What 5 Factors can have a huge impact on your Salary?
What are the x5 best Salary Survey Websites?
As a Business Career Instructor at the Robinson College of Business, one of the MBA courses I teach is about salary negotiations.My MBA students always ask "how much am I worth?” My answer is “it depends.”
People may conclude that salary advising is straightforward, for people with the same degree. However, you'd be wrong. My students are shocked when I say “each of you is worth a different amount and each of you has a different dollar $ sign over your head.” They all turn around and look at each other and try to figure out who is worth what.
During interviews, you will be asked what type of salary you expect. If you do not know what you are worth, you are leaving all of the power in the hands of the employer.
It is already a “buyers” market and employers already have their pick of candidates. Wouldn’t it be better if you were armed with this knowledge? If you have any doubts about your current, market value, meet with a career counselor who is experienced in your career sector. Your counselor can help you conduct a personal, salary analysis, and determine a target salary range.
5 Mitigating Factors which Impact your Salary
1. X-Factor: Personality and Company fit. Each work unit is different, due to the personality make up of it's employees. If you are a great fit for your target employer, you may be more valuable. Are there features of your candidacy which are unique? Are you more dynamic, or confident than your competitors? Do you have a well established business reputation or business connections?
2. COLA: Cost of Living Analysis. The cost of living, and therefore your rate of pay has different buying power in different regions or sub-regions. An employer who is based in New York, will need to pay more than an employer in New Jersey. The cost of doing business is simply higher and the cost of living is higher. If you are moving to another country, you will need to do a very thorough analysis, before accepting an offer. A $75k salary in Seattle is not the same as a $75k salary in Saskatchewan, Canada. Use a COLA comparison to determine if a particular currency is inflated or deflated compared to your home currency. Will your money buy you more?
3. Industry salary norms. The same job type and job category can have wildly divergent salary fluctuations depending on the industry. Certain industries have a higher profit ratio and/or may need to pay more to attract and retain talent. For instance: a sales representative in pharmaceuticals will often make 15-20% more than sales reps in other industries. The roles and overall skills required may be very similar, but one industry may simply have a higher pay scale. It is all about supply and demand.
4. Bonus Education or Experience. What special education, experience or skills do you have which go above and beyond the job description? Recruiters carefully analyze your entire education and background. Shouldn’t you? Two individuals with the same graduate degree may have different undergraduate degrees. Thus, their initial rate of pay may not be the same. One of these degrees may be more valuable to the employer, or help position a candidate in a more positive light.
5. Insider Advantage. Do you know anyone in the company, can this be leveraged? If you already have experience in the exact same sector or industry, then you are a better match and may be worth more. Once hired your ramp-up period would be much shorter and the existing staff would accept you faster. Two seemingly identical candidates may be worth different rates on the salary scale. My answer, again is “it depends.”
Sharon's x5 Top Online Salary Websites.
1. Salary.com http://www.salary.com/
You can find salary survey information on the front page by using the Salary wizard. The wizard allows you to find information for any part of the country. Enter the job type that interests you and the geographic region where you would like to work into the Salary Wizard. The wizard returns with average salary, and a job description. The site also features a question and answer section where you can ask questions about your salary and benefits, as well as other informative sections.
2. JobSmart http://www.jobsmart.org/
To access links to the salary surveys: click on Salary Info. On the next page, click on Salary Surveys. You are now able to choose the type of salary information that interests you. JobSmart does not conduct its own survey. However, it does provide links to a wide variety of salary surveys on the web. JobSmart provides a break down of salary information by industry. Emphasis is placed on the California area.
3. Wageweb http://www.wageweb.com/
To find survey information: On the front-page click on the salary of the industry that you would like to view.
Wageweb provides salary information for the following industries:
Human Resources, Administration, Finance, Computer related Services Engineering,
Sales/Marketing and Manufacturing
Wageweb is easy to read with a few links and a table layout. The site also gives a listing of popular job titles and their descriptions.
4. Economic Research Institute http://www.erieri.com/
To access the database click on salary, benefits and surveys sources.
This links you to a page with over 100 places to look on the web for salary survey information.
The Economic Research Institute will perform individual salary searches for a particular occupation, geographic area, or skill level. However, in order to do this you must first purchase a software package.
5. The Wall Street Journal http://www.careers.wsj.com/
The information is easy to find. Under What’s Inside click on salaries and profiles screen. Click on salary data and articles by industry and job. Then, choose your industry of interest. The site is easy to navigate, is very informative, and is directed almost exclusively to jobs in the business field.
Do your research! Get professional advice if needed...
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Author: © 2010 - All Rights Reserved - Sharon B. Cohen, MA, Counseling Psychology, CPRP. Licensed Counselor. Career Counselor and Career Transition Specialist.
"Helping business professionals, reach their career potential!"
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteYou have nice blog. Numerous men and women these days don't know whether they're obtaining appropriate salary for their profession. To be clear one can check on-line salary comparison websites to know what other businesses provide for the same position. For instance to compare salary of an analyst one can just type analyst salary in a salary comparison website like Whatsalary.com
Camilyn commented,
ReplyDelete"Hi, You have nice blog.
Numerous men and women these days don't know whether they're obtaining appropriate salary for their profession. To be clear one can check on-line salary comparison websites to know what other businesses provide for the same position. For instance to compare salary of an analyst one can just type analyst salary in a salary comparison website."
Salary offered in one country may not be necessarily sufficed to sustain in another country. Individuals in big number relocate to another country for work assignments, sometimes for better growth prospects every year, with some of them fear cost of living crisis.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why PayScale is not listed. When you Google "salary survey sites," it's on top of the search results.
ReplyDeleteStay relevant and know what you're worth. Leverage your skills to secure a raise!
ReplyDelete