fair market value research
How can I research "fair market value" in order to negotiate salary, when discussing salary considered so personal? I have not seen one job on monster, careerbuilder or craigslist that exactly my job description. Any suggestions?
You probably won' t find one that' s "just" exactly your job description. And salaries are so subjective from company to company that it' s almost impossible to come up with what one specific company would be willing to pay for one specific position. However, you can do some things, one of which is to search these boards for "determining salary" or similar topics. There' s a plethora of discussions on this subject, and lots of good info. You don' t want to leave your current position for anything less than a 10 to 15% increase in salary (assuming the benefits are equivalent or better at the new company), unless your current situation is untenable or there are factors other than salary to consider (i.e., future career growth, situation closer to home, company & position stability, etc.). You can search salary.com and have your salary range customized (which you have to pay for). But be aware that site is usually on the high side, sometimes by a little, but apparently by a lot the majority of the time. Search as many other job sites and newspaper/trade postings as you can. In addition to the sites you mention, check out Nation Jobs Network, Yahoo jobs, and web sites of employment agencies or headhunter firms that specialize in your industry. You should be able to come up with a range, even if it' s wide, that' ll be in the ballpark. Really, it' s not all that difficult, but takes a lot of research.
At best, the concept of "fair market value" is such a generalized term when it comes to salaries, that I don' t think it has any real meaning - even if you could find it for your occupation - that you could use for negotiation purposes. The value that an employer puts on a particular job - any job - depends on how important that employer thinks the job is to his/her organization. There are just too many variables to consider for the notion of "fair market value" to have any meaning - location, experience, training, supply and demand, skills required, and a million other things. What you need to do, in my opinion, is figure out what salary range you need to be in to pay your bills, make ends meet, and at least maintain your present standard of living on an annualized basis. Whatever that amount is, let it represent the bottom of your anticipated salary range - the amount below which you cannot and will not go. Add about $10K to that amount to come up with the top of your anticipated salary range. Keep in mind that you may never have to disclose what this particular salary range it to anybody, but YOU need to know what it is as a point of reference for any salary offers that come your way. You may also want to factor in your own years of experience that will boost your range in relation to the experience, skills, training, past job performance, and education that will make you more valuable to a prospective employer in the particular job to be done. Another way to approach this question is to come up with a salary range that represents at least a 10% to 15% increase in whatever you were earning in your most recent job. The essence of this exercise is matching your qualifications for a particular job with the requirements of the job. Negotiation begins when you either are offered less than you need to advance your career or on the basis of how closely your qualifications match the requirements of the job - salary negotiation is the art of demonstrating how the job will be worth more to the employer because of what you can bring to it - not some abstract "fair market value" that has no relationship either to your individual qualifications or the requirements of the individual job for which you' re being considered. Make sense? | |
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