Beyond frustrated over low compensation offers and what to do next

This post isn't meant to be a rant. I am just really frustrated here and I need some help.

I got laid off from my job about two months ago because of budget cuts (thankfully it wasn't just me). My old employer is really hurting to say the least. I've been sending out resumes and going on interviews like madness. I am sending out about 100 a week and I am getting about 2-3 interviews per week (which isn't bad). Sadly, the compensation offers are a joke. One place was offering $36,000 to $42,000 and another place was offering $42,000 to $48,000. Both of these areas are VERY affluent upscale areas. One place even paid 5 million plus for their building and they've been around for over 25 years.

I didn't kill myself going to college, and taking all of these certifications exams to make this little compensation. Plus I've been working in IT for about 7 to 12 years (depending on how you look at it). I put MCSE and the cities in my area on indeed.com/salary and they all show in the $70+ range.

Last year I decided to go the Exchange route to become a full time Exchange administrator with the goal of making better compensation. I am sick of being a generalist and I want to specialize in something to make better compensation. Since I have a strong background with Active Directory and Windows Server, Exchange seemed to be like a good fit.

So should I continue with what I am doing? Sending out resume, taking interviews, and working on becoming a full time Exchange admin. Or should I go the Cisco networking side of things to make the compensation that I want to make? At times feel that no place will pay me what I want unless I have my CCIE. I know that certifications don't equal a high paying job, but I just feel so trapped and I want to move forward with my life.

I am in my early 30s, I am living with my brother, and I am single. All of my friends who are my age have been married for years with REALLY good high paying jobs. They all have a house, children, and their spouses don't work. They worked hard and everything, but they haven't had to try nearly as hard as I am trying here. I don't think that they've even sent out 100 resumes through their lives. I am trying not to compair myself to others, but it's so hard not to.

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

Everyone

The Shadow wrote: »

Could you please give me an example of this format?

Here you go.

Attachment not found.

Resume 2011 - Messaging - Example.doc

DigitalZeroOne

As at least one person has stated, you really need to counter offer. This happened to me for a job once...my employer at the time asked me how much I wanted to make, I gave them a figure (don't want to disclose how much), they accepted and I knew I low balled myself because they accepted it so quickly.

Well, some time later I spoke with a former co-worker that I remained friends with, I normally don't discuss any type of salary with co-workers, but since we both left, I decided to ask. I told him how much I made, and he told me how much he made. He was making roughly 20k more than I was. Now of course I cannot verify this, but this is someone who I trust does not have to lie to me about a past salary, and I made sure that I only wanted to know his past salary so that I know what to ask for the next time around.

Just so everyone knows, our education and experience was very similar, but he knew what the area was paying and I didn't, so I asked for too little.

Have a good idea of what you want to make upfront, when the employer asks you what you want, you ask them the salary range. Now, they will still probably lie to you and say the range is some low number, and you say, oh, well thanks anyway but I was looking to make x - oh, make sure you increase what you want by a few thousand dollars, so you have room to negotiate. Hopefully, the person will pull the "Oh, let me check with my manager to see if we can pay that", and then they will probably come back with a higher number than before.

I do know that for some people it can be hard to negotiate salary, but it is a worthwhile skill to learn. Remember, you want to make as much as you can, and they want to pay you as little as they can, so don't get upset when they offer you a low salary, just keep cool and say what you want, and why.

techinthewoods

I applied for a job recently in which there was no salary range disclosed. They asked to state your desired salary with your application. I stated what I thought was very reasonable. Never heard anything from them, and I saw yesterday they re-posted the job opening including the salary range this time. The range was half of what I expected.

The Shadow

I've got some things going for next few days. So I'll be back on Monday with an revised resume.

onesaint

I'm in So Cal as well (LA). Your in a tough spot and hopefully your updated resume with the great TE resume advisers will start pulling you in some better leads.

Looking over indeed.com myself, I see twice as many positions in the 40K range (30) as opposed to the 60K range (16), searching for "MCSE Exchange," in our area. I would say you should be looking for a place to get a few more years SA experience under your belt working with a broader set of technologies (ESX, SAN, R&S, etc.). As noted previously, it's the diversified SA that gets the higher pay these days.

Look forward to the updated resume and good luck.

techdudehere

What is the cost of living in S.Cal? You couldn't really live in NYC on those salaries, and I am surprised that your area does not pay better. I'd like to move somewhere with great weather, but I don't see how anyone could survive on 40k/year. It doesn't seem like you would even be able to afford healthy food, much less retire someday. I suppose the nice thing about the West coast is the lack of hurricanes. Perhaps you could move into a mobile home to offset the low salary? In that case, I would expect reduced taxes and no monthly payments. Take that money and put it into your savings and retirement.

