By George Wentworth
Negotiating your salary is something that makes most of us uncomfortable. However, it is something worth overcoming, as it will affect your rate of pay at that job as well as for your future prospects. This is true for any job market, and whether you are negotiating a rate for a new position or for the one you already have. Continue reading to learn how to negotiate your salary.
Whether you are contemplating a new job offer or trying to get a raise at your current position, you will need to consider the going rate for your job level in your industry and in your area. Some positions, industries, and regions have widely massive pay ranges. Researching this will give you your first general idea of what to expect. However, you need to determine specifically what your skills should command and be able to back it up for your salary discussion.
Now, the negotiation doesn’t start until you either have a job offer or it’s been sufficient time at your current job where a raise could be warranted. For a new job, the starting point is once you’ve received the initial offer. For your current one, the starting point is your current salary.
Starting Salary:
Understanding Price vs Value
It’s important to note that your price and your value are not the same thing. Your value is what you bring to the table as an individual and as part of a team. Your price, also known as rate, however, is the amount of financial compensation you require in order to perform your work duties to the best of your abilities.
Before deciding on a number for yourself, it’s prudent to research the current job market to evaluate what the rate range for someone with your expertise, skills, and job description would be able to comfortably expect from a prospective employer about the same size as your current one. This is a good way to know if your personal price is fair and realistic with respect to the market. This will help you to establish what your “number” should be when going into negotiation.
Raise: Focus on Your Value
The first thing to keep in mind when negotiating a raise is to understand exactly the value you bring to the company. Unlike for a starting salary, here, you can break down what you actually do into deliverables. Also, don’t compare yourself to others. Your raise should be based on what you bring to the table, and not what John from Finance makes (unless of course you work in Finance with the same job description and position level as John).
Also, consider why you are asking for the raise. If what you were hired to do and what you actually do are vastly different things, then frame it as a salary adjustment rather than as a raise. A raise is something you ask for to compensate you for the value that the company knows you bring to it. A salary adjustment happens if the job you are doing is at a higher level than what you were hired to perform. That can happen if a new project makes use of skills you had but weren’t using, or if there have been personnel changes in your department where you now have to wear more hats in your day-to-day work.
Setting a Price Range
I always recommend that people set a price range, starting with the minimum amount that would be considered as fair compensation up to the highest amount the company could feasibly match. Focusing on a specific number can leave you with fewer options and hurt your morale moving forward. The range approach leaves room for two-way negotiation.
Timing is Crucial in a Negotiation
Now that you understand the value you bring and have determined your price range, it is time to begin the conversation with your manager or hiring agent. And yes, there is a strategy behind that meeting as well.
If you are negotiating a raise and your company offers a yearly performance review, the best time to have your conversation is after your evaluation meeting. If your current position does not offer one-on-one evaluation meetings, you can ask to schedule a meeting with your manager to discuss your future at the company.
If you are negotiating a new job salary offer, ask to call or meet with the hiring manager and itemize how you will bring your value to the position, how your addition to the team will benefit the company, and how this should be reflected on a higher pay than their initial offer.
Tailor Your Message to Your Audience
It is crucial to leverage what you know about the manager during the meeting to optimize the impact of your delivery. Think about the manager’s nonverbal cues, so that you can adjust the conversation tone in real time. You can also use their behavioral preferences (time of day, day of week, place of meeting) to your advantage, as well as play to their emotional side (ego, self awareness of their own strengths, opportunities) to make sure they will be as receptive as possible. And finally, the communication style should match their language, in order to captivate their attention. For example, if they are direct, spirited and systematic, that’s how your delivery should also be framed. The advantage here is you have an audience of one, so you can adapt your message to that person.
Market Yourself
Lastly, remember that we are all in sales, and are all in business for ourselves, as a one person enterprise, regardless of what you do or what industry you work in. So be prepared to list your accomplishments and promote your value as if you were your own marketing team.
Your conversation framework should first consist of acknowledgements, factual and emotional, including the opportunities that either have or will be provided to you by the company. Make it personal and be sincere; the compensation you are asking for is more than just money, it is what you need to get to feel valued and satisfied in your position with the company. Don’t be shy about listing all of your skills, how you’ve leveraged them in your current and past positions and have the metrics to back it up.
Remember that for a manager, the value of hiring and retaining a competent employee far outweighs the financial cost of a reasonably higher salary.
Good luck!