Don’t be afraid to negotiate a sub-optimal job offer. Here are expert-backed tips to help you secure the compensation and terms you deserve.
Learn how research the right salary ranges for your target job, and negotiate the compensation you deserve.
The Top 5 Salary Research Strategies To Get You Paid What You Deserve
By A Portland Career, and edited by JD Duran
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Nobody feels comfortable working for crappy pay. How do you know what you should be paid for the position you’re applying for?
Job seekers should be aware of some important factors such as job location, company values, and of course – salary. Understanding these elements well takes a great amount of research.
A good amount of that research should focus on your salary. In this article, we discuss a handful of strategies you can use to ensure that your salary range is what it should be in your next career path:
Home → Helpful Articles → Negotiation → The Top 5 Salary Research Strategies To Get You Paid What You Deserve
Here are a couple more articles you might find helpful on negotiating a job offer:
- Ask and You Shall Receive: How to Negotiate A Job Offer
- How to Evaluate If a Job Offer Is Right for You
If you need more support, schedule a call, and we’ll be glad to help!
Strategy #1: Compare and contrast
Strengthen your salary negotiation ability by comparing the position you are being offered with another salary from a similar position. Begin by reviewing one of the big salary websites such as Salary.com or Jobstar.org along with one or two more specialized sites.
You’ll want to pay close attention to the posted role title’s base salary and average salary, and whether or not they meet the benchmark for your cost of living in your work location. Compare the posted amount to the numbers cited in the big salary websites above and note any significant differences to share later with your prospective employer. It’ll be important to be able to cite the source directly when negotiating your pay after you’ve been given an offer.
Many professional associations also sponsor salary scales relevant to jobs in their field.
Strategy #2: Research other current open jobs
Another strategy is to research similar job openings that are currently posted. You can go into a large national job site to search for market data such as www.Monster.com or www.Indeed.com. If you cannot find similar job postings listed locally, you can do a national search. Often when you locate a similar job in another part of the country you’ll need to adjust for regional differences in salaries. Also, nonprofit salaries tend to run about 25 percent to 33 percent lower than their counterparts in the private arena.
Alternative Terms
If you cannot find the exact same job title, search for salary information with similar or related job titles and job descriptions. For instance, a communications coordinator may be the equivalent of a coordinator of public relations. A vocational counselor is similar to a job developer; a graphic designer is similar to a commercial graphic designer; and a buyer is the equivalent of a procurement specialist. You can also approach your search by scanning the salaries of positions within particular categories like development, human resources, or counseling.
Strategy #3: Check with your professional network
With their years of experience, this is also a time to call on your trusted network in the field to ask their career advice with your salary research. If you are hesitant about revealing the exact figure of the offer, you may want to use a pay range. For example:
“Hi Claudia. I am so appreciative of all of your help in my job search, and I am now finally in the home stretch and have been offered a position as an environmental educator for Audubon. My research has indicated that the position ought to pay within the range of ____ and the offer is lower. What is your sense of a fair salary?”
Aside from career advice regarding your salary, your professional network could also come in handy when figuring out how to get a great reference for your next job.
Strategy #4: Talk with your loved ones too
This is also a time to be bolstered by friends and family who really believe in you, your capabilities, and the financial worth of your professional contribution. They will tell you, “Honey, you are clearly a $75,000 woman and any less would be a bald injustice.” This can come at a time especially when you tell them about a recent job offer you’ve received.
Strategy #5: Consult with a job coach
Job coaches are good at what they do for a reason. They can coach you with anything related to your professional development from how to answer tough job interview questions, to providing other career resources, and everything else in between to ensure that you’ll have the competency when applying for jobs. Especially when it comes to wanting to land your dream job someday. They can even help with how to conduct appropriate salary negotiation between you and your employer.
List of salary survey websites
America’s Career InfoNet (www.acinet.org/). Wage and occupational outlook information for your selected state and occupation.
Business 2.0 (www.business2.com). Online and magazine subscription service that gives you the latest intelligence on business, technology, innovation, and more.
Compensation and Benefits Reports (http://salary-surveys.erieri.com). From Abbott, Langer & Associates. Helpful to download the demo version of Findpay.
Data Masters Computer Industry Salary Survey (2000) (www.datamasters.com/).
Employment Cost Trends (www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/ectfaq.htm). From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Human Resource Management Compensation Survey (2002). By SHRM and William M. Mercer, Inc. (www.shrm.org/). Many reports are available for purchase.
JDA Professional Services. Inc. (www.jdapsi.com/). Informational Technology Salary Data.
JobStar Salary Guides (www.jobstar.org/tools/salary/index.cfm). Service of California’s Bay Area Public Libraries. Includes links to more than120 salary studies. Information on this site most helpful and more accessible than many of the others.
Martin Fletcher (www.martinfletcher.com/). Health care salary data.
MIS Compensation Study Summary (www.psrinc.com/salary.htm). From PSR Consultants.
National Compensation Survey (www.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm). US Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey.
Occupational Outlook Handbook (www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm). From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Payscale (www.payscale.com/). Contains summary salary and compensation reports, international survey data and a helpful salary tool that takes about five minutes to complete.
Riley Guide (www.rileyguide.com/). Salary Guides & Guidance.
River Network Salary Survey (http://www.rivernetwork.org/forms/2011-salary-survey) A 2011 salary survey of jobs in conservation and sustainability.
Economic Research Institute (http://www.erieri.com/). On-line U.S., Canada and international wage and salary plus cost-of-living information.
Salary Expert (www.salaryexpert.com/). A source for accurate compensation information.
Salary.com (www.salary.com/) Salary Wizard feature computes salaries by occupation and location.
Final thoughts on the top 5 salary research strategies to get you paid what you deserve
Cover all your bases! Like any form of research methodology, you wouldn’t come to an honest conclusion without thoroughly checking all your sources and data first. When figuring out how much you should be paid for an upcoming job opportunity, there are multiple career resources online where you can seek reliable salary data. To expand your salary research, turn to the people in your network. These people can be former co-workers/supervisors, loved ones, even career coaches. By checking all your facts, eventually you’ll end up with the proper salary information that best fits you.
Key takeaways
- Compare salary data from one website to another to quote during salary negotiation
- Research the labor market for job openings with the same (or similar) job titles/job descriptions
- Talk with people from your professional network
- Consult with a career coach for further help with your salary research
- Be sure to view multiple websites with a salary report to ensure you get the pay you deserve
Related articles you might be interested in:
How To Evaluate A Job Offer That Is Right For You
If you’re unsure if you should accept a job offer, take our “6 P’s” assessment to help you make the decision.
