Maximising Your Earning Potential

Many people feel like they are being paid less than they deserve, particularly whilst prices are increasing faster than wages.

This article outlines how to review your salary to ensure you are being paid the market rate for your experience, and negotiate your salary, so you can maximise your earning potential.

Assessing your current salary

The first step in reviewing your salary is to research the average salaries for your industry and location using a recruitment advertising site such as Indeed or Monster, or a salary benchmarking tool such as Glassdoor. Read the job descriptions to ensure the skills, experience and qualifications required are similar to your current role.

Record the salary ranges and the average salaries that you find, and estimate where your experience fits within this, which enables you to assess your current value. See whether your company has salary ranges or salary bands and see where you are within the salary range. If you are already at the top of a band, there is unlikely to be scope to increase your salary without a promotion.

Negotiating your salary

If your salary is significantly lower than the market average, you may wish to try to negotiate your salary with your current employer, or you may prefer to apply for a new role.

In order to negotiate your salary, your first step is to prepare a compelling business case which includes the reasons you are asking for a salary increase, backed up with evidence. Essentially, this needs to demonstrate that you are an extremely high achiever who the company cannot afford to lose to a competitor. Your evidence can include metrics evidencing the value you have delivered in the role which may include things like increasing revenue, reducing costs and improving efficiency, as well as salary benchmarking data and/or recruitment adverts which outline the average salaries for someone with a similar level of experience.

Once you have prepared your pitch, you may wish to practice delivering this with a friend or family member, and practising answering questions such as “why do you deserve a salary increase?” It is also worth deciding how flexible you are willing to be, and whether you will stay in the role, or look for a new role if they are not able to increase your salary. Once you are comfortable with your pitch, it is time to arrange a convenient time for a meeting with your manager to deliver this.

Looking for a new role

If there isn’t scope to increase your salary in your current role, or you’re ready for a new challenge, it may be time to update your CV and start applying for a new role. You may find it helpful to read the articles on CV Writing and Interview Skills.

Do you need professional assistance in writing a stand-out CV, or improving your interview skills? I offer a full CV writing service, interview skills coaching and career coaching sessions – please don’t hesitate to contact me.

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