6 Ways to Negotiate Your Salary As a New Employee
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When you’re looking for a job, your
resume and interview skills are probably your first priority. After all, you
can only get the interview in the first place if your resume stands out from
all the other applicants. However, once you’ve gotten the job offer, a lot of
people neglect to consider how much money they should be asking for. And that
is a big mistake. Negotiating salary is a tricky thing to do well, but it also
has the potential to pay off big time. Read on as we provide 6 tips on how you
can negotiate your salary when accepting a new job offer. Even if you think you
aren’t in a position to ask for more money, these strategies can help you find
untapped value in your skillset and give you an advantage during negotiations.
Know your worth before
you negotiate
It’s important to understand what
your skills are worth on the open market. You can’t go into negotiations if you
don’t know what you’re worth. That said, you should also keep in mind that the
amount of money you earn is not a measure of your self worth. Take the time to
learn what your skills are worth in the marketplace so that you can walk into
negotiations with confidence. If a company offers you a salary that you think
is too low, you can use that information to help you make a case for why you
deserve more. If you walk in to negotiations with no idea what you’re worth,
you leave yourself open to being lowballed by the company. This could leave you
feeling resentful and could sour the relationship with your new employer before
it even really begins.
Negotiating your own salary can be a
nerve-wracking experience, but it doesn’t have to be if you do your research
first. You can start by looking at salary surveys to get a ballpark idea of
what your position should be earning. You can also talk to people in your
industry to see what they earn, as well as doing research into what the current
economy suggests your salary should be. Wherever you get your information
from, make sure it is as accurate as possible. False information can put you
in a position where you are asking for too much and may even scupper your
chances of landing the job.
Check in with your
current employer
Before you accept a job offer and
sign a contract to leave your current job, you might want to negotiate a
slightly higher salary or get a raise. You don’t want to do this without the
blessing of your current employer, but sometimes they’ll be happy to oblige if
you’re valuable to the team. This can be especially true if you’re moving into
a similar or higher-paying job. Just be sure to do your research and see if
there is a way to improve your current salary before you make the jump to a new
position. The last thing you want is to accept a new job offer and then find
out your current salary is higher than what you’re being offered.
Be transparent about why
you’re negotiating
Now is the time to be totally
transparent with the company and let them know exactly why you’re negotiating.
Tell them about your current salary and where you fit on the scale for your
industry. Explain your worth and what you’ve done to help the company. This
shows that you aren’t just trying to get more money for selfish reasons, but
that you want to make sure you’re being compensated fairly. This will help you
build trust with the company and make them more likely to give you a bigger
salary. If you don’t want to share this information with the company, then you
need to walk away. You don’t want to be indebted to a company that you can’t
trust.
If you want to stay with the company
and negotiate a bigger salary, you also need to be honest with yourself. If
you’re not sure how much you should be making, there are plenty of online
calculators that will help you determine your worth. Knowing how much you’re
currently making versus how much you should be making is essential to a
successful negotiation.
Be crystal clear about
the amount you want to negotiate
The best thing you can do when
negotiating salary is to be crystal clear about how much you want to be making.
There is no reason to hem and haw or be vague about it. You know what you want
to make and you should demand it. However, you also need to be ready for the
company to have a counter offer. If they make an offer that is lower than what
you had in mind, you need to be ready with an alternative to their offer. This
is where you can use the information you gathered about what your skills are
worth to help you make a case for a higher salary. Be willing to walk away from
the deal if you feel that the company is not making a fair offer. The more
confident and assertive you are in this negotiation, the more likely the
company is to give you what you want.
Help the company by
providing a counter offer
If you know that you deserve more
money but the company doesn’t offer you a higher salary, you can help them by
providing a counter offer. This is where you take the amount they offered you
and add a few percentage points to it. Now you have a number that is fair for
both you and the company. You can use this to show them that you deserve more
without having to ask directly. This is a great way to negotiate your salary
without having to walk away from the offer. When you walk away, the company
might feel like they’re at fault and will almost certainly regret not paying
you more. However, when you provide a counter offer, both parties are happy
with the deal. You get a higher salary and the company gets to keep their pride.
There are some situations where you
are not allowed to negotiate your salary, such as government jobs. In these
cases, another way to negotiate your salary is by asking for more benefits or a
signing bonus. This is something that usually only happens at large companies,
but it is worth asking. It can be something as simple as getting more vacation
days or more sick days. These are things that you are entitled to but might not
have asked for. Negotiating your salary is not something that only happens
once. It is something that can happen at any time, and you deserve a fair
salary for every moment that you work.
Negotiate benefits and
perks in addition to salary
Depending on the position and the
company, you might have the opportunity to negotiate more than just salary when
you join the team. You can use this to your advantage when negotiating your
salary. Let them know that you’re interested in the position and that you’re
willing to take the job, but only if they meet your salary requirements. Then,
negotiate added benefits and perks that can supplement your salary. This could
be things like a higher 401K match, extended vacation time, or even things like
flexible work hours or telecommuting options. Negotiating these things will
help you get more value out of the position without costing the company extra
money. This is especially helpful if the company is struggling financially or
you know that they’re having a hard time increasing salaries.
Bottom line
Negotiating your salary is a lot like
dating. You need to be confident and assertive, but you also need to be
respectful. You also need to be prepared to walk away if the company doesn’t
meet your demands. If you walk into negotiations with a humble and respectful
approach, you’ll be more likely to get what you want. It’s important to
remember that you’re not entitled to more money just because you want it. You
need to be able to prove that you’re worth it.
One of the best ways to do that is
through research. You need to know what the average salaries are for the
position you’re applying for and the position you currently have. You also need
to know your worth. If you aren’t sure what you’re worth, you can conduct your
own assessment or speak with a career advisor. Negotiating your salary isn’t
just about money; it’s about feeling respected and appreciated as an employee.