Overcoming the First Major Problems
The first problems you will encounter are both psychological and practical. You may find that your service compensation bears little relationship to salaries on the "outside," and you have no way of knowing what you are actually worth. In addition, some PEs may feel you are over quaffed for certain jobs or may not even consider your military service
Many former military executives evaluate their job campaign totally in terms of experiences and accomplishments that brought them success in the military, rather than in terms of a specific job goal. They tell themselves: "With my background, qualifications, and education, there are any number of things I can do. Plenty of companies will immediately recognize my value and show me the options I have."
This is a mistake. It will only prolong your job campaign and reduce your chances of finding a superior job. Like your civilian counterpart, you must decide what job you want before you can go after it. This is the most important part of your campaign. Once you decide exactly what you want to do, use the techniques described below to reach your goal.
Sources of Information about Compensation in Industry
Salary requirements are an important part of any job campaign. They are particularly important if you are an ex military job hunter because they indicate to a people, among other things, the job level you are seeking. It is a mistake to tell a people that salary isn't important and you are willing to work for only $X because you are already getting $Y from your military pension. Your people will reason that you are desperate or that you don't think much of yourself.
In industry, salary has important status and other connotations. You should use salary to support the particular job level that you have decided upon. Further, in industry some power is maintained by a supervisor's ability to terminate an employee at any time. Many people feel insecure with subordinates who are independently wealthy or who have an outside source of income, since this lessens the power the PE has over them.
Not too long ago compensation in the military service was poor compared with compensation for positions of similar responsibility in industry. Today many military executives' salaries are very competitive with those of their civilian counterparts if items like subsistence and housing are added in. However, salary conditions vary from year to year and from industry to industry.
You can obtain salary information from a number of sources: friends in the same profession, a college or university, a search firm or employment agency, the American Management Associations (AMA) Executive Compensation Service, the personnel department of a large company in your industry, and professional organizations. It is a good idea to try all six sources of salary information so you can cross check the figures you obtain.
Friends
Friends are a ready source of salary information, but they are also the least reliable. In fact, the information they provide can be biased, misleading, or just plain wrong. In industry, unlike the military, salary is not determined according to fixed criteria, such as rank and length of service. Further, salaries are considered confidential. It is not uncommon for executives to inflate their salaries in job hunting or to give a salary figure that includes fringe benefits.
Your friends may underestimate what you are worth in the market place because they do not know the value of your skills or have not had much experience with executive salaries in their industry. Unless your friends have special knowledge about executive compensation in your industry, they are probably the least reliable and desirable source of salary information.
Colleges and Universities
A college or university can be an excellent source of salary information. Your best bet is to contact the professional school in your specialty at the university you graduated from. If you don't get the information you need, try other schools. If you tell your problem to the right professor and furnish details on job title, function, and your own qualifications, chances are you will get help.
Search Firms and Employment Agencies
Many search firms and employment agencies have a specialist dealing in your function and industry. This individual may spend a good part of everyday talking with PEs and job candidates in your field. Needless to say, such a recruiter has a pretty good handle on your compensation. There are limitations to this source of information, so read the chapter on headhunters before proceeding. Still, it is one of the most accurate and up to date sources of salary information available.
The AMA Executive Compensation Service
The American Management Associations publishes a set of annual compensation guides for most executive functions and industries. This material is intended primarily to assist companies in maintaining competitive executive compensation programs. A complete set costs more than $1,000, but you can buy only the volume you are interested in, and some volumes cost less than $100. (You can also get a substantial discount if your company participated in the research study.) The AMA guides are excellent because they give high and low as well as average figures and are reliable and accurate.
Personnel Departments of Large Companies
Personnel departments in large companies usually maintain good compensation records and frequently have formulas for "standard" salary offers. Until you receive an offer from the company, it is rather difficult to tap this particular source, but it is worth a try. Call a personnel manager in such a company and lay your problem on the line. Explain that you are not applying for a job, but because of your long career in the military you have no idea what level of compensation you should be looking for. Find out if the personnel manager can determine a "standard" salary if you supply such information as job title, years since degree, and experience. You may encounter someone willing to run your background through a formula.
Professional Associations
Many professional associations maintain accurate salary data for your area and industry. Check your local telephone book and call. It costs nothing to ask.
