Knowing your worth is a key part of your career plan. To move up the ladder, you need to know exactly what you’re bringing to the table. This ensures that you’re being fairly compensated for your skillset. Around 77% of Americans believe they are underpaid, but few know what to do about it. Here are some steps to determine your true value, as well as ensure you’re receiving an appropriate salary. Is your salary too low? Let’s find out!
Do Your Research
Before applying for a job, you should do some research on the position’s average salary. Free resources like LinkedIn and GlassDoor are excellent tools to help you find out what each position pays. Furthermore, you can break down the data and see how each position’s salary may fluctuate depending on where you’re located in the country. For example, an IT Technician makes an average salary of $56,967 in Salt Lake City, UT, but that same position makes around $63,340 in San Francisco, CA.
Doing your research ahead of an interview will help you better negotiate and speak intelligibly about your salary. Unfortunately, this is something most people fail to do and therefore end up accepting far less than they should. Understanding your worth means doing your research.
Meet With Your HR Department
If you’ve been working at your job for a while, consider setting up a one-on-one meeting with your HR department. Some HR departments have specific compensation specialists who can discuss opportunities for career development and advancement you may not know about. Furthermore, you can take this time to discuss the raise schedule and how you can better prepare for the upcoming review season.
Contact a Staffing and Recruiting Company
One of the best methods of understanding your worth and identifying if your salary is too low is to reach out to a staffing and recruiting agency. Whether you’re looking for a new job or you’ve happily been with the same company for years, staffing companies can offer key insight into how much you should be making where you currently are.
The nature of staffing and recruiting agencies means that they regularly go over positions, qualifications, and salaries to help them place top talent in positions where they can thrive. If you need a third-party consultant to identify how much you should be making, use a staffing agency.
Understanding your worth is an important step in business. Make sure you’re never under-valued by doing your research and figuring out how much you should be making.
How Can Techbridge Help?
At TechBridge, our goal is to bridge the gap between business and employee, matching qualified workers with the companies who need them. If you have any further questions or you’re interested in our staffing and recruiting process, contact us today!