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Salary Negotiation Tips

Tips for Successful Salary Negotiations


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Salary negotiations are tough under any circumstances. It's difficult to know what to expect as far as salary when you receive a job offer and it's even harder to negotiate more than you have been offered. In a very competitive job market, salary negotiations can be even more complicated.

What's the best way to negotiate salary? How can you ask for - and get - more money when you get a job offer or a promotion or you're seeking a raise?

Lee and Jessica Miller, co-authors of A Woman's Guide to Successful Negotiating (buy direct) share salary negotiation tips and strategies for successfully negotiating a compensation package or a raise.

Salary Negotiation Tips

Believe that you can you negotiate in this economy because you can. While it is extremely difficult to find a job in this job market, precisely because the process is so long and involved, once you have been selected as the candidate a company wants to hire you are in an excellent position to negotiate.

Don't be afraid to ask. One of the ten common negotiating mistakes we talk about in our book A Woman's Guide to Successful Negotiating is not asking. Whether it is for a raise, a promotion or in the context of a job offer, know what you are worth and don't be afraid to ask for it. No one loses a job offer because they ask for something but you can have a job offer pulled because of the way you ask.

Ask, don't "demand." Have the facts to support why you deserve what you are asking for and don't be afraid to ask for it. The best way to assure that your requests are within the ball park is to avoid giving a specific number until the company is ready to make you an offer, and then let the company make the first offer.

Do your homework. Research what the market value for the position you are seeking is. There is a tremendous amount of information online as to what the market rate for particular positions is. Don't forget you can negotiate many things beyond just salary including bonuses, benefits, an early review, training opportunities, etc.

Negotiating in this climate is different than negotiating in a robust job market. In this economic climate, it is even more important to avoid discussions about salary until the company has decided you are the best candidate for the job. Before that has occurred any serious discussion of salary can hurt your chances or limit your ability to negotiate later on.

Delay the Discussion. If you are asked about what you are looking for before the company has decided that they want to offer you the job a response along the following lines should enable you to delay the discussion: "It's not about the money. If this is the right job for me and I am the right person for the job I sure we will be able to work out the details." You could also add a question like:" What do you have budgeted for the position? I am sure we can work with that."

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