Session 5 – Define your revenue streams and cost structure
Show Notes:
The best way to research the different salary levels within your area of expertise is to take a close look at the salary ranges mentioned in the opportunity offered. Within the Dutch Culture, open talks about salary levels are still a taboo subject – kind of. The Dutch are not used to discussing this topic openly with everyone and you don’t ask your friends and family about it.
It was and still is not a common practice to mention the salary range in the job posting (vacancy), companies still want to leave “it up to the market” and not reveal this information to the competition. You will notice differences between Private Companies, Academia, and Governmental Organisations. For the last 2, it is more common and sometimes even mandatory for this institution to supply this information.
Resources
There are multiple sources available to check the salary ranges for most occupations. We all know resources like PayScale, Salary.com, Glassdoor, and Indeed.
Well, the last 2 options work in the Netherlands, but not for all positions and industries. Glassdoor – suitable for corporate positions in a variety of industries and Indeed. If you wish to use Indeed, you will need the Dutch position name if you wish to use the Dutch Indeed website.
Before sharing resources, I want to highlight this: There will be differences between the information given in the tools and your personal experiences. This has to do with the fact the tools work with statistical or provided information and don’t take into account the current situation in the labor market. A few general rules:
- If an occupation is in high demand, companies will be willing to pay more.
- If an occupation is in low demand, companies will not be willing to pay a high salary.
- the tools supplied only show Salary information and don’t take into account the full compensation and benefits package offered.
- Education level influences the salary level
- Your position name is not in the database – it’s too new to be mentioned
This makes these tools a helpful indicator.
The numbers 3 and 4 also offer the opportunity to calculate a net salary for you. The websites don’t take special rulings like the 30% ruling into account.
Tips on how to negotiate your salary can be found in the course Salary Negotiations, Compensations and Benefits.