Would you still check your market value when you are doing well in your current job? | Satyajit Senapati

Should you check your market value even when you are doing well in your current job? Most of us look out for another job when we are in trouble. E.g. we don’t get a promotion, we are not getting along with the boss, or we didn’t quite get the appraisal we wanted so on and so forth.

But imagine you doing well in your current job and well-settled in your current role. Would you still proactively look for your market value? Can this be useful in any way? Let's explore some different perspectives in this blog.

Where do you stand vis-a-vis your compensation?

When you start looking for opportunities and you seem to get some, you will know where you stand concerning compensation in the market. Are you underpaid, at par, or overpaid? Remember an underpaid employee may not resign. For him/her there could be other parameters that are important to stick around. Nevertheless, this exercise gives you an idea as to where you stand vis-à-vis your compensation.

Are you in your comfort zone?

When you set out to look for opportunities, two cases can happen. First, you will get calls/offers, and second, you will get very less calls or no calls.

If you get a lot of calls/offers it means that your skillset is definitely in demand. But it also indicates that you have a lot of comfort with it- basically, you are in your comfort zone. It is perhaps time to break out of your comfort zone because that’s where growth lies. You may look at breaking this comfort zone in the same company or look for another one.

Do you need to upskill?

If you are getting too less calls or no calls, it is natural to feel disheartened and disappointed. But it could also mean that your skills are not in demand. It is a great opportunity to introspect and look to upskill yourself.

Do people check their market value for real?

Well, sometime back I met a senior leader and we got started on this topic. He has been with his current firm for the last 17 years. He has made rapid strides in the company despite the unpopular opinion that people do not grow much if they stay in the same company for long.

He disclosed that he had done his market value checks from time to time and still keeps doing it. Whenever he gets a lot of calls and the roles offered are similar to what he is doing, he would go back to his current organization's leadership and ask for a different role. Each time pushing his envelope and breaking his comfort zone. Certain times he would get fewer calls and he analyzed and found that he lacked expertise in tech themes in his industry. Realized his need to upskill and went back to the drawing board honing the required skills.

 Conclusion

In the end, I would suggest that if you are a working professional, then you should check your worthiness in the market from time to time irrespective of where you work, and how well you are doing. Each of the scenarios discussed above allows you to improve yourself professionally. At the same time do not go all out on this. Use your judgment. The idea is to understand the gaps and areas of improvement.

I hope you found this article informative. Do share with your network if you find this valuable.

About Author

Satyajit Senapati is a best-selling Author, TEDX & Public Speaker and Mentor. He has 2 decades of management consulting and corporate strategy experience in leading organizations such as Deloitte, KPMG, Jio, Novartis, etc. He holds an MBA from IIM Lucknow. For more information explore