How to Negotiate Your Salary

Differences in pay between individuals can vary. Still, one of the key factors is how well one negotiates a salary and benefits package with their employer. The general picture is that those willing to negotiate will ultimately do better than those willing to take whatever comes their way.

Let’s imagine that you’ve finished your education and you’re starting a new career. You received a job offer already that lists salary and benefits, so what now? It may be your first job for this specific career, so you think there’s probably no room to negotiate those terms in the offer, right? Wrong!

Negotiate Your Salary: First Job Offer

To “play hardball” means to be very stubborn and hard-nosed when you negotiate. Of course, you can play hardball later in your career when you’ve proven your real value to an employer. Still, in the early stages, you have to balance the importance of your education and skills more carefully with the fact that you are a new employee with little experience.

Use Real, Concrete Examples

When you want to prove your worth as part of a negotiation and try to improve the salary or conditions of that first offer, you must always use real, concrete examples of achievements and other things you offer to a company. Theories and big plans for the future are no good, and you need tangible evidence. It’s good to get used to this standard during your first negotiation because presenting concrete examples as reasons for promotion and salary increases in the future will be made easier as a result.

Negotiate Your Salary: First Re-Negotiation

Imagine now you’ve been in your first job for 1-2 years. An ideal time to initiate a negotiation would be right as you complete one contract and are preparing to sign a second. Many work contracts are 1-2 years, so just act according to whatever timeframe you’re working in. Take a look at the following criteria, and if you have met at least half of them, you are likely in a good position to open a negotiation with your employer:

You’ve carried out all work that the contract says you are responsible for
You’ve done additional work that wasn’t in your contract, but you willingly accepted

You were never (or at least very rarely) late for work
You willingly worked overtime when you were asked to
You have good relationships with colleagues
You were responsible for, or a key part of, successful projects that made money for the business
Suggestions you made led to positive changes and results within the workplace

Provide Evidence of Achievements

When you open the negotiation, you’ll need to explain why you deserve additional salary and/or benefits. To do this, you’ll need a list of real and demonstrable achievements. These can include work activities and behavior, and performance (e.g., not only never late, but often coming in early or at weekends to work on extra projects).

Ask for Benefits, Not Salary

It depends on the kind of work you do, but very often, asking for additional benefits like vacation days, expenses, new equipment, a company car, or even asking for specific responsibilities is a better strategy for an early renegotiation of salary. For example, asking to be in charge of an upcoming project as part of your new contract is an excellent way to give yourself a significant achievement to use in future negotiations!

Research Other Jobs/Companies

Another good tip is to research similar roles in other companies and see what kind of packages they offer. This acts as a hint to your employer that you could find a better deal elsewhere, but without actually saying that you’re planning on leaving.

Can You Negotiate a Salary Mid-Contract?

The question of when to negotiate a salary is the subject of a lot of debate. The truth is that you can negotiate with your employer at any point you think you have done enough to deserve a raise or improvement in your employment agreement. Negotiating at the end of one contract and as you prepare to sign another is the easiest option, but nothing should stop you if that time is far away and you feel you can negotiate now.

Negotiate Your Salary: Further Questions

Can You Negotiate Your Salary in All Jobs?

There are some lines of work where you won’t negotiate your own salary. For example, if you work in a unionized job such as public-school teaching, your salary is negotiated by whichever teachers’ union represents you. Many government jobs are similar in their more rigid structures, usually negotiated in advance for ten years or so.

However, for just about any job in a private and non-union business, you can negotiate your salary package.

Which Careers Offer the Best Chance for Negotiation?

It’s hard to say any one career in which it’s “easy” to negotiate a salary because it largely depends on the individuals in charge of a business or organization. A good rule of thumb is to look at how scarce your skills and knowledge are. If you have knowledge and skills that very few others have, your negotiating position is strong. However, if you’re negotiating about a job with a larger number of capable applicants, you may have less power because there is more competition.

To set yourself up with the knowledge and training to pursue your desired career, contact CSI today to learn more about our programs.

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