STRATEGY FOR NEGOTIATING YOUR BEST SALARY.

Negotiating Your Best Offer

The best moment to negotiate your salary is once the employer is assured of your value and is aware that they need you. Negotiation is a process that you can master, and it is always better if:

1. you understand the requirements, the expectations of the role, and
2. the company has a thorough understanding of your worth (the experience, knowledge, and skills you can offer).

Start by knowing your worth – this is?you!

Your salary or total compansation worth can vary according to the company's size, geographic location, and market conditions. Salary information is widely available on sites like Glassdoor, Salary.com or via networking contacts, human resource professionals, business publications, salary surveys, etc. Before negotiating your compensation package, these tools will help you determine your current market value. It's also important to clearly understand the responsibilities and expectations of the role you are considering.

Evaluating the job offer

Please review your written offer carefully to ensure that everything you verbally negotiated is in writing. Learn all you can about the proposed compensation package, and be sure that you clarify anything you don't understand well.

• Verify and ensure that you are clear on the title/level of the role, the primary duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, location, hours, performance expectations, and growth potential.
• What is the starting salary? What are the other elements of the total compensation package?
• Is there any sign-in bonus? Sign-in bonus is an excellent incentive since it is immediate cash.
• Are there other financial incentives? Are they based on your performance or the company's performance/profit level? For example, stocks are a way of economic stimulus that is not immediate cash. Be aware that some companies have a vesting period, which means you do not receive the shares after a while.
• How often will your salary be reviewed or increased? Most companies make a once-a-year salary review and adjustment.
• What are the other job benefits? Medical insurance, 401K, etc.
• When do you need to start your new role?

Compensation is often negotiable, so make sure that you never accept the initial offer without first trying to negotiate. It would be beneficial to counter at least once and ideally twice until you feel like you have gotten to a point where the offer is final. By following this strategy, you give yourself a perfect chance of increasing the offer by?$10-$20k+.

?Here is an example:

• You provided a salary range of $70k to $100k
• They offer you $75k
• Counter with the maximum of $100k

Salary Negotiation Strategy

1. Thank them and express gratitude for the offer. Also, restate your interest in the position and the company.
2. Be professional and let them know that you are currently interviewing with other companies and you are expecting to come in at $90k
3. Ask them if they could increase the offer to $90k
4. If they say "yes" to $90k, accept the offer, and thank them again.
5. If they say "no," you have to decide if you want to accept the offer or not, but in most cases, they will come back with some number in the middle.
6. If they offer a number in the middle, i.e., $80k, then counter a second time by asking for a signing bonus to make up the difference. In this case, you could ask the company for a $10k signing bonus to make this an easy decision for you.
7. Once you've made your second counter, you may want to leave it unless you'd like to make one final ask for additional PTO, stock, or anything else.

Finally, please remember that once a company extends an offer, they are committed to you, so never be afraid to negotiate your salary. I have never heard of a candidate having an offer rescinded because they asked for more money or benefits. So please know your worth and ask for what you believe you deserve. You never know what you can get if you never ask for it!