As job seekers flood the market, we ask whether accounting and finance professionals should flex their salary and pay expectations to stay in the running?
As competition increases for every role and employers look to take tighter control over expenditure, there appears to be a reticence by some candidates to reduce their salary and pay expectations.
For the best talent out there, there’s an argument that whatever the state of the market, these individuals should be in a position to command the sort of salary or pay rates they have been used to. However, these candidates should be mindful of the pressures on companies at the moment to cut costs; and that holding out for that better paid role may put themselves at risk of being out of work for some considerable time.
candidates should be mindful of the pressures on companies at the moment to cut costs
As we reported in our latest workplace study; Balancing Act: is the accounting and finance profession ready to step up? the average pay increase in 2008 was 4.5%. This is expected to be significantly less in 2009 and will vary depending on level, sector and organisation but it’s clear that salaries are one of the key ways to cutting and controlling costs.
However, employers should take heed. While it is no longer an employees market at the moment, recruiting expertise at lower rates or salaries could cause problems in the long term as the market picks up. We’ve already identified in the Balancing Act that disgruntled accountants will leave their current employer when the market improves and although pay isn’t the most important factor in attracting and retaining staff, if competitor companies can offer substantial pay increases, it could definitely be a pull factor.
One Comment
In the current state of the economy, thse articles are quite informative. I have forwarded to colleagues at work and also friends and relatives in the field. A big thank you.