Am I pricing myself out of the market?
During every initial conversation with a new candidate, I always ask about their salary expectations.
It is such an important part of my job to educate candidates on what salaries they can expect in the market and equally to educate our clients on how much they should be paying.
BUT one thing that happens all too frequently in conversations with candidates is that their salary expectations align with their next promotion – whether that is 6 months or in some cases even 12 months down the track.
I completely appreciate that career paths in management consulting firms are mapped out for you.
You know exactly when you will receive your next promotion and exactly how much your salary will increase, but unfortunately, our in-house clients are looking at the amount of experience you have RIGHT NOW.
That’s not the amount of experience you have if you spent another 6 months or 12 months in the role, but if you are applying for the job right now, they are looking at the experience you have right now.
Our clients take into consideration not only your level of experience but also your experience versus their current team members. They look at the parity of their teams compared to new hires and unfortunately if you are too expensive, they simply won’t interview you.
Whilst salaries play such an important part of our careers and growth and I’m hearing more and more lately that the driver of salary increases is due to rising inflation and mortgage payments and increasing financial pressures, it is really important to consider the value that you are bringing with your job application.
So how can we work together to overcome this?
THINK ABOUT YOUR REAL MOTIVES FOR MOVING
Hot market doesn’t necessarily mean massive pay bumps.
It often means choice of roles, but in-house strategy roles aren’t paying a premium to secure the best talent, so it’s really important to consider why you want to make the move.
➡️ Is it for more money?
➡️ Is it for work life balance?
➡️ Is it to become entrenched into one business rather than working across multiple industry projects?
Whatever the reason behind your move, it’s really important to consider your value and how much experience you have right now.
If you’d like to understand more about current market salaries, please send me a message or email me at amy@oaktreetalent.com
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