How I Help Others Prepare for Salary Negotiations: Research, Research, Research
Why many don’t conduct salary research, why you should, and four strategies that can help
Introduction
Whether you are seeking a new job, entering the workforce after an absence, or simply want a competitive advantage in negotiating your next raise, one piece of information is critical: What should your salary be?
While job candidates regularly research company history, social media profiles of prospective bosses (or coworkers), plus job qualifications and expectations, salary research remains a black hole. For example, how many hours have you spent studying for a technical interview? How many blogs or books have you read on about acing technical interviews? Compare for a moment the time you’ve spent on other job search activity but not on researching salary.
According to the results of a recent survey I conducted (available below), better than a full third, 35 percent, of job candidates admit to conducting no salary research at all. One in three job candidates rarely research and compare salaries, and less than one in 10 job candidates “always” research salary comparisons.
Negotiating Salary Is Hard
These findings regarding salary research are as startling as they are shocking. Salary plays an important role in any job-related decision. When evaluating a job offer or deciding to remain with a company — for many, of course, salary is at least as important as job expectations, perks, office relationships.
Negotiating salary is hard. Everything about this topic is hard. For example, merely knowing where to start that salary negotiation is a major obstacle for many professionals. These difficulties are an important reason why more…
