There’s another “get paid what you’re worth” site that just fired up called SalaryScout:

SalaryScout is a network of users seeking fairness in compensation and benefits. Discover your true value in the marketplace and demand what you’re worth.

I saw the reference to this on TechCrunch. Writer Marshall Kirkpatrick says SalaryScout appeals to the need-to-know in all of us:

Almost everyone wants to know if they should be making more money or feeling proud about how much they make relative to other people in similar lines of work. There’s definitely a demand for this kind of service, but most sites are too onerous to use and provide little value until users pay a subscription fee. I like SalaryScout because it’s simple.

Compensation professionals, be warned. SalaryScout’s manifesto says they’re going to hold you accountable…anonymously:

We are an anonymous community of professionals seeking fairness in compensation. Why let someone else tell you how much you should be paid? Why trust aggregate data from suverys that were taken years ago? SalaryScout puts the power to make informed life decisions in your hands.

So, a group of anonymous people are going to hold HR compensation accountable for their numbers. (Note to SalaryScout: HR pay surveys are not used if they “were taken years ago.” They’re updated at least annually, and as often as quarterly in hot skills markets. If your main premise is that data is outdated, you might want to rethink your marketing strategy.) Because what always works for job hunters is to walk in demanding pay and benefits based on what a beta site says. Hmmm. I like the idea that people can get a feel for their market value, but it’s just a feel.

In the old days, trade magazines used to publish salary surveys for industries. Those data were always flawed because people inflated salaries, misreported income, and mistakenly categorized their jobs. Now we have a way to make the same mistakes, only faster.

Note to job candidates: “Demanding” pay and benefits based on a beta website is a sure-fire way to make yourself look foolish. Sure, have information. Know what you want to make. Get a sense of your value in the workplace. But know that there’s no single number for salary and benefits. And each company pays on a continuum for a given job. You can’t possibly think that you’re as valuable to a company going in as an incumbent with the same background and skills. Just beware.

Next up: Paying for potential versus paying for performance.