how do u know u are selling yourself short or not by accepting a particular job offer and then sticking with it because its a quite chilled out atmosphere even though the salary is lower than what you expected?
I have countless arguments with friends that think im selling myself short becuz i dont strive to work in the big firms like Citigroup or JP morgan and instead chose to be with a start-up firm that pays me considerably less. I dont want to be working at a conservative financial institution because I dont wanna lose my hair before time nor do I want to make my life revolve around my job. The arguments never end and sometimes they get pretty heated…With my spending habits i admit sometimes it does get kinda hard to save up my money so i wonder if i am selling myself short by being content with my current job.
Re: Selling yourself short....
I have just interviewed at a nice firm, and although the pay aint all taht great, I really do like the company, teh job, and the work atmosphere. But ofcourse the pay is quite less than I expected. It was somewhat easier to make my decision though: I had to get my foot in the door somehow, the company atmosphere and ppl seems to be worth it.
So, if you are like me, you must have your own reasons to accept the job at a considerably lower pay.
Only you can decide if you are selling yourself short.
Re: Selling yourself short....
thanks Ira. i know i need not bother with what others think but sometimes i feel like theres something wrong with me since i am not as ambitious as my friends to work for these bigger firms which according to them eventually provide a better lifestyle after an initial phase of hardwork (looooong hours, strict bosses). it seems to me that In these firms I see people on all levels work just as long and when they are promoted their responsibilities increase thus making life all the more stressful (there are exceptions ofcourse).
thus i am in constant struggle....
Re: Selling yourself short....
u r not selling yourself short if u r happy where u r, doing what u want to do.
u r selling yourself short if you feel unvalued and your talents not recognised and u r not developed in othre ways. Money, after a certain point, is not everything and start spending less :)
Re: Selling yourself short…
d’oh!!!
Re: Selling yourself short....
well.. i am doing job as a assistant accountant ... and yes .. in short salary ... but it doesnt mean i am selling myself ... definately ... i am not stupid ...
i was doing job on some other company as a computer operator .. but that was only coz i want to study and i dont want to borrow from my parents .. then another company offers me to come there and join as a assistant accountant which is not my field ... but they want 2 boys for traning .. luckily i was completing my websites project for them and they offer me ..
and now i am doing job there ... and u can i am learning .. although i have spend my 1 yr there ,, now i have offers of good salaries in good companies... but they all are computer based.. i know a lot about computers ... and experienced .. but dont want to go .. coz i think in accouting i will have good futrure and still i am learning there... and i dont want to move right now ...
Re: Selling yourself short…
cool…i hope u do great in the future. i personally hated accounting but i hate computers even more lol. oh well i guess the key in your case is the fact that u r learning …
Re: Selling yourself short....
From what I have seen, the big companies usually pay less and there is a lot of overhead in getting timely reviews, raises, etc. Whereas in small firms, there maybe more work and you can't hide yourself like working in big comapanies but they pay is substantially more. You are visible and recognized. If you know what you are doing, you can go a long way.
Re: Selling yourself short…
Ya … coz here in pakistan … (dont know abt other countries) getting a job without experience is really too difficult … like u have spent 5 or 6 years after college for completing ur engineering and invest a lot of money … now u will defintely expect that u will get a starting job of atleast 30,000 or minimum it should be 20,000 .. coz if u doing from some private institute … u will have to pay 25 to 50 thousand per semister and your whole day … then you expectations should be high … and then what is the result ? you look into newspaper and found that every engineering job required atleast 5 to 10 years experience .. 
now from where to bring that experience … then u start sending ur CVs in companies .. then may be a call come … and then what is offered to u … 5000 per month
then people say … Studies doesnt worth in PAKISTAN ..
but yet , few are lucky … they get job easily … may be from chance or from reference ..
Re: Selling yourself short…
well .. i am not agree … more work cant help you … companies will not pay you for more work … may be this rule are for labours
like if u r a finance manager … you will have an accountant for help , then that accountant have assistant accountants.. and what u doing… have lunch , having clod drink and all ,… BUT … u r managing the whole accounts ,., which ur assistants cant do .. coz u know those things which no one know … then company will definately pay you more …
Re: Selling yourself short…
i think in pakistan references are much more important in many cases.
Re: Selling yourself short…
ya … i think the same …
where u from ?
Re: Selling yourself short....
karachi/rawalpindi/ny/baltistan/my mom
Re: Selling yourself short…
now … for good salaries u must have some references or you have those qualities for which u can force companies to pay u more