This was originally a posting to the baylisa mail list (a list for local admins in the bay area) in response to a discussion about the scarcity of jobs. Thought it would be worth repeating here...

Again, I'll throw my few cents in here. I have to agree with one previous comment that you have to be willing to relocate if you're pushed against the wall for work. Here in LA I have been looking for very senior admins with large dot-com exposure and really it hasn't been easy to find people with the required depth of skills. The jobs are out there.

On the other hand, employers are a little leery about making offers to long-distance folks who promise to make a move. I can give you a number of instances where the deal was done, the offer extended (and accepted!) and then a day before the person is to arrive, they back out. It's understandable. People have their roots in their current location and a move is hard. Backing out at the last minute is still devastating to recruiting efforts so nobody wants that situation. It doesn't help the employee or employer.

What can you do? You can show that you have some roots in the hometown of the potential new employer. If you went to school there, make sure you mention it! If you have friends or relatives local to the new employer, mention it! Even if you've visited previously and got a chance to really look around, mention it!

Another good thing to do is to plan your own trips to places you'd consider relocating. Mention during a phone interview that you're going to be in town for the weekend and would like to meet with some of the team. If you're talking about a San Fran to LA flight their really cheap so that shouldn't cost too much. I know it's a pain, but it shows commitment. Just so you're aware, most employers will of course foot the bill to fly you out and get you to and from the airport (might even throw in a lunch). I'm just talking about the "impression" your leaving.

OK, back to the discussion on salaries. You may be one of the dot-com'ers who pulled in major buckeroos over the last few years. Now money's not as easy to come by. Does that mean that companies should hold your previous salary against you? NO! The dot-com era was unique. People put in some monstrous hours working to get their "new" businesses ready to launch.

What you should do is figure out your average salary per hour when you were putting in the big hours. How much did you make for the year? Divide that by about 2080 and that should give you an estimate for your hourly wage assuming your worked something like a 40 hour week (which you probably didn't). That number will sound really high and this is the number your potential employer is toying with in their head.

Instead, figure out the monstrous hours that you actually put in over the course of a year and divide your annual salary by that amount. Now, that hourly number should be significantly lower. OK, we can argue the point as to whether you were working exempt status (no overtime) but everyone has a gut reaction to an hourly salary. Take that new lower figure and multiply that by 2080 and that should give you your annual salary if you worked for a company that had relatively normal work hours (NOTE: normal is such a relative term, but again you can adjust this number to take into account a 50 hour work week, a 60 hour work week, etc.). Obviously, this number will be lower than your take home last year. Use whatever number you want but just try to think of your past salary in this way as a reasonable justification for your salary. There's no reason at all to be apologetic about your past earnings although in my experience this is becoming more common.

I guess what I'm saying is that nobody can reasonably argue that the intense periods of activity a few years back is normal. That's not to say that companies don't still have their peaks and deliverable dates where the pressure is on. Of course that still applies. But I think that things have tempered a bit and become more realistic.

Another factor to consider, is that many boom-and-bust companies really didn't have much to offer except a salary, options, and other enticements to get you to stay. Jobs were everywhere, and the money was flowing, but you could be out of your current job in a moment. Stability clearly wasn't a selling point. You were taking a risk just by joining a young startup.

Think these things through before you go to your next interview. It could become important especially if you're willing to take a lower salary in today's market. I really should point out that there are still specific skill sets where current demand will keep your salary high. If your expertise is in one of those niche areas, well then a change in salary may not even be an issue. ;)