Negotiating Salary
KNOW YOUR COMPENSATION EXPECTATION before you interview. Your salary expectation should be a combination of your experience + the position + the geographic market. Research your salary range rather than using your current salary as a guide. Tools: Salary.com, payscale.com, glassdoor.com, reach out to mentors in your industry, consult recruiters. Once you’ve come up with a range, nail it down to a number, (ie. $75K/yr). Be concrete with that number. Know there is a range around that number, but if you have a number in mind it will be easier to stay close to it.
CONFIDENTLY STATE YOUR EXPECATION early on in the interview process. The recruiter or interviewer should ask your expectations during the first conversation. If you are not asked your expectation, feel free to ask what the position pays. You need to know. When a recruiter or interviewer asks your salary expectation, give them the number, then stop talking. “I’m looking for $75K/year, plus benefits of course.” There is no need add, “that’s flexible, it’s negotiable, it’s really more about the opportunity.” You SHOULD ask, “Is my salary expectation within the salary range for this position.” If the interviewer says your salary is high, ask for the specific range they are hoping to stay within. From there you can decide if you want to continue to pursue the opportunity.
THE TIME TO NEGOTIATE is when you receive a verbal offer. Typically, the recruiter or HR manager will reach out with a verbal offer before generating an offer letter. At that time, they should tell you what salary they are planning on offering. This is the time to negotiate. Let’s say during your interview you communicated your salary expectation is $75K. The recruiter calls and says you’ll be getting an offer for $70K. This is the time to say, “I’m thrilled I’ll be receiving an offer and am excited to join the team. I am looking for $75K/yr and based on my experience and the role feel that’s salary I would feel comfortable with.” If the offer comes in at $75K, and you stated $75K as your expectation from the beginning, this is not the time to ask for $80K, unless there has been some change during the course of your conversation.
STAY CONFIDENT. STAY POSITIVE. Negotiating for yourself is a GOOD thing. You should advocate for yourself and ask for what you want. Reasons you are negotiating: You bring a specific skillset to the team, your connections in the industry and with clients, your years of experience, your demonstrated success in past positions. Reasons you are not negotiating: You want to make more than you’re making in your current role, you like to travel and need more income, you have a lot of mouths to feed. (Even if these are your reasons, they are not negotiating tools).
GOOD LUCK! Conversations around money often make people nervous. Practice with a friend or family. Roleplay the conversation until you feel comfortable stating what you want. Also, if you get to a point in the conversation where you don’t know the answer, or feel you need to think it over, it’s okay to say that. Just follow up in a timely manner.
A FEW EXTRA TIPS. 1. If your salary and budgets don’t align, use this as an opportunity to build a relationship. Be gracious. “I understand we’re not aligned on compensation for this particular role, but I’m happy to stay connected should another role be a better fit. 2. At no time do you need to tell the recruiter or interviewer your current salary. You can say, “I need at least $X to consider leaving my current role.” 3. When discussing compensation, be sure to ask early on if there is a bonus included and how it’s structured.
Always feel free to reach out to us with specific questions. hello@catchrecruiting.com.