Salary Negotiation

When preparing for an interview, you should make sure you’re ready to answer any questions about your preferred or target salary. Often salary will not be discussed until a job offer is given, but it’s important to be prepared. Talking about money and what you’ll be making on the job can be difficult, so here are some steps you can take to ready yourself for the conversation.

Do your research: Aside from the research you’ve done on the company, you can also research what your salary range might be in a specific role and in a specific location. Check out the following websites and videos:

  • Glassdoor: Get your own personalized salary estimate. Read reviews on over 600,000 companies worldwide.
  • NACE – Salary Calculator: Look up projected salary information based on your location, major, and experience.
  • CAREERwise – Salary Information; View statistics for average salary by industry in Minnesota.
  • Career One Stop – Cost of Living Comparison: If you’re considering a career outside of the Twin cities, you can compare the cost of living in another U.S. city and see how that may influence your salary negotiation.

Advocate for yourself: Make it clear in your cover letter and your interview what skill you provide and how you will be an asset to the company. Salary negation can also be a good time to reiterate these qualities as well as highlighting any specialized skills the roll may require. Don’t lowball your salary request – know your worth and what others in your roll make – and also keep your expectations in check based on where you’re starting and where you want to go in this position.

Develop a strategy: Need advice on ways to negotiate? Want to know how to make a counteroffer? Use these tips from Glass Door and the resources below to help plan salary discussion.

  • Have a salary in range rather than a single figure: If you are pressed to answer what your salary requirements are, be sure to offer a range based on what others in the field are earning rather than a single fixed number. Having an acceptable range can help you negotiate and find compromise more easily.
  • Don’t sell yourself short: Often job seekers will forget that benefits are included in your total compensation. Separate them from your base salary and know that you may be able to negotiate particulars with those benefits as well.
  • Practice your pitch at least once before the actual negotiation: Find someone to listen to your proposal, so you can feel the cadence of your speech in a conversational setting. Successful negotiations often boil down to feeling comfortable and practiced.
  • Be gracious: If you’re worried about coming off as demanding or ungrateful, focus on graciousness. No matter the outcome, e understanding, appreciative, and thankful for the opportunity.
  • Be confident in your delivery: Try not to show your nerves and focus on your strength and belief in yourself.
  • Avoid accepting the first offer: If You need time to evaluate an offer, say so. Schedule your next meeting in 24-48 hours and come back with your counteroffer.
  • Understand your leverage: Your power will vary depending on your situation. If you are confident that your background and skills can be used in your counteroffer, take advantage of them.

Additional resources:

How to Counteroffer

  1. Ask questions during the offer: Use the following to gain information to support your negotiation.
    • “Can I negotiate this offer?”
    • “Besides the base pay, what other benefits are negotiable?”
    • “How did you calculate this number?”
    • “What’s the outlook for salary raises or promotions?”
    • “What metrics do you use to evaluate the success of employees?” – This can help you plan for future negotiations if you end up accepting their offer.
    • “Can I get this salary offer in writing?” Verbally settling on a negotiation in your favor is great, but it must be recorded on paper to be valid.
  2. Take time to reflect or make a counter offer: If you already know you want to negotiate, do so. Otherwise, take time to review the benefits and then, within 48 hours, begin your negotiation.
  3. Begin with courtesy, list your skills, strengths, and industry standards, then ask for what you want: Review the following examples to see how you might structure your negotiation:
    • “Thank you so much for the offer, I’m really interested in joining the team. I do have a concern regarding the starting salary, however. Based on my understanding of the market value for the position, and my skill set I would expect my compensation to be in the range of $xx to $xx. Are you open to discussing salary?”
    • “Thank you for the offer. I am thrilled to be having this conversation with you. I’ve done some research on the market value for this position and am seeing salaries a bit higher than what you’ve offered. I believe I bring excellent (list key skills) to the table, and would love to know if you’re open to discussing the starting salary for this position.”
  4. If your counter offer isn’t accepted, you may ask the following:
    • “Why do you feel my offer won’t work for you?” (Be sure to listen and respond to their concerns.)
    • “I understand that you are offering the best salary you can. It does fall short of what I would expect based on industry standards and what I can contribute to the position. Let’s talk about other ways we may be able to come to an agreement…” (This would be a time to negotiate benefits, such as more paid time off, flexible work hours, and other perks).
    • “I understand the challenges you may be facing. Do you expect to be able to increase the salary for this position at any point in the next 12 months?”
    • “Thank you for the clarification. Are you open to discussing some additional benefits like ___?”
  5. When you feel you have reached an offer you are satisfied with, accept the offer and confirm your start date. If you are not satisfied and have no further chances of negotiation, turn the offer down and continue the job search.

Source: Salary Negotiation Phases from the University of St Thomas