When looking for a job, salary is the first thing you think about but the last thing you are allowed to technically talk about. Discontinuing etiquette is a bitter irony: you do your best to market yourself to get you a deal, but don’t dare talk about money until the time is right.
The standard career resource tools – Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Payscale – can provide an approximation of what you might expect in terms of salary for a potential position, but to be honest: They can often be unreliable. However, there are other ways to get more accurate salary estimates for a specific job posting – they just require a little more effort on your part.
Cold call people who don’t work in human resources
You will be surprised how helpful some of your potential future coworkers could be, especially if they don’t work in HR. Search LinkedIn or another corporate directory (or similar) and find people who work in related positions. There is nothing wrong with emailing these people letting them know your situation and being curious about the company’s compensation. “You can work on identifying friends or people currently working in the house and asking for some time to chat,” Hilary Pearl, executive coach and organizational consultant, told Lifehacker. “Ask them to get a feel for how people are paid or what the wage range is for the job in question.”
The division of salaries is definitely seen as far less difficult than it used to be, especially as transparency about low wages in certain industries is used to advocate fairer wage standards. Workers in some sectors have made an effort to share information from the industry and have done so publicly via Twitter hashtags and Spreadsheets where anonymous workers list their salaries.
However, since most people don’t work in such publicly accessible areas, it may be more practical to ask people in your desired position directly about salary ranges and even seek advice on how to negotiate for the optimal package.
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Government websites are actually good
It may be shaky and awkward to click through, but government databases can provide more accurate reach than many entries on the leading career sites. Sites like Glassdoor often list salary ranges based on a series of data points and are generally cobbled together from self-reported salaries and AI algorithms. The results are not necessarily as accurate as they are on the Department of Labor website contains average salary estimates for over 800 fields In the US, websites may also offer similar numbers that can affect your job search. Take the California Employment Development Department, for example provides salary information related to occupations across the state. (Not everyone lives in California, but it is fifth largest economy in the world, for what it’s worth).
And of course, many industries have their own online databases to consult. Robin Sommerstein, a Los Angeles-based recruiter, cites the example of how this works in the legal profession: “As an HR professional in law firms, joining the Legal Administrators Association has been helpful. There are free online information on salarieshow to negotiate salaries online, ”she says.
Ask directly
Then there’s the thought of literally asking a human resources or hiring manager for money – but if you go that route you have to do it politely. Timing is important, but you shouldn’t feel imposing at all, especially if the interview was a lengthy or drawn out process.
As career advisor Adam Karpiak said Business Insider in 2019“Asking the company / contact for the salary range is usually 99% professional. Avoid short, concise answers. ”
He expanded and told the publication:
For example, if a company sends you a nice email confirming and asking for an interview, don’t just reply back, “What is it paying for?” I’ve found that most companies appreciate the salary discussion because nobody likes to waste their own time.
Basically, prevailing wisdom tells you to dance around the subject until those in charge of the money are ready to talk about it, but that is not always the best course of action. To take responsibility for discussing compensation, you need to know your worth. This means that you must have already considered what you think is appropriate for your skills and experience. This is good information to have at any point in the hiring process.
Consider benefits outside of salary
Of course, in theory, a company can offer you a little more than just a fortnightly income. If a prospective employer has a reputation for promoting great culture and certain benefit packages that you find appealing, this may be as important to you as the salary grade.
Pearl emphasizes how far this can go and recommends “learning about corporate culture before the interview to match your personal criteria with the overall value proposition.
“Look at the company’s bonus structure. the quality and how much the company pays for medical services; whether special services such as childcare and parental care or reimbursement of tuition fees are offered, ”she advises. “How important is flexibility to you?”
Ultimately, there are many ways to find out what a job could pay for without simply browsing any of the most popular career websites. But it’s also still appropriate to ask about salary ranges in due course – and that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get an offer.
