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Talent Market is a nonprofit whose mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector

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Talent Tip #27: Talking Turkey: Determining an Appropriate Salary Range

November 15, 2011

Whew! Last month’s tip about providing requested salary information inspired a lot of great feedback! It’s going to take several months to get to all the great ideas, but let me start with the most common question I received: how does one determine an appropriate salary range?

Yikes. That’s like answering, how do you fall in love? Hell, if I know!

I jest. However, determining one’s salary isn’t something you can easily calculate with a simple formula. Rather, it’s a very subjective, imperfect science that involves many factors. Let’s walk through some of the factors hiring managers and candidates should consider when determining salary.

  1. Years of experience – How many years have you spent in the working world? Were your roles fulltime? Part-time? Do you have long gaps in between jobs?
  2. Work history – What types of positions have you held? What sorts of responsibilities have you had? Did you manage people? What value did you create in these roles?
  3. Quality of employers – Did you work for solid, reputable entities?
  4. Longevity – How long did you last at each role? Did you have good reasons for making job changes?
  5. Salary history – What do you earn now? How has your salary record progressed? Have you been overpaid? Underpaid?
  6. Location – Where do you live? What’s the cost of living?
  7. Role at hand – What is the new role under consideration? Does it involve more responsibilities than your current role? Fewer? Will it involve a significant change of lifestyle (i.e. lots of travel, long hours, etc.)? How does your work history apply to this role?
  8. The market – What does the job market look like? Is there a surplus of talent or openings? How’s the economy? Are organizations scraping by or living as if we’re in the 80s?
  9. Now, take all these factors, add in a healthy dose of subjective value, equal parts pride and humility, eye of newt, a pinch of turmeric, and voilà! There’s your magic number.

Right, so you see how complicated this is.

Since I can’t give you a magic number, let me just offer some things to consider as you develop your salary requirements.

  • Some people are getting pay increases with new jobs, but many people are making lateral moves or even pay cuts in order to move into stable positions.
  • If you’re on the job market now, don’t expect a big pay increase when you take a new role. If you’re currently at 50k, your salary expectations probably shouldn’t be 70-80. A range of 50-60k or 55-65k would be more realistic.
  • Perhaps it goes without saying, but if you are currently unemployed, you will have less leverage in salary negotiations.
  • If you’ve been in a position without significant raises over the last few years, you shouldn’t feel entitled to a large pay increase in your next role to make up for it. Remember, this is a tough market, and most organizations are tightening their belts.
  • Consider the role and the responsibilities of the job. If you’re applying for a position of less responsibility, there’s a good chance you’ll take a pay cut. If you have clear fundraising or revenue-generating expectations, salary might be higher. For many organizations, the value a new hire will bring to the organization relative to other employees is a major factor in determining salary.

Now, if anyone has thoughts on the love question, I’m all ears.

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About Us

Claire Kittle Dixon

Claire Kittle Dixon
Executive Director
Claire has more than a decade of experience in the talent development field. She…
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Katelynn Barbosa
Director of Talent Engagement
Katelynn started her career in the Koch Associate Program and then litigated at the Institute for Justice…
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Katy Gambella
Director of Network Engagement
Katy began her career at the Institute for Humane Studies and later joined the Cato Institute…
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Stephanie Keaveney
Network Engagement Manager
Stephanie’s career started at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal…
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Lydia Ocampo
Network Engagement Specialist
Lydia started her career with Young Americans for Liberty. During her time with YAL…
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Wait, You’re a Nonprofit?

Talent Market is a nonprofit. We’ll wait here while that sinks in. We know it’s a crazy concept, but it’s been working like a charm since 2009.

Talent Market’s mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector.

We provide free consulting and recruiting services to free-market think tanks, policy organizations, research centers, and capacity building institutions dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government and free enterprise. (We do not work in politics, nor do we work with organizations that address social issues.) Talent Market believes that the road to prosperity is paved with freedom and that the success of our movement hinges on the talent that will take us there.

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