Need simple tips for negotiating a higher salary? We’ve got you covered!
Even after going through a rigorous interview process, becoming a finalist, and ultimately landing a new job, many of us still have a hard time getting up the gumption to ask for more than the first salary offer we are presented with.
The fact is, it can be really difficult for women to talk about money, let alone ask for more.
Here’s the thing: The hiring manager expects you to negotiate a higher salary. And don’t worry; most companies don’t typically rescind an offer if you do. Chances are they’ll come back with a counteroffer, or – in the best-case scenario – they could just agree to your request.
The key to a successful salary negotiation, career experts say, is knowing your worth, being clear about your needs, and practicing the negotiation portion of the conversation beforehand.
Ashley Morphew, a teammate experience manager for Atrium Health, says there are key steps you should take during the hiring process – before the salary negotiation ever begins – to ensure your employment needs, now and in the future, will be met. The North Carolina resident has successfully negotiated higher salaries for herself and has coached others on finding fulfilling jobs that align with their goals and values.
Consider these tips from Morphew and others for negotiating a higher salary after landing a new job:
1. Evaluate How You Make Big Decisions
When Morphew coaches a client, she asks them to think about how they make really important life choices – like how to decide if a job offer is the right fit. “I always talk to people about their decision model,” she says. To do that, consider your minimum needs, which might be making enough money to pay for college tuition for two kids or having enough to fund a move and make a downpayment on a house. While everyone’s model is different, she explains that you need to decide what you have before the first offer comes your way.
2. Write Down Your Must-Haves
That also means you should take pen to paper or pull out your laptop and figure out a dollar amount (plus the benefits and incentives such as bonuses) you need at this new job to make it worthwhile. Writing it down will make it easier to keep in mind if your initial offer falls short. “This job will be about 70% of your life,” Morphew says. “Remember, when you say yes to a job, you also say no to many other jobs. You don’t want to say no to your values and goals.”
3. Listen Carefully and Take Great Notes
From the first email or phone call you have with a recruiter, hiring manager, or future boss, write down as many details of what they say as possible. An off-handed comment, like offering a signing bonus to cover moving expenses, can come in handy when the initial offer doesn’t include paying for you to pack up and travel across the country.
And if your potential boss throws out a salary range, get it down on paper. If you are in a face-to-face interview and don’t have a notepad, sit in your car or on a bench outside after the meeting and write down as many specifics as you can remember from your conversation. These notes can be the basis for some leverage down the road.
4. Ask Good Questions
Just as important as listening carefully in job interviews, so is the ability to ask great questions when you have the chance. There are the basic inquiries about vacation time, stock options, and healthcare (which is why you should ask for a copy of the most recent benefits plan), but you also need to learn as much as possible about the office culture and work-life balance. So, if you are in the running for a remote or hybrid job, don’t be afraid to ask about how often remote employees are required to come into the office. You could also ask about any policies or processes that have been implemented to include remote workers in traditional in-office events.
Plus, you must be realistic and ensure this position can be a good fit for at least a few years. “You’ve got to ask yourself,” Morphew says, “Do I have any room in this title to get (raises) in my pay and not to get a promotion?’” Or, better yet, “Does the job title enable growth without having to get a new job?”
Another pro tip: Get as much information as possible from the recruiters so you don’t have to have all those conversations with the hiring manager.
5. Research the Starting Salaries
For state employees and those who work in government roles, it’s much easier to know where you stand within a specific pay range for a potential new job. Many times, compensation at all levels is a matter of public record. However, employees may have no idea where they fit in a pay scale at many private firms and non-profits.
During the interview process, ask the human resources representative what the pay range is for the position you applied for. There’s no guarantee they can share this salary information, but it never hurts to ask. After all, knowledge is power. And knowing where you fit into the pay range will help better inform how much you ask for.
6. Do Some Detective Work
Before going into a negotiation, ensure you have a good idea of how much other people in similar roles with similar years of experience earn in your market. You can do this by asking people outside your company about this. You can also do some good old-fashioned online sleuthing. Companies, including Glassdoor and Payscale, offer free salary surveys that can be used to help you determine the market rates for your position.
