Know Your Worth: Check the Job Market Before You Need To
A career-advice column suggests professionals check the job market every three to six months, even if they plan to stay put.
The Woodruff Times published a career-advice column on October 7, 2026 arguing that you should not wait until you need a job to learn what you are worth. Here is our summary of its main points.
The core idea: Professionals should look at the job market every three to six months. That means updating your résumé, looking at similar positions, and applying for promotions or comparable roles elsewhere. The goal is to understand your market value and your options, not necessarily to leave.
Why it matters: People who stay in one role for years can lose track of current pay rates, in-demand skills and open opportunities. Interviewing while you are still employed lets you be more selective about pay, benefits, flexibility and advancement, and gives you room to negotiate.
Practice helps: The column notes that interviewing is a skill that improves with use, and that interviews can reveal experience gaps worth working on.
Loyalty is not the issue: Knowing your worth does not mean being disloyal to an employer. You may well choose to stay, but the column argues it should be an informed choice.
This is an opinion column and our own summary of reporting by The Woodruff Times (the byline at the source is inconsistent, so we credit the paper). Read the full column at the source link.