How Much am I Worth?

Before negotiating salary, benefits, or any other type of compensation; you have to know what you’re really worth. Your worth to the company is determined by the company, not you. If you’re a current employee, it’s based on past performance, but more so on future performance (what they THINK you'll be able to do).

"But, I’ve worked here for 15 years and I've always done a great job." Why isn’t that past performance not a more important factor you ask? While it helps if you’re a “known commodity”, your ability to perform your future duties at a high level is what really matters to the company in determining the salary associated with the position.

One of the most successful coaches in NFL history, Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, uses the concept of paying for future performance better than any other coach in league history and it’s one of the reasons the Patriots have been so continuously successful.

They don’t overpay for anyone and in the case of this sport where physical skills can disappear quickly, they try to release players before their skills start to decline. Most other teams pay for past performance and are routinely disappointed.

You’re not a professional football player and more than likely, your skills will not decline, but hopefully, continue to get incrementally better. The point is that just like in professional football, in corporate America, we’re paid for what we’re worth.

Here is how to determine what you’re worth.

While it’s your employer who decides your value internally, the market also dictates the value of people in positions similar to yours. There are many places where you can get an idea of what the market is paying for someone with your skill set and experience.

Industry Organizations - When I was in the purchasing industry, some of the top organizations in the field such as The Institute for Supply Management conducted an annual salary survey. This was brilliant information that a person was able to get a great idea on their market worth from.

You could look at salaries by title, experience, education, gender (fair or not), industry, company size, and a few other categories. This is powerful information for you to use in your negotiations and show your manager and your HR department if they are out in the left-field compared to the market.

Job postings - With the advent and proliferation of online job boards, with a little time on these various sites, you should be able to get an idea of what your market worth is. Look for jobs similar to the one you’re performing and you should be able to get a good number of data points to be able to determine your market worth.

Networks - Do you belong to a professional organization within your industry and is there someone you can speak with to get this information? Most people love to talk about themselves and what they’ve accomplished. Try to get in touch with someone at your industry organization and speak with them. If they don’t conduct salary surveys, they may still have a source for the information they may have used to publish other information or articles.

HR - Yes, the same HR that you may be negotiating with for your next job or internal salary discussion. Is there someone on the inside that can help you with salary ranges if not specifics? You’d likely have to have a friendly relationship with them, but you could also be bold and just ask someone on the inside if they could help you.

Compensation Analysts - This is a real job in larger companies. They typically work within the benefits group and sometimes the payroll department. The company has to insure that they are being somewhat in tune with what the market is paying for similar roles or they will end up with employees at the lower end of the talent spectrum.

The bottom line is that the information is out there. You need to find it and use it assuming that it supports your case for a higher salary. If it doesn’t support what you’re asking for, it’s still useful information.

What do you think HR and the hiring manager are looking at and going to use to refute your request? They’ll say, “Here is the latest information from ‘What the Market’s Paying’ magazine and that’s all we will pay.

You will have already seen this and used it as the starting point for your case for more salary. Your answer would be something like, “I’ve seen that information, and here is why that doesn’t pertain to me….” I’ve got more education, more experience, and my additional duties that they don’t list include: “X, Y, and Z!”