8 Tips for Job Seekers Negotiating Their Starting Salary
It’s common for individuals today to find it difficult to request higher pay once their job hunt ends and they receive an offer. They don’t want to risk the opportunity now that they’ve made it this far, especially if the pay is fair. Understanding how job seekers negotiate will help you determine your financial needs while remaining self-confident and professional, whether you are interviewing for a work position or have recently gotten a job offer.
Negotiating your starting salary should not make you uncomfortable. You must assess how to negotiate salary when given a range. If you feel you lack the ability to discuss financial rewards, then our comprehensive salary negotiating guide will give you some of the most effective tips for successful pay negotiations.
How Job Seekers Negotiate Their Starting Salary?
Know the Company, Know the Industry
You should thoroughly investigate salary expectations in your field before applying for jobs in the relevant industry. Make sure you are aware of the duties, specifications, and expectations for the job role before determining how job seekers negotiate. Consider how location, job title, and education affect starting pay ranges.
If a job description includes an expected wage range, check the starting salaries of comparable roles offered by the company’s rivals. This might assist you in determining how your qualifications and the surrounding circumstances may impact your starting salary and your ability to negotiate a better salary than the company’s initial offer.
Highlight your Skills and Abilities
As you wonder how job seekers negotiate, remind yourself of your personal and professional qualities that can contribute to a company’s greater success. It’s key to remember your previous job responsibilities, the skills you have acquired, the level of education you have received, and other aspects of your personality, such as being hardworking, motivated, friendly, or collaborative.
You should always improve your employability by including such elements in your application materials and discussing them during a job interview. This reflects how you are the ideal candidate and what makes you unique.
Practice How Job Seekers Negotiate, With A Friend
Some may think this is excessive, but having a friend or mentor practice the conversation you’re likely to have with the hiring manager is a good idea. The ideal partner is someone from the business world. Somebody who can teach you how to build your confidence and answer unexpected questions. Running through your delivery several times can help you feel more confident in the salary negotiation.
Current Job Salary and Expectation
It’s advised to set a minimum salary expectation for potential employers. Disclosing your previous job salary is a useful negotiating tactic, especially if your previous employer pays more than the starting salary offered by the company you are currently considering. Furthermore, job hunting and interviewing are time-consuming activities that can consume many hours of your time. So, when you finally get a job offer, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and forget how job seekers negotiate.
Therefore, it is best to establish your minimum acceptable salary before accepting a job offer. This is your “walk away” number, the minimum salary you will accept if you accept the job. It is critical to your salary negotiation. With this figure in hand, you can confidently negotiate a starting salary, knowing that you will either exceed it and accept the job or walk away from the opportunity, satisfied that it was not good enough.
Evaluate the Perks and Benefits
Employee benefits and facilities are frequently negotiated as part of salary negotiations. Extra vacation days, flexible hours, or, especially today, a work-from-home schedule may be less expensive to the employer than a raise in salary. If you have a family, a long commute, or would have to relocate to work for a company, consider what is more important and what would make the job offer more appealing.
As you compare multiple offers from different companies, remember to compare health insurance coverage, old age benefits, retirement plans, and other benefits to make an informed decision. How job seekers negotiate also depends on your professional development opportunities with the new potential employer.
Give a Counter Offer
Even if you like the offer, you should always make a counteroffer. You won’t know whether there is room for negotiation unless you try. In the best-case scenario, you’ll discover that the company is willing to pay a little more than it originally offered. Worst case scenario, you discover they have already made their best offer. Both are excellent outcomes considering that you won’t have the margin to negotiate for another year or at least 6 to 8 months!
You should counter how job seekers negotiate between 10% and 20% more than the job offer’s base salary. If you need the job badly and don’t get the impression that the company is desperate to hire you, round up to 10%. If you have other options and believe the company needs you to do the job, offer a salary that is 20% higher than the job offers. To calculate your counteroffer and develop your case to support it, request a few days to think about the employment offer. Once you’ve chosen your counteroffer, send it by email if possible.
Get your Perks and Package in Writing
Once you and the recruiter settle on a remuneration plan, you must request formal approval. Along with the salary, it should also include any special agreements, like a signing bonus or allowance for moving costs, a job description, and a list of responsibilities for your new job. Ensure all relevant parties sign the contract. If not, request some sort of informal documentation. Some employers may automatically include this as part of an employment contract.
Never Let the Situation Escalate
A reasonable company won’t renege on an offer simply because you usually try to bargain how job seekers negotiate. Dragging or prolonging the salary discussion can irritate the hiring manager and damage the beginning of your relationship. After several negotiations, if the organization cannot satisfy your needs, politely resign and concentrate on alternatives that more closely match your desired income level.
Some Pro Tips on How Job Seekers Negotiate
1. Stay Positive
2. Discuss Other Existing Offers
3. Don’t Give up until your base salary is increased
4. Decide a salary range that works for you
5. Upsell yourself
6. Remain respectful
7. Ask open-ended questions to keep the conversation going and show your willingness to work together
8. Allow yourself some time as soon as you receive an offer. The interviewer may improve the offer in some way during the seconds of silence.
Hire the Team of Professionals at Arthur Lawrence
By now, you must be clear on how job seekers negotiate their starting salary. Another great way to smooth onboarding is getting in touch with Arthur Lawrence’s Talent division. Their team of professionals helps you land your dream job with the perfect arrangement and compensation. You get to decide when and how much you are paid.
Also Read: 10 Ways to Ensure Successful Screening Interviews