Should I stay or should I go

Stay or Go? Seeking Advice

Hey everyone,

I’m a 26-year-old male who just moved in with my partner, and I’m eager to start saving for a house. I’ve been with my current firm since graduating college, and I’ve been there for about 3.5 years.

I work in full-desk IT staffing, specializing in the .NET stack. Unfortunately, this means I can only pursue roles related to .NET development or SQL and I have to pass on opportunities in Java, QA, etc., since we don’t get any kickback from those teams.

Last year, I earned $92K on a W2, billing a total of $500K. Just to clarify, that figure represents total fees, not what my firm takes home. My company is a large, national firm with over 10 offices, and my local office has around 30 employees.

So far this year, I’ve billed $382K through permanent placements, contracting, and consulting fees. I’ve successfully picked up 28 job orders and made 10 placements.

I’m currently on a draw of $70K, which is spread across 13 pay periods (about 4 weeks to collect). I earn 13% of the fees I generate, and I receive an additional 3% if a teammate closes a deal.

My team has billed a total of $913K this year. I’ve received $70K in gross pay and just collected my first two commission checks of $6K each during the same pay period last month.

I really enjoy working with my colleagues, though we do see a high turnover with entry-level staff, which can be frustrating at times – we often have people tearing up at their desks.

I have a few questions that I’d love your insights on:

1. Am I being compensated fairly?
2. Is it time to consider moving to another firm where I can transition off the draw?
3. I’m sometimes given pass-through jobs; is it worth giving this up?
4. Would it be better to switch to a firm where I can recruit for all technologies?
5. Any general career advice you can offer?

Thanks for your help!

Opportunity to craft my job title – Purchasing, Recruiting and Personnel…

Crafting My Job Title: Seeking Your Advice

I’m excited to share that I have the opportunity to define my job title as I transition into a Vice President role. Let me give you a brief overview of my background:

I’m a 58-year-old male, married with kids and grandkids, and now an empty nester. I hold a doctorate and spent 21 years as a school administrator, including positions as a principal and central office leader. A significant part of my role involved hiring a wide range of staff—including teachers, administrators, support staff, and more. Over those two decades, I interviewed and hired approximately 1,500 people, honing skills in interviewing, onboarding, and employee relations.

After leaving education, I made a significant career change and became the Purchasing Manager for a large mid-cap light manufacturing company in Arizona. I’ve been here for a decade, overseeing procurement for our main plant and six other facilities, with the company generating about $200 million in annual sales. I report directly to the president, who manages day-to-day operations while the owner retains the CEO title. Currently, I’m earning $135K, with an expectation to reach $150K in two years.

My boss, who has a sales background and tends to micromanage, came to me when our CFO passed away unexpectedly, asking for assistance in hiring a replacement. I successfully found a new CFO and later helped in hiring an Arizona plant manager, which led me to take on the responsibility of hiring for various other positions, totaling around 75 to 100 hires over the past five years. While I don’t hire factory floor workers or office staff at other locations, I manage recruitment for all central office and leadership roles.

Additionally, I’ve taken on employee discipline responsibilities and often act as a sounding board for employee concerns, handling issues that range from salary discussions to interpersonal conflicts. I also assist the president with various tasks, including drafting correspondence.

Currently, my official title is Purchasing Manager, and I have no direct reports or assistants, which has proven to be a challenge when it comes to my hiring responsibilities and interactions with the HR department. To distinguish my role, I’ve referred to my work as “personnel” instead of HR, although that doesn’t entirely capture everything I do.

Now, as I step into the Vice President role, I need to create my own job description. Although my core functions—procurement, hiring, and employee relations—will remain the same, I won’t have management responsibilities over a team, and my pay and benefits will see minimal changes, aside from reaching $150K sooner.

I’m considering several title options, and I’d love your feedback on which one might be most fitting for my role, taking into account the dynamics with HR and my responsibilities. Here are my options:

1. Vice President of Purchasing and Personnel, Chief of Staff
2. Vice President of Purchasing, Chief of Staff
3. Vice President of Purchasing and Personnel
4. Vice President and Chief of Staff
5. Chief of Staff
6. Other suggestions are welcome!

I appreciate your input and any career guidance you might have, especially if you think I should explore opportunities elsewhere. Thanks for your help!

Need Help Developing Impactful Job Interview Questions

Seeking Assistance in Crafting Engaging Job Interview Questions

Hi everyone!

Quick Summary: I’m looking for guidance on crafting meaningful interview questions to identify the best candidates for a newly created position in my team.

We’ve recently established a role for a contracts and procurement administrator that will report directly to me. This is significant for me; it’s my first time both developing the position description and participating in the hiring process.

The role requires around five years of experience, making it a junior-level position rather than entry-level. As the current manager handling all procurement tasks as a one-person department, I’ve successfully advocated for the addition of this new role.

