How much are you worth?
Are you being paid what you are worth? Are you an asset to your company and does your salary reflect that? Maybe yes, maybe no? But let us begin at the beginning. In order to earn good money, you most likely need a job. Even if entreprenuership is in your future, a job is a good starting place to build up a cash reserve toward that dream. Whether you are looking for your first job or your tenth, you must present a marketable package for employers to review. This package includes your resumé, education, appearance and attitude. According to Audre-Jean Chin of Dot Personnel Services, “firstly the resumé must be targeted. You have to slant your resume to what the employer needs. And no four page resumés. Employers are not reading more than two pages. Further information will come out in the interview. Don’t pad your resume. You must try and get the best education you can, given the tightness of the economy, scarce jobs, and competition. Having a few CXC’s is not enough. And there is still a hint of gender bias, so a woman has to be twice as good as a man.”
She continues, “after education, physical presentation is important-your dress, your hair, body language and body odour. This can make or break a job for you. However, good education and good appearance will take you no where with a bad attitude. In addition to that, you must be prepared for the job interview. You must do research on the company. What is the company’s background and what are their markets.” Chin then tells Pinching Pennies what it takes to get to the top of the salary scale. “For the same job, there are vastly different salaries offered. To get the top salaries, you have to convince the boss that you are the best at what you do.”
But in order to command a good salary, you must be well qualified for your chosen professional field. Based on the JEF survey, your level of remuneration is in direct proportion to the level of education you attain. Also, according to the survey, higher paid individuals actually hold multiple qualifications such as post graduate degrees and ACCA. In general, managers tended to have more than 5 years experience, especially in the categories of senior executives, finance, and human resource and personnel.
If you are already in a job, Pamela Paul, employment expert states that it is possible to get a raise. “When you request a raise, you want to go to your boss with more than an acute sense of indignation. First, organize the reason(s) you deserve a raise into a memo, listing your points for easy reference: Responsibilities X, Y, and Z were added to your job description, and you performed them well; the company has benefited from the way you took that business-records mess and brought order to it; and your salary is not on a par with those of others in the industry/your office who do the same job. Use the memo as an outline from which to prepare your presentation and later, during the meeting, to keep yourself on track.
” Knowledge is power, and you’ll argue from a stronger position if you’re armed with facts about how your present salary compares with that of others doing the same job, if you understand the business climate in which your employer operates, and if you know your options (in other words, what other possibilities are out there for you?). What should you be making?”
To answer this important question, Pinching Pennies consulted the annual survey done by the Jamaica Employers Federation in 2000 and 2001. The survey was conducted by the JEF across a predetermined list of companies that excluded government and free zone establishments. The majority of the companies were located in the Corporate Area. The sample was done from 43 establishments in the following sectors: Manufacturing and distribution, retail trade, hospitality and tourism, transport, communications, finance (commericial & merchant banking, credit unions and building societies), insurance (general, life and health), agriculture, janitorial and maintenance services. This information, as stated by the JEF, is current up until April 2001.
At the top of the salary scale are the following jobs:
