How You Can Beat Rising Inflation and Negotiate for a Higher Salary

Unless you’ve been avoiding the news, chances are you know that the U.S. is currently dealing with record-high inflation. In fact, one study reported by CNBC states that the average U.S. household needs?“…an additional $341 a month to purchase the same goods and services compared to a year ago.”

While many people started hobbies and side hustles to make a little extra cash during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the gig economy is becoming less about extra money in your pocket for fun expenditures and more of a necessity just to get by. This is why job seekers need to pocket the right salary negotiation tools before accepting their new employment offer.

These tips can help you do just that:

1. Understand Your Worth by Doing Research

People don’t apply to jobs for the fun of it. If they did, they wouldn’t care how much they took home after a week’s worth of work. Rather, they’re applying for a job that will help them provide a roof over their head and put food on the table. Especially, in rougher times like we’re dealing with right now, many new employees may accept a company’s offer without any regard as to whether or not the salary aligns with their educational background and experience.

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This is where research comes in.

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When you’re interviewing for a job, you should already know what a competitive rate for your position is. In order to do this, you need to look into three main categories: your experience level, skill set, and job location. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to go about this.

You can easily check out payscale tools, like?this one?on Glassdoor to get a better idea of what the going rate for your job level is. Online tools like this allow you to input background information such as your experience, what the job entails, and where you’re located. Let’s say you’re applying for a Social Media Manager position in New Jersey. You have five years of experience working within the nonprofit sector. Based on this tool, your base pay will be, on average, around $53,000 a year, excluding cash bonuses, if applicable.

This information can give you a baseline of what someone with your background and experience is worth, so if your employer tries to offer you less, you can bring up this information to negotiate a higher salary.

2. Have Proof

While this goes hand in hand with the tactic mentioned above, having proof to back up your claims not only demonstrates your knowledge of the industry, but it helps steer the conversation forward.

While, of course, you can print out a copy of statistics if you choose, being able to reference where you obtained your information is usually sufficient enough. Many job boards offer salary transparency, so if you don’t feel comfortable using a payscale calculator like the one from Glassdoor, you should be able to see competitive rates other companies throughout your area are offering for the same position with similar educational/background experience.

?3. Don’t be Braggy

It’s great to have confidence going into an interview, but you don’t want to cross a line and come across as too braggy, greedy, or self-involved. While understanding your worth is important, some job seekers make the mistake of telling their potential employer what they want and that they’re not willing to compromise.

Remember, this is a salary?negotiation, so it involves a little wiggle room not only from your employer but from you, as well. Plus, keep in mind that actions like these can come across as rude and the whole point of landing a job in an interview stems from being likable.

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