I wish someone had told me these 3 tips way back when during my first initial salary negotiation.
If I had even known about the first step, my initial starting pay could have easily been $5000 to $10000 MORE than where I started. Unfortunately, I only found this out later, so don’t keep this information to yourself if you know of anyone who might be heading to a job interview soon.
Never Go First
If an interviewer asks you how much you are looking to receive as a salary, never ever give a number UNLESS you are sure they will offer you something far below what you are expecting.
If you go first without knowing what is the salary benchmark, you risk making an offer that is much lower than what they would have been willing to pay you.
Common Fear : But what if they insist that I go first?
If they insist that you give them a number first, throw the question back at them. Since they are the hiring company, it is more appropriate for them to go first with an offer than it is for you to make one. They are looking for someone to fill a position so they should be the ones to tell you how much they feel the position is worth.
If they continue to insist, state that as the interviewer, they would be more experienced in knowing how much the position is worth and as such you would like them to make an offer to you first.
The exception to this rule as mentioned before is when you are sure they will offer a ridiculously low number. In this case, aim at the highest end of the salary bracket and work down from there.
Never Accept the First Offer
Let’s say they make an offer that by your standards is AWESOME. It’s higher than what you expected and you would gladly work for them for the rest of your life with a salary like that.
In any case, accepting a first offer is shooting yourself in the foot in terms of getting a higher initial salary. You want a higher initial salary because most companies increment salaries based on percentages (5% or less is pretty standard).
What this means is that if you don’t get the highest salary you can from the START, it will take you longer for your salary to rise from there.
First offers are usually the LOWEST number a company is willing to go with so don’t get over excited and jump at the first number they throw at you.
Common Fear : But what if I blow my chances at getting the job by not accepting the first offer?
Most companies will respect a prospective employee who knows how to negotiate. Also, if they are making you an offer in the first place, it shows that they are interested. Interviewers expect some negotiating to occur over salary so don’t worry, it is all part of the process.
The key here is to do it respectfully and to reach a salary that the both you and the company can agree on.
Back Up Your Offers with Evidence
Some people might tell you to always aim high to avoid getting screwed. Others might say aim low so you don’t sound greedy. We say, do you research before you even get to the interview so you know how much your job is worth on the market.
As such, the key to making good counter-offers is to back up your offers with data supporting the salary you are asking for. This is particularly important if you are making a counter-offer that is significantly higher than what they are offering.
Saying you want $80000 when they offer you $55000 can seem a tad disrespectful to the interviewer if you have no data to back up your request.
Common Fear: What if they get insulted by the fact that I want a higher salary and keep making counter-offers that are much lower than what I want despite the fact that I have data?
Well, the answer to this question depends highly on how much you actually want or need this job or how much you think they really want you. Part of negotiation is knowing when to walk away from a bad deal.
Sometimes walking away is a way to get the deal that you want. Some interviewers who are masterful negotiators will wait until they think you are seriously going to walk away before they fold and give you the offer you ask for.
In some cases, a company might really be unable to give you the salary you are asking (for whatever reasons) but they really really want you.
This opens the opportunity for you to make NON-MONETARY counter-offers and negotiate other benefits you wouldn’t mind getting a pay cut for if you could have them. Examples of these include having them pay for work related tuition, health benefits and my personal favorite, the ability to telecommute.
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Yasuo Long believes that all employees should have the right to design their lifestyle according to their needs in order to maintain their health, their relationships and their happiness. In pursuit of this, he quit the 9-to-5 and became a telecommuter to give himself the time and mental freedom to discover what it really means to live with direction and purpose.
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This is very helpful sometimes it could be very difficult to ask for things like salary matters. I just hope that this really works because I would like to try it out.