Salary Negotiation

[Take Career of Yourself]

Entering into a salary negotiation can be one of the most intimidating parts of the job search process. Knowing the correct questions to ask and the proper way to handle the situation easily can be the difference maker between thousands of dollars on your annual salary. Being able to approach the negotiation in a professional and informed manner can make the process not only profitable but also stress-free.

I entered my first salary negotiation extremely unprepared. It was my first job after college, and I was excited to have simply received an offer. Prior to my interview, I focused on honing my skills and responses. I spent little time thinking about my salary, let alone the necessary knowledge I needed to enter into a professional negotiation.

I quickly realized that I had overlooked a major component of my job search process. I felt clueless when the employer asked me about my salary expectations when offering me the position. I realized I should not have spent all my time researching possible interview questions; instead, I should have also devoted energy to investigating the position’s average salary and some negotiation tips. Although I felt confident with my responses during the interview, I knew my inexperience during the salary negotiation led me to accept a much lower salary....Take Career of Yourself / Salary Negotiation

 

[mtayp01]

I can totally relate to this experience. I have recently just finished school and I have had around 5 interviews since I started looking for jobs. From my experience, it was really intimidating to speak up and negotiate a better salary than what the company's offering. Though a fresh graduate, I consider my work experience back in college (I was accepted as an intern in a very well-known company), as well as my above average grades, enough to warrant a pretty good starting pay. However, the HR officers who did my interviews always seemed to have the upper hand whenever the issue of salary was put to question. I hope I'd been more equipped to deal with this perennial salary question. I'm now employed, and perhaps in the future I could better prepare myself when I have another interview.

 

[Take Career of Yourself]

I'm now employed, and perhaps in the future I could better prepare myself when I have another interview.

Keep in mind, you'll surely be facing a chance to revisit your salary in the future at your current job. It's a bit easier to negotiate and state your case when you've actually been working for the employer and have proven your abilities (as opposed to trying to negotiate with a prospective employer during your interview). This article leans toward negotiating salary on your first interview, but I recently posted an article on my blog about approaching your employer for a raise after you've already been working there: http://takecareerofyourself.com/2015/09/09/how-to-ask-your-jerk-boss-for-a-raise/

Hopefully, you can pull a few useful tips from it to help you prepare next time your employer evaluates your performance, or if you just simply feel it's time to address the topic!

 

[Jade]

I am not on a full pay timeline yet. Still in "training" for another 30+ days...

But he offered me low amount I told him the standard is X and I expect X which I believe is good value for you, and for me personally... he accepted.

 

[Pop]

I have very rarely negotiated a higher starting salary than they initially offered. The exception was when I asked if they started all people on that level the same and drew attention to my more advanced qualifications. More recently I took the offered salary but asked for and received financial support for a lawyer to improve my immigration status. It is not just base salary that can be negotiated during the hiring on period.

 

[Ms Bizz]

Salary negotiation can be an daunting process and one that many people are intimidated by. I’ve found it helps to do your research and have a clear idea of what others doing the same job are being paid in your area. This can vary depending on where you live.

One of the strategies I would use for salary re-negotiations during annual reviews was to think of salary beyond just dollars. Often a company may have budgetary restrictions that truly limit what they are able to pay in wages but they are able to provide more vacation time for example. I find I would walk away from salary discussions with a lot more satisfaction when I could negotiate on the perks side of the equation as well as money.

 

[dyanmarie25]

I have never tried negotiating with an employer/HR personnel regarding my salary. I have just always accepted whatever is being offered to me. Specially if you are just a newbie in the corporate world, it's quite demanding of you to ask for a higher salary though you know you are more than qualified for the job.

 

[pwarbi]

Negotiations regarding a higher pay are becoming less and less common these days as a lot of businesses, even the smaller ones are starting to introduce set pay rates and scales. You know the salary you start on, and what you need to do to be able to get a pay rise.

Sometimes there isn't anything you can do as the pay is set regarding how long you've been there or how well the company does at the end of the year.

I think the days of being able to work hard and then negotiate a pay rise are numbered and that's why a lot of employees now have no incentive and are happy to do the bare minimum because they know their hard work won't be financially rewarded.

 

[Kathryn M.]

Don't feel bad. We've all been there with our first few jobs, not knowing what we were doing. We all excepted whatever we could get in the beginning because we were young, just starting out, excited, and just thankful we had landed a job at all.

My career teacher from high school told me that when you first enter the job market, it's all about building your resume so you have something to show future potential employers. He never said anything about negotiating a salary because the experience on your resume would bring you the pay you deserved/desired. Kind of like, "killing 2 birds with one stone". As long as the experience is there, you will be paid a worthy amount. That doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for more if you want it, but when I worked in Corporate America, I found that my teacher was right. I never had to negotiate pay because my resume did the negotiating for me. I feel I was always paid what I was worth, without having to negotiate for it.

 

[harpazo22]

It is so important to research salary, and also factor in your skills and qualifications. You need to know what you're worth too. It can lead to you settling for a lower salary.

 

[pwarbi]

While I know that the main reason people work is to earn money, and the more make is obviously better for us.

Negotiations on a salary increase is often stressful and if it doesn't go to plan it's easy to feel like your not appreciated as much as we thought, but it's important to remember that, that might not be the case, and the business might just simply not be able to afford what your asking.

 

[Take Career of Yourself]

Negotiations on a salary increase is often stressful and if it doesn't go to plan it's easy to feel like your not appreciated as much as we thought, but it's important to remember that, that might not be the case, and the business might just simply not be able to afford what your asking.

That's all the more reason to ask. If you have done your homework and found your market value, and you show that information to your boss, but they still turn down your raise, that's a strong indicator that you're not going to move up much more in that company, at least not any time soon. If your boss is open about the reason, such as that the company cannot afford it, you are still getting valuable information from them about the company you are working for.

 

[pwarbi]

And also on the other hand, if you have done your homework as regards to how well the company is doing, you feel they can afford the rise and your boss says they can't, I'd be looking for another job anyway because the lies show he's not a good person to work for anyway and will probably say or do anything just to save a dollar.