SkyWater Blog

After clearing every hurdle in the long and winding path to your new job, you’ve just gotten the word: they’re making you an offer.  What if the offer is lower than the salary range you expected?

You’ve been lowballed, my friend.

You’re probably shocked and disappointed, wondering if the whole process was just a waste of your time. It wasn’t. All is not lost.

Good employers sometimes make wrongheadedly low offers (even to perfect-fit candidates). If you take specific steps and avoid a few common mistakes, you have a good chance of bumping that offer up into a range that reflects the market value of the job and the value you bring to it.

Let’s start with those two common mistakes and how to avoid them.

The answer is in the consultative approach.

Have you ever wondered what an executive recruiting firm is for, or why a company would choose to engage with an external firm to conduct its search? Growing numbers of organizations are turning to executive recruiters to help them source the best available talent rather than advertise their vacancies on job boards. It's true that working with a specialist recruiter can help you gain access to that hidden candidate (meaning, gainfully employed people who may be open to a change, but haven't started looking yet) and save you a LOT of time (most clients say their recruiter saved them several weeks of time in sourcing, screening, and interviewing candidates for important roles). In this article, we will review our advice for hiring managers working with a recruiter, and some ways to tell the difference between a good recruiter and a great recruiter.

6 Critical Competencies You Can’t Afford to Ignore

During a recent episode of NPR’s Marketplace, David Brancaccio had a fascinating conversation with Amy Domini. If you’re like most professionals in the finance and accounting realm these days, you’re likely aware of her work in socially responsible investing – what we now call Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). As they discussed the growing importance of ESG, they also touched on the growing difficulty that organizations face in trying to competently manage and report against ESG standards. As Domini put it, “the whole goal… is to assure that investors work toward a livable planet, inhabited by people who lead lives worth living.”

Regional Executive Search Firms Have an Undeniable Edge in  Executive Recruiting

Finding the right person for any executive role is a recruiting challenge every organization eventually needs to take. Historically, Fortune 500 companies have hired multi-national search firms to fill executive roles. The logic behind this seems to make sense: large positions can only be filled by large firms right? Think again. In the last few years, we have seen a trend emerge where companies are interested in a more intimate and focused search approach than what a large national recruiting firm can offer. 

Financial Services vs. Accounting & Finance - What's the difference? It's a question we hear often. There are a lot of differences, in fact. Today, I met with Julie Amende, the leader of our Financial Services division, to chat through the three main differences that set our specialties apart. 

Regional Executive Search Firms Have an Undeniable Edge in CFO Recruiting

Finding the right person for a Chief Financial Officer role is one of the most consequential executive search challenges that a Fortune 500 organization will ever face. Lately, I’ve been watching a trend emerge in CFO recruiting where BODs and CEOs are interested in a more intimate search approach. The days of working with a “sales” guy out of New York who gets their candidates from “his recruiter” out of Chicago are losing their luster. Needless to say, the trend is shifting and it’s been a fun recruitment shift to be a part of.

A trend is emerging among mid-market, publicly traded companies that we'd like to share: The perfect candidate profile for a Chief Financial Officer is shifting. I'll explain who we're being asked to find, why, and how this impacts you...

While the events of the past eighteen months have driven major disruptions to hiring and staffing processes throughout the business world, few leadership roles have been as impacted as that of the CFO. Today, as organizational leaders continue to sort through the lessons learned from this challenging and unprecedented time, there is growing recognition of the importance and influence of the CFO position.

Happy Father's Day!

On this very special Father's Day, we would like to take the time to recognize the dads of SkyWater for their hard work, both in and out of the home.

You’ve just gotten word about a great job at a company you admire and, from everything you’ve seen so far, it’s perfect for you.  Next step:  submit your application, resume and cover letter.  Next step after that:  sink into a state of fear and paralysis.  Why?  Because, not long ago, your career hit an ugly little speed bump.  You were demoted.  And while the personal pain of that event has started to subside, you worry that it has put a permanent stain on your resume – and your career aspirations.  As an executive recruiter, I am often struck by how highly competent professionals can remain haunted by a past demotion.  While no one can whip out a magic eraser and undo what has happened, I can offer you something better.  I can tell you what works.  Here is a realistic strategy for dealing with a demotion on your resume, in five simple steps.