5 Salary History Tips

  1. Know your position on revealing your salary history before you begin your job search. Do you consider it private and confidential? Are you willing to walk away from a job if the employer demands this information? What if the employer next wants information about your health history? Don’t compromise your values. You can always find work, but regaining your self-worth is much more difficult

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PayScale

With the largest database of online employee salary data in the world, PayScale provides an immediate and precise snapshot of the job market. Their real-time profiling system indexes custom employee attributes (such as industry-specific certifications) an

Salary Source

Salary Source is a fee-based tool for assessing the current market value for any of over 350 benchmark positions. With Salary Source, you are guaranteed to receive at least three different survey sources for every position. You are also able to specify wh

What to Ask for and How

To find out if it makes sense to try to bump up the salary offer, determine the mean for your position, industry, and region of the country. “If you have any information about the terms and perks competitors offer, mention those to the person with whom you’re negotiating,” says Pri Shah, an associate professor of strategic management at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School, who … [ Read more ]

What You Can Negotiate

Time

  • Time frame to decide
  • Start date
  • Vacation (personal days, sick days and paid holidays are not negotiable)
  • Flexible hours

Money

  • Base salary
  • Signing bonus and timing of payout
  • Year-end bonus (variable or guaranteed)
  • Equity, stock options or stock purchase, profit sharing

Benefits

  • Retirement (matching and vesting)
  • Tuition reimbursement
  • Day care
  • Medical, dental, vision and other insurance

Work Environment

  • Location
  • Telecommuting
  • Equipment (laptop, PDA, home computing set-up, wireless connection, cell phone, car)


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Understand the Organization’s Salary Structure

If you are already employed inside a company, then you have indirect access (and, perhaps, direct access) to the salary structure the company uses for pay decisions. The salary structure is not public knowledge, so you must ask around. Someone you know will know how the compensation is arranged within the organization. If you are considering a new job in a new part of the … [ Read more ]

When and How to Discuss Salary During an Interview

It happens in almost every job interview. Your potential employer looks you straight in the eye and asks the question that gets you squirming in your seat: “What kind of salary are you looking for?” It takes finesse and negotiating know-how to get the best possible pay and perks. You can learn how to navigate the rocky waters of talking about salary during an interview … [ Read more ]

Talking Salary – Quick Tip

Timing is everything in the interview. Let them bring up the subject of money. If you are asked what your salary expectations are too early in the process‚ just say you would rather postpone that discussion until you have more information about the position. Ask‚ “Could you tell me the range budgeted for the position?”

Salary Requirements: How to Respond with Confidence

It’s the question many job applicants dread: What are your salary requirements? If you’re responding to an ad that asks for this information up front, what should you do?

  • Offer a Salary Range
    Instead of giving a specific number, provide a salary range, suggests Mike Worthington of ResumeDoctor.com. Remember that it’s impossible to give an accurate answer before

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Salary Negotiation Know-how

Allen Salikof, president and CEO at Management Recruiters International Inc., offers these 10 tips you should keep in mind as you head into salary negotiation talks:

  1. Ask
    You’ve heard of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” rules, right? Well, the first rule of salary negotiation is, “Don’t ask, don’t get.” You’re unlikely to ever get more than a cost-of-living adjustment

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Researching Your Worth

You’ll always be at a disadvantage in a salary discussion unless you know the going rate for your talent. The sources of that information vary in reliability, so you have to know where to ask. And, given the touchiness of the subject, it also helps to know how to ask.

  • Online resources
    Start your investigation online, where

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Preparing for Negotiation

Think carefully through your employer’s choice as you get set to negotiate over salary. Put yourself in their shoes and keep on asking yourself whether it sounds reasonable, fair, and appropriate from their point of view. Just because you want more money, it may not be reasonable from your employer’s point of view to pay it to you. Think about how your boss could explain … [ Read more ]

Power Relationships and Negotiation

Generally speaking, the higher the level of skill and experience required to do a job, the more equal the power relationship between the employer and the job seeker and, therefore, the more room for meaningful negotiation. The reverse is true for jobs that require low skill levels and little experience.

Factors Affecting the Negotiation Process

Power relationships are also affected by other, less quantifiable … [ Read more ]

Make the Company Meet Your Compensation Needs

When a company starts to consider you seriously, you should begin to think about the negotiation. What do you want? What are you prepared to accept? How bad do you want the job? What else can you do to ensure the best results? Here are some additional tips:

  • Choose Your Top Offers
    If you have more than one or two offers, you

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4 Factors That Can Increase Your Perceived Worth

There are at least four factors that can increase your perceived worth. All of them fit into the context of networking and interviewing, and all of them can be turned to your advantage without alienating potential employers.

  1. How You See and Present Yourself
    Are you confident? Do you speak convincingly about your accomplishments? Do you have a clear and credible objective?

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