When you go for a job interview, you're actually selling yourself to a prospective employer and your worth to your future employer would depend upon your skills of negotiating your package.

It's not unusual to feel shy to quote a pay when asked openly. That's mainly because we often are not aware of our true value in the market. As a result you may agree to take a paycheck much less than what you should ideally get or loosing the opportunity altogether because the employer would learn that you don't know your true value, hence lose credibility.

When the job market is tight, it becomes all the more important to learn your worth to manage a good job. Here is how you can evaluate yourself before going for a job interview.

Research the company: Knowing about the company before facing the interviewer is important. The overall idea about the industry can also give you a fair idea about the salary you can get. If the company is growing fast and operating in a field that would sustain in the long run, you may go for top pay. Otherwise, check your options.

Salary evaluators: There are sites available online which would help you in discovering your true value. Some of these sites would allow you to personalize your search based on geographical area, profession, experience, qualification and the like.

Evaluate yourself: Ask yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. Find out about the qualities that would put you before others.

Avoid salary negotiation: If not asked openly, avoid directly replying to a salary question. Also, you might try to push the ball back to the interviewer’s court.

If asked directly, however, counter question by asking the range. You must know what you can ask for.

Decline offer if not satisfied: Be prepared to walk away when not satisfied with the offer. But do it politely. It's better not to accept an offer if unsatisfied as it would affect your productivity in the long run.

These are the few tips which can help you in securing a better paycheck. Also consider the perks and other benefits along with the salary to decide about an offer. Employees tend to perform better when they are financially secured.