Determine your fair compensation before negotiating a salary or raise by considering these six factors.

What is the process of determining one's market value for the purpose of negotiating salary during a job interview?

To determine how much you should be paid, consider utilizing the growing number of state and local policies, online resources, and networks of people willing to share information in the pursuit of salary transparency and pay equity.

Check local job listings

The value of your market will be determined by your job title, years of experience, education level, and special skills or certifications, as well as how these factors fit into the specific job market context, such as your location, company size, and industry.

At least 10 states and cities have passed laws requiring employers to affirmatively state their salary ranges, including Colorado, where they must be listed in job descriptions, and New York City, which will follow suit in May.

You can check online job openings for your current or desired title in states or cities with salary transparency laws to see if the salary range is provided.

See if HR is required to tell you

It's not always accurate to check job openings for pay ranges, as employers may advertise a role that falls within a specific range. A better approach is to directly ask the hiring manager or go to your company's HR department for more information. In some cases, you may be legally entitled to know the salary range for a new job, transfer opportunity, or promotion.

In Nevada, employers are obligated to disclose the salary range to applicants following an initial interview, regardless of whether the applicant has requested it. However, in Washington, employers are only required to reveal the salary range when making an offer and if the applicant specifically requests it.

For more information, job-seekers and workers should visit their state's Department of Labor website.

Research online salary databases

Anonymous online databases allow users to share their salary information in order to view other individuals' salaries and company reviews. These databases can be more comprehensive, enabling users to search based on job title, location, years of experience, or company.

Trusaic's executive vice president of marketing, Matt Gotchy, suggests using Glassdoor, Payscale, and Emsi Burning Glass as a starting point for salary research.

There are various salary whisper networks available in the tech industry, including Candor.co, Elpha, AngelList, Transparent Career, Levels.fyi, Blind, and the Fishbowl app.

Be cautious when interpreting anonymous salary data, as different websites may have varying standards for verifying self-reported information. Additionally, some entries may be outdated, especially for fast-growing companies or those that have recently experienced a tight labor market, according to Gotchy.

Talk to your colleagues

Discussing pay with co-workers is more accurate and localized than online searches, according to Gotchy. Under the National Labor Relations Act, it is legal and protected for most private-sector employees to discuss pay with their peers.

The way you approach the topic of salary transparency with your co-workers will depend on your comfort level and the level of trust you have with them. You could also consider reaching out to someone who has expressed a similar passion for salary transparency as you have. Timing could also play a role, such as during performance review and bonus season or when you are seeking a raise or promotion and need additional pay data points.

Tap your extended network

If you don't opt for peer advice, you could seek guidance from someone more senior in your network, advises career coach Octavia Goredema. Instead of asking for their current or past salary, inquire about their perspective on the salary range for the role you're pursuing. Goredema emphasizes the importance of framing your question in this way, as it allows the person to share their own salary history or negotiation strategies with you.

Mabel Abraham, a Columbia Business School professor who studies gender inequities in the workplace, suggests that it may feel uncomfortable to discuss salary. Instead of relying on your network when things become urgent, it is better to establish these connections over time. To address the wage gap, it is important to ensure that your network is diverse across different races and genders.

Goredema advises, "If possible, speak with a white man, as they have traditionally been paid the highest wages."

Ask your future co-workers

When seeking a new job, it's important to remember that you are also interviewing the company, as Yu suggests. It's common to reach out to a connection at the company for an informational interview to gain their perspective on working there. During these meetings, you could bring up the topic of pay and discuss whether your research on target salary ranges aligns with the company's expectations.

Nishant Parepalli emailed a few of his future colleagues at the company after receiving HR's offer for a software engineering job. He had just interviewed with them and they had assured him that he could reach out to them if he had any questions.

I inquired about the typical salary range and used that information to formulate a negotiation strategy.

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