Competition is present in many fields between companies, markets, services, and even salaries. Have you heard about competitive salaries? This concept sounds strange and vague for many job seekers. How can salaries be different within the same industry? Too curious to know the reason? Let’s explore the various professional vocabularies, especially those related to salaries.

What is a Competitive Salary :

When you apply for a job, you research the workplace, employers, and the salary. Having a prospective idea about the salary will help you to answer interview questions about salary expectations confidently. When you inquire about the salary, you may find out that numbers are the same for the same job. A Competitive salary means that the payment can be equal or more than the companies’ standard for similar positions. This difference among wages is not terrific. According to Hr professionals, the difference might be 10% lower or above. The sharp difference among wages can be viewed in terms of geographical distance since the cost of living and purchasing power is not the same in every area.

A competitive salary is about money and about benefits and bonuses that job seekers are interested in. Take a look at Employee benefits: a simple guide

How Can You expect a Competitive Salary?

Inquiring about the salary can be a difficult task since some companies do not reveal about wages. That’s why you find job advert terms like; “negotiable salary, motivating salary...” Suppose salary information is still ambiguous to you. You can ask about benefits packages such as paid leaves or medical insurance, etc.… always research professional benefits to estimate the expected salary. Keep in mind; if these benefits are too many, you need to expect a lower salary. Employers will not put expenses on benefits, including a high salary. They need to establish a balanced job advertisement, depending on what they can offer. Take a look at Understand The Types of Employment Contracts in UK

Why Is It Important to Offer a Competitive Salary?

For many employers, using the term competitive salary can make their job advertisement more considerable and attractive. Some people may lose interest in the job just by knowing about the pay. But this secret is no longer hidden, as job seekers can cleverly determine this competitive payment by following these tricks:

Professional Networks:

Everything is revealed on the internet. An active job seeker can easily estimate a competitive salary by checking from different sources online. For example, you can find out from people from the industry. Or if you are not a friendly being, you can consult a salary checker online.

Your Location:

Salaries differ from one place to another. That’s why you need to concentrate on your location when you are researching salaries.

The Job Market:

The hiring process is profoundly relying on the supply and demand process. Great salaries are always offered for highly qualified people. If employers want to reach out to these experts the best way is to describe their salary as a competitive salary. Take a look at impact of Covid 19 on job market

What Does it Mean When Employers Use the Term Competitive Salary?

If you came across this expression in a job advertisement, you need to ask some questions; why this term? Why do employers use it?

From a professional perspective, the meaning of a competitive salary depends on employers' reasons for this term. For example, a job advert may include the term competitive salary instead of the salary range, market rate, and negotiable salary. This means that the salary is not decided and can vary through time.

Employers refer to their unrevealed salary as competitive for many reasons:

-First, they want to inform applicants that salary negotiation is possible. The final salary can be decided according to the applicant’s expectations or work experience level.

-Second, using this term as salary information is often to hide the real salary number, so that competitors do not demotivate applicants or criticize the salary.

-Third, employers may use this term to attract new talents by targeting people interested in the job rather than money.

After explaining the reasons, let’s inform you how to ask about the salary in a job interview:

What Should Be your Competitive Salary?

Asking about the salary is not preferable at a job interview, especially when employers did not initially state the salary topic.

First, wait until your employer brings about the salary first. Show interest in the position to speed up your hiring process.

If employers didn’t talk about the salary and allowed you if there were any questions, try to take advantage of the questioning episode and ask about the notion of a competitive salary you have found in the job advertisement. You should not directly ask how much you would pay me? Just use the same terms employed by employers. Take a look at What to Say When an Employer Asks for Salary Requirements?

To sum up, a competitive salary is a professional term mainly applied by employers to reach qualified applicants and keep the confidentiality of their payment system. This article includes reasons for using this term, with ways to unveil the competitive salary notion.