Find Reliable Salary Information Online
Consider Labor Market, Number Of Sources When Seeking Salary Surveys
Maureen Bauer
Human Resources Professional Nearly all of us have utilized the Internet to help us in our career search. It has made finding new opportunities and applying for them much more convenient. Additionally, the Internet can be a useful resource when researching employment-related information, such as resume writing tips and advice on effective interviewing.
Many people have also turned the Internet as a source of information regarding what type of salary they should expect in today's market. In my experience, I have had dozens of applicants quote me a salary range that they had obtained from the Internet -- and many of those salary ranges were less than realistic.
This is not to say that you shouldn't use the Internet as a resource in researching what level of salary you should expect. It can be a valuable tool -- if you know what to look for when gathering salary information. This issue was addressed in the January 2001 edition of Workforce in an article titled, "Can the Internet Help You Hit the Salary Mark?"
First the author, Susan Marks, states that you should make sure the surveys you are using match the correct labor market. This is especially important if you are looking at salary ranges from high cost-of-living areas, such as the East or West coasts. You should also be leery of surveys that offer only job titles. The actual duties that relate to a job title can vary greatly across organizations.
Second, don't stop at only one salary survey. In order to make an educated decision on the salary range that you should expect, it's advisable to consider several different salary sources. Also, make sure that the surveys on which you rely are reputable. They should come from companies that specialize in such surveys rather than questionnaires that are completed by online users.
When you have found a few surveys that you think are reliable enough to use, submit them to the following test. If you feel that a salary survey passes these criteria, it's safe to consider that survey information when seeking work.
Human Resources Professional Nearly all of us have utilized the Internet to help us in our career search. It has made finding new opportunities and applying for them much more convenient. Additionally, the Internet can be a useful resource when researching employment-related information, such as resume writing tips and advice on effective interviewing.
Many people have also turned the Internet as a source of information regarding what type of salary they should expect in today's market. In my experience, I have had dozens of applicants quote me a salary range that they had obtained from the Internet -- and many of those salary ranges were less than realistic.
This is not to say that you shouldn't use the Internet as a resource in researching what level of salary you should expect. It can be a valuable tool -- if you know what to look for when gathering salary information. This issue was addressed in the January 2001 edition of Workforce in an article titled, "Can the Internet Help You Hit the Salary Mark?"
First the author, Susan Marks, states that you should make sure the surveys you are using match the correct labor market. This is especially important if you are looking at salary ranges from high cost-of-living areas, such as the East or West coasts. You should also be leery of surveys that offer only job titles. The actual duties that relate to a job title can vary greatly across organizations.
Second, don't stop at only one salary survey. In order to make an educated decision on the salary range that you should expect, it's advisable to consider several different salary sources. Also, make sure that the surveys on which you rely are reputable. They should come from companies that specialize in such surveys rather than questionnaires that are completed by online users.
When you have found a few surveys that you think are reliable enough to use, submit them to the following test. If you feel that a salary survey passes these criteria, it's safe to consider that survey information when seeking work.
- Is the sample size (amount of people surveyed) large enough to be valid?
- Are the key elements of the data identified, such as term definitions, position descriptions and effective date of the data?
- Are the survey sources identified?
- Is the data sufficiently current?
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