How do you put a price on yourself?

We would definitely regard ourselves with immense value because we have to handle so many things in life, such as giving our best in our day job, looking after family members, attending part-time studies after work, pursuing our hobbies, managing our relationships with loved ones and friends, looking after our own health and so on. However in the job market, most employers are looking at finding someone to fill the empty position and carry out the assigned job so that the company will not face hiccups. Naturally in their minds, they would determine the worth of the employee could bring to the company by their expected salary or last drawn salary. If I am an employer, I would want to have a more in-depth understanding of the employee and take into account capabilities, knowledge, experiences. As long as he/she could perform the job competently, age is not an issue unless it's related to the health of the employee. It is not fair to just based on the last drawn pay, it just reflects the company could not be bothered about the employee's welfare and situation and treats him/her as a job-fulfilling machine. And the employee is not going to remain stupid and continued to be exploited. I don't think in such a case the company could retain their staff for long. If they don't change their way of thinking, they're going to recruit one employee this week and lose him/her next week, and repeat the endless cycles all over again.

Of course, ability, capability and experience, does play an important part upon pricing ourselves.. IF not, what's gonna makes us so valuable, and what's the point of having experience, in the same industry right?? For employees, it's ok to state our expected salary, and be much higher than our last drawn salary.. BEcause this time round, we have added our years of experience in the last company into this current round.. While for employers, they are just out to take advantage of us, if we din state too high of expected salary, and thus they will make do with whatever is given to them as 'reference'.. haha

i am priceless..... if any one asked my expected salary i always say- i am priceless and in the long term you would realize that sooner or later.......:)) and no one is ever disappointed by me ever........

Hi Ah Gong, you looking for a new job huh? hmm... i'm thinking about that question too. I left a job to look after my daughter a couple of years back. My salary then was quite high in the civil service. It's a pretty difficult question to answer isn't it? To me, it all depends on the job market. If the market is favourable to the jobseekers, then it is possible to ask for a higher pay packet. But if it is the employer's market, then you will have a hard time increasing your salary, even though you know you are worth much much more than what they are offering you. But the important thing is not to give up. You may find a job that has a favourable salary. Good luck!

my case is a little different since i chose to stay at home and be a mom. my husband is a dj and whilst this entails some sort of groupies i know what i'm worth: was a part time dj myself when i was an oic of a college's guidance office while i still take up units in educational management during weekends. i converse fluently and write online in my second language and have mixed blood which lends me a different look. besides i've given my husband a smart son. my family is as decent as any in-law can hope for. let me see any groupie coming close to that. they don't have a life and not to be taken seriously. pity are those who would choose them over their legal wives. the wives made a stupid mistake if that is the case.

actually this type of questions are a little incorrect since the employee must offer a fixed sum asking what payment you expect is a try to cheat you - this way they make you undercut yourself and to go for less payment than it should be it means they don't pick you by your qualities, but by the number you put down it means they are earning from your desperation when i was looking for a job, the main reference point for me was exactly does the company affords a sum or it's trying to deceive me

Hi ahgong! Well it's true, in fact maybe the company motto is "Why Spent More if We Can Spent Less, and more Benefit" ... i guess that's normally happen in a world of business, honestly maybe i'm doing the same thing if i'm in charge on the company, so i put myself a price when makes any interview for job, and i always write a high expected salary more than i want to avoid miserable amounts when applying a new job

I have always been self-employed so I have never experienced being asked how much I expect to be paid. But if I were asked that question I would base it from experience, my qualifications and my age of course. So it means that I would be quite expensive because of my age and experience. lol

I have just landed on my first job and doing it succesfully. I have not given a serious thought about it but will surely think of it as compensation is also an important part.