The Shadow

I've updated my resume. Here's what I've done so far:

I changed the margins to .25 all the way around
I separated my degree from my certifications
I removed all the bullets related to supporting MS Office
I removed the redundant words such as supported, resolved, and provided
I tried to have as few as bullets as possible

I also combined the dates at the school. I did leave on a full time bases, but I work work there a few hours week; and I am in the middle of a few projects right now. Soon I'll be configuring a Sonicwall firewall for them. Which I am super exited about.

I tried writing a summary above the bullets, but it was really hard. I could either do bullets or a parahgraph, but having a hybrid of the two just wasn't working.

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks again everyone for your support and encouragement!

Attachment not found.

Updated Resume.doc

Everyone

.25 margin is still too small IMHO, shouldn't be any smaller than .5. Obviously .5 means you have some more work to do as that causes spill over for you.

Summary could use more work.

I would highly suggest another go at the paragraphs for responsibilities followed by bullets for accomplishments.

I'm having a hard time with your bullets that start out with "Was in charge of"... something just doesn't sit right with those. Just seems like it could be worded better.

The Shadow

Thanks Josh! Back to the drawing board...hehehe.

Essendon

In addition to what Josh said,

1. Take off the "12 years experience in HelpDesk Support" bit. Before I looked at your resume, I looked at your cert list under your avatar. I was like this dude has an MCSE and MCITP, I'd see a nice resume. Then I saw your resume and you begin with 12 years helpdesk support, I was like 12 years in the HelpDesk, WTF! Instead, just go over 7 years experience in the System/Network Admnistration/Engineering activities or something similar. You complain of being lowballed, yet you are lowballing yourself!

2. Club certs with education? I dont see a need to separate the two.

Otherwise not a bad resume at all, incorporate Josh's points too and you should see a much better resume. Josh has also posted his resume on here a few times, cant find a link. His is a great resume.

onesaint

watch you tenses. For instance with the present employer you've got both present and past tense. :

Document procedures related to Active Directory and Window Server 2008 R2
Provided information technology support for 50 users and 50 workstations

Otherwise, I second what Everyone had to say.

Everyone

Essendon wrote: »

In addition to what Josh said,

1. Take off the "12 years experience in HelpDesk Support" bit. Before I looked at your resume, I looked at your cert list under your avatar. I was like this dude has an MCSE and MCITP, I'd see a nice resume. Then I saw your resume and you begin with 12 years helpdesk support, I was like 12 years in the HelpDesk, WTF! Instead, just go over 7 years experience in the System/Network Admnistration/Engineering activities or something similar. You complain of being lowballed, yet you are lowballing yourself!

Yeah you hit it on the head, exactly why I said "Summary could use more work". Highlighting the 12+ years of overall IT experience is good, but definitely drop the "in Help Desk support"... Obviously if 7 of those 12 years has been in Systems/Network Admin/Engineering, you've specialized in that area.

I had 3 different versions of my resume the last time I was actively seeking new employment, the summary was slightly different for each of them. I also juggled some bullets around. 1 version for Messaging, 1 version for Information Security, 1 version of IT Management. My 3 strongest specialties, and the areas I prefer to work in. I'd send the version that best fit the job I was applying to.

Essendon wrote: »

Otherwise not a bad resume at all, incorporate Josh's points too and you should see a much better resume. Josh has also posted his resume on here a few times, cant find a link. His is a great resume.

I posted it in this thread for him.

I think in the resume example I have uploaded here, I still have "help desk" somewhere in my summary. I know not too long ago I went back and removed that from my actual resume as well as my LinkedIn profile. I realized it was getting me the wrong kinds of hits, and was a bit out of place.

The Shadow

OK here's the latest edition.

I am still working on the paragraphs for responsibilities followed by bullets for accomplishments.

Attachment not found.

Updated Resume 3.0.doc

cknapp78

One way to get around a bunch of short-term contract jobs in a resume is to put in one job title labeled Independent Contractor and then list all the jobs underneath. Make sure to only put in the essentials about each position you held because this section can grow very rapidly. For example, I managed to take 11 short-term contracts on my resume (1.5 pages) and shrink it a half page section. I put just enough details about each position to get recruiters interested. Some may call you and ask for some lengthier descriptions. If they do so, just accomodate them.

