Four-in-ten Sales Professionals Plan to Change Jobs in 2004, CareerBuilder.com Survey Finds

CHICAGO, January 27, 2004 - Four-in-ten Sales professionals will be placing themselves on the market this year in the pursuit of a better job, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com. Those changing jobs say they are motivated by the desire to earn more, advance their careers, find a more rewarding work experience and start their own businesses. The CareerBuilder.com survey, "Trends in Sales," was conducted from November 18, 2003 to December 4, 2003 of more than 175 workers.

"Sales professionals are charged with finding the next bigger and better deal for companies," said Mary Delaney, Chief Sales Officer for CareerBuilder.com. "It makes sense they would apply this same concept to their own careers, especially when you consider that one-in-four Sales professionals are dissatisfied with their current jobs. With the economy in recovery phase and more businesses investing in their revenue generators, 43 percent of Sales professionals will be actively pursuing a better payoff for their efforts."

One-in-ten Sales professionals say they look for a job on a daily basis. Compensation remains the number one motivator for making a change. Fifty-four percent of Sales professionals express dissatisfaction with pay with 50 percent reporting they did not receive a bonus in 2003. Although 42 percent of Sales professionals say they did receive a raise last year, nearly half of those recipients say the raise did not meet expectations. Fifty-seven percent were given a salary increase of 5 percent or less, 33 percent were given a six to ten percent increase and 11 percent received a boost of 11 percent or more.

Upper mobility is also a hot issue for Sales professionals with nearly one-in-five reporting they were overlooked for a promotion in 2003. Although Sales professionals are generally content with career development and learning on the job, 44 percent of Sales professionals say they are dissatisfied with actual opportunities to move up within their organizations.

In addition to pay and career advancement, Sales professionals are looking for a work experience that is better suited to their professional and personal needs. One-third of Sales professionals say their workloads are too heavy and one-in-two state they work in excess of 40 hours per week to meet quota. With demanding workloads and busy travel schedules, one-in-four say they are unhappy with their work/life balance.

For Sales professionals looking to change jobs this year, CareerBuilder.com offers smart online products to help them target their job searches for salaried and hourly positions. The site gives job seekers the choice to search by industry, location and job type, and provides online career assessments, coaching for interviews and tips for salary negotiations. Job seekers can indicate their work preferences, education and experience and have jobs automatically emailed to them. Interested employers can review job seeker profiles and contact qualified candidates directly.

The Survey
The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Trends in Sales," was conducted from November 18, 2003 to December 4, 2003 of more than 175 employed Sales workers. To collect data for the survey, CareerBuilder.com commissioned SurveySite to use an e-mail methodology whereby individuals who are members of SurveySite Web Panel were randomly selected and approached by e-mail invitation to participate in the online survey. The results of this survey are accurate within +/- 7.34 percent (19 times out of 20).

About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is a leading online source for maximizing recruitment dollars and optimizing job searches with superior products, customer service and technology. With a unique combination of national, local and niche audiences, CareerBuilder.com makes it easy for recruiters to reach the most qualified candidates with industry-leading market research data and support. Job seekers can search for the right job from more than 400,000 continuously updated postings, representing more than 25,000 of the top employers in virtually every industry, field and location. Together with Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), CareerBuilder.com includes the Web's top newspaper sites - the most trusted employment sources in recruiting. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, call 888-670-TEAM or visit CareerBuilder.com at http://www.careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com