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Downscaling the Job Market

Starting Salaries Decline

A study finds some new hires are making up to $10,000 less than a month ago.

From: Inc.com | May 05, 2008 By: Alexandra Zendrian

  • Starting salaries for software developers, product managers and a range of other professions declined by as much $10,000 last month, according to Jobfox, a McLean, Va.-based employment firm.
  • The average salary for a software developer is currently $85,000, down from $95,000 in April, the firm reported. Similar declines were reported for product managers, networking and system administrators, and government contract administrators.
  • For the entire article go to inc.com

I have always found it remarkable that the once in demand skill sets are suddenly relegated to the common place, and the laws of supply and demand dictate lesser value. In this case the salary drop is over 10%. Factor in the inflation percentages and the loss of income is more like 15% and climbing.

If you are an employer and with competition being stiff, I suppose the good news is that you can recruit qualified people for less money than you did last month. The fact that so many folks are out of work only increases your choices in the job pool.

This is not the type of news that brings sunshine and roses to the working world, but it is the reality of the times. And software workers, as was the case for many job skills and artisan crafts of previous decades, are in a surplus. What with competition coming from all over the globe, this shouldn’t be surprising. Because Corra is in Los Angeles, we are aware of no shortage of skilled, writers, actors and industry people who have been downsized out of the industry for one reason or another.

So as an employer you are out there seeking new software developers or, for that matter, employees for various positions. Are you being as selective as you should be? Do you have a good preemployment screening program in place? And to be sure, the background check is an excellent tool in helping you select the right candidates for your business.

Remember the axiom that sometimes a bargain is not always a bargain. Run background searches on your employment candidates, as well as good interviews and maybe even psychological profile testing. It’s cost effective and will help you not only hire the right candidates, but retain them as well.

Check them out before you hire. Call Corra.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.