Why Employees Are Leaving
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Yasmeen Anderson
Marketing, FPC
800.886.7838
WEB SITE POLL FINDS THAT EMPLOYEES, NO LONGER AFRAID OF THE RECESSION, ARE LEAVING THEIR JOBS FOR BETTER WORKING ENVIRONMENTS AND GREATER CHALLENGES
FPC Workplace Web Poll Data Also Indicates Many Job Seekers Anticipate an Increase in Compensation of Greater than 10% in Their Next Position
NEW YORK, March 7, 2005—Recruiting professionals at FPC, a national executive search firm with more than 70 offices polls job candidates visiting the site to report on their job change activity and their expectations for the future.
This latest data from the FPC Workplace Web Poll covering early December 2004 to the end of February 2005 indicates that the nations’ employees are starting to act on the itch they’ve felt over the last few years. No longer afraid of being the last one hired when a company faces downsizing, employees are exploring their options.
Of 1066 respondents to the question “What is your primary reason for changing jobs?”
17% want a better working environment, 30% want a greater challenge, while only 8% are seeking a new job for more money. The remaining candidates either want a career change or were downsized.
Notwithstanding the low rank of more money on the list of reasons for leaving, job seekers still expect a significant increase in compensation in their next position.
Of 1064 respondents, 35% said they expected an increase of over 10%, 26% said they expected an increase between 5-10%, and 33% expected approximately the same compensation (+/- 5% change).
A small number of candidates saw less money in their future, with 3% of respondents expecting a decrease of 5-10%. And even though it is not uncommon to take a small set-back in compensation for a larger gain in potential, only 3% expected a small decrease in compensation of greater than 10%.
“With the economy showing marked improvement and employees having stuck it out where they were through the hard times, it’s natural to have a period of increased job changing at this time in the recovery cycle. Companies will have to take steps to retain those employees that play roles of particular importance to them,” said FPC President Ron Herzog.
In order to gauge the trends in hiring, the FPC Web Poll revisits the question of how long candidates have been in the job market. In 2002, while hiring was slow, a whopping 34% of candidates reported being in the job market for over six months, compared to the latest data, showing a significant drop to 19% of a total 1081 respondents. Now, 68% of respondents indicate their time in the job market to be under three months, up from 48% in 2002. Currently, 13% have been searching for between three to six months, 12% between six months and one year and only 7% have been searching for over a year.
“It’s encouraging to see that people seem to be in the job seeking mode for less time. It means that companies know what they are looking for and are moving quickly to find them. Candidates should see the hiring trend data as a positive sign, but I would urge them to keep working hard to make themselves as marketable as possible. With so many people now in the job market, it remains just as competitive as when there were fewer jobs. It’s important to know how to position oneself in the job market to differentiate from all the other candidates they are now seeing,” added Herzog.
The FPC Web site, www.fpcnational.com, offers candidates actionable articles, such as “Perfecting Your Two-Minute Personal Sales Presentation”, “Managing Your Career Track” and “Not Your Old Fashioned Interview, How to Prepare for Situational and Behavioral Interviews.” These tips join many others covering all areas of the job search process drawing on the company’s years of professional experience in screening resumes for client companies, helping executives to get interviews and negotiating new positions.
The FPC Workplace Web Poll takes the pulse of candidates in the ever-changing job market and spots developing trends. FPC conducts ongoing research so that its recruiters can provide the most current advice and information to job candidates and client companies. FPC shares pertinent results with the public.
About FPC
FPC is a national executive search firm with more than 70 franchise offices. The award-winning fpcnational.com website offers job seekers access to its network of hundreds of professional executive recruiters and job opportunities in many industries and disciplines as well as providing job search information and assistance. The company has been providing human asset and career solutions since 1959. Advocates for both clients and candidates, FPC recruiters are committed to bringing together the right individual with the right opportunity. For further information about FPC, call 800-886-7839 or visit the FPC Web site at www.fpcnational.com. For job search tips, visit the Services section or the Media Center in About Us, for more information about FPC. ###