Virtus Recruiting - professional development

How To Give Notice

Giving notice and leaving a job can be one of the most difficult and emotional parts of a job search, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether you are miserable in your job and can’t wait to resign, or leaving is bittersweet, there are some things you can do to make the resignation process smooth. Here are some guidelines to follow:

Clean things up – while it’s a good idea to keep your business and personal life separated, most of us have sent personal emails from a work account, logged into personal websites, etc., from work. Before you give notice, it’s a good idea to delete personal files, stored passwords for personal online accounts, and make sure you have any personal information that you’ll need after you are gone.
Write a resignation letter and tell your boss first – avoid the temptation of telling friends or colleagues in the office first. Write a short professional letter and have a few copies available (for your boss, HR, etc.). The letter should simply state that you are resigning and offering 2 weeks notice, and your last date will be on a specific day. You are under no obligation to tell your employer anything about where you are going, why you are leaving, or the offer amount you received. In fact, you are much better off not telling this information to anybody during your resignation process. I advise candidates to take this approach because it makes the transition period out a lot easier. If you tell your current employer anything about the reasons for your departure, you are giving them all the ammunition they need to make you feel guilty, make you susceptible to a counteroffer, and manipulate you! This is a bad scenario and should be avoided at all costs! Counteroffers almost NEVER work out. Industry research shows that over 80% of people who take counter offers leave within six months of taking them. I’ll talk more about counteroffers in a later post and link to it here.
Offer to be helpful but be mindful of your soon-to-be employer’s needs – it’s a good idea to tell the company you are leaving that you will do what you can in order to make the transition period out as smooth as possible. Offering to put in some extra hours during the notice period, to be available after you leave to answer brief questions, etc., is a professional and thoughtful gesture. However, in very few instances is it acceptable to give more than two weeks notice. I often see job changers get hung up on a sense of loyalty to the employer they are leaving, or a belief that things will come crashing down if they aren’t there to help. The reality is that life will go on for the employer you are leaving. It is important to start the new job on the best terms possible. The new employer will probably want you there ASAP, so don’t forget that they are waiting for you!
Don’t go off the rails in an exit interview – if your company asks you to do an exit interview, don’t turn it into an airing of grievances session. Be mindful about what questions you answer, and politely decline to answer any questions you aren’t comfortable with. Keep in mind that the employer may not be done making a run at a counteroffer yet. Anything you tell them about your motivations for leaving, new offer, etc., can easily be turned around and used to make you second guess your decision. Second, any criticism of coworkers, bosses, and culture can create animosity and negative opinions of you.

Giving notice is hard, but you have a lot of control over how easy the process will be by following these guidelines. In general, I advise candidates to follow the “less is more” approach. Remember, you are moving on to something you are excited about!

By David Staiti|April 15th, 2019|Job Offers, job search, professional development|0 Comments

CFO Compensation Packages – What’s a CFO Worth?

The market for senior level finance talent is hot. This is especially true for small to middle market companies ($20mm to $100mm in annual revenue) across a range of industries to include technology, products, software, etc. I’m often asked by CFOs what their market value is, and how compensation packages vary with regards to base salary, bonus, equity, incentives, etc. Unfortunately, there is no short answer, and it depends on many variables. For non-financial service companies in this revenue range, we see salaries from $250k – $500k, bonuses from 25-50%+, and equity from 0-2% or more.

If you are exploring the market, negotiating an offer, or lobbying for a raise at your current job, here are some factors to consider:

Size of Company — the size of the company can have a big impact on the compensation level for a CFO. $20-$50mm companies generally price CFOs in the NYC/Boston areas between $250k and $400k base salary. $50mm-$100mm companies will see that range increase by 10-20%. Bonuses can vary, but a 25%-50% bonus range is standard, with some compensation packages exceeding 50% bonus. As the revenue of the company increases, and finance team size grows, so does the cash compensation component for most CFOs.
Stage of Company — where the company is in its life cycle plays a large role in the variability of equity compensation for CFOs. Earlier stage companies obviously have more ability to bring in CFOs with the lure of equity vs. a more established business. A CFO joining a hot startup company early on can sometimes get 1-2% of the total equity. An established company would typically fall into the .25%-.75% equity range. Turnaround and company sale situations are special circumstances, and the increased element of risk often demands a higher equity incentive.
CFO Duties — what type of CFO you are can have a large impact on the structure of a compensation package. For simplification purposes, we’ll look at “outward facing CFOs”, those hired with a mandate to do things like fundraising, dealing with company Board of Directors, possible transactions, IPO, etc.; and “inward facing CFOs”, those hired for more general management of broad accounting and finance operations at the company. Outward facing CFOs are often able to negotiate more lucrative equity grants. Back end cash bonuses are also common for a successful fund raise, sale, etc. If a client retains us to find a CFO who will assist in outward facing activities, we are generally able to negotiate a change of control clause for a liquidity event, larger equity grants, or cash payouts based on predefined objectives related to their hire (i.e. payouts triggered by specific dollar value capital raise, sale of company, etc.). Inward facing CFOs aren’t likely to get a change of control clause, unless they were a founding member of the company. Compensation for internally facing CFOs is often determined by their years of experience and size of the company. Also noteworthy is that the modern CFO in a company below $100mm in revenue can often play a dual role of COO. If non-finance duties are included in a CFO job, base salary tends to increase slightly, say 5-15%.
Contract vs. “At-Will” — if there is a contract, CFOs should carefully consider the terms, and the consideration given. Separation terms, severance agreements, and executive perks are all negotiable. An experienced attorney should review your employment contract. An attorney can also provide good bench marking advice on the contract’s relative fairness.

With the labor market tight, there is generally more inflationary pressure than not on compensation packages for CFOs. As a result, total compensation for CFOs doesn’t tend to vary too greatly among peer level CFOs.

By David Staiti|February 11th, 2019|Job Offers, job search, professional development, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Stop Connecting with Everybody on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the “killer app” of professional networking. Used correctly, it is an invaluable tool that can help you manage and expand your professional network. If you follow the conventional wisdom regarding LinkedIn usage, you’ll hear that you should connect pretty liberally with people. I disagree.

First, I believe that the quality of your professional network is far more important than it’s size. A giant list of 1st degree connections that you don’t really have a relationship with is not helping you do much. I don’t see the point of having a 1st degree connection that would scratch their head and wonder “who is this?” if you tried to contact them.

Second, and similar to the first reason, a smaller network is much easier to manage. Having a smaller list of 1st degree connections that are known to you is a lot easier to stay on top of with meaningful and personalized correspondence. Again, if you have a bunch of contacts that you never engage with, or send generic emails to periodically, you run the risk of being forgotten or ignored.

Third, high quality networking contacts that engage with you are better information and referral sources. As a headhunter with 20 years of experience, I know for sure that strong connections are your best source of referrals. One of the key ways I use LinkedIn to expand my network and add meaningful connections leverages good 1st degree connections. Say I’m doing a search for a client — I search LinkedIn and find a bunch of 2nd degree connections. I look at whom we share in common as a connection, then I reach out to the 1st degree connection for an introduction, or I reference the actual relationship I have with 1st degree connection when trying to engage with the new contact. This dramatically increases the likelihood of that person responding.

By David Staiti|March 29th, 2018|job search, LinkedIn, professional development|0 Comments

What I Learned at Saastr Annual 2018

Last week I attended my first Saastr conference in beautiful San Francisco. It was my New Year’s resolution to attend a few industry related trade shows. Overall, the conference was a good experience. As a headhunter, and not a SaaS business owner/founder, many of the actual sessions weren’t very relevant for me. But, that was OK, I was going for the networking… and boy oh boy, there was A LOT of networking!