The administrator will oversee daily tasks such as issuing purchase orders, managing suppliers, and processing change orders, which will free me to concentrate on strategic initiatives. I need to formulate questions that will help me identify strong candidates who can work autonomously and enforce procurement procedures while also identifying process inefficiencies and proposing solutions. Since our team operates mainly remotely, this individual must be both independent and trustworthy.

What questions can I ask to ensure candidates possess a solid understanding of procurement and contract management requirements? I’m particularly interested in finding someone capable of managing responsibilities in my absence, such as overseeing RFPs.

I’m aware that many candidates excel in interviews but may lack the necessary expertise, while others, like me, may not interview well despite having extensive knowledge. What impactful questions would you suggest to help me uncover the ideal candidates for this position, beyond those who simply excel at self-promotion? Thank you!

Best lead generation tool for finding Australia-based contacts?

What’s the top lead generation tool for locating contacts in Australia?

I’m in search of an effective tool to help me find professional contact information for individuals based in Australia. I’ve previously used Lusha, ZoomInfo, and RocketReach for contacts in the APAC region and the US, but I’m curious to know which tool performs best for Australian contacts. Any suggestions?

How much of a fee do graduate schemes take

How much fee do graduate schemes charge?

Hi everyone,

I’m wrapping up my graduate scheme in data science, which I began two months post-university. The program consisted of 3 months of training at an annual salary of £22,000, followed by a 9-month placement at £25,000 annually. During the training period, I attended five in-person courses over three days each, received interview coaching, tackled case studies, and successfully completed my SAS Base exam—all funded by my company.

As my contract comes to a close, I’ll soon be negotiating my salary with the company that has chosen to retain me. I’d like to get an estimate of what they might be paying the graduate scheme company for my placement to help guide my negotiation. I expect it will be significantly more than £26,000 since the scheme covers training, provides equipment, offers ongoing support, and finds placements for participants.

Any rough estimates or insights to kickstart my salary negotiation would be greatly appreciated!

A bit more context: I graduated with a first-class degree in Mathematics and Data Science, have one year of experience, and am proficient in SAS (1 year), Python (7 years), and R (3 years). Thanks for your help!

Call expectations and requirements.

Call Expectations and Requirements in BD Recruitment

I’ve recently transitioned into business development recruitment, and my daily expectations are quite demanding. I’m required to make 100 calls each day, aiming to secure 10 business conversations with the right contacts. Beyond that, I’m also expected to submit 8 speculative CVs, conduct candidate qualifications, perform RTMs, and attend 2 client meetings each week.

To be honest, the target of 100 calls daily feels overwhelming, especially alongside my responsibilities for speculative CVs and various administrative tasks. We also have continuous meetings scheduled throughout the week, and there’s an unspoken expectation to stay late; it seems like leaving at 6 PM isn’t well-received. I’m consistently engaged in job searches and reaching out to the appropriate individuals to maintain an active pipeline.

I’m curious about how others in this field manage their workload. Is this level of expectation typical in the industry? Would love to hear your experiences!

UK Nurse Recruitment

UK Nurse Recruitment Update

Hello everyone,

I’m excited to share that I’ve launched a recruitment agency focused on placing workers in nursing homes across the UK.

I initially tested the waters while working full-time and was surprised by the results—I managed to secure positions simply by sending out 100-200 emails.

I’m curious to know if this venture remains profitable. Does anyone have any insights or tips to share?

Thank you!

Simplifying the recruitment and making it fair for all parties

Streamlining Recruitment for Everyone Involved

Hello everyone,

I’ve been developing a startup concept focused on enhancing the recruitment process, and I would appreciate your insights. My aim is to create a more equitable and democratic hiring experience for both candidates and companies, beginning with IT positions.

Here’s the idea: Recruitment usually includes three assessments—technical skills, soft skills, and cultural fit. My approach will simplify this by handling the first two, allowing companies to focus solely on assessing cultural fit before making a hiring decision. Do you think this could be effective? I understand there might be some uncertainties, but if you trust the assessments, would you consider using this system?

Additionally, even with confidence in the assessments, would your company still find it necessary to conduct extra technical evaluations?

The system is designed to shortlist only five candidates who best meet the company’s criteria. Furthermore, to foster candidate growth, companies would be required to provide constructive feedback to those not selected. Does that seem like a beneficial approach?

Thank you for your thoughts!

Virtual Career Fair

Virtual Career Fair
What are the top resources to discover virtual career fairs specifically aimed at STEM professionals, including options that are free of charge?

To everyone in Finance

Hello Finance Community,

I hope this message finds you well! I’m a recruiter focused primarily on the buy-side finance sector, particularly in areas such as Quant Development and Data. While I also touch on Machine Learning Engineering and Product Management, my main emphasis is on finance.

I’m reaching out to those of you who might know: what newsletters or email subscriptions would you recommend for staying updated on the latest happenings in finance? I’ve noticed many founders actively engage with these resources, and I believe it would be valuable to follow them as well.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!