Here’s a corrollary to yesterday’s thoughts on underearning income. Anne Fischer from Fortune Magazine urges people who feel they are underpaid to consider whether they are actually overtitled. Here’s the letter to the editor:
I was among the top five salespeople at my software company last year, and I’m pretty sure I’m drastically underpaid. I really like working here, but I suspect I’m not being compensated fairly because I’m the youngest person in this role. How can I verify what other people in my position are making across the industry, to support my argument that I deserve more money?—Super Closer
Annie’s tips include checking with Salary.com (which I’ve noted in the past I’ve found inaccurate), classified ads, and recruiters.
She cites this advice:
“Over-titling” was a common practice in the tough financial climate of the past few years when, [Bill] Coleman [from Salary.com] says, “many people were offered trumped-up job titles in lieu of salary increases. As a result, their actual experience level and value to the company may not be on a par with the salary they expect based on their title.”
I see this in my own company, where for example there are many Vice Presidents, many of whom function mainly as department heads.
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Hate to pick on “super closer” but if he is in the top five he should be earning well into six figures(assuming he’s on comission). But a more important area of concern is his lack of networking in his industry. It scares me to think that he has to write into the editor of a magazine for information when he should be an expert in the subject because of networking with others in the industry.
You must work at a bank. They make everyone a VP.
Not quite a bank, but close.