Salary Negotiation Strategies

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The Mr Job Tracker Job Search Learning and Coaching Program. (Resume writing, interviews, everything your Job Search needs) Mr Job Tracker (thinkific.com) ______________________________________________________________

Salary Negotiation Strategies

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Be prepared early in the whole recruitment process to talk about salary. This is when you set the foundation for salary negotiations. A strategy for negotiating the best remuneration and benefits package for a particular job, is best developed within the context of some general information about negotiating in the job market and some specific information on the job and the organization:

1. Your ability to demonstrate your skills and capability during the interview is the foundation from which you will be able to negotiate a good package. So work on your interview skills, they are important here.
2. Most first offers are negotiable and generally, the more senior the position, the more negotiable.
3. Most of the time there is a salary range rather than a specific figure for a job.
4. Most people are not inclined to negotiate their first offer, and this is particularly the case for women (1).
5. Recruitment Consultants are generally more interested in making a placement at any price, thereby increasing their commission, rather than pushing for a higher salary,
6. Talking to people (recruiters, colleagues, etc.) and recruiter salary surveys in aggregate, are a reasonable way to check market rates.
7. The most common salary related questions asked at interview include: ? How much are you/were you earning in your last job? ? How much are you looking for? ? What is the minimum salary you would accept? (a Recruiter favorite). ? To what stage have you progressed with other applications? Answer these questions with confidence to enhance your negotiating edge.
8. Information about the organization can be very useful: ? Is there a salary policy and if so, what is the value / range for this position? ? What is the recent history on salary movements? ? * When do salary reviews take place?
9. Definitions can vary across different organizations. For example:? "a package" may refer to some or all of the ingredients of a base, pension, bonus, allowances.
10. After the offer and before your acceptance is a time when you have the most power.

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1. ?A study done by Linda Babcock for her book,?Women Don’t?Ask,?revealed that only about 7% of women attempted to negotiate their first salary, while 57% of men did. Of those people who negotiated, they were able to increase their salary by over 7%.

? ? Strategies, Tactics and Tips:

1. It is really important to maintain a positive and personal relationship with the person with whom you are negotiating. You are going to have to work with them later so refrain from pushing too hard and there is no value in acting like a tough guy. So, stay firm, positive, and friendly.
2. It might be relevant for you to understand when the next salary reviews are scheduled and how your salary will be reviewed (i.e., based on the last 12 months or pro-rata on the amount of time you have been there up until the salary review time).
3. Be prepared early in the whole recruitment process where you may be asked your salary expectations or past earnings. This is when you set the foundation for salary negotiations.
4. When asked for a number (past earnings / future requirements) I think you have got to give them a number rather than avoid the question as the latter can antagonize the relationship.
5. My favorite answer to the salary question is:

? "The job, the organization and the career prospects are more important to me than a particular salary level as I believe a good company will pay the market rate. However if you want a number, I believe the value in the market for someone of my skill and capability is $100,000 ….. How does that fit with your understanding of the market?" ?

Note that I provided a specific figure and did not mention whether that includes or excludes extras. If they are happy to accept that number, then you have more leverage later when referring back to that number. Note also I followed my answer up with a question seeking feedback on that figure. That feedback is an important piece of information for you to know later in salary negotiations.

1. If you are going to negotiate for a higher salary, then you need to back up your argument with information, which might include: ? The market value for a person of your knowledge and capability. ? The value that the organization places on the job. ? * For senior candidates: the contribution you can bring by way of increased revenue, reduced costs, improved efficiency, etc. Negotiating on the basis of your needs (living expenses, school fees, etc), is almost never a winning strategy, as it focuses on your needs and not the employer’s needs.
2. It is not a good negotiating tactic to take a fixed position. For example, saying ‘I will not take less than $XYZ’. I recommend a softer approach such as ‘Could we discuss the possibility of raising the salary to around $XYZ?’ Taking a fixed position can be hard to step back from in the negotiation process and it makes you look inflexible.
3. Try to bring all the things you want to negotiate on to the table in the first instance, rather than finalizing one item and then bringing up another item, and so on.
4. Emphasize the components of the salary package that are most important to you through to the least important.
5. Best if you do not raise salary first, and particularly not in the first interview. But it’s OK to raise salary with intermediaries (e.g., ….? an external Recruiter).
6. Throughout the negotiation process, make it very clear that you want the job. You do not want the employer to think that a particular salary level is the thing that is going to motivate you to take the job. People want to employ people who really want to work with them.
7. How to speed up/slow down the process, in relation to other potential job offers:

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• “That's great, can you put that in writing so I can review the terms & conditions?”
• “I presume it is OK to get back to you after the weekend?"
• “I am expecting another offer by Friday. However, I am really excited about this job. What is your timing in this process?”

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That’s all for now? ….? Have a great week.????????????????????????????????????????????? Phillip Powell

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The Mr Job Tracker Job Search Learning and Coaching Program. (Resume writing, interviews, everything your Job Search needs) Helping you to get the job you want .... faster. Mr Job Tracker (thinkific.com)

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