From the outset whether you are dealing with an agency or directly with an organisation, salary, benefits and where you pitch yourself can be the difference between getting to interview stage or not. Here are some tips

Where should I pitch myself?

Salary is a critical element of the whole job searching process. Firstly, there is little value in today’s market having high demands on salary as cost saving is key for any organisation. Many companies are managing to employ high qualified staff without battling over salary. Be sensible from the outset. Very few employers will give more than 10% of an increase on a current basic. If you are prepared to move for the same or a lower salary, then make sure your recruitment consultant is clear of this. Otherwise they will eliminate and not call you about certain roles as they search through their databases. Benefits also need to be taken into account and your consultant should always be submitting your salary & benefits to employers. EG Some organisations do not have a bonus system while your current employer may pay a bonus of 20%. This is a 5K difference at a 35k level. If you are looking for a 10% increase, will a new employer offer you a base of €43,500?? That level of an increase maybe difficult to get in todays market, so if salary is a key motivator in your transition, don’t waste your time, or any potential employer’s time.

I feel I am underpaid and as I have had to take a paycut recently, I would like to get back up to market rate.

Quite often employees feel undervalued by their current / previous employers and see a job change or career move as the opportunity to get them back to the level they feel they deserve. Most employers take your current salary and benchamarking into consideration and are unlikely to make decisions based on your current employer’s salary structures

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Public Sector Pay Compared to Private Sector

People looking for employment in a public sector workplace may be pleased to hear news regarding pay.

According to research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute, public workers in Ireland earned up 25 per cent more than those in the private sector in 2006.

This represents a rise of 11.3 per cent compared to the figures collated in 2003, when public employees earned 9.7 per cent more than those in private industry.

Among the professions considered in the study were health and teaching jobs, as well as civil service, defence and non-commercial semi-state work.

The pay gap is particularly evident in junior positions, in which public sector staff can earn up to a third more than their private counterparts.

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Survey of Pay and Benefits in Ireland -
CIPD ( Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development )

This survey was undertaken early 2009…..the conclusions are worth a read. Click here for the more indepth report

•Over half (53%) of those surveyed received a pay increase in 2008 and, of those working for an employer that pays bonuses, 83% received one last year.
• Overall, the majority were satisfied with the size of their pay increase (70%) and
or their bonus but of those who were not satisfied, many felt the amount of their
rise did not keep pace with inflation / the cost of living.
• Although a high percentage of employees received a pay increase and/ or bonus,
the majority believe such will not be the case next year with 43% predicting no
pay rise and 21% a rise lower than 2008, only 19% think their pay rise will be
greater than this year.
• A significant proportion (68%) do not know what they need to do to achieve a pay
rise in 2009, suggesting both uncertainty and that communication around pay
could be improved – nearly half wanted more information about their pay.
• There is support for basing pay around individual performance, experience and
linked to inflation / cost of living.
• Transparency of pay is also something employees favour – over two-thirds would
like to know how their pay increase compared with others and most are also
happy to disclose how much they earn, if it meant that they could find out how
much others earn.