I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and got the opportunity to watch a little World Cup soccer! Now that the excitement of the games and holidays are winding down, it’s time to refocus on your goal – scoring your next job.
If you’re serious about finding a new job, this is the time to kick things into high gear. Keep in mind that an average search can often take a few months — and the holidays will be here before you know it. Considering that, there’s no time to spare.
In my latest Memphis Daily News column, I discuss the power the internet has to help you to level the career playing field. Although job selection should be a fair process, it often has flaws. Research shows that certain groups of people struggle to get a fair shake. Even things you have no control over such as your name or your height can influence your job prospects.
The internet gives you the opportunity to research companies from the inside out in a way that wasn’t easily available before. On this week’s Copeland Coaching Podcast, I will be interviewing Glassdoor.com’s Career Trends Analyst, Scott Dobroski. I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a few highlights with you.
Glassdoor offers many useful features I recommend to all my clients: salary data, company ratings, interview questions, and job postings. Information like salary data is reported to the website anonymously by current or past employees. It allows you to get the inside scoop, so you’ll be more prepared when you interview.
Here are a few salary examples. First, let’s look at a Manager position in Memphis, Tennessee. This isn’t with a certain company, and it’s not a certain type of Manager. It’s an average. You can see that the range is $40K to $120K, with a median of $76K. This is an enormous range.
Now, let’s drill down more closely and look at what it’s like to be a manager at the largest company in Memphis: FedEx. This particular position is for a FedEx IT Manager. The range is from $99K to $159K, with an average of $138K. Included in this number is an annual bonus of around $12K. Although this range is not as wide, it’s still a very — very wide range!
When you see this information, you may wonder where you land on this spectrum.
Sometimes the candidate who falls on the high end of the scale has more experience. They may have a better education, or more experience managing others. They may have some other special skill that makes them stand out from their competitors.
But, sometimes, the person is just a better negotiator. They are awarded more money not based upon the value they bring to the company or their hard work or long hours. They receive more because they were willing to take a risk and negotiate.
Before you begin your negotiation however, it’s important that you understand the playing field. You should know how much a particular company pays. You should understand what changes have happened at the company lately. Take a pulse on what the employees think of the company. All of these factors help you to be a more informed job seeker.
Unless you have a family member or close friend working at a particular organization, it can be hard to find this kind of data. Or I should say, it used to be hard. With the growth of websites like Glassdoor, job seekers are given the opportunity to do their homework like never before. From the comfort of your couch, you can find salaries, company ratings, and potential interview questions — for the exact company you want to work for.
That’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?
The #1 way you’re going to miss out on this information is if you don’t take the time to look it up. When you’re job searching, doing your research – like doing your homework – is critical to your success.
Tune in to the Copeland Coaching Podcast tomorrow to hear the entire interview with Scott from Glassdoor.com, and get more great insight on how to level the playing field in your job search this summer.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
