In this issue...

Job Links
Poultry Jobs
Dairy Jobs
Equine Jobs
Swine Jobs
Companion Animal Jobs

Happy Holidays!

Everybody at the Animal Science Monitor would like to wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday season.  Bringing you the ASM are executive recruiters Dan Simmons and Don Hunter, editor Matt Deutsch, and Web designer Beth Hilson.  Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to another great year in 2006!

Be Compensated For What You’re Worth in 2006
(By Dan Simmons)

The term “worth” is a very subjective word.  But as far as your value as an employee or candidate, you can determine, and to some extent dictate, what you’re worth to a company.  With 2006 looming on the horizon, this is a good time to take a personal audit of what you believe you’re worth, either to the company for which you currently work or to a prospective employer in the marketplace.

After you complete that audit and self-analysis, the next step is taking whatever action is necessary to ensure that you’re compensated as you believe you should be.  In order to help you do just that, below is a checklist of things to consider while conducting your analysis.

1. It’s a candidate’s market.  Act like it.  As most of you well know, it’s not always a candidate’s market.  But when it is, it can be sweet indeed.  Now is that time.  Companies are willing to pay for top talent and for the opportunity to fill important positions with highly qualified individuals.  In other words, you hold the cards—you have what companies want, namely your abilities and skills.  Consequently, you are in a position to seek the compensation you believe you should command.  So don’t be afraid to do so if a company offers you a position.

2. You only have your time to sell.  Get the most for it.  There are only so many hours in a day, and you spend roughly one-third of those hours working.  Once you work them, you’ll never get them back, so make the most of them.  Stated another way, be compensated as much as possible for the time that you’re spending for your employer.

3. Evaluate your current situation.  There are a lot of different things factored into this evaluation.  Before you start, though, keep in mind there are some forms of compensation that are pretty much standard for all companies.  These forms (in addition, of course, to salary) include health insurance, life insurance, 401k plans and/or other retirement options, incentive plans, profit sharing, and performance bonuses, as well as what are called “convenience benefits,” which I’ll discuss more in depth below.  And that’s not all.  You should also expect to receive regular evaluations and consistent feedback on the quality of your work and honest and fair treatment from your employer.  These last two points aren’t often viewed as forms of compensation, but those employees who aren’t receiving them might beg to differ.

Now compare and contrast this list of benefits against what you currently receive at your present employer.  Are you being compensated the way you should be?  Perhaps you don’t really know how well your employer stacks up against the industry norm, especially in terms of salary.  If that’s the case, I’d be happy to provide you with information regarding the forms of compensation (as well as the levels) you should expect at your current position and at this stage of your career.  You can email any questions you have to dan@consearch.com.

4. Compensation other than money.  In this day and age, there are other perks associated with a job besides money.  In fact, in many instances, money can be as low as second or third on an employee’s list of priorities.  For some people, though, money is the most important form of compensation.  For others, like working parents, flex time is more crucial.  Or perhaps you value a certain company culture over another.  Some companies even provide legal counseling for their employees, a fitness center, and an on-site oil changing service.  These “convenience benefits” can help to reduce employee stress and make workers more productive, loyal, and satisfied.

Whatever they might be, it’s important for you to ascertain which forms of compensation are the most important to you and then rank them in appropriate order.  If you don’t conduct this internal inventory, it will be more difficult for you to convey to an employer what compensation will be required in order to secure your services.

5. If you aren’t taking care of you, nobody probably is.  This is a harsh reality, but it’s true.  It’s the goal of many companies to acquire the best talent possible at the smallest cost possible.  (And from a business point of view, can you really blame them?)  What that means is this: you’re ultimately responsible for going after a compensation package commensurate with your worth.

Workers who believe they are being compensated for what they’re worth (in whatever form that compensation may take) are often those who are the most satisfied with their employment situation.  If you believe you’re not being compensated for what you’re worth, take the steps above to help get you where you want to be.  As I mentioned earlier, if you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them for you.  Just send me an email at dan@consearch.com.

Happy Birthday to Us!

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Animal Science Monitor newsletter.  We would like to thank all of you who have been loyal readers of our publication, especially those who have taken the time to write us with your comments and suggestions.  Your feedback is very important to us, as it is our main goal to produce a newsletter that meets the needs of our readership.  With that in mind, we encourage you to provide feedback regarding the ASM during its first year of existence.  What things did you like, and what things did you not like?  We’d like to know your thoughts.  Please email any feedback you might have to matt@mattdeutsch.com.

