When a job offer is made by an employer, they usually provide you with a compensation and benefits package either verbally or in writing, which includes a proposed salary. If you think the pay is not commensurate with your education, experience, career level, and skill set, you have the option to negotiate for more money. You can also propose alternative forms of compensation such as equity or stock options, or request additional perks like extra vacation days.
This article outlines 13 steps to help you negotiate the salary you desire, with examples of how to begin the conversation, along with frequently asked questions about salary negotiation.
Key article points
When negotiating your salary, it is advisable to research industry salary trends and assess your qualifications. It might be beneficial to suggest a salary range instead of a specific amount.
Factors such as your location, years of experience, education level, managerial experience, career level, skills, licenses, and certifications may have an impact on the salary you receive.
If the employer is unable to meet your minimum salary requirement or provide additional benefits that make the job offer attractive, do not hesitate to decline the offer.
13 Tips to Prepare for your Salary Negotiation
1. Start by evaluating what you have to offer
Before initiating salary negotiations, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the value you can bring to the employer. Multiple factors may influence your compensation, including:
Skills: Technical or specialized skills that require a significant amount of time to acquire may command higher salaries.
Career level: Typically, as you progress in your career, you can anticipate a higher salary range.
Years of industry experience: If the job listing specifies a minimum experience of three to five years, and you exceed this requirement, it may justify a higher salary.
Years of leadership experience: Just like industry experience, possessing leadership skills that meet or surpass the employer's expectations could be a valid reason for requesting higher compensation.
Geographic location: When determining your desired salary, take into account the cost of living in your geographic area. For instance, you may require a higher salary in San Francisco than in Minneapolis for the same role since the cost of living is generally higher there.
Education level: Your relevant bachelor’s, master’s, PhD, or specialized degree programs can influence your compensation, depending on the industry or role.
Licenses and certifications: Employers might demand or prefer specific licenses or certifications, and if you already possess them, you might be in an advantageous position to negotiate for better compensation. When initiating salary negotiations, make sure to emphasize your value as an employee and utilize the above-mentioned factors to justify your requested salary.
2. Research the market average
Utilizing salary data can provide valuable data to enhance negotiation success. Understanding the market average can serve as a solid foundation for salary requests and serve as supporting evidence. Indeed has a tool that aggregates salary information from current and past job postings on Indeed, as well as anonymous submissions from other users. To initiate market research, consider the following inquiries:
What is the national average salary for this position?
What is the average salary for this position in my specific geographic location and in neighboring cities?
How much are similar companies paying for this position?
Are there any mitigating circumstances I might not be considering?
Here is a link to the Indeed Salary Calculator. It is a useful tool to help you get personalized salary data.
3. Prepare your negotiation script
When creating your negotiation notes, consider using the following question as a guide for your discussion: What justifies your request for a higher salary than the employer's initial offer? Prior to reaching out to the employer, prepare several key points and provide specific details, such as:
Provide quantifiable achievements from your past positions, such as meeting goals, driving revenue, or earning awards. Whenever feasible, include specific numerical data.
If you possess industry experience exceeding the minimum requirement specified by the employer, it would be advantageous.
If your industry has a high demand for certain skills or certifications, it is beneficial to have them.
The average salaries offered by comparable employers for comparable positions.
4. Set a time to go over your findings
To arrange a conversation, contact the recruiter or hiring manager and suggest a time to speak on the phone. Although email negotiations are acceptable, it is strongly recommended that the discussion take place over the phone, in a video call, or in person. This allows for a two-way conversation, the expression of gratitude, and the clear communication of your needs. When communicating with the recruiter or hiring manager, be respectful and concise, as they will be advocating for your salary to the decision-makers.
5. Practice your script with a friend, mentor, significant other... or yourself!
To boost your confidence and pinpoint areas for improvement, it's beneficial to rehearse your talking points. A reliable friend or colleague who can offer constructive feedback is the ideal practice partner. Alternatively, you can record yourself speaking or practice in front of a mirror.
Practicing a salary negotiation with yourself might seem like a strange and even silly idea, but it is actually an effective way to improve your negotiation skills and achieve better compensation outcomes. By role-playing different scenarios and anticipating potential responses from your employer, you can build confidence in your ability to negotiate and learn how to make persuasive arguments for why you deserve higher pay.
This preparation can make a real difference in the outcome of your actual salary negotiation, helping you secure a higher salary, better benefits, or other perks that are important to you. Although it may feel awkward at first, practicing a salary negotiation with yourself is a smart investment in your professional development and future earnings potential.
This particular stage holds great significance as discussing finances can often be an uneasy task, however, with consistent practice, you will gradually become more at ease when the discussion arises.
6. Exude confidence - you received an offer, you should be confident!
As crucial as the words you utter, it is imperative to exude confidence while presenting your negotiation. The employer's confidence in considering your feedback will increase proportionally to the confidence you display.
It is important to differentiate between confidence, which is a positive recognition of our abilities and qualities, and arrogance, which is an inflated sense of our significance. Conversely, a lack of confidence may lead to excessive explanations or apologies when making a request, which is not advantageous in a negotiation setting. Therefore, it is recommended to confidently and succinctly state your desired salary, accompanied by a brief explanation of your rationale.
