Tips When Negotiating Your Salary

Mark Byrne | Digital Marketing Specialist | Ward Technology Talent | Twitter | LinkedIn

You’ve landed the interview, got through the initial stage and have been called back for the all important second interview. You know that your skills and experience are a perfect fit for the job. There’s just one problem… you want more salary than is on the table.  How should you approach this scenario?

Be prepared

The first thing you should do is to do your research on the company. Get an idea of the salary ranges for positions and compare them to industry averages. Glassdoor is very useful in this situation.

Have your breaking point solidified in your head. Knowing the number that you will walk away at in advance makes things far less stressful. Trying to do your times tables while sitting in front of the HR team of possible employers isn’t the easiest of tasks.

Don’t mention a figure too early

Demonstrate your value before ever discussing your expected salary. Keep your cards close to your chest and  don’t mention a figure first. Keep it schtum until your prospective employer indicates what they’re willing to pay. There’ll usually always be wiggle room on this figure so now you know where to work from and can negotiate higher.

That being said, there are those who prefer to strike first. In this way, the rest of discussion is based on the offer that you make. If you go down this route just make sure that you’ve shown your value.

Don’t accept the first offer

The first offer will almost never be the bottom line. If you’ve gone the negotiation route you may as well push the boat out.

Be realistic and flexible

Negotiating for a higher salary before you’ve been hired is a bit of a balancing act. You need to be aware of how in-demand you are, how much leverage you have and not push it too much. The last thing you want is to see dollar sign and end up with the HR manager thinking you are greedy rather than ambitious.

Extras?

Can you agree on different terms other than money? If your prospective employers won’t budge on the salary, perhaps you could negotiate more vacation days or working from home for part of your working week. You can also effectively account for less than expected salary if you’re given allowances such as education. Negotiating for education also has the added benefit of improving your professional profile –  giving you more leverage when negotiating down the road.