Salary Negotiation: Step by Step for Veterans, Teachers, and Maybe You.

I never planned on coaching people in salary negotiation; I definitely never planned on writing an article about it. I am, afterall, an infantryman knuckledragger who somehow stumbled into the realm of human resources and talent acquisition. However, as I get more and more involved in coaching transitioning military members, veterans, and regular job seekers in best practices to grow or pivot careers, it's become one of the most popular, and common, discussions I get engaged on. Perhaps part of it is that in the military, or government jobs like education, discussing pay and compensation isn't as taboo. Because of this, I am more comfortable talking about something others shy away from. Afterall, a quick google search and information about someone's time in service/ education can tell you exactly what anyone is making in the military or government job.

Googling salary negotiation brings up a lot of articles, with varying recommendations. Some of their suggestions are pretty good, but some actually concern me in a bad way. As a business leader who has been on both sides of the table a few times now, I have a different perspective. So with that, here is a 4-step process I cobbled together from reading online, talking to HR and job hunting professionals, and some trial and error.

I had no idea what I was doing! Did you?

During my time transitioning out of the military, I spent a lot of time focusing on my resume, networking, and prepping for interviews. During the military's mandatory transition classes, conversations with equally naive peers, and internet searches, very little was actually discussed on the final, yet crucial step of salary negotiation. To be frank, I got super lucky with my first job, but in retrospect, I could have easily been the victim of ignorance and set myself up for failure.?It wasn't until I got more involved in regular business negotiations and started getting ready to pursue a promotion that I realized I was not ready for a negotiation. This mostly came about after talking to a mentor in HR who gave me a small, but eye-opening view in how companies use pay scales and job titles. I am blessed I had an HR partner that took the time to answer my question, because pursuing a run-of-the-mill 10% promotion would have had me dangling at the bottom of the compensation bell curve.

Before we dive into the 4-step process, there are some foundational things to get out of the way. For a lot of businesses, at least ones I have friends in, there isn't a massive pot of gold hidden under a hiring manager's desk. Most of these companies operate in what are commonly referred to as 'pay bands' which are aligned to a job level/ title or HR designator. It's really similar to the military pay grades, enlisted and officer, but within these pay bands, there is a lot more discretion on where you can fall.

Each band is a range with a low and high end, typically shaped like a classic bell curve. Where people fall in this band can vary greatly, depending on time with the company, skills, and (of course) where they negotiated their salary. The goal for most new jobseekers is to land somewhere in this bell curve that aligns with their experience and potential contribution to the company. Unfortunately, this info is not something that is publicly shared and varies widely by company, industry, and even location. Most companies also have guidelines for negotiations and promotions that apply across the board.

From the outside looking in, this might appear like something companies are doing to the detriment of the job seeker, but I now realize that it can also be an attempt to promote fairness, consistency, and prevent legal liability. We aren't going to dive into this much more, but this baseline knowledge will come in handy during Step 3. So with that out of the way, let's dive into the actual salary negotiation process. By the end of this process, with a little math, research, and networking, you should have a salary range that empowers you make an informed decision on whether a salary offer is good, bad, or just plain ugly.

Step 1- How much are you making now?

Step One: is knowing how much you are making now so we can make informed decisions down the road. For this step, grab that calculator:

1. Take your bi-monthly or monthly CASH amount hitting your bank account and multiply it by 24 or 12 to get the annual amount of CASH you are making each year. (multiply by 26 if you are on a two week pay cycle)
2. Multiply that cashflow by 1.30 to get an?estimated?accounting of your total annual cash flow (after taxes, social security, state taxes etc...) This is an ESTIMATE since everywhere is a little different. You can get more specific by searching local tax levels or digging into your withholdings on your current pay check. For military members that have income that isn't taxed, that math can get hairy so I recommend using final cash and adjusting it up with the 1.3 modifier to cut out the more complicated math while getting a pretty good ballpark estimate.
3. Make adjustments based on standard of living differences if you are planning to relocate to a different area or seeking remote work for a company located elsewhere. Companies in higher cost locations will pay more for the same job as a company in cheaper locations, but your costs of living there will be different as well. You can google these ratios. A common relocation situation we see is relocation to Atlanta from Washington DC: example: Atlanta's cost of living was ~32% less than Washington DC when I got out of the military so someone would need to make more in DC to maintain the same standard of living vs. Atlanta.

Tip- Dont try to get crazy with calculating jump pay, hazard pay and all that stuff. This is why we start with CASH amounts and stick with that. CASH is what will pay your bills.

