Knowing your worth in a niche marketplace

Recruiting in a niche marketplace has a huge amount of benefits, I find I am more connected within the market and also have a great understanding when it comes to IFS Applications. There have been many occasions when I speak with candidates and clients alike and they have been pleasantly surprised to speak to a recruiter who understands what they are talking about.

However, like anything in life there are a few negatives, I do find it frustrating when I speak with candidates who do not understand their value, some have huge expectations that hamper opportunities whilst others are hugely undervalued. When it comes to the latter I am not saying that you need to go out and find something new, it’s always good to understand what people like you are worth so that you can have a civilised conversation with your manager to discuss salary.

Staying Connected

Keeping connected within the IFS marketplace is much easier than you would think, with user groups, conferences and a community feel on LinkedIn everyone is familiar in the market space. It’s common for salary conversations to crop up as well as noticing salary banding on job boards, it isn’t always as it seems. Yes, they may be offering ￡10,000 per year more but do they offer the opportunity to earn bonus, the same generous pension contribution and the ability to work from home. These are things that certainly make an opportunity more attractive, it’s about finding a good balance.

Staying connected also helps those who are undervalued by the company, perhaps they have been there for a long period of time and haven’t had a pay rise, or maybe they were brought onboard as a junior and have been promoted against company procedure and not what the market rate is stating.

Identifying Opportunity

I find in the IFS marketplace there is always opportunity, it might be more complexed than you would like. You may need to re-locate or commit to more travel, however, there are always things going on. Identifying these opportunities can make you appreciate your worth, I am not saying use these as leverage to make your company counter offer you when you hand in your notice, I am saying its best to identify opportunities to have an educated conversation with your Line Manager. 

Asking Questions

Answers usually follow questions, I often find those who don’t understand their worth asking questions can be a simple solution. Speaking with people within the marketplace, having conversations with niche recruiters and asking questions to line managers. Understanding your capabilities will open new doors when it comes to opportunity but you have to be confident in your abilities.