I was contacted recently by a job seeker who indicated dissatisfaction with his current position. According to his email he had been working for his company for 2 years and received a 4% increase the prior year. However, in looking at recently salary surveys he had discovered that his pay was lower than the average for his area.
It is not secret that I am not a big fan of salary surveys. They provide a less than meaningful view of opportunity and career growth. In fact, I believe they teach job seekers to strive for average - not much of a lofty goal. If someone is slightly above the average, have they arrived? If they are slightly below that, they quickly develop job dissatisfaction.
I offer this insight to those who look forward to the next salary survey as a gauge of career growth and success.=========================
Career Myth: Career growth is best gauged using incremental financial increases…I have nothing against financial increases but they are not very effective as a gauge of
career growth. They certainly are an indicator but as I've indicated in prior blogs, of greater value is the development of transcendent skills
(soft skills that accompany you regardless of job or role), receiving greater responsibility and project autonomy or project leadership, and the cultivation of relationships with peers and mentors.
The reason the above mentioned items are of greater career consequence is that they
more naturally lead to career growth that places you well above "average" in pay and prestige. There are times to trade pay for the opportunity to develop skills, leadership, and relationship. Just keep that in mind as your career progresses.
A job is an agreement between 2 parties.You are one of those parties. If you find that you are making less than average, gauge whether it is because your employer does not value you or because they simply do not place the same value on those skills as another employer.
Reread my very first blog entry. If that is the case and you want things to be different, you must do one of two things.
Alter your current agreement or find a new agreement.You must convince your employer that your skill set is worth more. Not because others might pay more. If you are below average, that probably means there are many other companies that are below and above that line.
You have to demonstrate why your skills have a certain tangible value. You might be surprised, a frank discussion could lead to what you want - average pay. Or, you might find out what skills they do place value on.
Or, you must find another agreement. There is nothing wrong with finding a job where they place higher value on the skills you possess. However, as indicated above, do not overlook opportunity strictly for pay.
Finally, I'm not against financial increases - incremental or dramatic - just that you
assess your career advancement with open eyes and an understanding of where your greatest opportunity exist and how your jobs are advancing your overall career.
Matthew Moran is an Arizona (Phoenix, Scottsdale,
Cave Creek) based author, musician, and technology productivity consultant who specializes in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Access, SQL Server, Microsoft Excel, and other desktop productivity strategies & tools. His consulting firm is
Kreative Knowledge.
Matt is also the author of, The IT Career Builder's Toolkit (see sidebar) - published by Cisco Press. It is a general technology computer career book (not Cisco specific), with a focus on teaching IT professionals holistic soft-skills and business acumen. He has authored numerous articles on business, technology, and creativity. He speaks nationally about business, technology, professional development, and creativity.
He performs around Phoenix and Southern California at
coffeehouses, wine bars, and
house concerts.
He can be contacted at both
KreativeKnowledge.com and
his music site, MatthewMoranOnline.com
or Sea Gypsy Music
