In this lesson I’ll show you how to determine what you are worth. We will also start to build up a portfolio of documentation to show to your manager.
We will go over how to research your education, qualifications, and experience on top industry-trusted websites that provide estimates of market worth. You’ll use this to get a baseline and range of what you should be paid.
We will also start putting together a list of achievements at your current job, as well as preparing for what you would like to achieve in the future.
Salary Research Resources
In the video below, I’ll show you how to use a few of these free tools to get real industry data about how much you’re worth. Here are a few tips:
Job title matters – The job title you choose to research can have a significant impact on what you get paid. For example, Programmer vs Software Engineer can be a $25,000 difference. Choose the closest one possible to your current position with the highest top end.
Location matters – Get specific with the location you choose. You want to get as close as possible to the job you have. If you show data for a location that you’re not working in, your data will have very little worth.
Don’t sell yourself short – Find the top of your range, and stick to it. The industry data doesn’t lie. If you are a top performer, don’t be afraid to ask to be paid at the top of your range.
Document everything – Print the data you find and even go as far as to make a spreadsheet or a few slides to illustrate your research. This shows you’ve done your homework, and is very difficult to argue against.