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Salary Negotiation
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Congratulations!
You made it to an offer and all of the hard work, time, energy and stress are about to be concluded with the results you worked to achieve. Good work! So if you have decided to accept the job, it is time to negotiate terms of employment.
Negotiation is about reaching a fair and equitable agreement that meets your needs and expectations within the guidelines of the company. It is also a discovery process to find the boundaries of the guidelines and reach agreement on terms that meet your goals. The results should represent a Win/Win for both parties. So what’s negotiable?
What to do?
Once an offer has been extended, or you have been advised that an offer is planned, tell the hiring manager how pleased you are and how much you look forward to working together. Ask for time, perhaps a day or more to consider the intent or the actual offer, and develop a plan for discussion. Areas for negotiation include:
Salary
If you have already provided your compensation to the company, then the central issue is an appropriate base salary consistent with pay practices of the company. If you have not provided base salary information, then you may have more flexibility. But pay practices of the company will generally guide the decision-making process, which is a combination of:
External Equity:
- Salary grade and pay range structures
- Pay practices in industry
Internal Equity:
- Compensation policies
- Base pay of other company staff in comparable or equal roles
One additional factor that may weigh into the company’s considerations is the compensation of the best staff person in a group. As a general rule, a company offer will not exceed the pay of the top performer.
The following approach to base salary should allow you to be prepared to review the issues:
- Research compensation practices for your position, industry, location and company size range, available from multiple sources on the Internet.
- Prepare a summary of the findings and decide upon your strategy.
- Decide upon a base salary goal or range that is acceptable in relation to former compensation, personal budget, and financial goals.
Other Compensation
Flexible schedule |
Company car, perks |
Holidays |
Telecommute time |
Vacation time |
Training, Certifications |
Signing bonus |
Benefits options |
Memberships |
Pension plans |
Stock options |
Relocation expenses |
Decide what matters, set your priorities and develop a plan to cover those items above, in the order of what’s most important.
Presentation
The method for introducing two or three negotiable topics and summarizing your thoughts is:
- Select the order of topics you wish to discuss, beginning with one or two issues you believe will be more flexible issues for review.
- Present an issue and the reason(s) why it is an issue
- Ask for what you want, which could be either a specific or a general goal
- Ask for their comments
- Reach agreement on the topic or options for agreement, or not
As an example, consider the following:
- "With my previous employer, I had three weeks vacation and would like to keep that eligible time."
- Is that a possibility?"
- "Our normal policy is two weeks for the first two years, but we have made exceptions for people like yourself who have had longer term service with a former company."
At all stages, present your interests and demonstrate your flexibility. Keep in mind that the employer wants you on board with a sense that you have been listened to and treated fairly.
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