Fortunately, there are now ten states in the U.S. that have enacted – or are enacting – pay transparency laws, according to PayAnalytics. Here’s a state-by-state guide to what information employees and potential employees have the right to review.
7. Be Honest About Salary Expectations
These days, hiring managers often assume candidates are coming in with higher salary requirements than they actually need, so there’s more room to negotiate. “Go ahead and ask for 5% to 10% higher than you need and see what happens,” Morphew says.
8. Role Play With a Friend
The ability to talk about your strengths and contributions to a team doesn’t always come naturally. And it can be challenging for some people to openly express why they deserve more compensation. A great way to get more comfortable in this area and sharpen your negotiation skills is to practice.
Have a trusted friend or family member pretend to be the hiring manager while you briefly lay out your case for why your experience, skills, and qualifications place you at the top end of the pay scale. During this role-playing, it’s OK to use notes. The important thing is to say the words out loud and get more comfortable talking about your strengths and why you should get a salary increase.
“In most fields, executives are looking for thinkers, problem solvers, people with really strong soft skills,” Morphew says. “Those are the things that are going to last longer than your skills in Canva.”
9. Don’t Accept the First Salary Offer
When you eventually receive a call from the hiring manager offering you the job, it may be hard to contain your enthusiasm. Sometimes, the official offer will be in writing and sent via email. Other times, the HR rep will extend the offer over the phone in hopes of getting a quick response.
Let’s say the offer isn’t terrible, but it’s not exactly what you were hoping for, either. If you are on the phone, this is a good time to take a deep breath and dig deep for the confidence you felt before the offer was extended. Remember to show appreciation and tell the person how excited you are about this company and opportunity and how much passion you have for the position – if that’s true – before reminding them of the reasons you are their top candidate.
“We know that jobs are at their core a transaction for service,” Morphew says. “Your company is paying you for a service. It’s important to remember that, in the beginning, it’s the company that needs you more than you need the company. Employers need talent.”
10. Ask for the Total Compensation Package
If the salary could be better, you need to ask about the total value of the offer, which is not the same as salary, notes Morphew: “Do they have a holistic and fair benefits package? Is there parental leave or pet insurance?” What about more flexible hours or extra vacation days? Determine what else adds value to your salary or what could be eating away from it.
This is also when it’s imperative to be specific. Ask for the total compensation and benefits package, Morphew says. “It’s called total rewards in the HR world,” and you have to ask for it. When you receive that information, which could take a few days or a few minutes, carefully review what’s there and what’s not there to aid in your negotiation.
For example, new employees may have to wait three months before being eligible for health insurance. If insurance coverage is vital for you, as it is for so many, that three months could take several thousand dollars from the salary you were offered to pay for a plan not subsidized by the employer.
11. Have a Plan B
Negotiating higher pay can be a process that’s not accomplished in one tidy conversation. If you can’t significantly move the needle on the base salary, consider other forms of compensation. You can ask for more time off or more flexibility in your work schedule, such as working half a day on Fridays or working from home one day a week – or some other perk that could make you feel better about not earning more for the foreseeable future. The person with the most options to offer may not come out of the negotiation with everything they wanted, but they have the potential to earn more perks than they came in with.
The Bottom Line When Negotiating a Higher Salary
When it comes to negotiating a higher salary, you have to calmly and confidently say what you want. “Be clear about what you are looking for,” Morphew says. “Remember, the recruiter has no feelings about this. They do this every day. It’s the recruiter’s job to get the best talent for the lowest price.”
It’s also helpful to remind yourself that all they can say is no. Research shows that you have a good chance of getting at least more than the initial offer if you ask for it. “I’ve never heard of a company saying they are rescinding the offer if you ask for 3% more,” Morphew says.
While it may be scary to negotiate a higher salary, know it’s not impossible. The more research you do and the more you prepare, the more confident you can be when you begin to have those crucial conversations to earn what you deserve.