Salary negotiation in your current job

A friend wants to re-negotiate his base salary to be within the range of peers in his field. We looked at a salary survey website and found that he is quite underpaid. Can a person re-negotiate their salary? Is it better to quit and then get re-hired?
Salary negotiation is not just reserved for new recruits. Anyone can negotiate their salary by asking for a raise. They must be well prepared with a deliberately planned strategy and a well developed supporting case to persuade the employer.
It may seem obvious, but if you have just recently taken on the job offer, or just recently received a raise then you should wait until some time has passed and you've proven yourself. It is very important to know your value before taking on any job.
Not only is a salary an important factor of the compensation package, one can also look at factors like improved benefits, more time off, stock options or stock purchase plan. You may look to other creative compensation strategies to entice your employer to bolster your income.
Prior to asking for a pay increase you should do make sure to take a number of steps.
1) Know your market value - do not rely on just one salary survey source. Also, make sure you trust their data. Self-reported salary surveys are far less reliable than those that are reported by the human resource departments in the industry in your area.
2) Know your value in terms of the contribution you add to the business. Also be aware of value adds you do in terms of saving company costs, delivering projects on time, and delivering quality in your work.
3) You will need to discuss with the boss that you know the salary range for the current market. Be prepared with facts, and also prepared to approach this conversation with tactfulness.
4) Each person ultimately falls within a certain percentage on the salary scale. Are you a peak performer with lots of years in the industry? You'll need to agree with your employer where you fit within the performance range. Can you command the top salary within your range?
Salary negotiation is a complex art that requires both skills, knowledge and good timing. One thing is for sure, you won't get ahead as fast as you can unless you be proactive about negotiating your salary!
If you love your career where you are working, you may need to balance the quality of the worklife with your need for an increase in pay. I recommend looking for an increase where you work first before going through the job efforts unless you're unhappy with your job.
Either way one strategy that helps in negotiation is to have another job offer in hand. With that in your back pocket you will have more leverage with you salary negotiation.

Trevor Davide Grant is a project manager in the IT field and has extensive experience in salary negotiation. Trevor has worked for global telecom, power utililties, software development consulting, and a prevalent web 2.0 site. He has learned salary negotiating in the most powerfulway. Learn great tips on the topic of negotiating salary at www.HowToNegotiateASalary.com.

Article Source: http://www.c3careerarticles.com

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