8 Proven Strategies To Earn A Higher Salary
Want to earn a higher salary in your job or chosen career? Well, you’re in luck. I’m going to share 8 proven strategies to help position you to be able to negotiate the highest possible salary in your field.
I polled nearly 1000 people on what’s most important to them when looking for a new job.
And no surprise, salary was #1.
Let’s face it; salary is a main motivator in most people’s careers.
We work to pay our bills, get ahead and eventually retire.
Salary & compensation is a hotly debated subject on my Youtube, TikTok and LinkedIn channels. Everyone seems to have an opinion and would like to earn more.
The average salary
According to JobTed, the average salary across all industries and job types in the United States is $53,490 per year.
When you take into account hyper-inflation, the numbers don’t seem all that impressive.
But the question on everyone’s mind…
How do you earn a higher salary?
Someone recently asked how to people earn those 200k paychecks. The answer isn’t simple, but here are strategies you can apply to begin demanding higher salaries in your career.
1. Chose the right career
Career choice is the single biggest determiner of earning potential. It seems simple enough…if you want to earn top dollar, don’t choose a career that doesn’t pay well.
For example, you may want to avoid a career in the hospitality, not-for-profit, or retail industries if you want to earn higher wages.
Job type also significantly impacts your compensation.
Clearly, working as a Cardiologist will pay more than being a Customer Service Manager.
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2. Choose a pay leader
Even inside a specific industry, there will be pay leaders and pay laggers. A pay leader decides to pay more to attract the best possible employee.
Whereas the pay lagger purposely pays below market and is okay with the churn.
To earn the most, find the pay leaders in your industry.
For example – FAANGs are well-known to pay more than other tech firms. As are companies like Nvidia.
You may as well target those companies who pay the most.
3. Acquire in-demand skills
Pay leaders tend to be difficult to get hired into…well, because they are leaders. Everyone wants to work for them.
So these companies can afford to be VERY selective with who they hire.
Your best bet?
Be what they’re looking for.
These companies do not hire average people with average skills.
Make sure you stay up-to-speed on the latest disruptive technology (hint: learn how to use AI to your advantage!). Find the skills that are hard-to-acquire, or hard to master.
Learn them.
You’re not skilled or differentiated enough if you aren’t widely considered THE subject matter expert in your current company.
(IE…you can’t demand the highest salary if you don’t bring the goods.)
4. Market yourself effectively
It won’t do you any good to have these amazing skills if you can’t market yourself effectively.
It all starts with a great resume.
Learning the art of crafting a resume will pay for itself 1000x over.
This isn’t something to outsource. Nor is it something you should be afraid of.
If you want to earn more, you need to pivot quickly. Saying things like “I’ll send you my resume on Monday” will get you ghosted by a recruiter.
To get noticed by the pay leader in your industry, a solid resume is a must.
5. Don’t overstay your welcome
I’m not a proponent of random job hopping. But I am supportive of selective job hopping. Leaving a job without good reason is a recipe for a weak resume.
But staying in the same role, and potentially even the same company, for too long can hurt your salary growth.
In fact, the average raise for someone moving to a different company is 14.8%. Whereas the average raise for someone staying put was only 5.8%.
And keep in mind, that if you didn’t get a raise of at least 7.5% in 2022, you’re earning less today than you did last year.
It’s always worth testing the open market at least once every two years just to keep a pulse on things.
6. Learn how to interview
Finally land an interview with a pay leader? Get ready for a brutal hiring process and stiff competition. After all, this is the big leagues.
Expect that you’ll be competing with the best of the best.
Therefore, you need to market yourself throughout the entire interview process masterfully.
Rest assured that if your interview skills are lacking, the other candidate WILL end up with your offer.
And I have yet to encounter a top earner who didn’t master interviewing.
7. Negotiate your offers
Having processed thousands of job offers in my career, I’m still surprised at how many people accept the first presented offer.
But the best candidates – the “rockstars” – always negotiate, and sometimes very handsomely.
If you read my last newsletter article on how a candidate I interviewed negotiated a $350,000 increase, you’ll know how impactful it can be.
Knowing how and when to push back can net you a significantly higher salary.
(PS…as a recruiter, I’ll say this. Most people leave money on the table.)
8. Build your network
You may have heard of the hidden job market. It’s basically jobs that are not publicly advertised. And these are often high-quality roles.
Guess who gets these jobs?
Internal applicants and candidates through networks.
Often, a hiring manager (or someone respected by the interview team) knows someone in their network. They’ll get the interview without even producing a resume.
And if you don’t know many hiring managers, build your personal brand. Create your own luck with careful networking.
You miss opportunities to land the best-paying jobs if you’re not building networks.
These strategies can help land a you a higher salary
To earn the top dollar in your given profession, you need to set yourself apart from the competition – being average won’t cut it.
The good news – most people accept being average…and you can use this to your advantage. Remember, if it were easy to do, everyone would do it!
So with some dedication, a work ethic and the right marketing strategy, you’ll be on your way to a bigger payday!
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Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
1 – If you’re still looking for traction in your job search, I’d recommend starting with an affordable course:
Resume Rocketfuel: This best-selling course will teach you the exact system I developed to help over 1000 people land great jobs, myself included.
The Ultimate Jobseeker Bootcamp: The deepest job search tool on the market. This A-to-Z guide that takes you from job search all the way to offer negotiation, providing detailed, recruiter-proven strategies.
Unlocking LinkedIn: Supercharge your networking with Unlocking LinkedIn. A step-by-step guide on how to set up a profile for maximum discoverability, techniques for accessing the hidden job market and how to cut in front of the long application lines!
2. Gain extra personalized clarity with private 1×1 coaching
Have a specific question or strategy that requires more tailored help? I offer limited private coaching sessions. My clients have had too many “ah ha!” moments to count.
Happy hunting!
-Bryan
