Menu:
Salary Self-Empowerment
by Cybele Merrick
As information professionals, librarians are in a privileged position when it comes to negotiating for raises at work. Although (especially at the entry level) we work in an underpaid profession, our training affords us an advantage: we are adept at research. We can use this skill to base our salary negotiations on sound evidence.
Every librarian must make her or his case for a raise. The value added to one's organization, the dedication and creativity brought to one's work, collegiality - all are key. But making a case based on what others are earning is equally important.
Successful Strategies
A few years ago, I started to realize that I was somewhat underpaid. Although I wasn't really looking to change jobs, I had been keeping my eye on the help-wanted ads and scanning the library e-mail lists. I could see that the salary ranges for open positions - positions that I certainly qualified for - were higher than what I was making. So, I decided to meet with my supervisor and ask for a raise. The figure I was aiming at was a substantial increase over what I was making: about eleven percent. I learned through the grapevine that this was not a customary salary increase within my organization, so I knew I would need a solid ground on which to build my case for a raise.
I took the advice offered by Deborah M. Kolb and Ann C. Schaffner on salary negotiation. One of their key points is to learn as much as possible about others' salaries, in your library, field, region, and organization. I am a solo librarian - the first librarian to work in my organization - so I had no fellow librarians at work to benchmark against. So, I turned outside the organization.
Searching and Researching
For several weeks I took notes on the qualifications sought and the salaries offered for positions that were comparable to mine, in terms of experience, qualifications and skills. I concentrated on positions in urban settings that had a social science, government, or public policy focus, like my current job. The New York Times, library e-mail discussion lists, and Sarah L. Nesbeitt's site were my primary sources for information. I also got my hands on a recent copy of the Special Libraries Association's annual salary survey through interlibrary loan.
At work, I report to the organization's director of research, so the fact that SLA's salary survey is a real research document was key. The SLA survey lists salaries by a host of measures: years of experience, geographic region, business sector, primary responsibility and so on, all in a language that resonated with my boss. (Other library organizations publish similar annual surveys for their members.)
Convincing and Clinching the Deal
Kolb and Schaffner also urge librarians to "recognize your value, and make it visible." Prior to meeting with my boss, I drew up a list of my accomplishments since my last raise. These included new projects I had started in the library, collaborative work I had done with other departments, professional activities, and continuing education. Having done this preparatory work, I felt more confident going into the meeting.
At the meeting itself, I began to make my case by citing my accomplishments and value to the organization. Frankly, I was surprised by how calm I was! The preparation I had done was paying off. Next, I presented the evidence I had gathered about the gap between what I was making and what my peers were earning. I showed her relevant pages from the SLA survey, and also gave her a sampling of the job announcements that I had collected from the newspaper and web sites. With this information, I was able to make an ultimately compelling case for an increase. And my supervisor used the material I had provided when she, in turn, sought final approval for the salary increase.
Especially in our current tough economic times, it is crucial to use all the tools at our disposal when negotiating a raise. The answer is not to hunker down and hope that the bad times pass. Even in this environment, hard work should be rewarded. Making your case armed with facts, backed up by research, cannot guarantee a raise - but at least you can negotiate confidently, secure in the knowledge that you know what you are worth.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (some available online)
Kolb, Deborah M. and Ann C. Schaffner. "Negotiating What You're Worth." Library Journal 126(17): 52-3.
ARL Annual Salary Survey (Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, annual).
SLA Annual Salary Survey: A Research Publication of The Special Libraries Association (Washington, DC: SLA Publishing, annual).
ALA Survey of Librarian Salaries (Chicago: Office for Research and Office for Library Personnel Resources, ALA, annual).
Cybele Merrick is the librarian at the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York-based nonprofit that works with government to make its policies fairer, more humane, and more efficient. She has an MS in Library Science from Pratt Institute, and MA in English and BA in English and History from Columbia University.