Do you know your worth? Does anyone? It’s one of the most complicated questions to ask yourself and be truly objective. We know that those that are happiest with their remuneration are the ones in the first month of a new job! Like all humans, people get used to what they have and want to progress. The key to career fulfillment is to have autonomy, mastery, and purpose. It is an element of mastery which means we strive to want to do better and therefore can become dissatisfied with the terms of a contract which at one point we were satisfied with. So if you're trying to understand your worth, what are the things you should look at? Let’s take a look.
Do you know your worth? Does anyone?
It’s one of the most complicated questions to ask yourself and be truly objective over. We know that those that are happiest with their remuneration are the ones in the first month of a new job!
Like all humans, people get used to what they have and want to progress. The key to career fulfillment is to have autonomy, mastery and purpose. It is an element of mastery which means we strive to want to do better and therefore can become dissatisfied with the terms of a contract which at one point we were satisfied with.
So if your trying to understand your worth, what are the things you should look at? Let’s take a look.
Whether you’re nailing down the details of a new job offer or trying to negotiate a raise, it can be difficult to estimate your salary range. How do you know if you’re asking for too little or too much when salaries can vary greatly from one company to the next?
We’re going to share some of our best tips for estimating salary range so you can be sure you’re being paid fairly. The first step is figuring out your market value. Your market value is an estimate of how much you should be making based on your job title, experience, skills, and location.
One of the easiest ways to estimate your salary range is searching online. There are many free salary calculator tools available. We suggest checking with multiple different sources and recording results. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has an online database that contains the annual mean wage for over 800 occupations. But it can be less reliable than other tools like the Know Your Worth tool on Glassdoor or the What Am I Worth? Tool by PayScale. On these sites, the data is input by users and the tools take into account experience, job, and location.
Consider with talking to coworkers or other peers in your field. Pay isn’t hush hush like it used to be in years past. Many people are more open about discussing their salary. If your state isn’t one with pay transparency, you can pose an open question such as, “How much do you think someone in my role should make?”
We had two clients recently! Both lawyers. Both 8 years post-qualified. One came to us on a salary of £30,000. Another came to us on a salary of £180,000.
The difference? Sector! Whilst one had a good work life balance (on paper) and worked in an organization with a social value at it’s core, the other worked in banking. The individuals themselves however had the same skills and experience and did the same function. When you are thinking about what you are worth are you considering what you are worth in different environments and is that important? It’s worth considering.
Recruiters and headhunters will tell you this. “Our clients only want people with sector specific experience”. This is a myth designed by recruiters to ensure they get commission from their sector-split clients and candidates. If you want to progress into others the key is to bypass these gate keepers. Time and time again we have proven with our clients how to do this.
Putting in the research to determine your worth before walking into an interview or raise negotiation can make all the difference in getting the outcome you desire. But sometimes you’re just not sure and need help from an expert. At Careerships, we’ve been helping people find fulfilling work, live up to their true career potential, and move up the corporate ladder for years.
All the best,
Richard Edge
CEO & Career Coach | Careerships
Book in via info@careerships.com for a free 30-minute Zoom call to learn how we’ll clear your path to success.
Careerships help professionals across 31 countries make substantial changes in their careers and lives.
Using our unique blend of international experience, passion, AI, commitment, and an ability to understand how to progress, we have maintained our 100% success record for our client partners, and it is our mission to keep this intact.
