#JobSearch : How To Look For Jobs At The Right Salary Level. How to Search for a Job in your Salary Range or Higher.

This reader wants advice on finding a new job at his current salary or higher:

I’d like to get a salary in the same range as my last job, perhaps even 10 or 15 percent more. That being said, salary isn’t the most important aspect of getting a new job. Should I start my search looking only for jobs that will be in my pay range, or during the current pandemic/economic crisis, is it more realistic that I might have to settle for less? – David

You can’t reliably target jobs by salary level because pay isn’t always listed in the job description

While salary is an important consideration in deciding your next job, it is a tough criteria to target in researching job opportunities because salary is often not posted publicly. If you only apply for jobs where the salary is included in the job description, you will go after a much smaller subset of available jobs, especially at the senior levels. You are better off targeting jobs based on industry, function or role, size of company, specific responsibilities, title or other criteria that are readily available and searchable.

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Use job title to approximate pay

Job title is a more readily available criteria and can approximate pay. Job titles are typically tied to experience level – e.g., associate v. manager v. VP – and pay typically rises along with experience. Therefore, a job candidate can filter for higher level titles and essentially also be filtering for higher pay. Keep in mind, however, that titles vary across industries, and even company by company. If a company prioritizes a flat hierarchy without a lot of management titles, you may miss out on openings at these types of companies if you over-rely on title in your job search.

Use job responsibilities to approximate pay

The job responsibilities – i.e., what the role requires day-to-day and what results the new hire is expected to produce — is another way to approximate pay and more detailed and nuanced than what a job title can convey. Two jobs can have a similar title, say Director, but if one is responsible for a larger team, larger budget, larger region and/or larger impact on the employer’s bottom line, then you can probably assume that it offers a higher salary than a smaller scope of responsibilities. I say “assume” because some employers will have high expectations but may not have the budget to match. I once had a client who was interviewing for a job that involved launching an initiative across several countries, which could potentially add tens of millions of dollars to the company’s bottom line. Yet, the role was budgeted at a similar salary to a junior manager. Job responsibilities might approximate pay, but not always.

Target jobs you want and then negotiate the pay

The most exhaustive way to find jobs at the right salary level isn’t to rely on approximations like title or responsibility level at all, but to apply for jobs that you want and then negotiate the pay. For example, you may really want to work for a specific company, but it only advertises a lower-level job in the area where you could be a fit. Network your way into that company, ideally reaching the head of the group you want to work in. Then, propose specific contributions that you could make, which should be broader and more impactful than the lower-level job and therefore command higher pay. If the company really wants you, they may grow the job to justify increasing the pay. Or the company may still hire the junior role, but create another opening just for you.

Focus more on your individual impact than market conditions

Another benefit of targeting jobs you want and negotiating the pay after the fact is that it is a proactive and empowering way to manage your job search. You focus more on your individual impact than market conditions, like what jobs happen to be posted or how the general economy is doing. Today’s market is heavily influenced by the pandemic and the uncertainty it has wrought.

Companies have a harder time planning needs, budgets and therefore job openings. Of course, this will impact your individual job search. You have to be prepared for a potentially longer job search as some companies will take longer to make hiring decisions. You have to be prepared to stick to and negotiate your value if a company insists their budget has decreased. The difficult market conditions could influence your job search but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for less.

Forbes.com | October 9, 2020 | Caroline Ceniza-Levine