Great advice about salary and compensation - about performance based and incentive based pay systems, researching, negotiating, and deciding. Thanks for sending this one my way, Carol!

1. Salary & Compensation
Do a Little Digging…
Compensation is one of those issues that nobody seems to like to talk about during the job search phase. It is
something that every job seeker thinks about, but rarely discusses in detail with a prospective employer until a job
offer is made and accepted. This is quite unfortunate since compensation is becoming one of today’s more complex
employment issues. More and more frequently we are seeing an abandonment of traditional salary-based
compensation for more performance-based and incentive pay systems.
Your Total Worth
There is more to getting paid for the work you do than just a salary. Depending on the industry, occupation, your
experience, the length and type of employment, your compensation package could be made up of bonuses, stock
options, and other benefits, some of which have monetary value and others such as satisfaction and happiness at
work.
 Base Salary. Today more than ever, the labour market sees diversity from a large proportion of people being self-
employed, or working for small companies — especially in the growing e-businesses. However a large part of the
workforce still remains in sales, service, social service and the government sectors. Each of these areas has its
own considerations and contributions to compensation other than those mentioned here.
 Deciding What You Get Paid. Typically a company uses pre-existing methods to figure out what a job is worth.
Usually an employer prepares a job description which the supervisor or human resources approves. After the job
has been compared in a salary survey to others like it in the industry, it is grouped into grade and then given a
salary range. Your salary is not determined arbitrarily, but through research. You should also do this research.
 Stock Options. With the emergence of Dot Com’s, stock options have become one of your rights. It is not,
however, obligatory. This option allows you to buy your company’s shares at a set price for employees. You
should be very happy to be given the opportunity to buy into the potential of a rising company. As organizations
see it, stock options are a major factor in motivating you to work harder for your company.
 Bonuses. Bonuses are becoming more widely used in the workplace. The more responsibility you have, the more
you earn in salary and the more your total compensation will be made up of bonuses. This ensures the
organization that you will go out on a limb for them since you have a stake in their company. Profit sharing, gain
sharing, instant incentives and recognition awards all make up the types of bonuses available to you.
 Benefits. Benefits affect your physical health, financial health, and lifestyle. Employers provide benefits because
in some areas the law requires them to do so. In other cases, employers simply want you to be at 100% to enable
you to give them every bit of your potential. Benefits may include: health, vision and dental coverage, pension
plans, insurance, day care, vacation, tuition subsidies and memberships to health clubs.
 Money Isn’t Everything. In response to certain needs in the labour market such as more women in the workplace
and the rise in alternative work arrangements, more and more employers see an employee as a family unit, and
benefits are no longer exclusively for employees but for their families too. Organizations today understand the
importance of keeping an employee happy and thus have introduced programs such as telecommuting (a work at
home program), flex-time, functional dressing and job sharing.
Finding Salary Information
Salary information about Canadian jobs is often hard to come by, especially when compared with the situation in the
United States. While there are major human resource and consulting firms that conduct detailed salary surveys, they
are often very expensive. The reverse side of this tipsheet provides some less expensive alternative sources of salary
information.
Academic Advising & Career Centre: A team of professionals who advise, counsel and coach individuals with their learning and career development.
© January 2011, source; la. Academic Advising & Career Centre. All Rights Reserved.

2. Salary & Compensation
Career Cruising
Career Cruising is an internet-based career database which profiles a variety of occupations in-depth and includes
some useful salary information — accessible from your Career Centre (CC) On-line account.
Job Opportunities Information
 Working in Canada. www.workingincanada.gc.ca
 Ontario Job Futures. www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/ojf
Unions and Professional Associations
If the workplace is unionized, find out what union represents your category of workers and call them to find out what
the salary ranges are. Try contacting industry organizations in your sector. If a recent salary survey exists for your
sector, they would know and they might be willing to answer a specific question for free. Also, if there are any trade
publications that specialize in news coverage of your industry, they may have written about salary surveys — often,
specialty magazines even like to produce annual salary surveys themselves. To identify organizations in your field,
consult the Associations Canada directory available in the Academic Advising & Career Centre (AA&CC) Career
Resource Library or the CanadianCareers.com list of associations on-line at www.canadiancareers.com/sector.html.
Human Resources & Skills Development Canada’s (HRSDC) Labour Market Information.
www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/labour_market_information/index.shtml
Monster.ca’s Salary Centre. http://career-advice.monster.ca/Salary-Benefits/careers.aspx
Jobstar. http://jobstar.org/tools/salary/index.php
Commercial Services. www.salaryreview.com or www.salaryexpert.com (some tools are fee-based).
Negotiating Salary and Compensation Packages
 Research your profession’s salary range (as outlined above). It is crucial that you negotiate based on facts and
not just on your preferences.
 Determine a target salary range. You may not get the exact amount, but having a specific objective can help.
 Don’t initiate salary and compensation discussions. Wait for the interviewer to bring the subject up, even if it’s
postponed to a second interview. Typically the best time to negotiate your salary is after you receive the offer,
and before you accept the offer.
 When firms ask for your salary and compensation requirements, say that they’re “negotiable.” If asked to
provide current salary, write “to be covered during the interview.” Without knowing the details about benefits
and the position, you can’t accurately select a salary figure.
 If discussing why you deserve a substantial increase, use examples of your accomplishments that prove your
value, not merely your experience. Comparisons to your current salary are irrelevant and should be avoided.
 Always assume a firm’s first offer is negotiable and never accept an offer at the interview. Express your strong
interest and when you’ll contact him or her with your decision. Analyze the offer with a family member or friend,
or with an insurance, investment or bank professional. They can provide you with an objective second opinion.
 Keep in mind that some components of your compensation package might be non-negotiable. Entry-level
positions are often attached to job grades with pre-set salary ranges. If this is the case, focus on the aspects that
might be negotiable including starting date, date of first salary review, vacation, or education assistance.
Resources Available at the Academic Advising & Career Centre
The AA&CC Career Resource Library has the following resource with information on salary negotiation:
 What Colour is Your Parachute? written by Richard Bowles.
For more information, please visit the Academic Advising & Career Centre Waiver: While every attempt was made to provide accurate
AC213 • aacc@utsc.utoronto.ca • 416-287-7561 • www.utsc.utoronto.ca/aacc information on this tipsheet, information may change at any time.