55% of Workers Say Their Salary Is Less Than It Should Be — 4 Tips for Earning More in Your Career
Written by
Tina Nazerian
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Many Americans’ salaries don’t match their expectations. According to Resume Now’s “2025 Wage Reality Report,” 55% of the 1,065 American workers surveyed indicated they “think their salary is lower than it should be.”
Andy Thomas, the owner of Andy Thomas Careers Now, a full-service career and executive coaching firm that works with clients nationally, told GOBankingRates that he wasn’t surprised by Resume Now’s finding.
“I certainly hear that concern quite a bit,” he said.
According to Thomas, if you’re unhappy with your current salary, there are steps you can take to start earning more in your career.
Consider How You’re Positioning Yourself at Your Current Company
Thomas emphasized that many people “put the blame on the company” for not getting paid more.
“In some cases, that’s fair,” Thomas said. “I certainly hear stories and I’m well aware of companies that could be paying more than what they should be, and are too worried about just bottom-line profits, and unfortunately, don’t hold onto people very effectively by increasing salaries the way they should.”
However, Thomas stressed, “a lot of this ballgame is what the individual is doing to increase their worth and value perception within the company.”
He pointed to an example of a step one of his clients took to stand out to management — regularly traveling by car for several hours from one city to another to meet with upper management (the company was not fully remote, but had a remote workforce in the client’s city).
In turn, he said, management started “talking about advancing her career” and told her “about openings she didn’t even know existed. She applied and was able to actually be interviewed for positions she would not have known about if she’d only stayed” in her area.
Thomas advised to “make sure you’re getting together with your boss on a more regular basis, or the powers that be within the company. Don’t wait for them to request a meeting.” He added that the advice applies regardless of whether or not your company has a physical location, and that you can arrange virtual meetings if necessary.
That, he said, is called “managing up.” It refers to updating your boss about what you’re doing so that you’re “not micromanaged,” building the “trust factor” with them and also forming “a bit more of a bond because you’re keeping them in the loop, they don’t have to ask you.” Additionally, he recommended that you “get to know” your boss “a little bit personally.”
Take a Dual Approach
You can land a higher-paying job by getting promoted at your current company or moving on to a new one. Thomas recommended taking a dual approach.
He explained that in his role as a career coach, he helps clients determine when it’s time to leave their existing employers.
“When to stay, when to go — that’s a critical part of what I do everyday,” Thomas said. “And so there’s a way to do both roads at the same time, meaning we will make sure the company, quite frankly, is assuming we’re perfectly happy and things are moving forward, although we may be politically trying to maneuver and give them the benefit of the doubt and hope our boss might get the word that, you know, we’d like to really see the improvement rather than just talk.”
But simultaneously?
“We’re doing the resume,” he added. “We’re working on the LinkedIn profile. We are scouting prospective employers. We’re targeting prospective employers.”
Work on Your Brand
To advance your career, it’s crucial to “look at yourself as a product,” Thomas said.
To do so, he advised starting by defining your brand.
“What makes you different?,” he said. “Why are you better? Why should a company pay you more than somebody else? Why should a company even want to entertain interviewing you more than somebody else? You have to know your value. And part of your value is, what have you accomplished? What’s your tenure?”
Once you understand what your brand is, Thomas explained that it’s time to “shape your story” and craft “your elevator pitch.”
Make Human-to-Human Connections
After you’ve developed your brand, Thomas recommended focusing on making human-to-human connections.
He noted that Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) can reject qualified candidates who don’t meet defined criteria. For instance, he said that an HR team can tell an ATS that a candidate must “have four years” in a given “title.”
“OK, you didn’t have that title,” he explained. “Guess what? You’re rejected. Should you have been rejected? Not necessarily. You might have been the best person they could have gotten.”
Moreover, according to Thomas, it’s important to go beyond “advertised openings” and to look at the “hidden job market.” He advised considering which companies you’re “already a good fit” for “as a candidate” and which ones you’d “really like to work for.”
“You don’t have to wait for posted openings in order to begin the familiarity process of getting the hiring manager ready to look at you and ready to hire you,” Thomas said.
“Sure, they’re going to still go through normal hiring requirements. Sure, you’re going to still have to fill out an application. Sure, they’re still going to interview other people, but guess what? If you’ve already made an impression, you’re already in.”
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