5 Tips for Effective Salary Negotiations

Have you ever negotiated your salary before? Surprisingly, the vast majority of job seekers never negotiate once they receive an offer from a company. However, most employers are happy to increase that starting salary for top candidates! If you want to earn more money, check out these five strategies to increase your starting pay.

1. Talk numbers without flinching

Remember the old bully game of “two for flinching?” Well, guess what? When it comes to salary negotiations, flinching could COST you – and it will be way more painful than a hit on your arm.

Most people don’t know how to discuss salary issues without flinching or cringing. However, training yourself to discuss money candidly is the best way to get what you want.

2. Know your worth

The employment market is constantly changing, including what salary people earn. When is the last time you did real research to determine what a comparable salary in your area is?

 NOTE: Looking at LinkedIn or Indeed job posts is NOT statistical analysis! Glassdoor.com is even worse.

 You need to check out websites and sources that pull more reliable information instead of what the companies or employees self-reported. Some of our favorite sources include:

• Salary.com
• Payscale.com
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics - https://www.bls.gov/

Most job seekers are quite surprised to learn how much more they can earn by finding comparable salaries in their geographic area, industry, and experience level.

3. WAIT – timing is important

When you get that job offer call, do NOT accept it immediately. It doesn’t matter if this is your dream job at your desired salary. Ask for at least 24 hours to think about the opportunity.

 Why, you may be asking? Because you need to build anticipation. Most companies will happily give you at least 24 hours to consider a job offer. Plus, the additional time allows you to mull over all the aspects of the job, from the company’s reputation to the specific duties – not to mention every part of the offer itself. Most offers include more details than just the salary amount. That’s why you need to…

4. Get it in writing

Verbal offers are great, but they are only as good as the paper they are written on. You need to see the actual offer and its details in writing before you accept anything.

 You don’t need a formal contract, by the way. A simple email with the basics works just fine. However, an outline of the essential pieces is always encouraged:

• Salary amount
• Basics of the benefits package
• Vacation amount
• Start date

With these details in hand, you can start formulating your counteroffer.

5. Always counteroffer

Here’s your number one tip in salary negotiations: Always counteroffer! Even if you got your target salary, you could always ask for more. Even if the company can’t increase the dollar amount, see if you can leverage creative negotiations, such as more vacation time, bonuses, perks, or a hybrid work-from-home/in-office situation.

 For the salary, your counteroffer should not be more than 15% of the offer. If you need more than that, you really should have vetted the company and the opportunity earlier in the process to determine their desired salary range. Of course, you probably won’t get that full 15% increase. Remember, this is a negotiation, so there will be some give-and-take.

Many job seekers are scared to counteroffer, especially when it comes to money. Honestly, most companies are prepared for this, especially for top candidates. However, if the company pulls the job offer just because you tried to negotiate, you actually dodged a bullet. Any company that rescinds a job offer during the negotiation process does not respect the job seekers or their employees.

Need help with your salary negotiations? Sign up for a consultation to see how we can help you get more money!

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