New Opportunities for a New Year
(By Matt Deutsch)

Are you completely satisfied with your job?

That’s a rather straightforward question, but also a very relevant one since 2006 is rapidly approaching.  A new year brings with it allusions to a fresh beginning and a clean slate.  (What New Year’s Resolution have you made?)  That clean slate can certainly apply to your current employment situation, or perhaps more appropriately, the quest for your ideal employment situation.

There are two aspects of the current economy that have proven themselves to be true: 1. There are many people in the workforce right now who are unhappy with their present positions, and 2. There are exciting and attractive opportunities that exist.  Unfortunately, the first aspect is the one that is often all too evident, and the second one might appear hidden to the layman’s eye.

‘Hidden,’ but not invisible
So how do you find these “hidden” opportunities?  The tricky part is that these opportunities, especially the premium ones, are not distributed through the usual media outlets.  By usual media outlets, I mean the classified ads in a newspaper (including the online version of the paper) or the open positions that are listed in professional journals.  And when utilizing an online job board to help conduct your career search, remember that choosing a specialized site is often more effective.  A lot of time and energy can be wasted with a larger, more general site.  As a result, consistently checking a specialized board like the one that exists at www.animalsciencejobs.com can help you to find positions that are more on target with what you’re seeking.

We’ve advocated the importance of networking before in The Animal Science Monitor, and its importance bears repeating.  In order to discover employment opportunities that are below the radar, so to speak, creating and maintaining a network of contacts is essential.  These contacts include previous co-workers, college professors, and friends who already work in the industry.  Keeping in touch with these people on a regular basis and inquiring about possible openings and opportunities will help you to maximize the ultimate effectiveness of your search.

In addition to your regular networking, don’t forget to touch base with somebody who’s in the trenches day in and day out and knows your industry thoroughly.  That somebody is an executive recruiter.  The owners and publishers of the Animal Science Monitor, Dan Simmons of Continental Search & Outplacement, Inc., and Don Hunter of Bay Resource Group, are two recruiters with a combined total of 23 years of experience.  Dan and Don have enjoyed considerable success placing candidates in positions ranging across a wide variety of fields and disciplines, including the Animal Science industry.

By way of illustration
So why exactly should you align yourself with a recruiter?  What scenario might pop up that would necessitate such a relationship?  The problem is that most candidates aren’t even aware of how companies approach filling their top positions.  As a result, they’re not aware of how a recruiter can help introduce them to exciting new opportunities.  Below is a sample scenario that illustrates the importance of aligning yourself with an executive recruiter.

“XYZ Company, one of the top companies in its industry, is about to institute a change in its ranks, a restructuring that will require the hiring of between three and five new employees.  But XYZ doesn’t want to attract a lot of attention, both outside the company or within it, until the time is right.  They certainly don’t want to deal with a flood of resumes (many of them unqualified) that advertising the position through traditional media outlets would bring.  However, XYZ has worked with a particular recruiter for a number of years, a recruiter who always seems to find the right candidates for their open positions.  XYZ company doesn’t hesitate to give that recruiter the job orders for its upcoming open positions.  The company’s hiring officials know that the recruiter will not only conduct a professional and low-profile search, they’ll also find highly qualified candidates in a timely fashion.”

In the scenario above, if you weren’t aligned with that recruiter (i.e., have forwarded your resume to that recruiter), what chance would you have of interviewing for those positions?  Not a very good one.  In fact, by the time you found out they even existed, they might already be filled.  Companies engage in this type of hiring practice all the time, unbeknownst to most candidates.  But recruiters just like Dan and Don can help expose you to opportunities that you don’t even realize exist or are about to exist.  Recruiters have spheres of influence with industry and company executives, and as a result they have the power to promote you to hiring managers.  In a sense, being presented to a company by a recruiter is like coming with a credible endorsement before you’ve even had your first interview.

New opportunities—for free!
And the best part of all?  A recruiter will provide this service at absolutely no charge to candidates.  Once the hire in finalized, the company always pays the recruiter’s fee and it never affects your starting salary or any other compensation, for that matter.  When it comes to professional athletes or high-profile models and entertainers, agents always take their cut from their client’s pocket.  In the case of recruiting, the client is the company.  Securing a recruiter’s service won’t cost you a penny.

So, are you completely satisfied with your job?  If the answer is not a resounding “Yes!” then perhaps you should consider making a move in the market.  And Dan and Don can help.  Make sure that your resume is as up-to-date as it can possibly be, and then email it to either dan@consearch.com or brg@charterinternet.com. 

Make 2006 the year your career really takes off.