What Color Is Your Parachute 2018 by Richard N. Bolles copy

Salary Research off the Internet
Okay, so how do you do salary research offline? Well, there’s a simple
rule: generally speaking, abandon books, and go talk to people.
Use books and libraries only as a second, or last, resort. You can get
much more complete and up-to-date information from people who are
doing the kind of job you’re interested in, maybe at another company or
organization than the one(s) you’re interested in.
If you don’t know where to find them, talk to people at a nearby
university or college who train such people, whatever their department
may be. Teachers and professors will usually know what their graduates
are making. Also you can go visit actual workplaces.
Let’s look at some concrete examples:
First Example: A fast food place. You may not need to do any salary
research. They pay what they pay. You can walk in, ask for a job
application, and interview with the hiring manager. He or she will usually
tell you the pay, outright. It’s usually set in concrete. But at least it’s easy
to discover what the pay is. (Incidentally, filling out an application, or
even having an interview there, doesn’t mean you have to take that job—
but you probably already know that. Just say, “I need to go home and
think about this.” You can decline any offer from any place. That’s what
makes this approach harmless.)
Second Example: A construction company. This is typical of a place
where you can’t discover what the pay is, right off the bat. If you’re
actually going to try to get work at that construction company but you
want to research salaries before you go for an interview, the best way to do
this research is to go visit a different construction company in the same
town or geographical area—one that isn’t of much interest to you—and
ask what people make there. Or, if you don’t know who to talk to there, fill
out one of their applications, and talk to the hiring person about what kinds
of jobs they have (or might have in the future)—at which time prospective
wages is a legitimate subject of inquiry. Then, having done this research
on a place you don’t care about, go back to the place that really interests
you, and apply. You still don’t know exactly what they pay, but you do
know what their competitor pays—which will usually be close to what
you’re trying to find out.
Third Example: A one-person office (besides the boss, obviously),
working, say, as an administrative assistant. Here you can often find useful