Video:How to Determine Your Worth as an Employee
with Milo De PrietoWhether you're considering a job offer or wondering what raise, if any, you should get, it's always helpful to know how to determine your worth. In this how-to video from About.com, learn steps to determine your worth as an employee.See Transcript
Transcript:How to Determine Your Worth as an Employee
Hello, I'm Milo for About.com and today we're talking about how to determine your worth as an employee.
Determine Your Worth as an Employee
Whether you're considering a job offer or wondering what raise, if any, you should get, it's always helpful to know how to determine your worth. These tips come from our outstanding site on Job Searching and you should check there for more detailed information.
Consider Cost of Living
It is helpful to understand how much it costs to live in the city where you are looking for a job. You might find a great breakthrough opportunity but can't afford to live on the salary being offered. Before you say yes, start by calculating what you need to live, maintain the lifestyle you have, or what it would take for a promotion. Online and on our site you can find many resources for averages in each city and region and can compare it to your own needs.
Research Salaries
You can research salaries based on city, region, and industry. Salary surveys offer a good checkpoint and the first place to start is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This will give you a good ballpark to begin honing what is an acceptable value for your work.
Explore Various Salary Calculators
In addition to surveys consider using salary calculators. These are online tools that can give you even more in-depth information. There are a whole list on our site and many of them get quite specific. They attempt to focus the search by experience level, which is very helpful.
Perform Informational Interviews
There are many other factors to consider as in the end you are not a cog, but come with varied experience, talents, and gifts. Informational interviews with contacts and colleagues in the field can help you hone your worth calculations even further. our guide site has some great tips and ideas for requesting and performing these.
Also, our Job Search site has tips on how to negotiate a salary as well as how to ask for a raise.
For more helpful and excellent ideas on career and job hunting, check us out at About.com.