Salary Checklist

While most of us would like to claim that the reason we crawl out of bed in the morning is because of job satisfaction and the sheer joy of heading to work – this is not the case. It almost always boils down to the money – you need it and your boss is willing to give it to you for your skills.
With our salary checklist you will have all of the bases covered when it comes to getting your worth in the job market.

Your Market Value

Work out how much you are worth compared to others in your industry with your level of experience – check those positions which are offered in job ads are in similar areas to your own (the pay difference between the North and London, for example, is vast). Make sure the positions you are looking at are very similar to your own, there is no point comparing yourself to someone in a different industry or on a different rung of the ladder!

Negotiation

It is much easier to try and negotiate more money from your boss when you are applying for a job, practice your skills before applying to get the most you can from a position.

If you are already in the job and you wish to negotiate for a larger salary your position is not as strong. When you think it is time to approach your boss about salary you should consider how you can put yourself in a position of power. You should also consider how the consequences of your actions may leave you in a weakened position or possibly jobless!

Benefits

Making the most of benefit packages is a great way to get a “value,” from your employer in a way which will go unnoticed such as commission, profit sharing, share options, paid holidays and paid sick leave, educational reimbursement, life insurance, company vehicles, flexible working, child care and pensions. If your negotiations are not going well you can always attempt to gain as many of these benefits as possible – they will be of little value to the company (compared to salary) but can be of enormous worth to you.

Make the Most of Your Money

If you are negotiating because you are having problems with money it may be time to reassess finances in other parts of your life. Set budgets, destroy credit cards and pay back loans – getting free of debt, or at least being pro-active, is a good way to put your earnings into context.

Saving

Putting some money away in an investment account or a savings account is a good way to feel safer about your future prospects. Whether it is retirement or travel (or both!) knowing you have a lump of cash somewhere can help you when you are feeling the squeeze on your salary.
With this in mind you should be able to plan how to deal best with your salary.