Congratulations! You've landed the job. Now to take home the package that is
most commensurate with your skills, ability, experience and the job
responsibilities.
Yes, do negotiate.
Employers actually EXPECT you to negotiate your package
even when they pretend they don't so don't deprive them, or yourself, of that
pleasure.
1. Negotiate After You Have An Offer
The time to negotiate your salary is after the employer has decided he wants
you on board and has made you a concrete offer - not in the elevator on the way
up to the Interview or after an interview question you think you've
particularly aced.
An offer indicates that the employer wants you on board and
is convinced you have the skill set and potential to be a valuable addition to
the team.
You now have the upper hand and should use it to secure a
compensation package commensurate with your worth.
It is far easier to
negotiate a satisfactory package at this stage when the employer really wants
you and is focused on getting you on board, than after you are on board and
firmly entrenched at a given salary level and job description.
It is unlikely
you will ever be in a better position to negotiate a good package than you are
at this stage.
2. Establish Job Responsibilities
Clarify your job responsibilities before beginning to negotiate the
compensation.
Make sure you have all the facts pertaining to the new position
and are very clear about your role, responsibilities and the job title.
This
detailed knowledge of the position will come in handy as you negotiate your
package.
3. Determine Your Salary
Range Beforehand
Before you can begin negotiating, you need to determine a salary range that
you can base your discussions with the employer on.
Firstly, determine the minimum salary you could possibly accept, and make
sure this is a salary that you can survive on.
This minimum is not to be
revealed to the employer in your negotiations.
Next, determine a reasonable mid-point salary based on what the job
responsibilities are, what you have to offer the employer and what you are
worth in the market.
To get a realistic idea of what the position is worth,
research the market.
Look at published annual salary surveys and job ads for similar
positions in newspapers, magazines and on internet job sites and talk to
friends in the industry and recruitment agents.
If you are applying to a
position at the right level, there should not be a large discrepancy between
what the position is worth based on your research and what you are worth based
on your experience, education, compensation history and what you have to offer
the position.
Finally, determine an extremely generous salary level that is not too
unrealistic for the position and that you would be extremely ecstatically happy
to receive.
4. Get the Employer to Reveal his Hand First
Always get your employer to reveal his hand first to avoid pricing yourself
out of the game or limiting the discussions prematurely.
If you are first to
put a number on the table, you run the risk of being perceived as
'overqualified' if your range is too high or casting doubts on your
professional abilities and track record if you short sell yourself.
Revealing
your expectations or salary history will limit your negotiating range and
remove a lot of the leverage you otherwise have.
Often, the employer will make you a verbal offer and throw the salary ball
into your field by asking you what salary you expect, or what salary you made
in your previous position.
Try to throw the ball right back in the employer's
field by countering with another question, such as "What do you think
someone with my track record, experience and skills could make in this
position?" or "You now have a good idea of my skills and track record
and potential.
What do you think is a fair salary given the job's requirements
and responsibilities?"
Do not reveal your previous salary if you can possibly help it.
Focus the
discussion instead on what your background, responsibilities and potential contributions
are worth in this position.
Your goal should be to maximize your worth and
potential value to this employer through effective negotiation - the value your
previous employer placed on you should be irrelevant.
Remember, what you are
worth to this employer is a function of the value-added you can bring to this
particular job and your potential contributions in the new role, not a function
of how your skills were utilized (or less utilized) in the last job.
If absolutely pressed for a number and the employer will not give you an
idea of his target range despite all your best efforts to gain the upper hand,
you can present the employer with the range you have determined beforehand.
The
'expected' salary range you reveal will have what is really your midpoint as
the minimum, with the upper bound representing your 'dream' salary.
Make sure
you always start your negotiations with a range, not a specific salary level.
5. Let the Games Begin
You are now officially at the starting line, equipped with a verbal offer,
your own well-studied salary range and a solid understanding of your job
responsibilities in this new role.
The negotiations will be fired either with
the employer revealing his salary range for the position or, despite all your
best efforts to reverse the roles, you revealing your predetermined 'expected'
salary range first.
Best case scenario: You have played your cards right and the employer
extends you an offer that is at the upper bound or significantly above your
expectations.
Your downside risk has been eliminated and you can now focus your
discussions on making a good situation even better.
If your predetermined
salary range was $75,000-$90,000 and the employer has offered you $90,000 -
$95,000, you can counter with something akin to "That is close to the
range I had in mind.
