How to negotiate salary is one of the biggest concerns a job hunter has. If you don’t have a lot of experience with this (and most people don’t), a career coach can help you with many aspects of a career, including the salary negotiation process.
How to negotiate salary, your to-do list:
Negotiate!
You do not need to accept their first offer. If you aren’t comfortable with negotiating, talk to a career coach to learn the skills and gain confidence but more importantly understand your worth for when the time comes.
Keep Your Minimum Desired Salary to Yourself
You may have a couple of figures in mind, such as how much you would ideally like and how much you would be willing to accept. Revealing too much information could help the employer to negotiate you down. A good strategy to adopt instead of answering the question what salary you are looking for, is to try to put yourself in the position of asking questions – i.e. asking your employer what were you thinking that this position is worth and why? It will give you more insight into what their range is as well as their expectations which provide you more leverage to negotiate.
Do Your Research
Research your job title and industry to find a competitive salary range. From an employer’s perspective, the salary you receive should reflect the value that you bring to the company, so come prepared with a case (backed by data) with why you deserve the requested amount.
Consider More Than Salary
Deciding on whether to take a job or not should not just be about the salary. For example, have you considered your vacation and sick days or the severance package? These are just a few factors that make up your compensation.
Don’t forget to consider these:
- Do they have a pension plan and is it good?
- What is their medical and dental plan?
- What is the work/life balance expectation?
- How long is the commute to work?
- Will you get along with your boss?
- Will you be supported in your position?
- Is promotion based on merit or politics?
These are all things that will affect your overall job satisfaction so don’t forget to ask your potential employer and yourself these questions.
Ask for Your Offer in Writing
Make sure that you get your final offer in writing to ensure that all the terms you have negotiated are included. It is hard to dispute a discrepancy once you are already working in your new job and have nothing concrete (or legal) to prove what you are owed. A legitimate employer will not have any issues with providing you with this.
Be Thorough the First Time Around
Make sure that you know what you want to ask for and are comprehensive by making all the requested changes the first time around. The way you handle this negotiation will send a strong message to your employer about not only how you see your worth but also likely how you will handle the tasks of your job moving forward.
Do you have some good negotiating tips? I would love to hear them! A career coach can help you build your negotiating skills so that you are prepared when the time comes. Contact me to learn more about career coaching or to develop your negotiating skills.