Get Paid What You're Worth
employer. Ask for too much and you might be dropped fromconsideration; ask for too little and you could be earning less than
what your employer is willing to pay. The way to escape this seesaw is
to do your research and find out exactly what the position your vying
for earns in the industry you"re seeking. This way, when it comes to
talking cash, you have facts to back yourself up, not just the need to
feed your shopping addiction.
How do you find out whether your salary is at market value for your
profession, position and location? You can turn to your friends, but
they may embellish their salaries, so reliability is suspect. Your
dad"s input as to what people make may be outdated. Finding good
sources is not easy, but here are some tips for assembling information
that might lead you to the answer.
Determine your needs
First, figure out what you"ll need to make each month to make ends
meet. Draw up a budget for your necessities including rent, credit
card bills, school loans, cell phone, car insurance and food. You"ll
probably also want to factor in extra money for going out with
friends, clothes and savings. That"s what your minimum take home pay
should be ideally each month .
Salary sites
Check out a Web site that specializes in salary information. You can search by job title and metro area. Ad hoc
searches on search engines can sometimes direct you to fruitful
results. AÂ search engine query for "salary information" and "salary
guides" can lead down various paths and you might get a little lost.
Even better is to narrow the search by profession, say, to "accounting
salaries" or "accounting salary guides."
Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides comprehensive occupation
information for specific jobs. Pick your industry and then your job
title Âõ median earnings are given for a range of roles per job
description. This information is based on national figures, though,
and might not reflect median earnings in your geographic location.
Trade publications and professional associations
Association sites for a particular profession might be one of the most
reliable sources of salary information. Some sites do not have salary
surveys listed among their menus, but a call or e-mail to the site
administrator might reveal how that information can be obtained. Trade
publications often run their own salary surveys, so search their Web
sites. For example, Ad Age features salary information that is fairly
detailed. One pitfall about trade and association Web sites: you often
need to be a subscriber to access information.