55+ Worker No. 9: Negotiating Your Salary

Salaries can be negotiable if you do your homework. For example, find out the salary ranges of other organizations in the industry so that you can decide if this fits your budget and lifestyle. Take stock of your skills and competencies, and compare them to the job description or human resource advertisement or job post. Reflect on your experience, and gather the artifacts that have supported your lifelong employment, such as previous performance reviews, letters of recommendations, and awards. Consider developing a portfolio and a professional resume. Probably most important, look for those intangibles to offset or justify a lower salary range such as the mission of the organization, the values, the work environment, the wellness programming, the social networks, and the learning and development opportunities. In addition, employment that has give-back potential to allow the expression of a lifetime of gratitude across generations can be very rewarding.