PayScale的分析经理凯蒂•巴达罗称，职场人士同时还要谨记，每个职位都有自己独特的成熟曲线，即达到绩效目标所能期望的薪酬增长轨迹；PayScale是一家位于西雅图的在线薪酬数据公司。如果对于雇主来说，员工的价值主要来自教育背景或岗前培训，那么成熟曲线就会比较平缓；如果员工每年都能获得宝贵的经验，那么这条曲线的坡度就会更大。

    例如，一个初出茅庐的药剂师就可以拿到100,000美元的年薪，但是整个职业生涯过程中，该职业的薪酬增长幅度并不大，最后资深药剂师的年薪也只有106,000美元。相形之下，软件开发人员和律师对雇主的价值会逐年增加。他们能在岗位上学习成长，因此可能会有很大的薪酬涨幅，巴达罗称。

    开始薪酬谈话之前，一定要了解雇主和行业整体的经济状况。如果在公司处于困境之时要求加薪，就会显得自己与公司脱节。

    “如果身处制造、建筑、零售和房地产等行业，那么形势可能并不好……”巴达罗说。“薪酬大幅增长的行业一般是能源、石油勘探、工程、科研和生物技术等领域。”

    如果老板没有给你加薪的预算，那么可以考虑要求一些其他的福利，比如增加休假时间，提高医疗补贴，教育或职业发展机会，健身房会员资格，或是车库停车位等等。或者看看是否可能拿到奖金或分红。

    贾森•杰普森在上一份工作的薪酬谈判中就采取了这种策略。杰普森今年37岁，是美国德克萨斯州奥斯汀市一位业务发展专员。上一份工作中，他的工作对象是企业客户，后者每月支付2万美元至3万美元的聘请定金。虽然杰普森的东家此前从未从新客户手中获得过收入分成，但是杰普森仅用三个月，便成功说服了一位新客户与公司达成了分成协议，这样，他的年薪就有了着落。

    “深入审视整个行业，看看自己在其中的位置和整体影响。以此为基础，开始谈判，就能无往不利，”杰普森说道。“只要能涨工资，人们就会更加卖力地工作。”

    译者：qian

    It's also good to keep in mind that each job has a unique maturity curve, the trajectory of salary increases that you can expect for meeting performance goals, says Katie Bardaro, analytics manager at PayScale, an online compensation data company based in Seattle. The maturity curve will be flatter if most of your value to the employer is due to your education or pre-employment training; it will be steeper if you gain valuable experience every year.

    For instance, a starting pharmacist can expect to earn about $100,000 but not see much growth over the course of a career, with ending compensation only about $106,000. By contrast, a software developer or lawyer will become more valuable to the employer every year because of on-the-job learning, and can expect strong raises, Bardaro says.

    Be sure to understand the financial position of your employer and the overall industry before you begin a salary discussion. You'll appear out of touch if you ask for a raise when the company is in distress.

    "If you're in manufacturing, construction, retail, real estate, things are not looking good for you…." Bardaro says. "The industries that see huge increases in pay are energy, oil exploration, engineering, scientific research and biotechnology."

    If your manager doesn't have a budget for the raise you're seeking, consider asking for benefits such as extra vacation time, a bigger health care subsidy, educational or professional development opportunities, a gym membership, or a parking spot in the garage. Or, explore the potential for bonuses or profit sharing.

    That's what Jason Jepson, 37, a business development executive in Austin, Texas, negotiated at a previous job in which he targeted corporate clients who paid retainers of $20,000 to $30,000 a month. Although his employer had never previously shared revenue from new clients, Jepson successfully argued that in just three months with a new client, his annual salary would be covered.

    "Go in looking at the complete business, see how you fit in and your overall impact. Negotiate from there and you will win every time," Jepson says. "Everyone works a lot harder when they're working for more money."