Getting the opportunity to meet a lot of company founders and executives, along with a lot of venture capitalists who fund them, I walked away with a few takeaways from a recruiter perspective:

Recruiting is an urgent need, but not exactly a priority — almost every single executive I met talked about how big of a challenge recruiting is for their company. It was often described as a bottleneck that slowed or inhibited growth. When I asked executives, “what is your recruiting strategy?”, I got a lot of blank stares, or answers that clearly indicated they didn’t have one. In a highly competitive market, where many companies are fighting for talent, it’s critical that planning and resources are allocated for recruiting.
Companies think they can go it alone — a classic push back we hear from potential clients is that they are “handling the search internally”. If that means you are posting on job boards and sending a bunch of LinkedIn inmails, you are setting yourself up for failure. I’m clearly biased as a headhunter, but using agencies, or hiring top internal recruiting talent is not a waste of money. When you consider the time it takes to run ads, sift through resumes, interview lack-luster candidates, loss of productivity because of an empty seat, drain in morale because everybody is picking up extra duty, etc., the cost of trying to hire on your own can quickly exceed that of a good recruiter. Some jobs can be filled in house. However, high demand, low supply talent requires a different approach.
Some companies wait too long — a classic problem of hyper growth startups is that they are very focused on building the product and growing revenues, but they often neglect the back office support roles that help them scale. We see this all the time in the accounting and finance function. Revenues grow quickly, the accounting becomes complex, and lack of skilled staff, internal controls, proper accounting standards, etc. cause mistakes to pile up. The cost of fixing problems that have been compounding over time is always greater than hiring the right people early on, and making sure that proper systems and procedures are in place. The more successful you think you’ll be, the more reason to plan ahead and hire proactively.

By David Staiti|February 13th, 2018|professional development, recruiting strategy|0 Comments

Why Going to a Startup Isn’t Risky

My firm does a lot of work in the startup space. Right now there is a lot of investment capital flowing into startups. That means there is A LOT of job demand at startups. I occasionally have a candidate push back on the idea of going to work at a startup because it is “too risky”. In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth! Hear are a few reasons why going to a startup isn’t risky:

Are You In Demand? – If you have a skill set that is in demand, like accounting, IT, programming, sales, etc., there will always be other jobs for you. In big metro markets that have a broad industry base, there are just some careers that are going to stay in high demand for the foreseeable future. If you are lucky enough to have a career in one of these fields, you can always take a gamble on a startup, and then go back to corporate America if the move doesn’t work out.
Big Companies ARE NOT Safe – Ask someone who was a top performer at Lehman Brothers pre-2009 how “safe” they were because they were a top performer at a big company. The conventional wisdom that you are safer at a big company just isn’t true anymore. Large companies are often more short term focused than startups, looking closely at quarterly performance and minor fluctuations in the stock price. Big companies routinely slash big chunks from their workforce to save money. At a startup, each hire is much more “mission critical” to the success and growth of the company. Growing startups often have a vision of where they want to be several years out, and they realize that retaining good employees and hiring more are key ingredients to their success. Moreover, as job demand among startups in places like New York City has increased, startups and big companies alike are all fighting for the same talent. The result is that salaries, benefits and perks at startups are now much more in line, if not better than, big companies! Our startup clients pay aggressive market rates, and their benefits are often top notch. It’s not uncommon to see startups have liberal vacation policies, 100% coverage for medical, catered lunches, gym memberships, and work from home policies. I even have one company that pays for employee vacations!
Startups Get You a Pass – Because startups are perceived as inherently more risky, and their life cycles can be shorter (lose funding, get acquired, etc.), if you have short employment stints with a few startups, you won’t necessarily be labeled a “job hopper”. In fact, I have many contacts who go from startup to startup, staying only for a year or two at each, because they like to do the “set up” work associated with implementing an accounting system, setting up an initial budget, or helping a company secure funding, etc. These people have become serial startup junkies because they like the early stage dirty work, and companies are more than happy to hire them for their specific knowledge and expertise.
Startups Might Just Be More Fun – Study after study about employee satisfaction ranks startups as some of the most satisfying places to work. While not all aspects of a startup are fun and games, they do offer a great opportunity for people who want to have a visible impact on their employer. They are also great places for people who want to broaden their skills and responsibilities. Unlike big companies that have very defined and limited job parameters, startups offer the ability to “wear many hats” and get involved with a lot more. This cuts both ways — some days you might shovel the sidewalks, and other days you might be making a key strategic decision for the company. Many startup employees I know love the idea of working in a casual office setting with a bunch of motivated people working towards a common goal.

