I have read many interview books most important of which was ‘Job Search Guidebook’ by Alison Doyle, which I believe is a must read for every professional who wants to master the art of interviewing but the most intelligent book I read on salary negotiations was ‘Get more money on your next job’ by Lee Miller which beautifully takes you through the entire process of negotiation. It teaches you to ascertaining your true worth, equips you with the tools to understand the mind of your recruiter and trains you to get what you are worth.
Yes, what you are worth because, you will perform your best only if your material and emotional desires are met and salary is the right salary is the first, foremost and biggest material desire any professional work for. I mean who can perform when every time his head carries,”Why am I underpaid?“. But how to get the best out of the negotiation? What to say and what not to say? What should I know before entering into a negotiation phase? All these questions will be answered in a while but before that I just want to give one advice. Don’t ever drop the towel even before trying. Negotiation is nothing but an art of speaking which gets you the best you deserve so if 5 minutes of additional discussion gets you extra 10-15%, I say, why not?
First understand “5 things that you should never do during negotiation”:
10 Best tips for the successful salary negotiation
1. Research. Research through various salary survey sites and people you know in your field to understand what a person with your kind of experience in your industry should be worth. Also research what is the percentage of salary hike given under current economic conditions in your sector. If you are asking for a 25% raise in IT sector, whereas the current situation allows only 15% raise, you would lose certainly as it is an unrealistic demand.
2. Support your recruiter. Recruiter is the person who is mediating between you and the signing authority. That means that he has to sell your candidature to the hiring head or who ever the authority so he would need strong justifications as to why a particular salary must be offered to a candidate. So never enter the negotiation room with a mindset that recruiter is against you. Give him what he would need to win your case.
3. Be flexible.One thing is for sure, that whatever amount you would be carrying in your head, won’t be give. You would certainly have to compromise but the trick is to know how much you are ready to compromise. Once you know that you are ready to negotiate.
4. Prove why you deserve the best. Let your experience, skills and number speak for you. Give the facts. Tell your recruiter what you achieved in your last job and what you expect to achieve in the new job. Show him the ROI on your hiring.
5. Show your excitement about joining the company. Let your recruiter know that you are extremely excited about the position and you can’t wait bringing so many new ideas on board for company’s benefit and the only thing in your way is compensation. Recruiter would do his best to satisfy you in his capacity.
6. Understand the complete package structure first.Sometimes there are elements in the package structure which look attractive like stock options but it’s extremely important to quantify them or in simple words evaluate the monetary value and understand the implication on overall cash income or their future investment value. There are some components which company is willing to give easily and some are difficult to get. Identify them. If there is an annual performance bonus component up to 15%, try to get the exact percentage given in last 3 years.
7. Always negotiate on other perks. Lets say you are offered $50000 with 10 vacation days and $10000 as joining bonus. The first counter offer you make should be $55000 with $15000 as joining bonus with 5 extra vacation days. In most cases, the company will offer $52000 with $15000 as joining bonus without extra vacation days. Grab it and run.
8. If the offer does not come up to your expectations, negotiate on a mid term salary raise and not as per yearly raise cycle. Definitely, there will be certain achievement or review based on some performance parameters, accept it, if its reasonable and get it in writing.
9. Always, during the entire conversation use the words like ‘we’ or ‘us’. It shows to the recruiter that you have already made yourself a part of the company and you are trying to work it hard along with the recruiter so it’s in everyone’s best interest. We always like to be good and fair for our own people so why won’t recruiter be good to you, if thinks you are already a part of them. Asking him, “what he would do, if he were in your shoes?” would really turn the table.
10. Take your time to decide. Request the recruiter for some time to think it over and decide. Recruiter would always want you to decline rather than take more time. If he asks ‘why?’, you can say ‘I can’t wait to join but I am a bit disappointed with the salary offered because……………” tell the justifiable reasons and then ask for the best they can do. I assure you that the recruiter would come back with the best they can for that position.
Remember one important point, assuming that you are evaluating two offers from two companies, one of which has employee friendly policies or offers higher growth potential in long term and the other one is offering more money, don’t run after the extra money as that’s a trap to keep you away from mental peace. Without mentioning a name, I can remember several examples, when the candidate left a bigger company just for a few thousands extra and repented later. You can make that extra amount by your performance but you won’t be able to bring the career growth and peace that the other company was offering and you declined. So choose wisely.
