Job posting in Fortune 500 companies You should cultivate several people who can regularly peruse job posting at their companies and give you information on salary ranges. Large companies rarely pay more for talent then they must. Smaller companies see them as the primary competition for employees and will usually match these salaries. If affordability was the criterion, the homeless could walk into Macy's and demand to pay fifty cents for a cashmere coat. Your goal is to gather and analyze salary information from as many sources as possible even if the quality of information varies.
Quantity is better than relying on one seemingly flawless source.
Because you need to find out the minimum, maximum, and mid-point that companies in your market pay for particular jobs. With multiple sources to compare, you can get that information. Don't exclude hospitals, universities, and social service agencies in your data. Ditto local, state, and federal government agencies. The more comprehensive your survey, the more convincing your argument that you are being paid under market, one of the strongest arguments you can make for an increase.