Selecting a Target Salary
October 29th, 2009
Selecting the right target salary can be a make or break decision when it comes to applying for your next job. Why? Well because the danger is that overpricing yourself will price you out of a job and give the impression that you are either over skilled or overly demanding. And on the other hand underpricing yourself can mean you don’t end up with the salary that you’re worth or worse yet not even get the job because you are perceived to be too junior.
So then what’s the way forward? It is key to take into account 3 main criteria when you consider your salary expectations for your next round of job applications -
- What is the market rate for people of my quality and experience? This will determine that you are in the right range when it comes to your peers who will be applying for the same job.
- What is my current salary? Employers will often use this to determine what your pay rise should be into your next job. Of course sometimes your reason for leaving is because you feel underpaid but then this must also be weighed up against the likelihood of your new employer giving you, for example, a 40% pay rise.
- What is the salary range of the job I am applying for? Of course there is not much point pricing yourself out of the employer’s range as you are likely to appear to be at the wrong level for the job.
Mercer Bradley is here to help will all of these thought processes, so feel free to contact any of our consultants any time.
Posted in Job Seekers -