I think we all must agree that there are very positive signs in the economy as a whole and the research industry in particular as of late. Client-side spending on MR suppliers is up while the clients wait for increased economic comfort levels before beefing up internal MR staff. This is a familiar cycle- spend more on short term supplier MR before investing in longer term in-house talent. Then after a time the client-side CFO’s have a cardiac over the huge MR vendor checks going out and the pendulum swings back to more in-house MR and curtailed supplier budgets.

For now, the big supply-side boys are celebrating huge increases in revenues, and the mid-sized and boutique firms are bullish about plans for growth. Hiring has picked up markedly since the down days of ’08 and the competition for talent, while never easy, has intensified.

A decent time to contemplate a move? First question to answer honestly- why are you thinking of a move? Money? Quality of life? Ambition and career growth? Before you jump, let’s look at each critically.

Money & Quality of Life

A recent conversation with a talented MR veteran was enlightening. Case in point: loves their boss, loves their job, but feels underpaid in relation to newer, younger hires. They’re calling me about new opportunities, and I’m doing everything I can to convince them that a great boss and great job can’t easily be replaced!

I’m the first to tell people not to change a job for money, with one caveat: unless you’re grossly underpaid. Even then you need to think twice... three times! Quality of life does not necessarily come with more money, so make that proverbial list of what’s important in your life and act accordingly. Feel free to call us for intel on MR jobs and compensation- no charge!

And you managers out there, listen to what’s under the surface and do what you can to keep good talent. Too often managers try to squeeze budgets by holding off raises, but it winds up backfiring because the talent leaves and the replacement talent winds up being more expensive anyway!

The average replacement hire costs a company tens of thousands of dollars in lost productivity while they search for, hire, and train new talent. A recent study even pegged the average time to replace talent as down to 72 days from 84 days a few years back! Wouldn’t that money and time be better spent (and probably less) if you took care of your good employees instead of watching them walk out the door in frustration? And read this twice: IT ISN'T ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY. Find creative ways to reward your good talent and make sure they know they’re appreciated.

Ambition & Career Growth

Most candidates who call me are looking for a raise as part of their move, and many want to move up too. It’s the “I want it all, and I want it NOW” generation! Over the last few years, offers with raises built in were more rare, though that seems to be loosening up again. The truth is, your best shot at moving up to more responsibility is with your current employer (assuming you’re excelling in your job). Few employers will hire someone who was really good at assembling widgets and put them right into a management job. If you feel like you’re hitting the ceiling where you are and there is no remedy, set your sights on a similar job elsewhere but one with a built-in opportunity to gain experience for that next step up.

Meanwhile, avoid another career pitfall: getting stuck in a job rut. Think of the guy who aspires to learn management but is so good at putting those damn widgets together that his boss can’t afford to lose him. He has made himself irreplaceable! Point being: unless you’re happy doing the same thing for eons, keep your interest in career growth top-of-mind. Your boss (and sometimes your bosses’ boss) needs to know that you aspire to more. If they don’t listen, it’s inevitable that sooner or later you’ll be gone- not just from that job but from that company.

You should have conversations with your boss at least twice a year about what is needed to prove your worthiness for a promotion, raise, etc. How are you measured and how are you doing? What is the next goalpost? Do you need to help in grooming your replacement? Without another great widget guy to fill your shoes, you can be sure they won’t promote you out of that essential job.

Beyond All That

Whether you’re ready to move now or not, it’s a wise move to have trained eyes in the marketplace with your best interests in mind. We have relationships with far more candidates who are perfectly happy where they are than we do with those itching to leave their jobs! Either way, you should be on our radar, and we should have a feel for what your next step might look like- what you like and don’t like in your job.

We’re constantly trolling for opportunities- advertised and unadvertised- and can alert you when we see something of interest to you. You can let us know ‘thanks, I’m doing fine’ or you can ask for more details. The only thing that we ask in return is the occasional ‘who might you know?’ help in expanding our network in search of talent.

Our goals are two-fold: helping our clients maximize their bottom lines by finding top talent, and helping candidates find great opportunities for growing their careers and improving their quality of life. When we win, everybody wins. Sounds fair enough, huh?

Thanks for your time- comments always welcome...