-- By Barbara Ling
Have you been seduced by the lure of IPOs? Or better yet, have your
candidates been caught, hook line and sinker for such a mystical beastie?
If not, get ready. Many candidates nowadays view the idea of IPO stock to
be a great benefit to job offerings.
I certainly can attest to this! Long ago, back before the earth's crust
cooled, I left a consulting gig of 90K/year to join in an Internet startup
venture for only 60K/year, but with The! Amazing! Promise! Of! 9,700!
Shares! Of! Pre-IPO Stock!
The floor had tire marks, I moved so fast to join.
Three months later, the venture fizzled. Up like a rocket, down like, well,
a rocket too!
The Internet is affording such great a opportunity to entrepreneurs and
techies alike that many qualified candidates view IPO ventures to be their
key to the good life. And it's up to you, the recruiter or HR person, to
showcase either the good or bad points about that. You only have to look on
the Internet to see the rage of Internet stocks - Bloomberg's IPO Center at
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/ipocenter.html, IPO.com at
http://www.ipo.com, Hoover's IPO Center at
http://www.hoovers.com/ipo/ and
Wired's IPO News at
http://www.wired.com/news/ipo/ all showcase how
"necessity might be the mother of invention, but an IPO is its reward."
When candidates ask you about IPO/stock options, offer them more information
than just "Company ABC is going IPO!" Not every company with such dreams
and aspirations actually achieve level! *Why* is the candidate chasing
stock/IPOs? Is the lure enough to offset thousands of dollars of salary?
Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not, in my case, it was a very expensive
lesson.
And remember, not all IPOs go gold! Garage.com has a great repository of
Stories From Hell at
http://www.garage.com/hellStories.shtml - that should
be required reading for those dreaming of IPO riches.
You might find behind every candidate's vision of IPO a desire to make
money. Before you say, well, duh, actually address that point! Ask, what
do you see the benefits of stock/IPO for you? What if the company stock
sinks like a lead balloon? What's *really* behind a criteria of "must have
IPO stock" in order to accept a job?
Point out articles such as Red Herring's IPO Action at
http://www.redherring.com/insider/1999/0811/inv-ipotues.html, which
describes the deceleration of the IPO market. Explain how in essence, an IPO
achieved doesn't mean money in your pocket, but careful financial planning
and wise money management does. Lead your candidates in the direction of
The Motley Fool at
http://www.fool.com - it's one of the best sites for
learning about money management around.
When you do this, you're going beyond the call of duty - you're now
providing career counseling and a long-term view that the majority of
candidates will appreciate. You're looking out for their interests! This
by itself will ensure you stand apart from the rest of the field.
Article courtesy of Barbara Ling. For more information, please go to:
RISE seminars at:
http://www.riseway.com or
The Internet Recruiting Edge at:
http://www.barbaraling.com/recruiting.html.
