What salary are you worth

Few employees would say they’re worth less than they’re currently earning. After all, the only thing better than a pay rise is an even bigger pay rise.

But how do you know you’re getting paid what you’re actually worth? Have you even considered what that means? Is it simply a matter of market pricing – whatever you can get is what your value is – or is your “worth” more complicated than that?

We covered the topic of negotiating a salary increase in an earlier post, but before you start any negotiation you need to have a clear idea what you’re worth, so you know when to hold ’em, fold ’em or walk away.

Be your own benchmarker

Salary guru Catherine Catherine Heilemann, aka The Salary Coach, has spent years working in human resources, sales and change management and helps people ensure they are paid appropriately for the work they do.

Catherine says that understanding your own salary worth starts with doing your own benchmarking.

“If you don’t do your own benchmarking, you’re almost certainly underselling yourself,” Catherine explains. “Organisations spend a lot of money on reports that benchmark and grade jobs using all sorts of industry data.

“The purpose of their benchmarking is to shut you up – it puts all the power in the hands of employers.”

Start first with gathering your own data from the likes of Seek, Robert Walters and Glassdoor, all of whom have online salary estimation tools and reports. Then talk to a couple of recruiters – find out who’s hiring and what those jobs are paying.

“And don’t forget your own network,” Catherine adds. “The information you gather from your colleagues and contacts is just as valid as any report your potential employer uses.”

You’re more than just a number

While the dollars are the most important consideration, don’t forget that your salary package can include a range of other benefits that might also be valuable to you. You may think you’re “worth” $150,000 a year, but could $125,000, plus a four-day week and a company car actually be worth more in terms of lifestyle and family benefits?

Catherine says organisations are more open than ever to creative salary package arrangements. Either way, you need to walk in with more than just one number in your head.

“You need to have an absolutely utopian outcome in mind, of course” Catherine says. “But if you’re contemplating your value you need to also consider what’s important to you, whether it’s further education, time in lieu, working remotely, child care, a car or more super.

“You should consider all of these and then make sure you have a fallback position that you can also live with.”

Prepare to hold firm

Even if you’ve worked out your own value, the recruitment process is designed to lock you in to a salary that the company wants to pay.

To avoid this, first be clear precisely what job you’re trying to value yourself against.

“Be very clear what the job actually is,” Catherine says. “Organisations can hide behind terminology and language so you end up accepting a salary for a role that is more senior or more demanding than what you thought you were signing up for.”

Employers or recruiters will also often use the phone screening process to get candidates to commit to a number early in the process. Catherine recommends pushing back against that.

“The phone screening process is just the start, so when they ask you what salary you’re currently on or what your expectations are, instead ask them what range they’re look at.

“Once you get through the recruitment process and to an offer you can then say to them that you’ve had time to consider the role and this is what you think you’re worth now.”

Ultimately, what you believe you’re worth is a very personal decision that’s impossible to quantify using industry benchmarking and market pricing.

“Salary is deeply personal so that means what you get paid affects you personally,” Catherine says. “That means having a firm belief in what you are worth, supported by evidence, is so important.

“And you have to be prepared to walk away with grace if they’re not offering you what you expect.”