A panicked job applicant called on his cell phone from the company washroom. He had excused himself from a job interview on the pretense of having to use the bathroom. He whispered into his phone, ''I didn't think we would talk about money at the first interview, but they just offered me the job! And they're asking me about salary. I don't know how much this position is worth. What do I do?''
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Obviously, you want to avoid finding yourself in this situation. Some people put in so much time and effort to get hired, but then shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to compensation. If you don't know what you're worth, find out well before you talk money. There's no reason to go into a job interview so unprepared, since there are a number of sources you can use to inform yourself.
Of course, the Internet has a number of sites that provide information about salaries. Not only can you find general ranges, but sometimes you can also find very specific information. Good sites include JobStar.org, PayScale.com, Salary.com, and CareerJournal.com. Likewise, many periodicals, including professional journals, will periodically publish salary surveys.
People sometimes have a hard time matching their job to a job title. You'll simply need to pick one — or two, perhaps — that seem close. The job descriptions, if available, can help you select a title most closely related to the level of responsibility.
Your peers are another good source of information. They may not tell you what they themselves make, but they are often very aware and open about what others are making. A good source of peer information is professional associations: attend their networking events, volunteer on a committee, get to know people, and you can get an earful. Plus, many professional associations will periodically publish salary surveys.
This strategy has two added benefits: finding out when companies are hiring or have needs you can help with, and bulletproofing your career by keeping you in contact with peers. There is so little job security these days that it pays to keep connected.
If you are interested in government employment, salary information is often available to the public. Consider, for example, a man who was interested in working in the legislature in another state but didn't know if the positions paid enough or what salary he might be able to request. I advised him to request a list of the salaries of all legislative employees. Armed with this information, he determined that the salaries were in an acceptable range, and he knew how to price himself.
Along these lines, the federal government has a ''GS'' rating system for federal positions. For example, a position classified as ''GS-9'' has a set range within which a person can be paid. While that range is fixed, it is sometimes possible for hiring managers to manipulate the system a bit to bump you up to a higher level — say, GS-11 instead of GS-9 — and pay you more, if they really want you.
Once you have your salary information, using it takes some finesse. You have to know not just what the average person makes, but how your skills and experience compare with that average. For instance, salaries for professional baseball players have a huge range. A man who dresses as a mouse, the mascot of a certain minor league team, gets paid more than the team's players. Meanwhile, the best ballplayers — those who make it to the major leagues — can earn annual salaries between a few hundred thousand dollars to well over $10 million annually.
Additional finesse is key in negotiating for the benefits and perks to sweeten the deal, but that is a topic for another day. A good career coach can help you with these issues.
Do what it takes to learn about your worth in the market. You've worked hard to develop your skills, so on your job search, make sure all that hard work pays off for you. Thousands of dollars are at stake.
About the Author
David Hults is a St. Louis-based career coach, speaker, and author of From Cornered to Corner Office. His firm, activ:8 career coaching, helps clients through a special process to determine their true on-the-job market value. For a free tip sheet of 26 things applicants need to consider when negotiating, email David at david@activ8careers.com, or call 314-966-3888.
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