SALARY NEGOTIATIONS, Asking for a Pay Rise in the current Economic Climate

In this current economic climate is it career suicide to ask for a pay rise?

Imagine the scene – you’ve worked with the same company for a good few years and over the last 2 years you’ve had diddly squat by way of a pay increase, not even the cost of living. With margins being squeezed from all sides how the hell do you ask for a pay rise? When it comes to asking for a pay rise, even the most confident people can suffer a crisis in confidence.

Can you see your boss saying ‘I’m sorry, but the business just isn’t in a position to increase your salary”. Gutted ! All that tension, those sleepless nights lost in a moment as you haven’t prepared your case. Think of the conversation like a job interview, you need to sell yourself to your boss all over again.

Businessballs.com makes a very good point on their website and mention how it is important to recognise the difference between the value of the role that you perform and your value as an individual. The two are not the same. A maximum salary level is probably allocated to your role, you may already be earning this, and no matter what you do you’ll never get paid any more {aside from cost of living}. Your ‘potential earnings’ could be much higher but you will never achieve this by staying in the same position.

We are all aware that salary levels are largely dictated by market forces and the contribution that you, the employee, make to company performance. In this uncertain market I would advise that you focus on developing your value to the employer if you want to negotiate a pay rise.

Here are my top 5 tips to help you with your salary negotiations;

Prove your worth - show how the work you’ve done in the last year has had a positive impact on the company. Justify why you deserve a bigger pay rise – has your job grown with additional responsibilities, do you have a larger team to manage? If your role carries the ability to make a financial difference you need to highlight the costs saved or extra profit or revenue achieved from your efforts.

Research what other jobs are out there - do they pay more or less than you’re currently paid? Show examples of jobs that are similar to yours but pay more. It is important to remember that salary ranges advertised by recruitment consultancies can often be inflated to attract more candidates so be sure to check other sources available to you – from salary surveys to jobs advertised on employer websites.

Look at the company’s profits - if it’s been a bumper year, with senior managers receiving hefty bonuses, argue that you deserve a share of the profits too. Check out shareholder activity - are they getting healthy handouts? If they are, then you can also argue that you should.

Refer to any qualifications earned since your last rise that your employer may not be aware that you possess - employee qualifications often increase the competitive strength and/or customer accreditations of a supplier organization.

Take a risk and suggest that firms who pay more than market average tend to secure the services and loyalty of the best people available.

It is important to keep positive and constructive, don’t be greedy, aggressive, over-emotional or ‘wishy washy’ in your request. You need to consider many external factors which may affect your salary negotiation including the rate of inflation {which surged to 5.2% last month} and the actual budget your firm has for pay rises.

The most important thing to remember is that your employer will only ever give you a pay rise if there is a clear, commercial reason to do so

Michelle Jones ©

JOB SEARCH JARGON

Cant for the life of me remember where I got these from. Wanted to share them with you. I am sure you have some of your own - so please comment!

COMPETITIVE SALARY:
We remain competitive by paying less than our competitors.

FLEXIBLE HOURS:
Work 55 hours; get paid for 37.5.

GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
Management communicates, you listen, figure out what they want you to do.

ABILITY TO HANDLE A HEAVY WORKLOAD:
You whine, you're fired.

PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS A MUST:
You're walking into a company in perpetual chaos.

NORAS Finalist!

AlljobsUK.com, the only comprehensive online portal to every recruitment resource in the UK, are hosting the eighth annual National Online Recruitment Awards (NORA). Nominations produced a shortlist of 8 Finalists for Best Specialist Jobsite and we’ve been nominated!

CareersinRecruitment.com – who will be celebrating its 10th anniversary next year – has been short-listed for the best niche jobs-board category, along with one of it’s sister sites, SimplySalesJobs.co.uk

The judging panel can be seen here; http://www.alljobsuk.com/awards/awards2008/Norajudges.shtml

Recruitment Co-ordinator has the X Factor

For all X-Factor fans – we couldn’t help but notice that one of the finalists at bootcamp this week was 20 year-old Rikki Loney who works as a recruitment co-ordinator during the day but gigs around Glasgow on the weekends. How well do you think he will do? Will Rikki be a loss to the recruitment industry if he does make it big? Who knows, do you?

For graduate recruitment opportunities, please visit CareersinRecruitment.com/Graudate

CIPD Harrogate - We were there, were you?

On 16th-18th September, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development held its annual conference and exhibition in Harrogate for the final time, as of next year the event will be held in Manchester. The conference offered dozens of seminars, workshops, master classes, showcases and keynotes designed to keep the profession abreast of the latest thinking and developments. After 60 years in the North Yorkshire spa town, the 2009 dates are Tuesday 17th - Thursday 19th November 2009.

Mark & Scott from http://www.simplyhrjobs.co.uk/ and http://www.simplysalesjobs.co.uk/ exhibited and ‘manned’ our stand at the event, here’s a nice pic of them both! www.careersinrecruitment.com was well represented at the event.

What were your thoughts on this years event? Will you be going to Manchester next year?

A team talk from an expert – would it work for you?

Do you have to give talks to your staff and team? What do you say? What actions do you stress? We have been given an insight into the motivational tools used by Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger, as someone left behind the sheet used by Arsene in a hotel room in Manchester.

In the past you would expect a team talk from a football manager to be a curious mix of David Brent and Henry V, all four letter swear words and jokey banter. The sheet offers a rare insight into the more subtle methods used by the erudite French manager. The full text of the team talk is below:

Confidential / Team meeting 19th September 2008
The Team: A team is as strong as the relationships within it. The driving force of a team is its member's ability to create and maintain excellent relationships within the team that can add an extra dimension and robustness to the team dynamic. This attitude can be used by our team to focus on the gratitude and the vitally important benefits that the team brings to our own lives. It can be used to strengthen and deepen the relationships within it and maximise the oppor tunities that await a strong and united team.

Our team becomes stronger by:

Displaying a positive attitude on and off the pitch
Everyone making the right decisions for the team
Have an unshakeable belief that we can achieve our target
Believe in the strength of the team
Always want more - always give more
Focus on our communication
Be demanding with yourself
Be fresh and well prepared to win
Focus on being mentally stronger and always keep going to the end
When we play away from home, believe in our identity and play the football we love to play at home
Stick together
Stay grounded and humble as a player and as a person
Show the desire to win in all that you do

Enjoy and contribute to all that is special about being in a team - don't take it for granted.

The stress is placed on desire, commitment and a collective spirit. Do you think it would be useful in your work environment? Do you think it would focus and motivate your recruitment team or you as an individual? Let us know your thoughts.

Recruitment Manager – Retail and Fashion – London

Recruitment Agency specialising in the marketing, PR, creative and retail markets, is currently looking for a strong Recruitment Manager/Team Leader to head up a team of 3 consultants. This is a hands-on billing role and the chosen candidate must be able to lead by example. Previous recruitment experience within retail or fashion is a pre-requisite as is previous man-management experience.

Based in modern offices in central London you will be joining a small, yet very experienced team.

For full job details & to apply visit Careers In Recruitment/Recruitment Manager