The Annual OfficeTeam Salary and Workplace Survey findings reported in 2004 show that salaries in the Midlands are:

The Council for Administration discovered in their 2003 Report Administration Skills Insight Report that employees at level 3 - that is, those tending of you tending to have degrees and A levels with 18 months to 3 years' experience - tended to be paid below the UK average.

The good news for those of you living in the East Midlands: the East Midlands Development Agency want to increase the average weekly earnings of towns and cities to within 2% of the national average by 2010.

So what can you do to boost your employability and salary potential?

1. Employers reported in the Council for Administration report that there was emphasis from employers on the need for IT and communication skills from PA staff. Given that many employees in the East Midlands do not have good IT skills, it makes sense that the more you can build on this area, the more you can carve yourself a niche.



2. Look to see what the going rate is in your sector in your area for a company a similar size to yours by checking recruitment companies' web sites, talking to consultants and checking newspapers. This will give you a benchmark with which you can approach your boss if you want to ask for a pay rise.



3. Remember that there are other ways to boost your salary other than pay. If your boss has good reasons why he can't give you a pay rise, maybe he could give you the odd day off, or pay for a training course you want to do instead. Be flexible in terms of what you're paid in, but don't be afraid to move elsewhere if you think the time is right to move on.

Finally, remember that:

• the salary depends very much on location, sector, size, type of organisation and the nature of the role.



• while salaries are important, they're not everything. In the East Midlands, the average journey time to work is 21 minutes, which allows you more time to enjoy life outside work and achieve that work-life balance so many of us crave for!



• It's important to keep driving up your skill level by expanding your skills base and experience, learning and training. Visit the Maximise your Potential page to help you do this.