What am I worth? It’s a tough question – one that is better answered by a sober assessment of your skills rather than the sentimental opinion of your mother. When you factor in our general malaise for talking about money, the conversation can become as crawl out of your skin uncomfortable as watching actors become recording artists. And negotiating your salary is not the kind of thing you want to walk into with distaste and fear. If you can’t talk about money, chances are you won’t be making lots of it.

Too often our fear of appearing superficial, entitled and all things unsavory gets in the way of negotiating a competitive salary. Just as often, though, our arrogance and ignorance get in the way of making good decisions. So where do we find the balance between not being greedy and not being a chump? It’s a tough line to walk but in every case you should approach the conversation with logic, confidence as well as humility. In case these are not qualities you can count on, here are five things you should know about negotiating your salary.

Know Thy Market

Aside from bribes some misguided parents offer as a scholastic incentive, this will be the first time you can legitimately make some money from doing your homework.   Coming to the negotiating table equipped with market research is the strongest bet you can make in obtaining your ideal salary. If you can show an employer that similarly situated lawyers are paid at a certain level, it will be harder (but not impossible) for them to offer you considerably less. Of course, great delicacy is required in presenting this information. It should not be shoved down the employer’s throat with sibling like “if he gets this, then I should too” entitlement.

Research is equally important in terms of keeping your expectations in check. If the firm or organization you are interviewing with is not known as a top compensator or the industry is known to be chronically frugal, it is better to have this information before throwing numbers out. Consider proposing the going rate at a private hedge funds in negotiations with a media company and watch the jaws grow slack.

In the end, employers often will not meet your market numbers, but in most cases the exercise will give you a better read on things like: how the company values legal, whether the company is undeniably cheap on all fronts, whether they are right where they should be, how appealing non-monetary aspects of the job are to you, and most importantly, how effective you are as a negotiator.

Know Thyself

Once you have looked outwards to get some relevant market intelligence, next comes the uncomfortable part. This is not to suggest undertaking the kind of introspection that can prompt a crisis. The real question you should be answering is: what is my value to this organization? The difficulty is remaining objective and not letting your insecurities or hubris get in the way.

It is important to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses as it pertains to the particular role you are being offered. In order to do that, you must have a more than superficial understanding of the role. Often the job advertisement will not provide a great deal of substance so asking for further details about the responsibilities of the role and/or obtaining a job description early on is a great idea.

Next make an honest determination regarding where you fall with respect to the skills and experience level the employer is seeking. After all, your future employer may resort to the same check-list to justify a lower salary. It is always better to know where your potential bargaining pitfalls lay.

The exercise will either boost your confidence to ask for the salary you want, or it will make what initially seemed like a paltry salary feel like a windfall. If it’s the latter, just smile and say thank-you.

The (Not So) Obvious Point

Although a bevy of tactics can be employed in negotiating, lying should never be one of them.  It is true that some job seekers get away with embellishing or remaining vague about details in order to strengthen their bargaining position. But despite the popularity of these ethically dubious tactics, an outright lie – especially about something as precise and easily uncovered as numbers – is never a good bet.

Many job-seekers are surprised to find out that employers will not hesitate to ask about current salary early on in the interview process, if not at the offer stage. For those who offer a lie and inflate their salary, bear in mind that it is fairly easy to confirm this information at the point of doing a reference check in which case lying could prompt the employer to rescind their offer.

The only honorable (not to mention strategically sound) way to manage a sluggish salary is to make clear that one of the main reasons you are looking for a new role is that you are seeking to take a step up in compensation.

Finally, when you provide your current salary, be sure to include your base plus any bonus as well as non-monetary perks so the prospective employer as a fulsome sense of what you earn.