Step 2- Know how much you NEED.

Step Two: is knowing how much you NEED. Adding this info to what we are making now will really help with firming up our salary ranges.

1. Take the time to analyze your monthly budget and identify how much you spend each month on essentials. (rent, utilities, food, HBO Max subscription? )
2. Ask yourself: Are you anticipating any changes to your financial needs? Going back to school, buying a house or land, buying that post-military car? Will you need to start paying for your healthcare?
3. What are your retirement plans? Are you going to start contributing to a 401(k) or other type of savings? Are you starting over from scratch on retirement (I was, Yikes!!!)
4. Are you anticipating any guaranteed additional income: VA, retirement etc? Do you have a 'nest egg'? If you are getting out of the military and are going to receive disability, retirement, or a combination of these, then this amount will be used to offset your income needs.

Tip- do not disclose whether you are getting retirement or disability to hiring companies, mostly because its none of their business, and you don't want them shortchanging you due to that additional income.

After doing the math of what you need and then applying your anticipated guaranteed income against that number, then you have your minimum salary/ income requirement. This should be the?bottom?of you acceptable salary range. I would recommend NOT sharing this in the interview process (more to come on that conversation). I would also recommend avoiding any opportunity that does not GUARANTEE compensation (combined with other income sources) that will meet your minimum needs. Some roles, like commissioned based roles, have high?potential?earnings, but they take time to build up that income and establish a reliable customer base. Make sure you are capable of reliably taking care of yourself and your family first and foremost. That is why I always counsel to never take a role that will not meet your needs. ?It is a gamble if you do and racking up debt or adjusting your lifestyle might be the result. I am not a financial advisor, but I would say starting off in the hole is not ideal.

Step 3- How much can you make?

In this step, we will discover how much you can make and then in step 4 we will tie it all together and cover the negotiation/ counter.

In the last two sections we figured out what we previously made and needed, now we get to figure out how much a company will pay. For this, you have some tools at your disposal such as LinkedIn premium/ Glassdoor, job boards, and your NETWORK!!! Sometimes this can be hard since companies are not always forthcoming on this info and it can vary greatly by industry, company, and role scope. Your best source of info will be ESTABLISHED, trusted?network connections in the job sector (typically don't ask this in your first conversation with a new connection). Some companies have bonuses, stock equity, and other incentives to learn about and consider as well.

Also, don't forget that companies don't actually have an endless supply of money. Some roles might have set?pay?(ie i.e. contract work) and some have large negotiable ranges. Every company is different, that trusted network?is CRITICAL. Nothing in the salary negotiation makes me more heartbroken than a military?veteran?walking into an?interview?without doing their research and having overblown expectations, and then being let down over and over again. All because someone steered them wrong early on and they didn't do the research. Having good intelligence about what companies pay for your background or the?job you are pursuing is the final piece to setting up the right ask, negotiation, and counter.

A quick recap of steps 1-3:

1. How much are you making now?
2. How much do you NEED- (It is HIGHLY recommended that you not take a role where the?guaranteed?income does not meet this.)
3. How much a company will pay- this should be close to your 'target' salary when looking at roles.

All this work helps you put together your salary range. This range can vary greatly for each candidate's unique situation. ?Once again, I recommend avoiding roles where the guaranteed income (and any additional income) does not meet your minimum income requirements. Your salary range is that middle area you should target during negotiation and you should pursue roles that are likely to pay in that area.

In the rare event you receive an offer over your target range, this can be a sign of:

• Your research was missing something and should be re-looked
• Is there something about this job that might make it hard to staff that needs to be considered (ie- does it travel 100% of the time to an undesirable location)
• Did you accidently mis-represent your transferable skills?
• Is there something about this company that you might be overlooking? Toxic work environment, high burnout, internal crisis where others are fleeing? I have had a few friends go through this one as well. Just like when a military recruiter tells you that they have the perfect job for you, that lets you see the world, with a huge signing bonus, some things are probably too good to be true. In the military, you get a undesirable MOS, guarding a remote location in the middle of nowhere. I have had friends take jobs with extremely high salaries, only to realize they are part of a team slotted to get downsized, and they were filling a role after someone else had already jumped ship. If its too good to be true, it probably is.

Step 4- How to use these numbers to negotiate + how to counter an offer!

