How To Negotiate Your Salary

Opening negotiations on your salary can be extremely stressful. Salary is in most cases a taboo subject, meaning that bringing it up by itself is uncomfortable. Then there’s the fear of how your prospective boss will react, as well as whether or not you’ll get terms you’re satisfied with.

All that being said, negotiating your salary is normal when receiving a job offer. If you’re job hunting and want to be prepared to negotiate, think you deserve a higher salary at your current job, or just received a lackluster job offer, then keep reading. This article will discuss how to negotiate effectively and how to prepare yourself for negotiations.

Key Takeaways:

• Salary negotiations are discussions you have with your current or prospective employer that are aimed at getting you a higher salary than initially offered.

• It’s important to do your research beforehand and know how much money people with your education typically get paid, and how much money people in similar positions at the company are making.

• Let your employer be the one to bring up the subject of compensation first. However, being the first to give a specific salary range can give you a leg up in negotiations.

• You should be open-minded when going into a salary negotiation, but be prepared to walk if they don’t want to meet your salary requests.

What are salary negotiations?

Salary negotiations are discussions you have with your current or prospective employer that are aimed at getting you a higher salary than initially offered. For the sake of this article, we’ll be focused on salary negotiations with a prospective employer who’s sent you a job offer.

If you feel that the compensation and benefits package that the company has offered isn’t high enough for someone of your skills, education, and experience, you can always choose to negotiate for a higher salary.

These negotiations don’t have to be entirely about base pay, either. You can also bring up more generous benefits, a flexible schedule, stock options, or other perks.

Why negotiating your salary is important

While negotiating your salary with a prospective employer is never comfortable, it’s nevertheless important for your lifetime career earnings. For example, if you failed to negotiate a 10% increase in your starting salary, it would take three years of 3%+ salary increases to reach the level you could have started at.

If it makes you feel better, employers expect a bit of negotiation when they extend a job offer. They might even ask you for your salary requirements during the interview. At this stage, you may give a range with the number you’re hoping to achieve at or near the bottom of that scale.

When the company sends you a formal offer, you can try to bump that number up the higher range of the scale you already discussed in the interview.

Getting a higher salary is about more than earning more money. It’s about being recognized for the value you bring. It’s how a company shows that it respects your contributions, work-life balance, and career goals.

How to prepare for a salary negotiation

The best way to prepare for a salary negotiation is to do your research, anticipate potential questions, and select a salary range. Preparation will raise the likelihood that you’ll get the result you’re looking for. Remember that this is a time when you have power in the relationship, as they’ve decided that they want you to join the team.

1. Do your homework. There are plenty of websites out there (including the one you’re on right now) with information about salary ranges for specific careers and job positions, and there are even some out there where employees of particular companies report their salaries.

2. Select a range. You don’t want to tip your hand and let your potential employer know what this is just yet, but it’s important to go in with your mind already made up. If you already know what you will and won’t accept, then you won’t be swayed by the negations and settle for something you aren’t happy with. Be sure to:

   • Start high. You should start by throwing out the number at the top of your range. If your employer accepts this – awesome! But you have to assume that they’re going to try to negotiate you down.

     It’s just like haggling for a car – begin with the most you feel you can ask for with the expectation they’ll talk you down.

   • Have a bottom threshold. It’s important to have a salary number you won’t go below. If you come in with this expectation, it’s easier to walk away from something you’re dissatisfied with. Remember to be sure of your worth and to be willing to say no if you don’t feel you’re getting enough.

   • Consider what else you want. The hiring manager may be unwilling or unable to negotiate on salary. If that’s the case, is there something else that would make you accept the job?

     There are several options, such as better healthcare coverage, more vacation time, flex time, or being able to telecommute.

3. Be specific. It’s important that you appear to the hiring manager as though you’ve done a lot of research and come to the negotiation prepared — the more prepared you seem, the less likely they are to try to pull one over on you by offering you a lower number.

   One thing that can help here is to make your number as specific as possible — say $32,855 rather than $33,000 even. The more specific it is, the more it looks like you arrived at that number after careful consideration.

4. Try to anticipate tough questions. Your prospective manager is likely going to want you to justify why you feel you deserve the extra salary. Make sure to be prepared with answers, examples, and how you arrived at the amount you’re asking for.

   Not only will this be more likely to convince the hiring manager, but it also shows that you know how to research, and advocate for your point of view, and that you have confidence in yourself. All of these are desirable traits in an employee.

How to negotiate your salary

Negotiating your salary requires making reference to your past work experience, staying positive and polite, and being unafraid to be told no. Now that you’ve done your prep work and you know how much you’re worth, it’s time to go into negotiations. Be confident and upbeat and you’ll do great.

Keep the following things in mind when going through your contract negotiation:

1. Start by going over your past work experience. But don’t dwell on it — as much as possible, you want to focus on your potential position, not on the jobs you’ve worked in the past.

   On a similar note, you want to make sure that you ask as many questions as you can in order to figure out the other negotiator’s state of mind. Doing so can help give you a little insight into what kind of answer they’d be willing to accept from you, and will help you in the rest of the negotiation.

2. Be positive and polite. Your attitude during the negations can make a big difference. You should be firm, but not pushy or demanding. Remember that you have been offered a job, and even if you weren’t happy with the starting salary, the hiring manager won’t be as receptive to negotiations if you act unhappy with the offer.

3. Let them bring up the money. But make sure you’re the first person to mention a specific number.

   The first number mentioned frames the rest of any salary negotiation — every other number that gets brought up after this is, by definition, either higher or lower than the first number and so it’s important for you to control this aspect of the conversation if you can.

