How to Negotiate a Job Offer
Negotiating a job offer might seem a bit out of your league if you don’t have the skills but it’s definitely necessary and worth learning. But negotiation doesn’t start when you get the job offer, it starts much earlier, when you first bring up the salary topic during the interview process.
Here are 4 tips to help you get ready for that moment:
1- You’ve got to have a salary target in mind when you start a job search. That means you’ve got to know what you’re worth on the talent market, not in a general way but specifically based on your background and your geography. Use Payscale, Salary and Glassdoor to gauge your going rate on the talent market. Tell the employer what you think your strengths and talents are worth. If you don’t, he or she is going to offer you something on the low end of the organization’s scale.
2- Don’t mention your target salary before you go through your first interview. It doesn’t sound professional to bring up money matters if you aren’t interested in the job or if the hiring manager isn’t interested in you.
3- Wait for the second interview to share your target salary range. This could be done over when you’re called or invited for a second interview. Why would you go back for a second interview if the company isn’t able or willing to pay you what you need? A proper way to ask could be something like: “Thanks for calling. I need to check my schedule but before that, is this a good time to ask about the compensation range for this position?
4- Don’t share information about what you used to get as salary in your previous job even if the recruiter asks. Your finances are your personal business. Furthermore, your negotiating leverage goes down the tubes the instant you blurt out the details of your most recent salary payment. When asked how much money you used to make; only share with your potential employer/recruiter that you’re currently focusing on jobs in the $80-100K range.