Don't Get Paid Less Than What You Are Worth - Do Your Homework

One of the hardest things to find on the job marketidea on salary ranges. Even if you don't know
now, is employment. But after getting an offer, thesomeone, you should be able to glean bits of
next hardest thing to find becomes job transparency.information from casual conversation with some of the
Most employers will never share information on thestaff during your interviews there.
salary range they offer their employees. The shroudWhile the topic on remuneration can be difficult to
of secrecy extends from the management down tobridge, most people are very candid when asked
the ground, to the degree where employees, evenabout their experiences at the company. If the staffs
those on the same level are uncomfortable withappear to be positive and happy at the work place,
sharing information on their salaries. This makes itchances are the company pays them reasonably well.
difficult for you to determine if you are being paid fairlyIf the staffs have a great deal of complaints, you can
for your work. Especially when you're still considering ifexpect the pay to be relatively low or the company
you should take up the offer.environment is undesirable; both of which, is enough to
So is there any way to know for sure how much youmake you consider your choice twice.
should be paid? In fact, there are more than a few.Read your job description carefully
Here's how you can.It is very easy to be misled by inappropriate job titles.
Do basic research onlineMost people have pre-form impressions of what
Although much of the information on job salariescertain terms like manager or executives mean, but
remains elusive, some groups around the world havehaving those terms in the job title does not necessary
begun efforts to lift the veil. There are now severalmean that the job description will written to reflect their
websites where real people with real jobs break thecommon meanings.
silence on their salaries and offer to make thisHow much a company pays an employee is based on
information public. While they may not be employed inthe specific work that you do and the contributions you
your part of the world, these websites do provide amake. These aspects are usually outlined carefully in a
rough gauge on jobs and their relative salary range.well prescribed job description. The company's
Examples of such websites include glassdoor.expectations of what you should achieve determine
Ask the employment agencyhow much it is willing to pay, not the frivolous job title.
Another source of salary comes from employmentRead your job description carefully. The more
agencies. These agencies get information from tons ofcomplicated the tasks are you required to perform and
employers, and salaries which employers are willing tothe important your contribution is to the company, the
offer for particular jobs are readily available to them.better you should be paid.
And to top it off, these employers are all relevant toIn the end, whether you are being paid fairly is a
your area.subjective issue. All these fact finding is just to make
However, employment agencies are hired by yoursure you're not being exploited by heartless employers.
potential employers. This means that the informationIf you feel sorely under-paid despite contrary data,
they release to you may be bias. But at the very least,you're probably end up being unhappy on the job.
it's a figure you can toy around with.Sometimes it may be better to appreciate what you
Get insider informationhave and put in effort to get more. After all,
No matter how secretive or sensitive salarycomplaining doesn't help you get ahead, hard work
information is, secrets have a tendency to leak. If youdoes.
know someone from the inside, try asking for some