4. Don’t be afraid to hear someone tell you “no.” Both of you want things that the other person doesn’t — the point of negotiation is to find the best possible middle-ground for you. So if you hear no, remember your research, keep in mind your walk-away number, and keep on negotiating.

Salary negotiation tips

Salary negotiations are hard on everyone, so it’s best to go in as prepared as possible. Talking about money is a difficult subject, especially when it comes to arguing how much you’re worth. If you still don’t feel like you’re quite ready, here are some tips to help your negations go smoothly.

1. Start with your worth. Resources like Payscale and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) can help you determine a fair salary for someone in your region, with your level of experience and education, should earn for any given role in any industry. This is a great starting point for determining a realistic number to give in salary negotiations.

2. Prepare a pitch. You’ve got to sell yourself, quite literally, when you’re negotiating your salary. The hiring manager will want to know why you deserve more than they’ve offered.

   To that end, put together a brag sheet of all your most impressive achievements. Anything that translates directly into a monetary benefit for the company is especially impactful.

   You can also talk up extra skills and qualifications that you possess that may not have been required for the job. If you can sell how these additional skills will benefit you in the role (and the company, ultimately), you’ll be one step closer to achieving a higher starting salary.

3. Practice. As with any anxiety-inducing event, like an interview, rehearsal can go a long way in calming your nerves. Give your pitch to a trusted friend or family member and ask for feedback on your tone and the efficacy of your arguments.

4. Be grateful. This is just good manners — the company has invested a lot of resources into finding a person for the role, and you should be appreciative that they’ve chosen you. Never forget to acknowledge your appreciation for the initial job offer, and maintain your enthusiasm for the role and the company.

5. Be confident. Confidence is about trusting yourself — and if you want the company to trust you, you’d better trust yourself. Take stock and hold onto the value of your skills and qualifications. Don’t become arrogant, but be firm in your appraisal of your worth. The salary data you researched earlier will go a long way for this tip.

6. Prepare for questions. Just because you’ve got your pitch prepared, doesn’t mean you’re finished getting ready for negotiations. There will be follow-up questions about your other prospects; don’t become rattled. Have answers to questions you anticipate.

7. Don’t forget about benefits. You might actually be happy with the base salary an employer is offering, but find the lack of vacation days or rigid schedule unappealing. These are things you can also bring up in negotiations, and the employer might be more willing to give you what you want in these areas.

8. Be open-minded. Be ready to hear the employer’s perspective and actively listen to any objections or concerns. They might present you with an offer you hadn’t considered.

9. Be ready to walk. If landing a higher salary was the only way you’d take the job, be ready to walk away. Also, if you think you can do better on the job market, be prepared to say “no” to their final offer. No matter what, maintain professionalism and gratitude throughout the process.

Why are salary negotiations stressful?

If you’re one of those people who feels immensely uncomfortable during salary negotiations (read: everyone), then rest assured that you have quite a few reasons to be distressed.

• Talking about money is extremely stressful because, for the most part, all conversations about it are based on a series of factors that people who are new to the industry have no hope of knowing. In order to get a salary that is “fair,” you need to have two pieces of information above all:

  • First, how much money most people with your education typically get paid for the position you’re accepting.

  • And second, how much money people in similar positions are making at your company.

• It’s possible to find out both of these things eventually if you keep a sharp eye out and go looking for this information specifically. But even then, it’s still tough to find. And for newbies to the industry, without the resources or the knowledge of where to turn to for resources, it can be nearly impossible.

• Above all, people just don’t like talking about money. It makes them uncomfortable. On top of that, as a potential employee, your ability to say “no” to a job offer is one of the few moments of power you have over an organization.

• Whether you’re aware enough during the process to notice this or not, you’re bound to intuit the power dynamic and the quickness with which it will shift again, and that’s going to put some pressure on your decision.

Final thoughts

It’s easy to get caught up in yourself during this process, but remember while you’re negotiating that there’s another person on the other end of the conversation.

We’re not mentioning them to say that you should be nice to them (although that’s probably not a bad idea). It’s important to bring up the other person because understanding their motivations may help you get what you want in the easiest way possible.

Think about it — they’ve got their own agenda in this negotiation, and the only way that either of you is getting what you want out of it is if the other does too, at least to some extent.

So think about what this person really needs from you. You could even try asking them if you think they’ll tell you the truth.

Salary negotiations FAQ

1. Why do employers allow negotiations for salary?

   Employers are willing to negotiate for salary in order to ensure that they get high performing candidates. The applicants that are the most desirable are also the most in demand. It can also give management insights into how employees value themselves, and what they expect from their career.

2. What’s the best way to ask for more money after receiving a job offer?

   Generally, the best way to negotiate a higher salary after receiving a job offer is a negotiation letter. Most job offers are going to be received over email, so sending a negotiation letter is reasonable.

   However, bargaining in person has the benefit of give and take, as well as taking stock of the manger’s reaction.

3. What are some other areas you can negotiate besides salary?

   Other areas that can be negotiated besides salary are vacation time, the rigidity of the schedule, benefits, and bonuses.

   Salary is traditionally where negotiations take place, so it’s possible that the hiring manager may not be open to bartering in terms of benefits. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t ask.

References

1. The Wall Street Journal – How to Negotiate Salary for a New Job: The Do’s and Don’ts

2. Harvard Law School – How to Negotiate Salary: 3 Winning Strategies

3. SHRM – Most Employers Open to Negotiating Salary, Not Benefits

Author

Ryan Morris

Ryan Morris was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog who tried to make the job process a little more entertaining for all those involved. He obtained his BA and Masters from Appalachian State University.