of these are not negotiable, but it is worth taking a look at them to see if improvements can be made.
- Vacation Time-After spending some time within a company, vacation time is definitely a negotiating point. Moving from a two week a year vacation package to an eight week vacation package may be overly ambitious. However, agreeing on an escalating scale of additional days on a yearly basis can present a valuable perk to you and a relatively painless one to your employer.
- Telecommuting-Many jobs in IT allow for telecommuting and working from home. It is becoming more popular to include working away from the office one or two days a week as part of the employment renegotiation. Although a great number of positions are unsuitable for telecommuting, for those that are, this presents a real incentive over other compensation options such as salary and vacation time.
When It Just Does Not Work Out
Of course, you may be unsuccessful in your negotiations and decide that it is time to move on. Chapter 13 deals with exactly that subject-moving on. Nevertheless, you can hopefully look back on the job that got you started in the IT industry with a degree of fondness. You will always be able to take with you some value from your first job.
So, it's as simple as that. You are now a full-fledged member of the IT community. From here, it is onward and upward. A great deal of very useful information was covered in this chapter. Let's review some major points and try to keep them in mind when you start a new job:
Make good use of the time between getting your job and starting work. Taking care of personal and other business beforehand can help you stay focused on the job and lessen the stress that always comes with starting new job.
Develop a strategy for your first day as well as the first week on the job. This strategy should include making a good first impression by learning the names and job roles of your coworkers, learning more about your company, and learning about the internal operations and procedures. Assess where you and your role in the company "fit in" and how you can best benefit the company as well as your career.
Use your employment probation period to your advantage. This time period allows your employer the chance to evaluate your skills and allows you the chance to prove and demonstrate your value to the company.
Decide very carefully how, when, and why to renegotiate your employment package. As your knowledge and your experience grows, so too does your marketability in the IT industry. Renegotiation is part of the game plan for the IT professional, but it must be approached carefully.
Starting a new job, and potentially a new career, can be an exciting time. Although it may seem like there is a lot to remember, have fun. It may be work, but there is no reason why you cant enjoy it.