Top Negotiation Tips to Help You Land a Higher Starting Salary!

1. Timing is everything:

Every job listing usually includes a salary range, so that both parties can proceed without worrying about wasting their time on a low-paying job or a candidate that’s outside their budget. However, you don’t always find out how much a job pays until you’ve invested a fair amount of time in the process.

If the hiring manager doesn’t mention range, don’t bring it up first. Make them fall in love with you first—while you secretly gather intel on what this job involves. You might discover that the role is more junior or senior than the title indicates, which will change your ask (and possibly your interest in the job).

2. Don’t Believe in Gossip:

People love to talk about their salary with friends and colleagues, and they should—being more transparent about pay can only help workers in the long run. However, don’t assume that what you hear is the whole truth. To compare, you need to look at vetted salary data from thousands of anonymous respondents who have no reason to stretch the truth. That’s where online salary calculators and surveys come in handy. Use these to compare your salary to that of peers with similar skills and experience. Let’s move on to the next Negotiation Tips!

3. Don’t Base Your Salary on history:

Each company should use their compensation budgets to incentivise and reward the things they need to achieve their business goals. For one company, that can mean paying a premium for a particular skillset. For another company, it might mean rewarding institutional knowledge and client relationships. Basing salary offers on what some other company has decided to reward is quite ineffective. But barring a federal law banning salary history questions during the interview process, there will probably always be some employers who choose to go this route anyway. Try to steer the conversation away from salary history and back to the subject at hand: appropriate compensation for this particular job.

4. Women need to approach salary negotiation differently than men.

In details, research shows that women may need to use different negotiation tactics in general. Moreover, the negotiators penalise women when they ask for more during the salary negotiation process. The researchers theorised that “perceptions of niceness and demandingness explained resistance to female negotiators.” One answer may be to tie the higher request to a public benefit. For example, a woman negotiating a job offer for a sales role might point out that it wouldn’t be in the company’s best interests to hire a seller who took the first offer on the table.

5. Everyone should think beyond today’s offer.

In addition to negotiating a higher rate, it’s essential to check out the future opportunities. It can mean inquiring about the review schedule and bonus eligibility. Besides, you can always ask about educational benefits that will help you boost your profile for future negotiations. (Again, hot skills often equal a higher salary!)