The Truth About Salary Negotiation

The best advice that I can give you with regard to salary negotiation is, as Nike would say, Just Do It!

Most people are unsure or uncomfortable with negotiating. The truth of the matter is that you do not need to be an expert negotiator to discuss compensation.

As mentioned in my the best time to negotiate salary is once an offer is on the table. This is when you know that the company is interested in you and have decided that you are the best candidate for the position.

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So what do you do when the offer is not at the level you had hoped for?

1- Make sure that you continue to communicate in a positive manner. Let the employer know that you are very interested in the position.

2- Ask for time to consider the offer. This will allow you time to gather your thoughts and prepare a counter offer. Counter offers can be done in a future meeting or in writing, depending on what feels more comfortable for you.

3- Make sure that your salary requirements are in-line with the type of job and industry you are applying in. If you still believe that the offer on the table is light make sure to state why your experience would demand a higher salary than what is being offered.
E.g. “My vast sales experience in this industry will allow me access to key clients quickly and I am therefore confident that I will be able to increase revenues in the very short-term”.

4- Remember that this is a negotiation; therefore the potential employer may counter your offer with something in-between. Asking for a slightly higher salary will allow you room to negotiate to your ideal salary. But be careful not to over-shoot, which may take your candidature off the table completely.

5- Negotiating a salary should be a win-win situation. Both you and your potential employer should feel that you are leaving the table with a positive outcome.

What do you do if the potential employer says that salary is non-negotiable?

Well, that depends on many aspects:

a. How badly do you need the job?

b. Are you salary demands reasonable for that type of job? i.e. You may have been making $60,000 as a sales manager in company X. However, you are applying for a sales representative job in company Y. Therefore, the job level of payment would not necessarily be equal to your previous salary just based on job qualifications/level of work.

c. Do other benefits out-weigh the lower salary? e.g. Opportunity for advancement, working hours, location, car allowance…

d. Remember even if salary negotiation is not possible, there are other areas that are negotiable. See Salary Negotiation Tips page for a list of other negotiable items.

e. Finally, you can ask for an evaluation and salary review after 6 months. A salary review implies that there could be an increase in salary based on good performance. Or, you could ask for a bonus system that would be based on attainment of objectives.

Keep in mind that it is important not to compromise too much. Starting a job at a salary that you are strongly dissatisfied with will only lead to long-term frustration and may ultimately result in poor performance.

A good way to evaluate the offer is to:

List the job factors that are important to you,

Prioritize the list based on the importance of each factor,

Use a weighting system (1- no good, 5 ideal) to rate your perfect job,

Rank offers based on your important factors and compare to your ideal.

This will allow you to compare offers and help you decided which offers are acceptable, and which best fit your idea of a perfect job.

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