4 tips for negotiating a salary (including sample scripts) Originally Posted in Firsthand.
Negotiating your salary can be one of the most stressful parts of the job search process – but it does not have to be. If you are well prepared to negotiate, you will free yourself from almost all of your stress in negotiating. So here are four essential tips for getting the most out of your desired salary and minimizing your stress in the process.
Know what you want before you negotiate
The most important aspect of your preparation is knowing what you want before you negotiate. If you determine exactly what you want before you negotiate, you will never get caught. First, you want to think about base salary. When determining what you ideally want in a base salary, you want to ask yourself the following questions:
- What is my ideal number?
- What is the lowest number I am willing to accept?
- What number am I willing to stay away from (because it’s so low)?
It is also very important, in addition to the base salary, to consider things like: benefits, stock options, vacation time, remote work days and signing bonuses. Would you be willing to receive less than the ideal wage if other benefits were increased? Also, find out when your salary check will be conducted. six months? one year? It will also change your decision to accept or stay away from certain numbers.
It is very important to think about all the possible scenarios, and determine what you want and are willing to accept. Making decisions about what you want proactively will prevent you from being tempted to accept a less-than-ideal offer, and will make you well-prepared to negotiate, no matter what is on the table.
2. Do not commit immediately – no matter what offer you receive
When you receive an offer or a counter-offer, your first step is to get excited but not commit immediately. An immediate commitment can be a mistake – even if your ideal number stands or it’s the best offer the employer can give. The reason is that you always want to thoroughly check your employment contract before signing and before committing to the offer.
However, while you do not want to commit, you do want to sound excited. So, responding with something like this (in your own words) is ideal: “Thank you very much. I am very excited to work with you and get started. I intend to take the time to review the offer and I will get back to you by the end of the day tomorrow. “
Please note that it is generally not advisable to sit on an offer for more than 24 hours.
See yourself as a candidate with a lot of value to offer (and it’s true!)
It is important to negotiate with the right mindset. Your mindset at the entrance to your negotiations will play a huge part in dictating the outcome you get. So, be sure to see yourself as a High value candidate, And remember that you are the candidate they chose. It was not luck that you chose. You were the most suitable candidate. You’re the one they want.
So, for example, a mentality like the following will put you in the right frame of mind to negotiate: I know the value I have to offer justifies a wage above average. I have proved this clearly. They chose me from the other options they had, so it already put me about perceived higher. We both want to make a deal that we are happy with here. This is a collaboration where we both reach an agreement.
The approach you choose to take here will help you show up to negotiate in a calm, safe, solution-focused way, which will give you the best chance of getting what you want – and you deserve.
4. Be prepared to hear “no” – and argue confidently
Be prepared for managers and recruiters to say “no”, because unfortunately this is usually the default response (the first move) in any negotiation. So, for example, if you hear “we just do not have it in the budget right now,” do not close immediately and get lower than you think you deserve. This is just the beginning of the negotiations. Instead, respond calmly by saying something like, “I totally understand …”, then continue to present your case with confidence. It is important to always start your response with empathy and agreement.
As for how you claim if your ideal number was not suggested in the first place, here are some scripts for what you can say (again, you definitely want to phrase all of these in your own words):
- “I totally understand where you’re coming from. I can definitely understand that. However, I believe there’s a bit of a gap here, and I need to consider the fair market value for this role and the specific results I’ll bring to the table. I’ve seen what the market looks like for similar roles now. “And it’s more in the $ AZ range. Can we find something closer to that?”
- “I understand that and I understand. For my part, I think I have proven that what I bring to the job is above and beyond the ‘standard candidate’. For example, we talked [A, B and C]. So I want to talk about a variety of compensation that matches these differences. “
- “I understand. I have been in your position before and I understand that you have a budget to work within. I agree that for an average candidate a budget is a necessary place to start. The thing is I know I will affect the average in this position. That my salary will reflect that. “
Do not forget that when you already have a job offer on the table, you have a lot of leverage. Recruitment managers have invested a lot of time and resources in your recruitment. They will not want to miss you now.
Natalie Fisher is best known for helping professionals take on their ideal roles and achieve an explosive salary increase (even with little experience). If you want to dive deep into the topic of your career mindset and know exactly how to get your dream job offer, listen to its coach. Get a 6-digit job you like Podcast.
