Finding a new job involves submitting resumes, interviewing, and negotiating your salary. While much job-seeking advice concentrates on resumes and interviews, few career consultants discuss the salary negotiation process.

Contents

1. How to Negotiate Salary
2. Start Gathering Salary Intel During Your Interview
3. Use the Salary Negotiation Calculator to Reach Your Earnings Objective
4. Get Salary Negotiation Support from YES
   
   
   
   

How to Negotiate Salary

Understanding how to negotiate salary is vital to ensuring you’re paid adequately. Employees often have no idea what they’re worth and how they add value to their organization. As a result, they may accept whatever salary the employer offers without realizing they could have asked for much more.

YES prepared our salary negotiation calculator to help applicants understand the salary negotiations process and what to ask for so you end up with the paycheck you deserve. Using the advice given, you can prepare yourself in advance for salary discussions, much like you do a job interview.

Before using the calculator, learn a few tips to ensure you have all the necessary information to negotiate your salary.

Start Gathering Salary Intel During Your Interview

During a job interview, you and the hiring manager get to know one another. You share your work experience and career motivations, and they may reveal what they’re looking for in their new hire. If you ask, they’ll share their hopes about what the new person will accomplish to make their work lives better and meet their organization’s goals.

You may not realize this, but salary negotiations are already starting the moment you pick up the phone with an HR screener or meet with the hiring manager. Even if they don’t directly ask you about your salary expectations (and you shouldn’t bring them up), they’re assessing the value you bring to the organization.

You may also learn about expectations beyond a standard 40-hour workweek. For example, your interviewer may inform you that the job requires overtime during specific periods of the month or year. That’s standard for accounting roles, where organizations expect their teams to close the books on short deadlines. Similarly, journalists often need to meet tight turn-around deadlines for breaking news.

If a job post or hiring manager indicates that you’ll need to work past the typical 40-hour workweek or work longer than an eight-hour workday, keep that information in your mind. You’ll want to ensure that you get a salary that incorporates the additional time you spend on the job.

If you notice a hiring manager bringing up items during your interview that you’d typically discuss during the salary negotiation process, steer the conversation back to the topic of hiring you. For instance, if they tell you the position isn’t eligible for stock compensation, tell them that’s fine. Continue that you’re learning about the role and want to fully understand the responsibilities and your goals. Then ask a related question.

Just as hiring managers may test your boundaries during the interview process, you can ask a few questions that help you determine the value they anticipate you will bring to the organization. Understanding your monetary impact on their company enables you to evaluate the salary you should ask for.

For example, assume that you’re applying for a position as a sales director. The organization will expect you to close major deals with other businesses, resulting in an additional $30M in yearly revenue. For many companies, that is a very healthy growth in their revenue, and you should expect to receive adequate compensation for your contributions. If you have lots of sales experience in the industry, asking for $200K for your base, as well as bonuses and of course commission, is acceptable.

You can learn your worth by strategically asking the right questions. Inquiring how your role fits into the bigger picture of the company can set you in the right direction. Also, ask about the financial impact on the organization if they select the wrong person for the role. These impacts are not limited to sales. As a product manager or client success executive, your actions can have a direct impact on the future growth or failure of the company.

During your interview, ask for the hiring manager’s contact information. Tell them you’d like it so you can reach out if you have any further questions about the role. Keep it in case you receive an offer for the position. If you don’t agree with the salary or benefits in your offer, the hiring manager is the one who is better positioned to help you negotiate a better compensation plan. Also, you’ll need their email to send a thank-you note to them directly.

Remember that HR professionals don’t usually have the authority to negotiate salaries. While they’ll likely be your point of contact during the hiring process, they can’t approve higher wages, since they don’t have control of every department’s budget.

Using the Salary Negotiation Calculator to Reach Your Earnings Objective

YES created a salary negotiation calculator to help you understand what to ask for when offered a job. YES recommends using the calculator combined with a negotiation tactic known as the Ackerman technique. Keep in mind that the Ackerman technique is designed for salary discussions in the private sector. Government positions typically have well-defined grades and bands, and in order to aim for a better starting point, you would usually need to integrate this technique into written justifications.

As we stated earlier, starting the negotiation process directly with the hiring manager works better than working through the HR Department. The hiring manager knows who you are and understands your capabilities. They have the most to lose if they can’t get you on board. Thus, they’re more likely to fight for you and obtain the salary you’re asking for.

Below is our salary negotiation calculator. You’ll see that it requires just one input: your desired salary. If you like, you can also adjust the percent above desired, increasing or lowering your initial salary request amount and any concessions you make.

Start by making your initial request, which should be well above your desired salary. Starting high provides you with room for negotiations. You’ll need to explain why you’re asking for that amount—your reasons should refer back to the discussions about your value during the interview. For instance, if the company wants you to increase customer satisfaction levels from 60% to 80%, use that fact in your salary request.

When you start negotiations high, expect the hiring manager to push back. That’s completely okay—you should have plenty of negotiating room if you ask for the right amount. You’ll want to go in for a second round if the amount they offer is still well below your expectations.

The second amount you provide should shave a significant amount off your initial request. For example, if you started the negotiations with a $202,500 salary request, but your desired salary is $150,000, you could decrease your ask to $180,000—15% less than the initial asking amount. That’s a significant dollar saving, and the hiring manager will feel good that they’ve convinced you to come down by so much.

YES includes three other negotiation points besides the initial salary request. Use these as you bargain for your targeted salary. You’ll notice that each concession point reduces the percentage you give up during negotiations. For instance, if your second offer is rejected, you’ll reduce the amount you ask for by 10% instead of another 15%. The increments become tighter as you get closer to the amount you want. This tightening of increments is sending a signal that you are being squeezed and pushed into a corner.

When you lower your salary during negotiations, asking for something else in return is essential. That helps you maintain your credibility and may help you earn a quicker raise in the future. For instance, if the employer denies your first offer, you could reduce your salary expectations by 15% but ask for a salary appraisal after your first ninety days on the job.

Other benefits that might appeal to you during the negotiation process include extra vacation days, a stipend for further education, or working from home several days per week. Consider the most important factors to you and include them in your negotiations.

Every time you agree to a lesser amount, indicating that you’re giving the hiring manager more leeway than you’d like is crucial. You might state that a lower salary will impact your living standards or that you have other opportunities offering you more money. Doing so tells the employer they can push you only so far before you turn down the job.

Most hiring managers won’t want to cross that line, especially if they know you’re an excellent hire. Say no if they push you further than your non-negotiable salary limit. Taking a job that doesn’t pay you what you deserve is not worth it.

There are a few other things to consider during the salary negotiation process. First, salary isn’t everything. Some people are more interested in the offer’s benefits than what they earn. You may find that the benefits make up for a lower salary than you’d like.

For instance, if an employer offers to cover your student loan payments and you have a sizable student loan debt, that could be advantageous to you. You may recoup part of the lower salary simply by handing them your student loan obligations.

Get Salary Negotiation Support from YES

As you prepare to negotiate your salary with a prospective employer, you may be uncomfortable, especially if you’ve never negotiated salary before. Remember your value and ask for the amount you believe you deserve. Asking during interviews how your new role will impact the company’s bottom line is smart, as you can use that information during the salary negotiation process.

YES offers Career Strategy Sessions, which you can use to cover how to negotiate salary. Contact us today to book a consultation about working with us.