40. "How Do I Negotiate Salary?"
- Bianca Blanch
- Dec 4, 2020
- 7 min read
You have been offered the job, now you need to negotiate your salary. Negotiation can be both intimidating and exciting. Here are my tips for how I have negotiated throughout my career.
My Experience of Salary Negotiation
There are those in this world that love negotiating, and those who do not. I am the latter. I find salary negotiation uncomfortable. But these negotiations may be the most important conversations you have in your career. You need to be paid for your skills. But in may industry's your negotiation skills influence your salary.
Negotiation is about effective communication. Remember, you are negotiating with your future boss/colleague. You need to be respectful and engage in the conversation. This means listening to their reasons for offering you a specific salary, and listing your own reasons for a higher salary. You both want the same outcome, you in the position. The best negotiations result in a win/win scenario, where both parties are happy. In salary negotiation this means both you and they are happy with your salary.
To be happy, you need to know your minimum salary requirements. To be happy in your job, you need to meet your financial obligations. You also need to be prepared to value yourself and find another job if this one will not offer you the rate of pay you deserve. (Unless there are other perks to the job, like experience that will help you get a better role in the future).
Negotiations are also a game. It is in the company's best interests to pay you the least they can, and you want them to pay you the most they can. A negotiation is about finding the middle ground.
I have had many jobs, involving many negotiations. I have increased my salary by $30K, $15K and $19K.
My tips are simple: be honest, ask a fair amount and be prepared to list why you deserve your salary.
Salary Negotiation Experiences
When I was in admin, over the year my role expanded considerably. So, at my annual review I asked for a pay increase. I showed my boss the data demonstrating how many more patients the clinic saw compared to when I started. I also reminded them of changes I made that increased the efficiency of the clinic which led to more patients attending their appointments.
My strategy worked. Instead of going up only one pay level, I went up three! (Roughly a $6K pay increase, compared to the automatic $2K.)
Academic Salary Negotiation Experience
You need to be mindful of the environment in which you are negotiating. Some employers have more or less flexibility on salary. In academia, the salary range is specific, so you will not get a job offer outside that range. So don't apply for the job unless it reflects how much you want to be paid.
When negotiating in academia, read over the position description, and think, how well do I meet the criteria? Do you meet most of it? Do you meet all of it? The amount that you ask for should reflect how much experience you have and how many skills you have.
If you meet all the criteria, ask for a salary at the high end of the range.
If you meet half the criteria, ask for a salary that is around the middle of the range.
When you decide on a 'fair' amount, ask for extra. They will take your 'fair' amount and deduct a bit so they feel like they are 'winning'.
Startup Salary Negotiation Experience
Startups are like the wild west, there are few rules around salary negotiation.
In academia, you need to be paid in line with your peers. This is not true in start ups. In one team there can be grossly different salary amounts. In on startup, I was in a team of six people, we all did the same job. But I was getting paid more than team members who had been at the company for more than a year. I had a PhD in the area, but no experience. So I put this down to my negotiation skills. Plus, the company could say they had a Dr who did their PhD with the same data the company owned.
Startups can also give you extra perks, such as more holidays. Your salary package is yours to negotiate, and the best negotiators can be paid more than those who don't.
For one startup, I interviewed for a position and got a job offer But I was hesitant to take it. During the negotiation it was clear they really wanted me in this role. I was honest that I had a job offer from another company, which I going to take. I also said my concerns about the job they offered me. I rejected the job offer, twice. With each rejection they increased my salary. It ended up being $10K more than the salary in the job ad. They also offered me an extra 2 weeks of holidays, 6 weeks instead of 4.
I am not recommending rejecting the job offer as a negotiation tactic. More that you should be honest about your concerns and your situation.
I would never have asked for the perks the startup offered me. I would never have even thought to ask for them. I took the job, as eventually the job offer was just too good to turn down.
Lessons for Salary Negotiation
Be respectful
Salary does not equal personal worth
Negotiations are not personal. The amount they offer you is not a reflection of your worth.
Be realistic about your salary
In most job ads, there is a salary range, and a list of roles/responsibilities. If they have offered yo the job, they want you in that position. So now you have some power. How much do you want? How much do you think you can get, realistically?
Ask for more than you want
When they offer you the position, ask them to offer you a salary as well. It is best if you know what their salary expectation is from the beginning. Even if they ask you what your expectations are, try to avoid answering with a specific number. If they press you, tell them the range you want and let them name a figure.
Now they have made you an offer, how far away is it from what you want? If their first offer is the same or higher than your expectation, still ask for more. This is a negotiation, they will likely expect you to ask for more and then make a counter offer.
Be prepared to walk away
If they do not meet your salary expectations, be honest, tell them what you want and reject the offer if they do not/cannot offer you the pay. Explore other non-monetary perks like: working from home (who knows what this will look like post-COVID)? A car space? Subsidise your travel? Promote you in a short time period? Extra holidays? Give you a laptop/computer or other tech? Will they pay for you to upskill through training or other means?
If they want you, they may get creative to meet the salary you want.
Anything they say, get it in writing. Once you sign the contract, you lose some of your power and they may not honour some of the promises they made during negotiations.
What is their negotiation style?
They are potentially your future colleagues, and you are also their future employee. Do they treat you with respect? Do they call you when they say they will? Are the reliable? Do you like the culture/vibe of the organisation? If you feel like they are disrespecting you in any way, consider whether you actually want to accept the position.
During negotiations they should be putting on their best behaviour. If their best is disrespectful, imagine how it may change after you start working there.
Be flexible
If they are offering you a lower than expected amount ask them why. There may be reasons why they cannot offer you a higher salary. It is up to you whether you accept those reasons.
Be honest
If they are quite far away from your expectations tell them.
My experience: I once got a position and they offered me $10K below much current salary. I told them their offer was lower than I expected and my current salary. I said I couldn't afford to take a salary cut. We both took a few days to think about it, and they increased their offer.
Telling them your current salary is a good negotiation strategy to ask for more money. I have gotten a higher salary by lying about my current salary. It worked, as they didn't ask for proof. In other negotiations they may require proof, so be careful if you lie about it.
Tell them why you deserve the salary
To strengthen your negotiation position, list all the ways that you are suitable for the job and what makes you unique for the position. And tell them why you deserve the salary you ask for.
Salary renegotiation: How has your role changed? How have you improved?
Ask for a pay review each year. Simply being there one year means you are more qualified than when you first started.
Before the renegotiation, check the salary range for your position outside your company. Is your salary within this range, if not use them as examples of the market rate for your position. If they want to keep you, they will likely come to the table as losing someone, and then having to hire/train someone else is expensive.
What are your best negotiation secrets and tips? Let me know your experience by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com
BB
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash
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