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I believe Andy's original question asked what salary would be
appropriate. Someone suggested consulting the STC salary survey and
government statistics of similar jobs in the community where the job
will be offered. That is a good place to start--it will let you know if
the company is making a serious offer or just trying to find a warm body
to do work they've been told is necessary but they don't believe is
really important.
There is also a web site out there (salary.com) which offers comparative
salaries for different communities based on Cost Of Living by Metro area
or Zip Code. It basically gives you the average salary (on a bell curve)
for that position in that Zip Code. I believe it is connected with the
CareerBuilder.com website and may use salaries reported by employers who
use the site (honestly I don't know how they generate the salaries). Of
course, as with any online information, take the results with a grain of
salt. However I can say that most of my friends and colleagues that have
used the site agree it fairly accurately reflects what serious employers
pay in a given area.
I think salary.com has another component that allows you to compare
salary "X" in City A with salary "Y" in City B (if the job offer is
outside your current metro area). If it's not salary.com there is
another site--anyone know it?--that lets you compare what you would need
to make in a different city to have the same level of income a certain
salary would afford you in your current city. It's all based on
variances in state and local taxes, utility costs, fuel costs, housing
costs, insurance costs, and many other variables.
I've also followed another piece of advice with some success: if a
salary range is offered for a job, ask for 10% above the top limit of
the offer--it demonstrates you believe you are worth more than they are
offering, and if they are serious about wanting you, you may get a
little better offer. I have used that before and found it effective.
Finally, if the company is offering significantly below what is
considered "standard" for the position in their market, then don't
bother. It demonstrates the employer is only opening the job because
they've been told it's necessary but they don't truly see it as
important and they're just looking for a warm body to fill the position.
If they're not serious about the work they want done, they may not treat
you with the respect and dignity the position deserves, either.
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