Jeff Galin was minding his own business earlier this year when he began to be seriously scouted for several senior sales positions at other high-technology companies. ''I wasn't looking for another job, but I ended up choosing a small, profitable company in an emerging market,'' said Galin, 40, who joined Littleton-based Perillon Software on Aug. 1 as executive vice president of worldwide sales.
His experience shows how the hiring climate for senior sales people ''is red hot today for those with proven track records,'' Galin said. Indeed, other industry professionals agree that there is a more robust job market for senior marketing managers. While demand for sales and marketing execs is not across the board, executive recruiters said it is more pronounced in segments of the hightech and healthcare spheres.
''We're not back to the demand level of the late 1990s, when these people had, say, 15 opportunities at a time. But today, it's not unusual for people to be considering five opportunities at a time,'' said Todd McCarthy, an owner of Matlin Partners of Newton,, which is involved in sales and marketing searches and steered Galin to Perillon. In Massachusetts, everything must be viewed in terms of an economy that tanked from 2001 to 2003, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs rebounding in the past three years, employment specialists noted.
Since the downturn prompted many laid-off sales and marketing managers to leave the Bay State, there is now a limited pool of talented and experienced executives willing to be wooed away, these hiring specialists said.
''It's sometimes difficult - and expensive - to dislodge executives from their current employers,'' said J. Nicholas Hurd, a principal in the Boston office of Russell Reynolds Associates Inc., a national search firm.
All of which makes for a very competitive hiring scene. ''A lot more companies are looking for candidates and many of these candidates come with more than one offer, which is a real challenge for us,'' said Tom Bartiromo, director of staffing for Kronos Inc., a provider of electronic time-management systems based in Chelmsford.
The high-technology sector seems to be a particularly strong hiring market right now. Mid-market high-tech companies, for instance, that are benefiting from an improving economy are seeking senior sales executives, particularly, or ''real warriors who can make things happen,'' said Jack Derby of Derby Management, a coaching company for venture-capital-backed firms in Boston.
And these ''warriors,'' whether in sales or marketing, are being offered salaries in the six figures and, in some cases, signing bonuses and stock options, Derby and others said.
Galin, for example, accepted a lucrative compensation package from Perillon that he described as being in the ''many six figures'' in salary, and includes ''a fantastic equity position'' in the small company. Larger companies are also in the hunt for senior sales and marketing executives.
''Because we're growing, we're actively recruiting people for our different product lines,'' said Carolyn Churcher, director of strategic staffing for Cambridge-based Genzyme Corp. Genzyme recently posted a half-dozen open positions in sales and marketing that command salaries of ''six figures and above and bonuses to those who are eligible,'' Churcher said. ''Fortunately, we look everywhere, not just in Massachusetts, for the people we need,'' she pointed out. ''Still, there is a very competitive candidate pool.''
Kronos, meanwhile, is looking to fill more than two dozen sales positions and seven marketing positions. Salaries offered depend on a candidate's experience, Bartiromo said. He added that small ''sign-on bonuses'' are sometimes offered.
Jeff Nicholson, 34, was lured to Kronos three months ago as global product marketing director by ''an attractive compensation package.'' Like Galin, Nicholson said he was approached by a recruiter. ''I had only been passively looking because I was happy with my company.'' He had been director of product marketing for Bottomline Technologies.
But accepting an offer from Kronos wasn't a slam dunk, said Nicholson, a Franklin resident. ''While the job market is heating up, candidates are still expected to do their own due diligence. For example, I spoke with current and former Kronos managers while I was being considered.''
And, it took some doing for Nicholson to get the Kronos job because, despite the keen competition today for candidates, ''companies often are quite selective in the screening process, unlike the late 1990s, when there was a hiring frenzy,'' said John Raymond, principal of Cornerstone Consulting Co. LLC of Derry, N.H. who recruited Nicholson. ''So, searches these days, based on my experience, can take from one to four months due to companies' being selective about the people they want.'' |
