Get Paid What You're Worth

By Wendy J. Terwelp, CCMC, JCTC, CPBS

Question: I’m happy where I work, but know I’m not getting paid what I’m worth. I checked an industry salary standards book, and I’m earning significantly less than others are in my same position and geographic market. How can I get paid more without having to quit?

Answer: This one can be tough. First, you’ll need to do some research on your own company. Find out how they’ve been doing financially over the past five years. This may be an eye-opener for some.

If your company is publicly held, you should be able to get a copy of the annual report, one that they give to stockholders. You can also do some digging via the Internet (www.hoovers.com) and the public library. What's been their performance financially? Have they had a downturn, major slump, lost major accounts, etc.?

If your company is privately held, you may be able to find out some of the above information, but research may be more difficult. You can also use your own department’s history to assess the situation. What’s been happening in your department or in your surrounding departments? Has production slowed? Has there been significant downsizing? Has there been a problem paying invoices in a timely manner? Another method is to get annual reports of your company’s competitors. Has the market really been in a slump?

If none of these issues are true, the reason you’re not earning what you should be is probably not due to the company’s lack of resources. Therefore, you'll have to examine your own performance. Sometimes you’ve got to blow your own horn to get the decision-maker to hear you.

This is hard for many, not just because they think their bosses already know how great they are, but because they've been told to be modest. Never brag.

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