Top Strategies for Boosting your Worth in the Jobs Market

Increasing your financial value as an employee isn’t something that simply occurs with time or charm; it is a process that requires an actionable strategy and a commitment to raise your worth in the employment marketplace. To that end, augmenting your overall value in the workplace can be attained through the implementation of one or more of several tactics with inherent attributes that help maximize your compensation.

For starters, demonstrating the added value that you bring to your organization by making or saving it money shows that you not only understand your job and perform it well, but that you are adequately equipped to do more for the company that it currently asks, and that you aren’t seeking an unjustifiable raise. These skills may be made more apparent if you have a plan to personally benefit the company. The easiest path to the development of a plan may be a shift in perception. Instead of viewing yourself as a worker working for an employer, envision yourself as an individual “business” serving clients in a manner that best benefits you as a company.

Whatever point in your career you may currently inhabit, continuing your education frequently means earning more money. Furthering education takes many forms such as gaining specialized certifications, earning a master’s degree, or other advanced degree. Indeed, advanced degrees are often prerequisites for high-level managerial positions, and frequently preferred for other job descriptions. A good operational rule of thumb: if a degree is preferred in the present, it very likely will be required in the future.

If your personal interests include aspects of your professional life, examine your hobbies for ideas on what you could do in your off time to such as volunteer work as a project leader or a part-time job. Participating in extracurricular activities and obtaining experience outside of your employer’s oversight can equal more dollars per year. Even pursuing something unrelated to your field of expertise may prove fulfilling as part-time jobs can also bring in a substantial supplemental income; effectively increasing your salary.

If your primary basis for expanding your workplace value is related to obtaining a more challenging, higher-level, job, look up the job descriptions for some of the positions ahead of yours and develop a plan for meeting their requirements. Pay special attention to unique skills and education required by those positions and find ways to overcome those gaps in your resume, even if you must pursue those skills beyond your organization.

Finally, consider finding a mentor (preferably within your company) who can give you personalized advice and observations based on your place within the corporate infrastructure and how you are viewed within the organization. Following the advice of someone with a more global perspective of events and who has been where you are and accomplished some of your personal objectives gives you the information necessary to more effectively present yourself to those who will decide your fate.