Know What You’re Worth BEFORE Your Salary Negotiation - CBsalary.com

Jennifer Boardman, CareerBuilder.com

So your sitting down at (what you hope to be) a very successful salary negotiation meeting for your new dream job.  The employer looks at you and asks, “So, what do you think is a fair salary compensation package?”  This is where you realize there’s a good possibility that you can blow this.

Unless, of course, you know what salary you’re worth.

Have you been doing your salary negotiation research while you’ve been going through the interviewing process?  Have you checked out the average salary range for a person in your area with similar responsibilities?  Have you tried to find out what salaries similar companies are paying their people?  How about the company you fighting to team up with?

If you haven’t done this and don’t plan to, you may be the one sitting in your salary negotiation meeting thinking to yourself “there’s a very good possibility I’m going to blow this,” and there’s a very good possibility you may be right.

The internet (hey you found it!) provides a ton of tools for salary research that will boost your salary negotiation skills.  A few things you can look for are:

• Salary Calculators – These will give you a general range of pay for the job you are pursuing in the area that you’re looking to work in.  Some will even offer information about the benefits and bonuses that usually come with the job that you should definitely address during your salary negotiation meeting.
• Personalized Salary Reports - Some calculators (like the one on CBSalary.com) will even let you personalize salary reports for yourself.  Personalized reports are a great way to find out what you should be making to compensate for your years of experience, expertise, and schooling.  Printing one of these reports out can definitely give you a leg up during your salary negotiation.
• Salary Comparison/Relocation Tools – These are obviously great if you are planning on making a big move for your new job (Salary Negotiation Topic: Are they willing to pay your moving expenses?).  These will tell you what you need to make at your new job to maintain your current living standards according to the area’s cost of living. 
• Salary Comparison/Relocation Tools Revisited - Another good use for these tools may be to compare two areas that you are considering.  For example, to uphold one standard of living in Norfolk, Virginia you may need to come out of your salary negotiation meeting with $50,000 per year.  On the other hand, you would only have to pull in $ 45,381 at your salary negotiation for the same lifestyle benefits in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The internet is overflowing with information, but don’t make it your only source!  Ask friends, family, mentors, or whoever you can get talking from your field what salary figures they were making at your stage in life.  How did they handle their salary negotiations?  Did it work?  Take the tips they have and learn from their mistakes (After all, you wouldn’t date your best friend’s ex, so why make his business mistakes?).   

Before it comes down to that final salary negotiation, find out three things:

• What your worth in the job market really is (This is where all those fancy salary negotiation prep tools come into play.)
• What you would (realistically) like to see yourself earning after this salary negotiation
• What you will settle for if the money for the salary you want just isn’t there