The Lion’s Pride: Interviewing - Speaking Of Pay...

WildJbSafari.cm

Free daily job search advice.

Because it’s a jungle out there.

The Lion’s Pride: Interviewing

Speaking Of Pay...

Addressing the matter of pay can cause puddles of sweat for the prospective employee: ask for too much and you'll price yourself out of a job; ask for too little, and you'll be paid less than you should be. Added to that, many employers don't mention a pay range.

How do you know how much to ask for? The follow up question, of course, is "How do you negotiate the pay you deserve?"

Today, we'll tackle the first issue: how to determine how much you should ask for. We'll discuss the second, negotiating tactics, in next Thursday's post.

Determine how much you need. This may seem an obvious first step, but surprisingly, it's often overlooked. You need more than just food, clothing and shelter. You need to maintain - and ideally increase - your standard of living.

Ask others in similar positions what they make. Yes, this is a personal question and it may seem like prying. It may even seem like it's none of your business. If asking, "So, Bob, how much do you make?" makes you uneasy, try a different question. Try something like "Hey Bob - I'm going for my third interview at XYZ, and we'll be discussing pay. Do you mind if I ask what your compensation package looks like?"

Determine the prevailing wage. The prevailing wage is not what you were making. It's what the going rate is for a particular job within a particular geography. It's what the market will bear. The easiest way to determine this is to go onto your state's Department of Labor site. If you can't find your job there, call your local DOL office for help.

Go online. This is the 21st Century, after all. There are a number of sites that can help you figure out how much similar jobs pay: Salary.com, SalaryExpert.com, Monster.com and The Riley Guide all offer wage information to help you out.

IN THE CARAVAN: Determine how much you need, then research what others in your occupation are paid.

	The Call of the Wild Podcast
	The Lion’s Pride
	The Safari Guide
	In the Field With…
	The Daily Machete

Resumes Networking Q & A Adding Value

Interviewing

Negotiating Pay / The Questions You Hate to Answer / Nerves? Schmerves! / Pre-Interview Prep / Dress the Part / How to Show Your Portfolio / Speaking Of Pay... / All Shapes and Sizes / Interview Practice / What To - And NOT To Reveal / Andre's Answers and Roger's Requests / Practice Like The Karate Kid / Building Rapport 101 / Be a S.T.A.R. / Worst...Interview...Answers...Ever. / The Five Most Important Questions for You to Ask / Reflecting for Rapport / 18 Questions You're Bound to Hear / The Phone Interview / Negotiating With Mr. Smith, Part I / Negotiating With Mr. Smith, Part II: My Pete Rose for Your Reggie Jackson and Matchbox / Negotiating With Mr. Smith, Part III: Smith vs. Jones vs. Greene / Remove Thy Foot from Thy Mouth / Body Language 101 / Interviewing Disasters / Hire Your Boss / Keeping Your Cool Under Pressure / Returning the Question / The Dinner Interview / What You Want? Baby, You Know I Got It! / Know Your Industry / You Don’t Need to be a Psychic / Training / The Hippo Technique / Dropping Names / Marking Your Territory / The Walk-On Role / Body Language: The 15 Signals Hiring Managers Send and How to Read Them / You Have GOT to be KIDDING Me! / Taking a Drop: Re-Interviewing After the Fact / Proposing Your Own Job / Answering Self-Employment Questions: The Self-Employment Paradox