Selling salaries to supervisors!

[Geoffrey Hart <Geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Sheldon Kohn has <<... been interviewing a good bit, and I
have found consistently that things go well until we come to
the subject of money. When I mention an amount that I think
is appropriate for someone with my education and
experience, I have seen expressions of disbelief cross the
hiring managers' faces.>>

Sometimes the best you can do is come equipped with
statistics; the STC's annual salary survey is one such tool. The
participants were obviously self-selected and the data were
never verified, so the results are undoubtedly biased, but it's
nonetheless a decent attempt to come up with regional salary
figures. Seeing it in print, from a reputable organisation,
might help a manager swallow your sales pitch. It also might
not help; you can lead managers to data, but you can't make
them think.

<<Their perspective is somewhat understandable in that a lot
of these managers, at least here in Atlanta, are only now
being forced to address documentation seriously... Perhaps
there is a bit of "sticker shock" in dealing with senior technical
communications professionals for the first time.>>

That's certainly possible. What little I know of Atlanta comes
to me secondhand; for example, I understand that you folks
have a lot of "Peach" streets... <g> It might be worthwhile
getting in touch with your local STC chapter to see if they can
provide some more focused salary information. STC's overall
survey is probably more coarse-grained than would be
helpful in your situation.


--Geoff Hart @8^{)}     Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

"Patience comes to those who wait."--Anon.


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