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Salary Tools

Can I fix a salary negotiation mistake before a job offer?

Q. I just made a huge mistake in a salary negotiation and am wondering if there is something I can do to fix it. This was the first interview and I was not prepared to discuss salary, as I know it is a huge no-no. Unfortunately, the interviewer's second question was, "What is your salary expectation?" Instead of answering with the question, "Well, what is the range for the job?" I said, "Between $55,000 and 60,000, but it is negotiable." I said this before I even knew what my duties would be. I don't know what I was thinking! That is well below the average for the position in my area; the range is $60,000 to $87,000 with a median of $72,000. Do I have to stick with what I said at the job offer, or can I begin negotiating at a higher level?

Salary Negotiations

For the first time, employees have access to the equivalent of a Kelley Blue Book for jobs. The availability of online compensation information has leveled the playing field between employer and employee when it comes to negotiation and job offers. Employers who are confident in their pay practices should welcome these new data sources, as they provide external validation that their compensation is competitive with the market.

Salary Negotiation Guide

Did I get a big enough raise with this promotion?


Q. I recently accepted a new role as a Web assessment client coordinator within an organization for whom I have been working for a year. My previous salary was $25,000. When asked about my desired compensation for this new role, I replied, "I don't know what the salary range is for this position," trying to get a feel for what I might expect. I was due for my one year performance review and was expecting a salary increase of at least 5 percent. My manager told me to go into this performance review with $27,000 in mind. This was lower than I was hoping for. I didn't really feel I had much bargaining power based on the way things developed. I accepted the role at a salary of $27,875. This seems low to me. Should I ask for more?

Raises & Promotions

AJT | Accounting Salary Tools

Not sure how your accounting salary compares to other Accountants? Wondering what your target salary should be when negotiating a job offer? Then you may find the AccountingJobsToday.com Salary Tools as a useful tool in determining both your worth and potential value. Here,

you can calculate your salary not only in terms of its relative standing, but also to similar positions in different regions and industries. Use the Salary Wizard to to view the national salary range for your job, and see how you compare!

After you have had a chance to evaluate your current salary, try our easy to use job search tool and do a quick search for some accounting jobs in your area.

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Salary.com 2008 Salary Value Index


Is your paycheck not stretching far enough? Are you considering moving to a new town? Perhaps you're even having trouble finding a job. If so, it may be time to look at one of the cities at the top of Salary.com's Salary Value Index. The compensation experts at Salary.com uncovered the top (and bottom) US cities for building personal net worth, taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average. This year’s list also factored in qualitative measures including diversity of industry, education level of the cities’ population, proximity to post secondary institutions, percent of population below poverty level, and median travel time to work, resulting in an interesting and robust list of top cities.
Take a look at the Top 5 and Bottom 5 Salary Value Index cities. Click to see sample salary ranges. Compare the differences between the cities oreven try out your own job title.


Top 5 Cities

Rank

City

Sample Salaries and Jobs

1

Plano, TX

Salaries and Jobs

2

Aurora, CO

Salaries and Jobs

3

Omaha, NE

Salaries and Jobs

4

Minneapolis, MN

Salaries and Jobs

5

Albuquerque, NM

Salaries and Jobs

Bottom 5 Cities

Rank

City

Sample Salaries and Jobs

1

New York City

Salaries and Jobs

2

Washington, DC

Salaries and Jobs

3

Los Angeles, CA

Salaries and Jobs

4

Honolulu, HI

Salaries and Jobs

5

San Francisco, CA

Salaries and Jobs


The Top 5

#1. Plano, Texas
Located within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, Plano is the 9th largest city in Texas. A frequent destination for business travelers, it is home to many corporate headquarters. The city has a reputation as one of the best places in the country for employers to do business and for families to live and work. Plano has a nationally acclaimed public education system and well-educated, diverse residents.

#2. Aurora, Colorado
Aurora is part of the Denver Aurora metropolitan area and is the 3rd most populous city in Colorado. Once a budding frontier town of farmers and ranchers just east of Denver, Aurora is now largely a “suburban” city with over 450 neighborhoods. Aurora has a booming economy and is a business leader in key growth industries including biotechnology, aerospace and high technology.

#3 Omaha, Nebraska

Part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. Omaha has been racially and ethnically diverse since its founding and continues to boast a rich cultural background. With diversification in several industries including banking, insurance, telecommunications, architecture/construction, and transpiration, Omaha’s economy has grown dramatically since the 1990’s.

#4 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Moving to the Midwest, the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota shows up as #4 on Salary.com's Salary Value Index list. Minneapolis is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and is the largest city in the state of Minnesota. The economy is based in commerce, finance, rail and trucking services, health care and industry.

#5 Albuquerque, New Mexico
This fast growing city lying at the center of the New Mexico Technology Corridor, is the largest city in the state of New Mexico. Boasting a newly revitalized downtown area, Albuquerque is a major Southwestern city with a diverse population and some of the leading high tech research facilities in the country.

The Bottom 5
It's no surprise that the high living costs in New York City and Washington, DC have landed these cities at the bottom of the Salary Value Index. These cities do have some of the highest average wages in the country, but when it comes time to stretching your dollar and accumulating a nest egg for the future, it difficult to do in these cities. High living costs also landed Los Angeles, CA, Honolulu, HI, and San Francisco, CA in the bottom 5 Salary Value Index cities.

About Salary.com
Salary.com is the leading provider of detailed compensation information. Through continual analysis, Salary.com tracks up-to-date salary information for more than 3,700 job titles. This information is available online through the Salary Wizard. Salary.com also tracks cost of living through the Cost of Living Wizard.

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