Are you getting paid what you’re worth? Most of us would probably answer that question ‘No’ even if we spend our days running out the clock surfing YouTube. Seattle-based company PayScale is attempting to help answer the question of whether you’re getting paid what you’re worth, along with a number of other important questions you should be asking anytime you are actively seeking a new job. While most companies frown on sharing what you’re getting paid with the guy in the next cube, it’s natural to be curious if your efforts are being compensated in line with what other people get for performing similar functions. PayScale is taking a fairly unique approach to this problem by collecting data from both employers and employees (published as part of an anonymous whole) to get a better sense of the overall market across many job categories. By signing up for their service, you can keep track of movements in pay in your field and get useful data for negotiating your next pay raise. Employers get better access to data about what positions are worth in the global marketplace, which theoretically drives expectations to something of a market price in a large enough pool of data. Here Chris talks with Joe Giordano, founder of PayScale, about how the service works, how it benefits both employees and employers, and why a service like PayScale provides better information about the job market than previous methodologies.

Joe Giordano of PayScale on Employee Compensation