Dear Evil HR Lady,
I referred a friend of mine to my place of work because he is razor sharp, and has a ton of experience. We are both in the IT Field and it’sreally difficult to find good talent in our area. He was also getting tired of his old job and a position opened up at my company. Here is the issue…. My friend despite all of his brilliance has a G.E.D., has never worked in a large corporate environment, has no IT certifications and about the same amount of work experience, except mine mainly consist of top 100 companies and his are more local.
He was offered $6,000 a year MORE than I make! I have a military background, 2 years of college, 2 relevant IT certifications, and 10 years of work experience in similar companies. And here is where it gets really bad. I knew what the market rate was for my region and I asked for that. They told me they couldn’t pay me that and cited something about peer salary being fair. So I did my research, asked for more and got less. He asked for $25k less than I did and got $6,000 more than I did. How do you justify paying someone who didn’t finish high school, has NO certifications and has semi-relevant work experience $6,000 more than someone who is significantly more qualified?
To read the answer, click here: Why your less qualified coworker makes more than you do
If it’s a different job it’s understandable as it depends on what the position involves.