Tips For Negotiating Your Salary

Job interviews can be incredibly intimidating and difficult for people. However, even once you have proven yourself worthy of a hire and the managers want to bring you on, your job isn’t done yet. Once they want to hire you, the process of salary negotiation begins. You should try to get yourself the highest salary possible, because it will be much harder to get a raise afterwards. If you don’t actually need the money right now, it’s even better. It means you will be able to afford investing money in the stock market. With that in mind, we have crafted this article to give you a few tips for a better salary negotiation.

Do Your Research

Before ever negotiating salary, you should know the average salaries and pay scales in the industry. To get this info, you can go on PayScale. If you’re lucky, you might even find out how much other people doing your job at the same company are earning on Glassdoor. If you go in and don’t know what most people are paid for this kind of work, you have almost no leverage and will not know what to ask for. 

Don’t Rush Into Talking Money

If you look to talk about money too early into the interview process, it can rub employers the wrong way. It definitely sends out the message that you care more about money than making sure you are a fit for the company. Also, give yourself some time to impress them with skills and qualifications before speaking out about the salary, as it gives you more time to make yourself look like a more attractive option.

Take Benefits/ Non-Cash Value Into Account

While cash is king, that shouldn’t be the only thing talked about during salary negotiations. If the company is offering low salary in terms of dollars and won’t budge, try negotiating other things. Better benefits, paid time off, longer holidays, are all things that hold value and are things your employer might be willing to give you, in lieu of a higher dollar amount. Again, research should be done here to make sure you are getting a fair deal. 

Give Them Concrete Reasons Why You Deserve What You Ask For

Don’t just ask for a high salary with no reasoning. If you want a high (or even average) salary, you need to demonstrate why you deserve that number. In these talks, it is a good idea to make sure you give concrete reasons and don’t just say “I’m a hard worker” or “I am loyal to my companies”. You need to give them specific examples of things you have done or expertise you have. This will show you have done research and are serious about the position. 

Don’t Bring Your Personal Life to The Negotiation

We all could use more money for a variety of reasons, but do not bring them up in a negotiation. Guilting a company into paying you more will not work and you will actually hurt your chances. They are a business, not a charity. The company has a budget and are looking to pay you for the tasks you do, and will not pay you more because they feel bad that you live paycheck to paycheck.