My expectations given my background and the job
responsibilities were closer to $95,000 - $105,000 with $95,000 really having
been my very minimum. How much flexibility do you have on the upside?"
Worst case scenario: You have prematurely limited your negotiating range by
revealing your hand too soon and the employer counters with a lower range, or
the employer starts the negotiations with an offer below your expectations.
This is where your negotiating savvy really comes into play.
Before you begin to negotiate, make sure you and the employer are roughly in
the same ballpark.
If your well researched and well thought out range of
$75-90,000 was met with an offer of $50-55,000 from the employer, you have
either misconstrued the job responsibilities or the employer is paying
significantly below the market.
This is where your minimum salary comes in.
Does the range meet your minimum threshold?
If not and your negotiations don't
bring you up to that minimum requirement, this may well be the wrong position
and/or company for you!
6. Justify Your Counter-Offer
Your $75-90,000 range was met with a $70-75,000 offer from the employer. All
is not lost.
You will keep the discussion alive by coming back with a sell
proposition along the lines of "Well let me see, the job's
responsibilities as I understand them are ABC" at which time you carefully
recite in detail all the various aspects of the job.
"I really feel that
someone with my track record and qualifications could be making a minimum of
$75,000 on the job.
I was actually looking for a salary much closer to the
$80,000 mark."
You then proceed to justify your range.
Confirm to the
employer that you are very interested in working with the company and that you
feel you would really fit into the team and could make a significant
contribution there.
Recap on your most relevant work experience and mention
again the skills you will immediately put to productive use on the job.
Mention
that you feel your ideal salary is actually very realistic given your
experience and the job requirements.
7. Gain Leverage by Negotiating the Job Responsibilities
If the employer's range is carved in stone despite all your well-rehearsed
negotiation tactics, move to another stone.
You do this by altering the role,
albeit modestly to justify a higher salary. This is where your detailed
knowledge of the position comes in.
You can do this in three ways. Firstly, you can add to the list of job
requirements a task or responsibility you have thought of beforehand; one that
you have either read about, thought of yourself or heard about from a friend in
the industry.
Secondly, you can seize on one of the problems the employer
mentioned during the Interview and offer a solution that you would personally
be responsible for.
Thirdly, you can ask the employer outright, what added
responsibilities he would ideally like to have the person holding this job
ultimately assume if they were brought up to speed quickly enough.
Another way
to pose the latter question is what added responsibilities or areas does the
employer wish your predecessor had taken charge of.
Asking the question
"What are some of the areas you would like improved on" or "What
are some of the problems that my predecessor faced" during the Interview
comes in useful at this stage of the negotiations as you try to establish
additional value-added ground.
The 'business solution' or added responsibility you come up with need not be
monumental; in fact you should refrain from making any big promises.
It can be
something as simple as a Marketing Executive offering to arrange a brief
monthly newsletter for the firm's clients, or a database that would speed
client reporting up, or a slightly revised format for the monthly reports that
would be more visually appealing.
The important thing is that once you have
elevated the position to a slightly higher plateau, you can then proceed to
justify your 'ideal' salary as commensurate with the increased
responsibilities.
You can go back to the employer with "From what I understand,
my role in this position would be XYZ.
However, I am also bringing to the job
the following function(s) and responsibilities . . . " at which point you
recant the additional responsibilities.
Justifying your desired salary as being commensurate with a higher level of
responsibility is an excellent way to jump start stalled negotiations.
8. Negotiate the Package not just the Salary
You should be ready to negotiate the entire package, not just the salary.
Remember that you can enhance a less than stellar salary by negotiating the
perks.
If your most ardent, well-rehearsed salary negotiation tactics were
ineffective at boosting the starting salary, you can try to gain the lost
ground at this stage of the game.
Your discussions can include medical
insurance, car and housing allowance, children's education, plane tickets home
for expats, club memberships and further education and professional training
for yourself.
Try to get any courses, seminars or further education you intend
to take included in your package.
In many industries you can negotiate a
guaranteed bonus at a given date or a sign-up bonus.
You can try to secure a
commitment to a minimum salary increase and/or title promotion at a prespecified date in the future providing you meet certain performance criteria.
At the very minimum, you can ask for a performance (and salary) review a few
months after joining.
Have a Splendid Day.
