Many Kenyan job seekers ask us how to determine what salary to ask for in a new position. This is an important question for several reasons. First, because you want to be compensated as much as possible for your hard work. Second, your desired salary range is an aspect of the “marketing package” you’re using to sell yourself to prospective employers.
Just like when you go to shop for a car or a suit, the price tag is a feature just like the name brand or the store you purchase from. When it comes to cars, for example, most people (men) first establish a price range that they want to pay for their new vehicle and then look at all the cars available within that price range.
Someone looking for a luxury car might decide ahead of time that they want to spend roughly K’sh 1,700,000 for the car. Someone looking for a low-end car might decide they want to spend about K’sh 500,000. The same applies for Kenyan companies looking for job candidates. They often get an idea first about what they want to pay and then look for candidates within that range.
As a job seeker, it is important to understand that when you’re dealing with proactive recruiters — i.e. recruiters who are actively seeking job candidates — you have to be able to grab their attention quickly and establish that you are relevant to them. HR managers get alot of CVs in any given day. Most of the CV posted on the job sites are for positions where there is a lot of competition — jobs that a lot of people are competent at.
If you are one of just a handful of people who’s good at what you do — like an electrical engineer or a nuclear scientist — then you already stand out and how you market yourself is not critical. But if you’re like most people, you do need to differentiate yourself.
When HR managers search for candidates, they often get back hundreds of CV’s in their search results, just like you see hundreds of job ads when you search for jobs on the job sites.
Even if you’re happy making what you’re making currently, it is still important to get an idea of what companies are paying for your position now. If you are earning substantially less than the market rate for your job and you advertise yourself with that salary, a manager may not consider you because they could think your low salary reflects a lack of skills or experience.
One way to determine what the right salary range is would be to look at jobs advertised. Search the job adverts for jobs requiring your skillset and experience. It is also important to look at the industry the job is in. Some industries pay more than others because they are more stressful and require more work hours (financial services, for example). If you’re open to jobs in several different industries, consider developing salary ranges for yourself for each industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment