Tips for Grads: How to boost your value on the job market
Career Development
Earning a graduate degree will likely bring you closer to the job you want, but it’s not the only factor for determining your value on the job market. While fair compensation for your skills and expertise is reasonable to expect from your future employer, it’s not a given. Read these tips for increasing your value on the job market.
Develop a specialty. As you set career goals, consider which skills you’d like to develop further. Monitor your industry’s emerging trends and technologies. By gaining expertise in a new and challenging area, you’re likely to increase your worth. Consider enhancing your social media presence to help you stay current and find a niche that is interesting and valuable.
Do your homework. Gather information about the job market for your occupation. Study the salaries of professionals who hold comparable positions and have a similar amount of experience. Looking at national salary data and using salary calculators can provide useful perspectives but usually won’t deliver a complete picture of the salary landscape for someone in your specific situation. For more personalized information, consult colleagues and professional organizations to ask what someone in your position should be earning.
Consider variables that might affect your compensation package. Every employer has different resources for compensating employees. Geography is an important one, so see what your professional network says about the job market in your region. You may find that compensation varies widely between large and small cities, or that certain communities have a surplus of professionals in your field and therefore offer less competitive wages.
