Job Market - How to take advantage of a candidates market

[yoshiblue]

I'm job hunting at the moment, in tech (but I'm not a coder) After 5 years of struggling to progress in my current organisation and with public sector salary that's stagnated, I'm looking for a role on better pay. (Note, I appreciate I am lucky to be in a position where my sector is buoyant and this is not the case for everyone.)

I read this Forbes article last night which talks about how much harder companies are having to work to attract the best talent. I would be keen to hear how others are finding the job market at the moment and how as job seekers they are taking advantage of getting the best new deal.

Personally, so far I've done a few short Linked In courses and have made it my aim not to share salary expectations first, but ask what their budget is for a role. I am conscious women are often paid less than men and I think we often sell ourselves short of what we're worth.

I'm frustrated that so many roles fail to advertise a salary range, it's been quite difficult to gauge the market rate for the type of roles I'm going for.

I am in a selection process with a number of places at the moment and hope when the time comes I can push for a good uplift and make sure I negotiate. I also feel more confident to ask about flexibility on work hours and discussion around other benefits, especially pension contribution.

What other tips do others have to bear in mind?

the best way to get an idea of salary levels is to talk to recruiters. Theres a setting on linkedin you can use to indicate you're looking, respond to messages and look for jobs on there. The linkedin algorithm is quite good, I find as soon as I start looking I get more messages. recruiters should be able to give you an idea of the salary range and where you might fit. plus it saves time as you don't have to write out application letters etc.

in terms of negotiating - having multiple offers is obviously the strongest position to be in. Don't be afraid to ask for more money and if you feel its far too cheeky then you're probably in the right range.

In my area of tech the market was crazy 6 months ago but has now shut down quite a lot and many places aren't hiring. So I don't think it's as much a candidates market as it was a few months ago. Good luck!

@dinkydonky That's a good point re: the Linked In setting. I'm going to see where I get with the processes I'm in at the moment, then try out that setting if needed.

Agree re: some places stopping recruiting, definitely happening in big tech and being widely publicised.

I like the 'ask until it's cheeky' advice - I keep on thinking to negotiate like a man, as men don't tend to hesitate when it comes to this stuff.

Bump for the evening crowd