5 Salary Negotiation Tips

A tricky topic to cover during the interview and offer process is always going to be the salary negotiation.  Let’s face it, we all want to be paid a fair amount of money for what we believe is our value is to an organization.  It’s not always a comfortable and direct area to cover, but here five tips to consider when negotiating salary in regards to your new job search.

1)      Research the Market

Get all the information about the company salary range and benefits instead of just assuming.  Take a look at the low, midpoint and high ends of experience of the job description.  It’s important to research industry salary ranges online and utilize any salary analysis tools.  You can also ask your recruiter about the current market and compare/contrast any similar positions in the area.

2)      Don’t Make Salary the Only Factor

Make a good first impression during the interview and make the company aware your primary motivation for leaving your current role isn’t just money driven.  If you ask right away about salary it’s a red flag that you’re just in it for the money and don’t necessarily care about other factors like quality of work, room for advancement, and overall satisfaction about the people and company you work for.

3)      Fair Counteroffers

If you are going to counteroffer, make it direct and be fair.  The more back and forth you go with the hiring company, the more it shows that you are playing just a money game.  Usually counteroffering once is fair enough to reach an agreement.  Sometimes employers don’t make their best offer first, but at the same time it’s important to know the fine line between being paid fairly and being greedy.

4)      Prove Yourself

Let the hiring company know you are open to a performance review after a standard period of time (ex: 3, 6, or 12 months).  This shows that you have confidence you can get the job done by your actual performance, rather than just saying you will during the interview.  A performance review is a great way to put your money where your mouth is and also the hiring company must as well.

5)      Realistic Salary Negotiation Expectations

Be honest about your current salary and expectations.  Seems simple enough, but it’s easy to pull an unrealistic number out of the sky.  Make sure you have good reasons to back up your number.  Nothing stops a salary negotiation quicker than an unreasonable number to start thinking you will just negotiate down.  If you are expecting a higher than normal pay raise, be prepared to discuss any outlying factors that led you to that number including other benefits, commute, price of daycare, housing costs (if relocating), etc.  And last but not least, always keep in mind prospective companies can ask for a recent paystub or W2 for verification purposes.

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