Good Luck
From India, New Delhi
8Yes, what you are worth because, you will perform your best only if your material and emotional desires are met and salary is the right salary is the first, foremost and biggest material desire any professional work for. I mean who can perform when every time his head carries,”Why am I underpaid?“. But how to get the best out of the negotiation? What to say and what not to say? What should I know before entering into a negotiation phase? All these questions will be answered in a while but before that I just want to give one advice. Don’t ever drop the towel even before trying. Negotiation is nothing but an art of speaking which gets you the best you deserve so if 5 minutes of additional discussion gets you extra 10-15%, I say, why not?
First understand “5 things that you should never do during negotiation”:
- Don’t compare your salary with the people you know in other fields as every field, industry and position offers a different range of salary.
- Don’t be the first one to talk about the salary. Let the recruiter make the offer first.
- Never quote an expected salary range during interview because you may be under quoting or over quoting both of which can go negative for you.
- Don’t beg by telling how much your financial requirements are or have increased to the recruiter.
- Never lie during negotiation as you would lose your creditworthiness.
10 Best tips for the successful salary negotiation
1. Research. Research through various salary survey sites and people you know in your field to understand what a person with your kind of experience in your industry should be worth. Also research what is the percentage of salary hike given under current economic conditions in your sector. If you are asking for a 25% raise in IT sector, whereas the current situation allows only 15% raise, you would lose certainly as it is an unrealistic demand.
2. Support your recruiter. Recruiter is the person who is mediating between you and the signing authority. That means that he has to sell your candidature to the hiring head or who ever the authority so he would need strong justifications as to why a particular salary must be offered to a candidate. So never enter the negotiation room with a mindset that recruiter is against you. Give him what he would need to win your case.
3. Be flexible.One thing is for sure, that whatever amount you would be carrying in your head, won’t be give. You would certainly have to compromise but the trick is to know how much you are ready to compromise. Once you know that you are ready to negotiate.
4. Prove why you deserve the best. Let your experience, skills and number speak for you. Give the facts. Tell your recruiter what you achieved in your last job and what you expect to achieve in the new job. Show him the ROI on your hiring.
5. Show your excitement about joining the company. Let your recruiter know that you are extremely excited about the position and you can’t wait bringing so many new ideas on board for company’s benefit and the only thing in your way is compensation. Recruiter would do his best to satisfy you in his capacity.
6. Understand the complete package structure first.Sometimes there are elements in the package structure which look attractive like stock options but it’s extremely important to quantify them or in simple words evaluate the monetary value and understand the implication on overall cash income or their future investment value. There are some components which company is willing to give easily and some are difficult to get. Identify them. If there is an annual performance bonus component up to 15%, try to get the exact percentage given in last 3 years.
7. Always negotiate on other perks. Lets say you are offered $50000 with 10 vacation days and $10000 as joining bonus. The first counter offer you make should be $55000 with $15000 as joining bonus with 5 extra vacation days. In most cases, the company will offer $52000 with $15000 as joining bonus without extra vacation days. Grab it and run.
8. If the offer does not come up to your expectations, negotiate on a mid term salary raise and not as per yearly raise cycle. Definitely, there will be certain achievement or review based on some performance parameters, accept it, if its reasonable and get it in writing.
9. Always, during the entire conversation use the words like ‘we’ or ‘us’. It shows to the recruiter that you have already made yourself a part of the company and you are trying to work it hard along with the recruiter so it’s in everyone’s best interest. We always like to be good and fair for our own people so why won’t recruiter be good to you, if thinks you are already a part of them. Asking him, “what he would do, if he were in your shoes?” would really turn the table.
10. Take your time to decide. Request the recruiter for some time to think it over and decide. Recruiter would always want you to decline rather than take more time. If he asks ‘why?’, you can say ‘I can’t wait to join but I am a bit disappointed with the salary offered because……………” tell the justifiable reasons and then ask for the best they can do. I assure you that the recruiter would come back with the best they can for that position.
Remember one important point, assuming that you are evaluating two offers from two companies, one of which has employee friendly policies or offers higher growth potential in long term and the other one is offering more money, don’t run after the extra money as that’s a trap to keep you away from mental peace. Without mentioning a name, I can remember several examples, when the candidate left a bigger company just for a few thousands extra and repented later. You can make that extra amount by your performance but you won’t be able to bring the career growth and peace that the other company was offering and you declined. So choose wisely.
Good Luck
From India, New Delhi
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