Sometimes people undervalue themselves and this leads to a reluctance to negotiate once there is a job offer on the table. Often they make decisions about salary based on what they feel they need rather than what the market will bear. Here are five tips for better salary negotiation conversations.
- Base your salary expectations on what the market will bear rather than on what you earned in a previous position. All a salary suggests is what someone was willing to pay you at a particular time. Past salary generally has little relevance to your current market value.
- Discuss your salary expectations in terms of what is fair and reasonable. Don’t ask for a certain salary because that is what you think you need to earn in order to pay your rent…instead give an explanation for why the salary you are requesting is directly correlated to the value you will bring to the organization.
- Uncover your competition. Before there is an offer on the table, ask the interviewer questions such as “Can you tell me where you are in the hiring process?” or “How many people are you interviewing for this position?” to try to determine how many people you may be competing against for the position. If you discover that you are their only current candidate you will have more leverage during the negotiation process and may be able to command a higher salary.
- Think outside the box and be flexible. If an employer can’t offer you the base compensation you had hoped for, maybe they can offer you a compelling performance bonus, a signing bonus or additional stock options.
- Do your homework. Review sites such as Salary.com and Payscale.com to help determine your market value, calculate the value of your benefits package and assess the overall quality of your offer. Supplement this research with conversations with recruiters and industry professionals to further validate the acuracy of your findings.
I have come across many people who have had lack of confidence to ask for a higher salary. They work hard, they are very efficient with their work, but they are also dealing with a more difficult boss. A wonderful book I came across helped me and others to learn in a different way how to take more responsibility for our lives, build confidence within ourselves, and deal with difficult people or situations in the work place. It’s called “Dealing with Divas” by Shelly Anderson.
I have just discovered your blog and really like the focus you have on Salary Negotiation as it is an area many job seekers and employees lack the knowledge and skills to approach. I have created a salary negotiation workbook that may also be able to assist others in addition to your great articles.
http://www.sixfigures.com.au/job_seekers/resources?article=how_to_negotiate_your_next_salary_rise
Kelly,
Thank you for reading and thanks for sharing your excellent resource for salary negotiation.
Hi,
Please note the link to the Salary Negotiation workbook mentioned by Kelly has changed to http://www.sixfigures.com.au/job_seekers/resources?article=how_to_negotiate_your_next_salary_rise.