Careers

Discussing salary and benefit requirments with a prospective employer can be intimidating and uncomfortable. Job seekers fear of being perceived as too aggressive and consequently losing the oppurtunity for employment. There is a four step salary assessment for determining your ideal salary range.

Step 1: Review all current bills, anticipated expenses, etc. to determine the minimum cash requirments for meeting your needs.

Step 2: Clarify your value in the current employment market and with the specific employer. Research the “going rate” for your job area by asking friends, relatives, companies, placement services and others about their salaries. Review salary surveys from professional journals, Bureau of Labor Statistics and other resources. Also investigate how the prospective employeer compares to competitors.

Step 3: Determine a realistic “dream” figure, a salary that would make joyous celebratioin inevitable but that would not price you out of a job in your field.

Step 4: Establish your desired salary range by placed your average market value as determined by your research on the bottom end of your range and your realistic “dream” salary on the top end of your range. Although this range may appear high because it is created from the top half of your personal salary assessment, you should realize that negotiating a salary offer down is much easier than negotiating your range up.

One thing to consider that is often forgotten is the cost of living differences if relocating would be required. This cost of living is obviously going to be higher in urban areas so keep this in mind. The website www.homefare.com can give a cost of living comparisons.

This page gives you an oppurtunity to plan your salary negotiation. In the next post about negotiations I will discuss when to begin negotiations, the process of negotiation and reacting to the initial offer.