When considering your salary, Professionals of Business and Technology's salary counselling helps you make a realistic salary increase request. Counselling is also useful when you are looking for a new job - and perhaps an even better salary.

Lately, news from the labour market has been gloomy. In a situation where there is no oversupply of jobs, asking for a salary increase can feel nerve-racking or even impossible. However, it is important to take care of your salary. Katriina Matinhelmi, a specialist in salary and unemployment security counselling at Professionals of Business and Technology, knows that.

"The labour market is governed by the law of supply and demand, which also affects what kind of salary employers are willing to offer at any given time. Many jobseekers are currently thinking about the kind of salary request that is up to date in this particular situation. Those employed, on the other hand, may currently feel they cannot negotiate their salary," she says.

It is important to try and negotiate the salary regardless of the situation in the labour market.

According to Matinhelmi, it is important to try and negotiate the salary regardless of the situation in the labour market.

"Even though the current economic and employment situation is gloomy, the situation will not last forever. Once employment improves and there is less skilled workforce in the free market, employers will again have to compete for skilled workers with higher wages."

Salary counseling with solid experience

Matinhelmi has a long history of providing salary advice: she has already been working for Professionals of Business and Technology for 16 years. Matinhelmi is a BBA graduate herself. So who knows better than her how to negotiate salary requests?

"I've been a member of the union since I was a student, and as a member I have also used the union’s salary counselling services before I was hired by Professionals of Business and Technology. In the early stages of my career, salary counselling felt like a really important service that helped me a lot," she says.

According to Matinhelmi, the situation of each member is discussed even in great detail, as every workplace and job is different.

"A negotiation strategy that works in one workplace may not work in another. The dynamics prevailing between the parties to the negotiations have a significant impact on the conduct of salary negotiations.

The amount of the salary increase also matters: an increase of around 5–10 per cent is usually a realistic request.

"It is good to take into account different boundary conditions, such as what other employees' salaries are like. In addition, it is worth considering what kind of increase is likely to be negotiated successfully," she says.

Matinhelmi points out that many people initially request a slightly higher salary increase. This can work, but one should be careful with that.

"At worst, there are no prerequisites for continuing the negotiations if the difference of opinion is big. In this case, it may take a long time before it is possible to bring up the matter again.

When applying for a new job, you should also be careful with your salary request.

"Even if you are a good negotiator, no one can negotiate a higher salary than the employer can pay. If your salary request is too high, you may inadvertently exclude yourself from the job.

Bring up your negotiation advantages

According to Matinhelmi, it is important to stop and think about salary issues every few years, especially in a long-term employment relationship.

Many people who ask Matinhelmi for salary advice wonder what kinds of negotiation arguments should be used in salary negotiations. It is essential to consider which arguments are more likely to appeal to the employer.

If you want to achieve a good outcome, two or three top arguments are enough. They don't have to be very complicated. Most often, these arguments can be related to the requirements of the duties and the changes that have taken place in them, one’s own professional competence or particularly good work performance," Matinhelmi lists.

Good to know about salary counseling

Professionals of Business and Technology offers its members personal salary advice, which can be used to formulate a realistic salary request when applying for a job or to help justify a salary increase request. The assessment of the salary level is based, among other things, on statistics concerning the salaries of BBAs working in different positions.

In practice, salary counselling also provides mentoring. In salary counselling, we can offer tips, advice and also confidence in various discussion situations," says Katriina Matinhelmi. Professionals of Business and Technology is familiar with the salary levels of different sectors and regions.

Salary counselling is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The service is intended for all Professionals of Business and Technology who are paying their membership fees.