7 Powerful Strategies To Skyrocket Your Starting Salary

To most, sitting at the salary negotiating table is the scariest part of the job search process. This is the last big step before you accept a job offer. It’s daunting to think that if you mess it up it could mean going back to the bottom of the job search funnel. 

But who else is sitting at this table with you? What if we look at it from the other side, from the perspective of the hiring manager? 70% of managers expect candidates to negotiate. So, while you might be scared to negotiate, they are disappointed you didn’t. You have to show your future employer that you know your value as one of the most highly educated people in the world. 

There is a third person at this table as well, a silent participant, your future self. If you mess it up and settle for a low salary, all your future salaries, career options, and opportunities will be reflected in this decision. You are diminishing your own potential.

When done right, negotiations can skyrocket your base salary, sometimes as much as $20k/year. 

A report by Harvard Business Review found that only 57% of highly educated men negotiate their salary; for highly educated women the number is only 7%. This is tragically low and I hope after reading this both men and especially women will feel more confident to negotiate their salary!

It’s Not You Or Them - It’s “We” 

PhDs are the most valuable employees, equipped with the skills to be data analysts, project managers, and excellent collaborators. When a company hires a PhD, they are investing in one employee that can do the work of 2-3 others. They know how valuable you are. 

But do you know how valuable you are? You’ve spent years being underpaid, basically everything slightly above minimum wage seems like an adequate salary after a PhD stipend or a postdoc’s compensation rate. 

By the time you are offered a seat at the negotiating table, the company has already decided they want you.

You have spent the time with your future team members through numerous interviews and have shown your worth. Both sides are invested. Salary negotiations are about creating a win-win situation for both sides and thus require some delicate communication strategies. 

Here’s my 7 most successful negotiation tactics to skyrocket PhD’s starting salaries.

1. Know the impact of saying “yes”

What are your salary expectations?

How much do you expect to earn for this position?

Sound familiar? 

 Your previous job titles and past salaries will be used as anchors to limit your future job offer.

The rest of your career will follow the lead of whatever salary you settle on. So go in, knowing not just how this decision will affect your present but how it will affect your future. Learn how to deflect these questions rather than answering them.

2. Anchor as high as possible before the first offer is made.

It’s always best to not be the first one to throw out a number, deflect that question as much as possible. However, you can use psychological anchors to increase your perceived value and encourage the employer to give you a higher offer. 

A University of Idaho study showed that making a joke about earning a million dollars influences employers to offer you a higher starting salary. Psychological anchors work, even if they’re presented as a joke. The key here is to make a joke about an impossibly high salary prior to the employer’s initial offer.

3. Stay positive and polite

Remember, salary negotiations are meant to be win-win situations. If everything goes according to plan, you will be working with this employer, and they need to be happy and you need to be happy to foster a productive and cohesive work environment.

Money is one of the biggest things people get angry about. The worst thing you can do during a salary negotiation is try to get your way by being aggressive or condescending. Think of a time when someone was that way to you. How did it make you feel about the other person? I’m sure you weren’t reaching into your pocket to give them a $20 bill. A better strategy is to stay overly positive and polite. 

 Never, no matter what happens during a salary negotiation, decrease your enthusiasm for the job.

Enthusiasm will not only keep the conversation coming back to you and the work you can do for the company. It will also inspire the other side to pay you more.

4. Focus on the value you add to the company

Why does the company want you? Ask yourself this question throughout the negotiating process. You have something other candidates didn’t have, that’s why you got this far. The company needs a job done and they believe you are the best candidate to produce high quality work. Why? What value do you add to the company, what’s your selling point? 

Your problems don’t matter to them so don’t bring them into the conversation.

What they need to hear is  your professional strengths and the overall value you’re offering to the position.

Keep in mind that they have already decided you are the best fit. 

5. Don’t let them muddy the waters

A tactic that negotiators often use is called ‘muddying the waters’ and refers to mixing benefit negotiations with base salary negotiations. Focus on just one thing at a time. It will be hard to compare vacation time or insurance plans to base salary. In addition to a salary you also get a benefit package, which can include a signing bonus, vacation time, retirement plan, and healthcare for you and your family. These things are important and they are necessary to negotiate but only after you nail down your base salary. 

Don’t allow them to muddy the waters. Simply ask them to ‘set aside’ the benefit package until you have agreed on a base salary. 

6. Ask open-ended questions

Open-ended questions are great in several ways. For one they allow you to have an idea of what the other side is thinking, putting you in a stronger position to negotiate. For another, unlike ultimatums, open-ended questions don’t create barriers. 

Consider the following two questions:

I’m really excited about this offer, but after discussing it at home, I was wondering if there was anything more we could do in terms of salary?

I’m really excited about this offer, but I was wondering if we could go $5,000 higher in terms of starting salary?

The first is an open ended question that allows the other side to provide  a number. In addition, this type of question puts them in a position to help you and most people want to help others. It makes them feel like they’ve won by helping you. The latter question is more concrete. And as an ultimatum, it can come off a little aggressive and demanding. In addition, if they say yes right away, you’ll always wonder if you could have gotten more... 

7. Get them invested in you

Your goal should be to get the other side to invest in you as much as possible.

The more interaction you have with the company the less likely they will be to walk away. 

Here are some ways to get them to invest more:

• Try to negotiate in person whenever possible.
• Conduct as many interviews as they would like, allow no question to go unanswered, give them complete certainty that you are right for the position.
• Reach out to as many people from the company as possible. You’ll become a part of the team before you're even on the payroll. 

The more you get them invested, the more leverage you’ll have when the time comes to talk about your salary. Let them and encourage them to recruit you. 

In Summary

So now you are equipped with the top salary negotiation tactics. No more excuses to accept the initial salary. A PhD is a valuable employee but employers need to know that you know your value. You have to understand your worth to know what you should expect, anchor high and be willing to make concessions, always return to your value, focus on the base salary first, be strategically vague with open ended questions, and always create win-win situations. 

Are you a PhD?

If so, have you tried any of these salary negotiation strategies?

Tell me in a comment below.

To learn more about transitioning into industry, including how to gain instant access to industry career training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, a complete industry transition plan, and a private online job referral network for PhDs only, get on the waitlist for the Cheeky Scientist Association.