Employment Spot

How to Negotiate a Salary

The first thing you need to do when figuring out how to negotiate a salary is ask yourself: Why do I deserve a higher salary?  Unfortunately, saying that you are tight on cash or need some extra spending money probably won’t do the trick.  Do you work hard all day and still have to put in extra hours to finish your work?  Or maybe you have taken responsibility for new tasks or projects that were not in your original job description.  Whatever the reason is, you will want to be prepared before walking into a meeting with your boss or hiring manager.  Here are some tips for how to negotiate a salary:

• Research. Research trends in the industry and gather information on salary averages in your profession and your location.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a good amount of information, which will help show your boss that you know what you’re talking about.  Another easy way to get salary information is to read through similar job descriptions.  If you want help in assessing your worth, Web sites like CBsalary offer free salary calculators as well as customized salary reports that take your education and experience into consideration.  You should use this salary research when approaching the topic of how to negotiate a salary.
• Provide evidence. Your boss will want concrete evidence of what you have done to improve the company’s success.  For example, if you increased sales, by how much did they increase and how did you achieve this?  It is not enough to say that your team passed an audit with flying colors — tell your boss exactly what role you played in this accomplishing this.  If you are a new hire and negotiating a starting salary, you should provide evidence from previous jobs, explaining how you can transfer those skills to your new job.  Give your hiring manager evidence that shows you are better than the other candidates — what did you do at your previous job or school that really set you apart from everyone else?
• Use support. It never hurts to back up your evidence with even more support.  If you are a current employee negotiating a salary increase, it is wise to document all of your accomplishments and keep track of them in writing.  You should make a list of your accomplishments as you progress through your career — this will be helpful when you want to negotiate a higher salary.  If you want to negotiate a starting salary, you should have solid academic and professional references to use as support for why you deserve a higher salary than what they are offering.  If you have other job offers, you may want to mention them in order to show that you are in high demand.
• Do not limit yourself. When negotiating a job offer, you never want to give a definitive answer to a question like, “What salary are you looking for?”  Think about it — if you immediately say $50,000, you will never know if the hiring manager had actually been considering going as high as $65,000.  On the other hand, you also don’t want to say that you are looking for a salary of around $90,000.  This shows that you have unrealistic expectations and don’t have a good understanding of the industry.  It is usually best to respond by saying that you are open to negotiation.  You may also respond by asking the manager what they think would be appropriate for someone with your qualifications and experience.
• Consider the bigger picture. As we have all been told, money isn’t everything.  If your manager simply cannot offer a higher salary, then look at your other options.  You could ask for a bonus, more vacation days, or help in financing further education.  If you are negotiating a job offer, consider all aspects of the job, including job responsibilities, opportunities for learning and advancement, location and corporate culture.  When choosing between job offers, it is important to consider more than just salary.  Perhaps you will find that in the larger scheme of things, it is worth compromising salary for a job you truly enjoy.

When negotiating a salary, it is important to remember that this is not something that will necessarily be solved in one meeting.  It is okay to leave the room with one or both parties still thinking about the situation.  Your boss or hiring manager may need to speak with his or her boss, and you will want to take some time to figure out what is most important to you.

If your boss does not agree to a salary increase or any change in benefits, this does not mean you have to give up.  Plan on meeting with him or her again in six months.  During this time, you can go above and beyond your job duties to prove to your boss that you deserve a higher salary.