By David Staiti|May 19th, 2016|job search, professional development, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Breaking Barriers

Breaking-barriers-590x331 Trying to break through barriers is often a motivating factor when looking for a new job. I’m an amateur weight lifter and fitness nut. A couple of years ago I hit a plateau in my training that I could not get through. I ended up hiring a personal trainer, and it turned out to be money well spent. My trainer was an expert in exercise and nutrition. He assessed where I was, we set measurable goals, and he then built a customized plan to help me with breaking barriers. Not only did I get results in the gym, but the lessons learned from my physical training overlapped with what I see as a headhunter dealing with senior level people interested in advancing their careers.

Breaking barriers can be a challenge, and when you feel you have plateaued, here are some things you can try:

Get Advice — I’ve found that people are typically not great at self assessment. For breaking barriers in your career, seek advice from an objective third party. Your boss is the ideal place to start. He/she should know very well your strengths and weaknesses. Beyond the standard annual review process, ask to have a serious conversation about your performance and how you can improve. Not only will you get objective input, it will show your boss that you are serious about professional development.
Try Different Things — like with my fitness plateau, breaking barriers requires that you try different things. Repeating the same actions and expecting different results is the definition of insanity, right? Seek out new ways of becoming more knowledgeable and efficient. Attend industry conferences, take courses related to your profession, learn new computer skills that may help you streamline your work processes. The bottom line, mix up the routine that is not getting you to where you want to be quickly enough.
Set Goals — in my opinion, goal setting is probably the single best thing you can do when trying to improve at something. “Improvement” can mean a lot of different things, and unless you have a clear idea of what the end goal is, it’s very hard to work efficiently towards it. Setting clear goals and developing a manageable plan of execution is ideal. It’s OK to have big goals, but be realistic about the time frame you set. If your overall goal is lofty, break it down into some smaller interim goals so you have your sights set on things that are attainable in the short term.

By David Staiti|February 1st, 2016|professional development|0 Comments

Having Only One Resume – There are no one-size-fits-all resumes. If you use a single resume for your job search, you are making a big mistake! Resumes are usually glanced over very quickly to pick those candidates selected for interviews. It is critically important for you to target your resume to the specific company/job. A bit of minor tweaking can often make the difference between getting the interview, or not. Refer to my earlier post on how to target your resume here.
Applying Online – this is a classic job search mistake to avoid. The main reason is because it is what everybody else is doing! It is very easy to get lost in flood of applicants who apply indiscriminately online. Second, many recruiters hold the belief that top-notch candidates don’t apply online. Top candidates are either sought out, or come in through other methods. Finally, applying online may hurt your chances of getting an interview or proper consideration at a company. You are far better off being evaluated as an employee referral, represented by a recruiter, or recommended by someone known to the company.
Not Being Selective – whether you are actively or passively job searching, BE SELECTIVE. I generally advise people to take initial interviews liberally. Meeting the people and company face to face is the best way to see if there might be a fit. After an initial interview, I suggest people get much more selective. Don’t get deep into the interview process, or take things to the offer stage, if you can’t see yourself working at the company. You’ll not only be wasting your time, but you could leave a negative impression with the people who feel like you wasted theirs.
Not Networking – this is the ultimate job search mistake. Study after study shows that the best jobs, and the best chances of landing your next job lies in networking. Friends, classmates, recruiters, alumni organizations, professional organizations, and former coworkers are just some of the categories of contacts you should tap into when considering a job change. Many people don’t do this because it involves more effort, but it is absolutely worth it!

David Staiti is the founder and Managing Partner of Virtus Recruiting, LLC. He has almost two decades of executive search and recruiting experience. He’s published numerous articles on job search and career management topics for The Wall Street Journal, CareerBuilder, and Forbes.com

By admin|October 18th, 2015|interview, Job Offers, job search, professional development, Uncategorized|0 Comments