Congratulations! You have received your job offer, but you’re a little disheartened, as you don’t feel the salary is a true reflection of your value to the business. It’s not unusual for salaries to be negotiated. That being said, I wouldn’t blame you if you hesitated to negotiate, in fear of jeopardising your offer. Interestingly, 49% Of Job Candidates Never Negotiate An Initial Employment Offer, don’t be afraid if you’re part of the 51% that wants to discuss an improved salary. Many employers are expecting an offer to be accepted based on a suitable salary, according to Nicolas Roldan (Roldan, 2014), as long as you handle the situation in an appropriate manner you shouldn’t lose what’s already on the table!
#1 Research, Research, Research
You need to adopt a firm but friendly approach to help you and your employer settle on a salary package that satisfies both of you. Before you attempt to negotiate an increase in your offer, it’s worth Googling your role to check what the average salary is, read here for the average secretarial salaries in 2017. You need to consider your industry experience, any relevant qualifications and job-related accomplishments to help you come up with a fair counter-offer. We’re always dreaming of top whack salaries but you need to be realistic as well as optimistic about your offer.
#2 Allow yourself bargaining room
According to Forbes, “when we negotiate, we know what our key issues are, and we sequence them. An effective way to negotiate is to ask for a few job perks that you can do without” You can try and negotiate other parts of your package, there may be a signing bonus or car allocation you may receive that could be an alternative. I’m sure companies would be much more flexible giving you a week off oppose to extra thousand pounds or so.
#3 Be Professional
During the negotiations, it’s important to discuss your salary needs with professional enthusiasm. Even if you are unhappy about the offer, it’s vital that you don’t criticise the original offer and demand something bigger, avoid manipulating the situation. The desired outcome is to convey confidence and seek a job package that demonstrates a fair reflection on your value to the business. Keep a positive mindset, don’t allow the process to become confrontational and think about it this way, if the business wasn’t interested in you they wouldn’t have offered you a job. But don’t take it for granted!
#4 Remember these three key points:
- Don’t begin negotiations until the company has 100% given you a formal job offer.
- But at the same time don’t negotiate a higher salary unless you’re 110% committed to the role.
- Don’t bring up other requests or demands that might negatively affect your standing as a new employee.
#5 No matter what, be thankful.
Whether your salary negotiation is successful or not, it’s important to remember your professional etiquette. At the end of the salary discussion, regardless as to what the result is, be professional and thank the hiring manager for taking the time to consider your negotiation.
#Be Respectful & move on.
If the hiring manager puts the nail in the coffin and drops the “sorry this is our final message” line, stay collected and reply with something simple such as “Thank you, I really appreciate your help” You will likely feel nervous in delivering this message but stay poised and upbeat. Don’t worry that the offer will be rescinded simply because you’re negotiating. If the hiring manager does decline your request, respect their decision and look forward to the future of your new job!
Good luck!
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