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Job Search Guide: START YOUR CAREER
EVALUATING JOB OFFERS EVALUATING JOB OFFERS AND NEGOTIATING
Show me the money! Okay, now that you are done rolling your eyes at the completely dated movie quote, let’s get down to talking about what we all want to know; how can I get the highest pay available? It is no secret that salary negotiations are part of the world of work and an expectation by employers. However, most students report not knowing how to negotiate or feel confident enough in their abilities to even attempt this when applying for their first professional job. This reluctance, however, could cost you thousands of dollars over the course of your career. In addition, women are still earning on average $.80 per dollar earned by men, making it even more essential to speak up and make talking about salary commonplace. Your compensation package will include a salary and a variety of benefits. For this reason, not all offers are created equal and therefore benefits should be included when planning your negotiation. I guess, “show me the compensation package with competitive benefits!” does not sound quite as catchy. -Addye Buckley-Burnell, Associate Director, Career Development
Salary and Cost of Living Research
The first step in planning your negotiation is getting a full understanding of realistic salary expectations for the position you are interested in holding, with your unique qualifications, and in the specific city/state. This can be a little tricky since we are usually accustomed to simply seeing a national median salary listed when doing career exploration. However, this number can vary dramatically depending on the cost of living in the location and based on your education and experience level. Getting a variety of reports of what to expect is the best way to determine a realistic range for your situation. Favorite websites to research salary: • career.auburn.edu/students - Scroll down to Launch Your Career to find: • Salary Calculator - See realistic salary for jobs based on your experience, education, and location • Cost of Living Calculator - Helps translate salary in one location to another based of cost of living • LinkedIn.com - Find salary data for specific job titles based on location and experience level • Glassdoor.com - Find salary information for specific companies reported by current or former employees • Salary.com - Salary data based on location which includes benefit information ©2021 University Career Center