7. Be gratitude forward
By the time you reach the job offer stage of the recruitment process, you would have likely dedicated a significant amount of time and effort towards applying and interviewing for the role. The employer would have also invested their time in the process, making it essential for you to acknowledge their efforts and express gratitude for considering you for the position. Additionally, it is important to highlight any particular reasons why you are enthusiastic about the job, such as the company culture or the product.
It is crucial to decline the offer in a courteous and professional way, as you never know what future opportunities they might offer, even if you ultimately reject the offer.
8. Ask for the top of your expectations
When negotiating your salary, it's important to offer your employer a slightly higher number than your desired amount. This strategy ensures that even if they negotiate down, you'll still receive a salary offer that meets your expectations. Avoid providing a salary range, as employers tend to offer lower amounts. Instead, make sure that the lowest number you suggest is still a fair amount.
9. Share new job expenses with the new offer
Requesting a higher salary can also be justified by the expenses incurred while accepting the job, such as relocation costs or commuting expenses, which may include train fare, gas, and vehicle maintenance. It is common for candidates to ask for a salary adjustment to cover these expenses.
10. Prepare for difficult questions
Recruiters and hiring managers frequently engage in negotiations, which means they are likely to ask significant and occasionally daunting questions to determine your motivations. It is crucial to stay truthful and not be unnerved by these inquiries. You should anticipate questions such as:
Are you interviewing elsewhere?
Are you leveraging our offer against us?
Are we your top choice?
If we agree to your salary expectations, will you accept the position immediately?
Do you have any other competing offers?
11. Look at the entire package to negotiate
In the event that the desired salary amount cannot be provided by the employer, alternative forms of compensation may be available. Negotiating for additional stock options, vacation days, a sign-on bonus, or work-from-home days to alleviate a long commute could be possible. It is important to be prepared to request alternatives if the employer declines to increase the salary offer. These alternatives may hold equal or greater value than a paycheck in certain circumstances.
12. Ask lots of questions
In case the person you are negotiating with displays surprise, negative reaction, or outright rejection of your counter, maintain your composure and confidence. Respond with open-ended questions to gather more information and sustain the dialogue.
Some questions you might want to ask are:
On what basis is the budget for this position determined?
What details are necessary for you to arrive at a decision?
Apart from salary, are there any other negotiable options available?
How is the company culture?
Is there upward mobility with the role?
13. Win-win or no deal - don't be afraid to walk away
This is the most important part to remember. The deal should be win-win or no deal. If the deal isn't right, it isn't right. Another opportunity will come along in the future.
There are instances where an employer cannot fulfill your minimum salary expectation or provide extra perks that justify the job. Alternatively, the employer might propose a salary that is higher than their initial offer but lower than your desired amount. In such a scenario, you must determine if the job is valuable enough to accept the lower pay.
You might be willing to accept a lower salary if the job is less stressful than your current position, closer to home, or provides more flexibility or free time. But if none of these factors apply, it may be best to decline the job offer and continue your search.
Real world salary negotiations
Email example:
Below is an email example we helped one of our Interview to Yes alums craft for a position they were offered. We helped them secure an additional $10,000 in immediate compensation with another $8,000 in yearly bonus opportunities.
Hi Nathan,
I appreciate you sending the job offer package for the Social Director role and want to reiterate my gratitude for being considered for this thrilling opportunity. Thank you for sharing these details.
Before I accept your offer, I would like to discuss the proposed compensation. As I previously mentioned to your recruiting manager, I have over a decade of experience in social marketing and have held leadership roles for the past 4 years. During my most recent position, I successfully increased marketing-influenced leads by almost 21% year over year and contributed to a 13% higher annual revenue for the company. Considering my extensive experience and skills, I am seeking a salary range of $120,000 to $125,000, which is slightly above your offered amount of $110,000.
I am confident that I can contribute significantly to [company redacted] and assist in surpassing this year's revenue targets. Kindly inform me of a suitable time to discuss compensation in more detail.
I look forward to hammering this out and helping your company grow!
Thank you,
[Interview to Yes alums name]
Conversation example:
If you are negotiating face-to-face or through a phone or video call, this is how you could approach the situation.
I appreciate you sending the job offer package for the Sales Manager position. I am thrilled about the opportunity and want to emphasize my belief in your product. I am confident that I can contribute to achieving even better results.
I would like to discuss the proposed salary before accepting the offer.
During the interview process, I mentioned that I possess over 12 years of sales experience, which includes eight years of experience in medical equipment sales. Additionally, I have two more years of management experience than what was required for the job. In my previous position, my team surpassed the monthly quota by 22% for two consecutive years and secured two large contracts which directly contributed to the companies EBITDA growth of 9%.
Considering my experience and qualifications, I am aiming for a salary bracket of $155,000 to $165,000. However, I am open to exploring other forms of compensation, such as additional stock options or performance-based bonuses. I would appreciate your input on this matter.
In both examples above, with the help of Interview to Yes, our candidates received the compensation they were looking for.
Winning the interview process and receiving the job offer is just one step in the process. Confidently negotiating your salary can have huge ramifications on your earning potential throughout your career. It is an important step that many people ignore. If you need help negotiating your salary, contact us now!
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