According to the latest survey by the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, a staggering 3 out of 5 (61.3%) UK professionals are unhappy with their current salary.  

The study, which surveyed 1,500 professionals, also went on to reveal that lawyers, teachers and new graduates were the most disappointed with their current pay packets. Despite so many workers being unhappy with their wage, the majority (54.6%) of respondents stated they had never tried to negotiate for a higher salary.  

When asked why they hadn’t negotiated for higher pay, 51.4% of professionals said they didn’t want to risk losing their job, 39.6% said they didn’t want to seem too pushy and 31.8% felt they didn’t know how to negotiate.  

It’s no surprise that the issue has been exasperated by the pandemic. In fact, more than a quarter (28.9%) of respondents said they had been less likely to negotiate their salary in 2021, than they were before the onset of COVID-19. However, the tide has changed and with record numbers of job postings, confidence amongst the UK workforce is much higher as we head in to 2022. 

This shift is already reflecting in the 2022 job market with average salaries on the rise in 16 sectors in January 2022 so far, compared to January 2021. The top 5 sectors with salary increases are: 

• Hospitality/Hotel +65.8% 
• Marketing +12% 
• IT +11.6% 
• Administration +10.3% 
• Management +9.4% 

Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library comments: “When the pandemic first struck, businesses held all the power and competition for top jobs was tougher than ever. However, in the last few months we have seen this power shift back in favour of candidates and the year-on-year salary increases we are seeing across many industries already in 2022, substantiates this. As such, candidates should feel able to negotiate on salary without fear of losing out on an exciting opportunity.”

Biggins continues: “The key to negotiation is to be prepared. Be sure that you know what you’re worth and what you can bring to the business that will justify a higher salary. To successfully negotiate a salary increase, it’s vital that you take the time to think about what you want, and you check out the latest salaries on offer for your specific role. This will give you the supporting evidence that your expectations are realistic for the 2022 job market.”