CAREER PURSUIT 2021

14 EXPERT ADVICE - EMPLOYMENT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SALARY NEGOTIATION alary negotiation can be one of the trickiest parts of your career transition. Salaries are often not published in job listings, and some experts recommend that you don’t ask too much about the salary too early on in case you come across as being driven purely by money. However, the discussion does come up, and the best thing you can do to be well placed in the negotiation is to know your numbers. You need to be familiar with market conditions and competition for the role you’re aiming for. You should understand the value of the qualifications you have, and you’ll need to recognise that local economic factors can impact typical salary offers. You will then have the facts to support your position in your salary negotiation. RESEARCH Salary negotiation begins with research. There are many sources you can access online, including Glassdoor, Monster, and Indeed, which may provide some information on typical salaries for the role you are looking for. You can review positions advertised to see what differences certain qualifications justify in salaries. As a caveat, advertised salaries tend to be lower than what the real averages are. This is because it’s mostly third- and public-sector organisations that advertise salaries, and they often pay less than private- sector equivalents. Recruitment agencies are generally a good source of information. Some publish salary benchmarking data, which you can download in exchange for your email address. Michael Page, Hays, and Robert Walters are some of the international companies that offer this. However, some smaller organisations do this too, so make sure you find out about local recruitment agencies that specialise in areas relevant to you. You can also ask people within your own professional network, particularly those who have already transitioned/already work in the sector you’re applying to. Whilst talking about money can be an uncomfortable topic, you may find some are willing to share their salary with you. ADVERTISED SALARIES Salaries are more commonly included in adverts for public- sector and third-sector roles than in private-sector job listings. If the salary is stated in the advert, chances are there is less room for manoeuvre. Typically, an employer would expect someone to start at the lower end of any salary range, working up to the higher end in subsequent years. Organisations do this to try and ensure transparency, equality, and fairness in pay levels. If a salary hasn’t been advertised, then you may have more scope to negotiate. Remember though, even if a salary isn’t on the advert, the organisation will still have a rough figure By Emma Davies MCIPD CertRP Money, money, money. Director of the specialist ex-military recruitment company, Joint Force Alba, delves into the logistics of negotiating a salary. Joint Force Alba focuses on supporting organisations in Scotland to access the uniquely experienced and highly-skilled talents from the Armed Forced veteran community. S