If you follow the Dow Jones, you’ll notice that stocks—and by extension, the job market—are hot right now. However, regardless of your financial assets at the moment, your career is the most important stock you own.
This begs the question: What are you worth in today’s market?
A general principle for financial success in the stock market is to buy low and sell high. When that rule of thumb is applied to your career, it means that you should stay put in a poor job market and be open to making a move during a hot market. Just as you evaluate your stock portfolio, you should also be evaluating your career. Is this the right time for you to make a change? Are you getting the most value from your work? Are you selling your time to the highest bidder?
When you evaluate stocks, that evaluation involves comparing factors such as the price-per-earnings ratio and the dividend payout. You can complete a similar evaluation of your career by comparing your job to others in your field.
There are a few tools you can use in your quest to find answers:
- Conduct online research regarding what jobs are paying within your geographic market and industry. You can do this by visiting job posting aggregators Indeed and SimplyHired, as well as other applicable niche sites.
- Online salary surveys (such as www.payscale.com and www.salary.com) offer a wealth of information, right at your fingertips.
- Recruiters within your niche, whether it’s industry or discipline or even geographic niche, often have this information, too. Contact them with your questions.
By comparing your compensation to current market rates, you’ll have a better idea of what you’re worth and whether it’s time to put yourself on the market or pat yourself on the back.
Daniel C. Simmons is a Certified Personnel Consultant who has been recruiting since 1991. Dan has won over twenty awards in the last decade with the Top Echelon Network, America’s leading placement network including Placer of the Year in 2009 & 2010.
Frequently Dan also is a recruiter trainer and has been featured at various Top Echelon Conventions and online as a speaker for various webinars. He has also been published in The Fordyce Letter the recruiting industry’s #1 magazine.
Are You Looking For a Job? Contact Dan Today!
