Checklist on how to Wander but not get Lost

So have you been lately been trying to negotiate your increment or  your next job's pay cheque? As excruciating, hateful and tiresome it maybe lets face it - we all need to do that almost once a year at work. Having been in that position myself more than once I will try and put out one of the ways it could be done.

Now before we start of on this we need to understand why anyone pays us for our time? It is because we add some value to their business or organization. Now that value from a Sales person can be attributed to the revenue that he or she brings or value from an HR could be measured in terms of happiness of the employees and their productivity. Whoever you are, no matter the level, you add some value in exchange for which you are paid. No favors here.

Now most individuals struggle to correctly calculate their value of time or the absolute amount they should be making. In the early phases of your career the calculation is fairly simple - its a function of your skill or what you bring to the table and the ability of Company/Manager to utilize that skill to get monetary value out of it. This is the only reason why you see that someone Average could be making more money because their Company is efficient enough to get more value from them. These companies would often be top-notch firms in their respective fields.
The other case you could see would be someone brilliant being hired by a small boutique or mid sized firm for an exorbitantly high salary when compared to other employees - this is because at that moment the company values the skill of that person to bring more value. As far as I have seen that these will only be very few cases and have high chances of falling short of expectations.

While it took me a while to understand this if you are beginning your first job or contemplating your next move in the early phases of your career you need to:

• Enter an Industry which interests you. Its good to explore various industries or functions. You may not get it right in the first go and that's okay.
• If you are unsure of the Industry try and look up the ones that could be more futuristic. This is to acquire a skill in an industry that would be in high demand in the future. Remember this negotiation will be a part of your working life forever and the basic principle remains the same. You might as well acquire a skill in high demand.
• Now I see most of the young people struggle here. Try and find a manager who pushes you for excellence. I cannot express how important it is to find a manager who supports you to learn more and acquire more skills. If possible, try and ask introductions with your future manager if you are getting into a new job.

As you grow in your careers you'll realize that skills that are required you to move up the ladder in early phase of your career are very different from the ones that you need in later stages. Because all organization structures are pyramidal obviously moving up the ladder is more difficult. While you'll see most people doing really well in the first phase of their career quiet a few of them fall out in the second phase. Unfortunately, the second phase is the phase where the maximum of monies are made.

So to summarize its okay to let go some amount of monetary benefits in lieu of a new skill or hone an existing one under a leader who puts time and energy on you to get value that will help you succeed in the second phase. However, the trick remains to still value your existing skills and negotiate the apt amount. Remember being underpaid under the best boss in the world wont keep you happy forever. Finding this balance is the key.