They were moving closer on price.
Congratulations on bagging that interview call, breezing through the job interview with elan, and finally getting that much coveted job offer. The only thing remaining is the stage of salary negotiation. This is the penultimate and perhaps the most important stage. Salary negotiation is important not just for monetary reasons, but very intricately tied up with the salary issue, is your self worth. According to a survey by Salary.com only a mere 37% of the job applicants bargain for salary.
Most of the candidates who are fresh graduates in their first job, are usually nervous, elated and enthusiastic for bagging their first job, and often either neglect or are hesitant to bargain their compensation. Even seasoned professionals sometimes falter and hesitate to negotiate their salary. Those of you who experience certain inhibitions, when negotiating your salary/compensation, keep this in mind : If you hesitate to negotiate your salary, you will in due course of time, hesitate to ask for a raise.
Bargaining for the salary, you think you deserve will show two things to your prospective employer – you are confident and articulate. you have formidable negotiation skills. Both these skills are heavily prized by employers. And as mentioned before, not bargaining for a salary shows that you have low self esteem/have confidence issues. Confident and dynamic candidates, are not arrogant, but they know the value/worth of the qualifications, accomplishments and experience and therefore do not hesitate to quote the salary they think they deserve. So without any further ado, we will discuss some basic do’s and dont’s when you are negotiating your salary, and also share a few tips on how you can obtain the salary you deserve :
Do A Thorough Research About The Industry : This one is a no brainer. Before applying to a particular position do a research not only on what the job position entails, ( i.e the responsibilities, the industry etc) but also the salary as per industry standards. Visit websites such as Salary.com and Glassdoor to review about the salary/ compensation a fresher or an experienced professional can aspire to get. Don’t hesitate to ask your prospective employer questions like this : What salary do an individual with my qualification/work experience expect to get? Moreover if possible contact the recruiters. They will be able to give you a more unbiased answer about what salary you can expect based on your profile.
Dont Quote an Actual Figure : Yes! Dont reveal an actual number. Leave the employer to quote a figure. You can however state your expertise and knowledge and quote a tentative salary near to what you are expecting. If you quote an actual figure you will lose bargaining power, and will have to either accept rejection and refusal from prospective employer or accept a lower quote. Suggest the type of salary you are expecting, and leave them to come out with a figure.
Ask Whether You will get the Offer in Writing : Yes it will come across as paranoid . But better be safe than sorry. Many companies are not that transparent and what you will get may be very different to what you were promised.
Ask whether the salary is base or not ? You will be seen as more informed, alert and enthusiastic, and can get some invaluable information regarding other benefits such as bonus and stock options.
Show What You can Do : Instead of haggling with compensation rates, ( actually according to industry experts you should save the compensation question for the very last, when your job offer is more or less confirmed. Show your competence in your field, projects you have lead, targets you have achieved , leadership acumen you have displayed, awards you have got etc. Then you will be in a position to request a consummate salary.
Ask For More Than What You Want : It’s simple psychology. Say you are gunning for a salary of 30K. Suggest a compensation of at least 40K. The employer will of course refute your proposal and you will have to settle for a considerably lesser amount. But hey this amount will be closer to what you originally had in mind!