So an interview, or offer, is coming your way, and you did your research about what you are making, need, and what they will pay. Below are common negotiation questions I get and my responses to them:

• Should I negotiate??Nearly every offer is negotiable but check your numbers to assess if an offer is good or bad.?My answer: Maybe. Does the offer meet your minimum, is it close to what you 'should be paid,' are there other negotiable items like vacation, remote opportunities, or bonus that are not included?
• How do I turn down a bad offer??Sometimes it’s a flat out ‘No Thank You', especially if its more than 10% below your minimum/ acceptable range. Most companies won't negotiate much outside of that percentage range for a role. If a company is willing to negotiate up to 30% more, I personally see that as a red flag since the company is trying to lowball their associates that badly at the start. Good companies that will treat their associates well over the long term do not start the relationship by taking money out of their pockets.
• What if I get a good offer (mid to top of my range)??My answer: accept it, and Congrats! You can still negotiate, but don’t forget that you will be working with that team in the future. I am a little reluctant to squeeze or use high pressure negotiation tactics on a team or company I plan on working with for the next few years, especially if it's already a good offer. If it is a short term role, or contract with an expiration date, then maybe negotiation on a good offer would be fine.
• What is the offer is close but not exactly where I want it to be, or I need a job now and want to negotiate the only offer I have? It is time to use your numbers and propose a counteroffer!

Here is my 'counteroffer script':

“That number is little lower than I was expecting.?I am really interested in your company, but I (pick one)

1. am currently making $XX.
2. Understand other roles in the market are paying $XX
3. Feel my experience warrants $XX based on peer reviews

Can you match (get closer to) that or should I look into other roles?”

See how we use our numbers? I would insert whichever response/ data point that makes your case the best.

• What if a recruiter or company asks about my salary expectations in a pre-interview or screening call??This is not uncommon and once again use your numbers.?There is actually power in being the first to set expectations for salary negotiation, as long as you have the research to make sure the expectation you are setting is accurate and feasible.

Here are examples of how you can set expectations, once again using your numbers:

• "I am currently making $XX market equivalent and would like an amount that allows me to maintain my standard of living. (typically used by military members who might be making more than the applied job typically offers.)
• I understand other roles in the market are paying $XX for someone with similar experience.
• I feel my experience warrants $XX based on peer reviews

Is that within the target range for this role or do you recommend I look into other roles?”

Tip: DO NOT just make something up if you are unprepared to answer this question! You can always ask to get back to them after you do some more research or even ask them if they have a range they normally see associates in that range making.

If you make a number up that is outside of the norm (especially if its high) for this role, they will likely politely finish the conversation a few minutes later and then remove you from consideration with the 'salary expectation exceeds role' label. I have seen many, many veterans fall into this trap after not doing their research.

Tip: Career Pivots- If you are doing a career pivot into a new field where you will take a step back in compensation, or where you are starting from the bottom, it is ok to share what you are making now, but caveat it with that you are willing to negotiate or discuss.

I see senor military leaders fall into this trap frequently or veterans looking to go into a completely new space, even though they have transferable skills. When I got my first job, I did take a step back financially, but one that was within my target range and with my top company choice. I also knew that I had a longer income runway in the civilian sector.

During early interviews, I had shared what I was making, but that I was open to discuss since I was starting a new career. My first boss gave me an offer lower than what I was currently making in the Army, but I learned later (from that HR connection) that I was brought in near the top of the pay band for that role since they valued my experience. In my case, they really didn't have a lot of flexibility to negotiate higher. I was in that common veteran spot where I was overqualified for the entry roles, but lacked the industry specific experience to qualify for roles closer to my military compensation. That discussion could be a whole other article.

Wrapping It Up!

So there you have it, a math/ data based, hopefully easy to follow process to help with that salary negotiation:

1. How much are you making now
2. Figure out how much you need
3. How much will a company pay
4. When and how to negotiate

This is something I was not aware of when I was trying to move from a set, government paid job to the non-government sector, where salaries and compensation are more varied and not widely disclosed. I have seen this process get used by friends and mentees when starting new careers, pursuing promotions, or moving from one company to another. Is it perfect? Probably not, but then again, its it is coming from an Infantryman knuckledragger who somehow stumbled into Human Resources and Talent Acquisitions. ?Remember, ultimately you own this process and the future of your career, and you can always shape these tips to best suit your unique situation. Feel free to share with any veterans, transitioning service members, or others looking to do salary negotiations in the future. Klu Out!

Special thanks to Chris McKeon for helping translate my ramblings to coherent thoughts and also providing his insights from a professional recruiter's perspective on this topic.