Salaries are slated to go up this year. According to the 2012 Culpepper Salary Increase Budget Survey, employees globally can expect a 3.39% salary increase in 2012, though that figure varies by region.
If you want to compare your income to what others with your same title make, go to Salary.com. This site reports, for example, that the median salary for a marketing manager nationally is currently $86,485.
In order to grab the highest salary possible when starting out OR when making a mid-career jump, it’s important to practice the basics of career maintenance and personal branding.I suggest skimming Me 2.0 and following some of author Dan Schawbel’s suggestions for growing your network and maintaining your career. Though the book is geared to Gen Y, it has relevance for Gen X and Baby Boomers, especially the online section that tells you how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs etc. to expand your network. It’s summer, however, and life is full of so many wonderful things to do. To keep things simple, here are five quick steps to keep the maintenance of your career on track:
The five basics of career maintenance
Have an up-to-date resume at all times; post it on your LinkedIn profile. Add your education and work history to Facebook (just copy and paste from LinkedIn).
Attend networking events and go through the attendee list ahead; know who you’ll want to meet. Know your industry’s best jobs site—for example, for IT it’s DICE.com, for marketing it’s MIMA.com. Be on the make.
Make sure your website and/or blog are featured on LinkedIn.Make sure your Twitter profile includes your location.
Put key words in your bio, your resume, your LinkedIn, your blog.
Then Google yourself. See what others see. Make sure you’re easy to find.
One caveat– building your personal brand and ensuring your future won’t happen overnight. Make it a habit like doing the laundry. It’s free, it makes you friends, and it’ll give you immediate options if you aren’t handed that 3.39% salary increase you deserve.
Money Roll Photo by Gnerk
quirkymarketing 