Negotiation for a salary raise, or for an amount which would be paid when you are being hired by a company you’ve interviewed with, can be a delicate conversation, and it’s usually one which is at least a little bit awkward for both parties. Generally speaking, when you are first hired by a company, there will be some kind of ballpark figure mentioned in the job description or in the classified ad where you first encountered the opening.
But that doesn’t mean the amount is written in stone, and that doesn’t mean it’s what you have to sell for. By arming yourself with all the most relevant information, you will be able to confidently negotiate with your future employer about a salary that you feel is fair, and which you are entitled to, based on your skill level and experience.
Before you walk into any interview or negotiating session where you feel salary is likely to be discussed, you should conduct some research on the national salary averages for the position which is open. You can find these figures in the Bureau of Labor Statistics data which is listed on their website, along with regional differences in those averages.
Those figures may still differ somewhat from local standards, so you should supplement your research with information about salaries throughout the area for a position which is either the same as your new position or very similar. This kind of preparedness will allow you to be a little less awkward in any conversations, and much better prepared to get down to the nitty-gritty, with facts and figures at the ready.
More Research before Negotiation
In addition to canvassing the salaries across the country and across the region for your position, you should do even more research which will allow you to speak more confidently during negotiation. Part of your research should be about the company which is hiring you, and what its position is within the marketplace. If your new company is one of the top three competitors in the market, you can assume they’re doing pretty well, and that they are not hurting financially.
During your research, you should also look at any industry trends which are affecting your new company, and which may have a bearing on how you should be paid. If the business is booming and your company is in the thick of that upturn, you might reasonably expect to be paid a little more, whereas if things are trending downward, now would not be the time to be aggressive about salary.
Don’t Undersell or Oversell
The negotiation process is not really the time to reach for the stars and go for broke – it’s time to request a salary figure which you legitimately feel entitled to, and which the position itself calls for. If you overvalue your skills and what you bring to the table, it’s entirely possible that your interviewer will reject the request out of hand, and things will come to a screeching halt.
Also, you should take into account the standard of living in the area where you are expecting to be employed. If the job is being offered in a city like Boston, where costs are soaring, you might reasonably expect to earn a salary at the high end of the pay range, whereas a small metro area somewhere in the Midwest would have an entirely different standard.
Make sure to factor in the benefits package which is being offered, because some of these are really are so advantageous that they make up for being paid a little less than you’d hoped. If you get extra vacation time or any other perks or benefits that you may not have expected, these should also be factored into your salary request.
Be Prepared to Justify
Whatever your requests for salary are, be prepared to justify them in detail to a hiring manager or an HR representative who is conducting negotiation with you. Your request will probably not be considered unreasonable, as long as you can justify it in some way, and can adequately represent that justification to the interviewer.
In addition to all the skills and experience that you are bringing to the company, it’s worth mentioning that you intend to undergo personal growth there and develop professionally so that you can be even more valuable to the company.
Even if you make a great case and every point you make is a valid one, it’s still possible of course, that your salary request is declined on the basis of there being inadequate funding for that higher salary. You should be prepared for this eventuality as well, and you should be prepared to make a decision on whether you will accept the original company offer rather than the figure you feel you’re actually entitled to.
However, by being thoroughly prepared to discuss salary and to justify the salary request you are proposing, you’ll have a much better chance of walking out of the interviewing office satisfied with what you’ve achieved. This is a far better course of action than making demands for the salary which cannot be justified solidly, both on paper and verbally.