The road to negotiating salary is filled with ups, downs and doubts. Finding out what you are worth requires research, self-reflection and networking. Look into your professional history and ask yourself, “What do I bring to the table?” Get advice from vocation and job counsellors if you don’t know where you’re headed, said Cary Silberman, a human resource consultant with the Negotiation Institute, New York.

Robin Meyer of the office of career counseling, Williams College, Massachusetts, the US, suggests documenting your professional progress. “Keep a kudos file to keep track of items like positive work evaluations, examples of your best work, thank-you notes from clients, awards or recognitions so that you have them at your fingertips when you need them.”

Most important: network. Experts agree that the best source of salary information is other people in the same field. “You are worth different amounts in different markets. What’s more, you may be worth more to one company than you would be to another,” said Kate Wendleton, president of the New York-based Five ’Clock Club, a career counselling and outplacement organisation.

Many people believe skills, experience and education are the only things that affect salary. But other factors, such as location, industry and company size can determine your worth, said Joe Kilmartin, managing director of compensation consulting at Salary.com.

He noted that worth sometimes depends on the state of the job market and the personality of the applicant. “Personality is a very important factor, because you may have the best background but if your personality does not mesh into an organisation, you may not get what you are worth,” he said.

How do you determine the typical salary for a position? Check the job announcement for a salary range. If it’s not listed, do some research. And keep talking to others in your field. “You need to find out what you as a person are worth to companies,” Wendleton said. At networking meetings, ask, “What kind of salary could someone like me expect at your company?”

Most job seekers are anxious about salary discussions and want to get them over with as soon as possible. But according to Wendleton, “The person who brings up a number first loses the game.”

Talk about the job before you talk salary, she said. “Create a job (offer) that suits both you and the hiring manager. Make sure it is at an appropriate level for you. If the job is too low-level, don’t ask about the money, upgrade the job.”

Start salary negotiations once you have a job offer. However, if you are in your final round of interviews and the employer still hasn’t mentioned salary, Silberman recommends asking how much they are offering, or a salary range for the position.

It is common for employers to ask about salary to gauge your expectations and to see if they can afford you.

Wendleton said, “If your salary is more than they want to pay, they will discard your application. If it is very low, they will discard your application and assume that you are not qualified. So you have only a one-third chance of getting it right and moving along in the hiring process.”

Be careful about disclosing your salary history too soon. Postpone the topic until you have a better idea of what they will offer by politely mentioning that salary won’t be a problem and that you should be able to come to an agreement.