Increasingly, employees are calling the shots, from telling employers what they are worth to dictating the compensation packages they expect. Most companies appreciate this can-do, hyperaggressive attitude. They will want you to link your compensation to outcomes. They want it. The truth is that in the Internet economy you can't be replaced easily.
Net employers know it and they know job candidates know they know it.
With unemployment in technical specialties at all-time lows, companies are forced to respect employees in ways that our teachers never considered. The point today is employee retention and recruitment. Signing bonuses, stock options, sports cars, sabbaticals. E-business leaders know that their most valuable assets ride the elevator out of the building every day, which means that their biggest challenge isn't the competition for products, it's the competition for human resources. The No. 1 competency for the companies voted Forbes' Best Places to Work is recruitment and retention.