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5 Tips for Negotiating a Higher Starting Salary

 

Some companies will ask for salary requirements in a cover letter. Some will actually ask you to accept the offer before they even mention the word salary. There is no routine, no schedule for when companies will discuss salary with you. There is, however, an ideal.

It is to your best advantage to hold off on discussing salary until after you have been offered the position. Wait for them to bring it up, and try not to be the first to mention a range. Of course, the process rarely works this way. It is a little messier, a little more random, so you need to be prepared with information on how to handle every situation.

Common Mistakes

What are the three biggest mistakes made by job seekers when negotiating compensation?

  1. Accepting the first salary offer. Because employers anticipate a counter offer, many include room for negotiation in their first offer. This is truer for jobs at a higher level or higher salary. If you accept the first offer, you may be leaving money on the table. This could be compounded as future bonuses, salary increases, and insurance coverage are often based on the base salary level. Regardless of whether the employer has room to increase the salary offer, you should be comfortable asking. But be careful: don’t make demands or issue ultimatums unless you really are willing to walk away from the existing offer.
  2. Not being prepared with relevant information. Too many people rely on the potential employer to determine the fair compensation for the job. Spending a little time learning how the relevant labour market values a particular job and how your unique skills may further increase those values can have a dramatic impact on your ability to maximize your total compensation. Knowing the facts and being able to speak intelligently about them can support and justify your desired pay.
  3. Neglecting to negotiate things beyond base pay. Base salary is just one of the negotiation points. There are many more items to consider when negotiating your initial employment package, such as variable pay, performance expectations, benefits, perquisites, schedule for salary increase, and minimum severance. Once the salary negotiation is complete, moving on to the other components of total pay can be rewarding.

 

Tips for Negotiating a Higher Starting Salary

 

  1. Fully understand the job. Make sure you understand the responsibilities, requirements, and expectations for the position.
  1. Educate yourself on the companyEnsure you’ve asked and understand how the company reviews employee performance as well as the process for pay raises and promotions (which is a good discussion to have with the HR. person during the telephone screening interview).
  1. Arm yourself with salary information. Spend adequate time conducting research to find out average salaries and salary ranges for similar jobs in your area, industry, and geography. There are many websites that provide salary information, including: salary.com, payscale.com, indeed.com, careeronestop.org, glassdoor.com, and jobsearchintelligence.com.
  1. Know your strengths and differentiators. What makes you special and unique from everyone else? Conduct a personal SWOT analysis to understand your differentiators and the special skills or experiences that could make you a more valuable employee. Ensure you have these differentiators written down as this information can then be used as leverage to negotiate a higher starting salary with the hiring manager.
  1. Determine how much you’d like to make. Consider what you’ve made in your last few jobs, the results of your online salary research, and your strengths and differentiators. Given that information, determine the target salary you’d like to make. Based on your research of similar jobs in your geography and industry, come up with what you think would be an appropriate salary range for the job. Your target salary should fall within this salary range.