Also as a side note, as a general rule, for every $10,000 in salary you are looking for, plan on spending one month out of work. I just started working last week after being out of work 8 of the past 9 months. It sucked, but my family and I pulled through. THankfully I didn't have to wait a year out of work. Good luck. Let me know if I can provide any additional assistance.

CKnapp

The Shadow

Here's the latest edition.

Attachment not found.

Updated Resume 4.0.doc

networker050184

Looking pretty good. I would make your summary a bit more vague and try to talk yourself up a bit more. I wouldn't list exact versions like 2k3 here. I use something like the following on mine.

A highly motivated professional with more than ten years experience in design, implementation and engineering of complex data and voice IP networks. A very quick learner with a proven track record proficient in multiple vendor networking technologies and protocols. Blah blah some more stuff that makes me seem cool.

You get the idea.

Also I prefer to use a couple sentences to outline the responsibilities of the job. Then I use a few bullets under there to highlight achievements and high level projects I've worked on.

The Shadow

Here's what I've got so far for my summary:

A highly motivated professional with seven years experience in systems and network administration. Able to grasps new concepts and technologies quickly and efficiently with a proven track record working in a multiple vendor environment.

networker050184

Looks pretty good to me, but its pretty close to what I use so of course I'll like it.

Should probably get some further input form other members to cut through my bias.

Everyone

Getting better, still needs work, don't give up.

As someone else pointed out, pay attention to what tense you use.

You have "Purchasing" where it should be "Purchased".

The Shadow

I fixed the tense; now what else needs to be changed (other the summary of responsibilities)?

Everyone

Read it out loud and tell me what is wrong with it.

The Shadow

Pretty much everything! like I said its beyond lame. That's why I delete the post, I am too embarrassed by it LOL

The Shadow

OK, heres my new and improved cover letter. My original one was complete garbage, to say the VERY least.

Dear Sir or Madam:

From the <enter web site name> web site I learned about your need for a <enter position title>, I am very interested in this position with <enter company name, if given of course>, and I believe that my education and employment background makes me the ideal candidate for this position, with seven years experience in systems administrating.

After completion of my bachelor’s of science degree in computer information systems, I began working at ZXV School as their technology coordinator. Where I was responsible for all things related to information and technology. Including all client systems, servers, and the network. I then went to work for Apex as a government contractor on a naval base in a department of 200 users. Where I was responsible for making sure that all of our systems were within government compliances and regulations. I then started working for Kforce at a healthcare provider; where I assisted in supporting 1,200 users across five different states. Recently I have been working for Kforce at an industrial engineering and manufacturing company as their systems administrator.

In addition to my bachelor’s of science degree, I also hold an MCSE on Windows Server 2003, and an MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator on Exchange 2010; along with Network+ and Security+.

Attached is a copy of my resume, which fully details my qualifications for this position. I look forward to talking with you regarding this exciting career opportunities with <enter company name>.

Thank you kindly for your time and your consideration.

Sincerely,

James Smith

Everyone

Nope. Repeating too much of your resume.

You don't really want a generic cover letter anyway. Each cover letter should be unique to the position you're applying to. More unique then just changing the site name, title, and company name.

I dug through my sent items to find an example of a cover letter I wrote last year when I was actively seeking a new job, here it is:

Dear <name>,

I was very excited to see your job post for a Microsoft Exchange Architect in Chicago IL. My experience designing and implementing Exchange and Active Directory structures for large enterprise class environments would be a great asset to your organization. I have spent more than a decade working with the government, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the State of Montana, and the State of Illinois. I also have experience working with Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, and Aerospace companies, including a Fortune 50 company. I am very passionate about messaging systems, information security, and virtualization.

I look forward to speaking with you regarding this exciting opportunity. I can be reached any time after 3 PM at 555-555-5555.

Thank you for your time and consideration.
-<my full name>

I received a call back within 1 hour of sending that cover letter in with my resume, and scheduled the 1st interview for the next day.

I think the last 2 sentences were the only parts used in every cover letter I sent. This one was tailored to highlight what I had to offer that specifically matched what the job listing said they were looking for, WITHOUT repeating anything from my resume.

it_consultant

I like this cover letter. It looks a lot like mine - and I get all sorts of call backs. The cover letter is to show them the type of person you are. Most of the time, especially nowadays, this is more important than the resume itself. Companies are tired of hiring socially inept, poorly written, poorly read, unprofessional, IT guys.