How to negotiate a better salary with a new job offer (with 5 easy tips)
Image by istockphoto
You’ve just landed a job offer you were hoping for, maybe even your dream job. But the salary your potential employer offered isn’t quite as much as what you were expecting. You want and deserve a higher salary. What do you do?
We set out 5 easy tips on how to negotiate a higher salary below. However, before we get into this, let’s cover what salary negotiations are and why it’s important to negotiate.
What are salary negotiations?
Salary negotiations are discussions between an employee and an employer or potential employer on how much the employee should be paid to perform a job. Sometimes, a recruiter can act on behalf of an employee, depending on whether you have applied for the job via the recruiter.
The employee will expect a higher salary and the employer will accept, negotiate a lower salary or decline.
Why it is important to negotiate your salary before you accept a job offer
Unless you know you’re at the very top end of the available salary banding the employer has for the job in question, it is almost expected by the employer that the employee will want more money for the job.
Quite simply put, if you don’t ask you won’t get.
You want your potential employer to recognise your worth. One way of doing this is by them offering you a strong salary offer.
Moreover, if you find out that your peers earn more money than you do doing the same job and with the same level of experience, this will leave you feeling resentful.
You also have more bargaining power for a better pay before you accept a new job compared to asking for a pay rise when you’re in the role.
1. Research the market rate for the role
Search on the internet and use websites such as Glassdoor to find out what the typical salary is based on the following factors:
-
Years of experience
-
Location
-
Qualifications
-
Skillsets required
-
Grade/seniority of the job
-
How competitive the industry is for the role you’re looking for
-
Other factors per the job specification, e.g. how soon you can start the role
2. Identify what you’re worth in the market you’re in
Taking the factors identified in point 1, rank yourself as objectively as possible based on how saturated the market is likely to be for the role you’re after. Essentially, it’s all a “supply and demand” situation, i.e. the more you have to offer where there is a high demand by multiple companies will put you in a stronger bargaining position.
3. Note your key selling points and rehearse
Taking the points you’ve identified in point 2 above, form these into succinct and convincing sentences. Think of it as a first date where you’re really into the other person and you’re presenting your best foot forward.
4. Be confident but humble and grateful
Confidence in backing yourself is key. However, it’s a fine line between that and arrogance. Never be too stubborn, show appreciation and gratitude at any offer presented by your interviewer/HR contact. This is even if you do not end up accepting the role as you never know if your paths will ever cross again in the future. Your professional reputation is incredibly important.
Before countering with your offer of salary etc., along with reasons justifying your counter offer, always politely thank the offeror.
5. Know how far you can compromise and your plan B
With some jobs, it’s not just about salary/remuneration in the short term. There may be other more important factors to you that should be taken into consideration. For example, if you’re relatively junior in your career and you’ve been offered a mediocre salary at a prestigious firm, if you know that having this experience on your CV will pay dividends a few years later in much better salary offers from competitor firms, this shouldn’t be ignored.
Another example may be that if time and net take home pay is important to you. In this case if a job allows you to work from home regularly and you save on commuting costs, meaning that your true net take home pay after taxes is higher than say a job that requires you to be on site at your employer’s place of work 5 days a week, it’s going to be a no-brainer to accept the job.
You will know to what degree you’re willing to compromise. Be open to other remuneration counter offers such as sign-on bonuses and equity and consider what this will mean for you immediately and in the next couple of years.
If your prospective employer promises to promote you once you’ve settled into the role, ensure you have this in writing before you accept the offer.
Let’s say you’re unwilling to accept the role, consider whether you’re in a position to let your existing employer know that you would like a raise as another company has offered you “X in salary”. This is a tricky strategy as it is so nuanced and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Worst case scenario may be that your current employer gets annoyed and makes your working life difficult or even worse, look for ways to fire you.
If you’re still unsure and want to discuss your scenario, feel free to post in our Job Honesty forum by clicking on the below.