Salary Negotiations 101

[Resume Writer]

Hi Everyone,

For those of you in a Corporate Flight Department where salary might be something you can negotiate, I thought this article might be helpful. It is long, so I am putting into two messages.

Kathy
Winning Salary Negotiation Techniques

By Kathy Sweeney

Director of Coaching and Career Services

www.tntcareer.com





Here’s an ideal scenario: After a number of job interviews with a prospective employer who is hiring someone for the job of your dreams, you’re again meeting with the hiring manager when she turns to face you and gives you the job offer, but at a salary below what you had expected. You are still excited, elated actually, but what you do next could have consequences for years to come.



Even if the job offer is acceptable to you, most career experts agree that you should take the time to clear your head and consider the offer - away from the pressure of an interview. So, make sure to thank the interviewer for the job offer and express your interest in the job and the company, but ask for some time to consider all the details.





Negotiable Elements of a Job Offer :



Salary



Non-salary Compensation: signing bonus; performance bonus; profit-sharing, deferred compensation; severance package, stock options



Relocation Expenses: house-hunting, temporary living allowance, closing costs, travel expenses, spouse job-hunting/re-employment expenses



Benefits: vacation days (number, amount paid, timing), personal days, sick days, insurance (medical, dental, vision, life, disability), automobile (or other transportation) allowance, professional training/conference attendance, continuing education (tuition reimbursement), professional memberships, club (country or athletic) memberships, product discounts, clothing allowance, short-term loans



Job-Specific: frequency of performance reviews, job title/role/duties, location/office, telecommuting, work hours and flexibility, starting date, performance standards/goals





But what if the offer is unacceptable to you? If it really is one of your dream jobs -- or even simply a job you really want -- you should consider moving into the negotiation phase by making a counter proposal to the employer. That’s what this article is all about - taking you through the key negotiation strategies you should apply and providing you with one key tool -- the counter proposal letter -- as a means to negotiating a better offer for yourself.



Key Salary Negotiation Strategies

• Delay salary and benefit negotiations for as long as possible in the interview process. You’ll have more power to negotiate when the field of candidates has been reduced to just you -- when the employer is completely sold on you as the best candidate for the position.

• Remember that you’ll have your greatest negotiation leverage between the time the employer makes the original offer and the time you accept the final offer. Once you accept an offer, you have little to no room to negotiate.

• Don’t negotiate at the time the initial job offer is made. Thank the employer for the offer and express your strong interest and enthusiasm in the job, but state that you’ll need time to evaluate the entire compensation package. Most employers are willing to give you a fair amount of time to review -- and if you run across an employer who wants a decision immediately, consider long and hard whether you want to work for such a company.

• Do your research. The greatest tool in any negotiation is information. Make sure you have done a thorough job of determining your fair market value for the job you are seeking, the salary range of the job for this specific employer, and geographic, economic, industry, and company-specific factors that might affect the given salary. Also try to obtain information on the employer’s standard benefits package so that you have information beyond salary.

• Just do it. While a large percentage of corporate recruiters (four out of five in one study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management) are willing to negotiate compensation, only a small percentage of job-seekers actually do so. You don’t have to be an expert negotiator to get a sweeter deal; you just need to know the rules and strategies of negotiation.

• Negotiate to your strength. If you are a smooth talker (an extravert), call the employer and ask for a follow-up meeting to discuss a counter proposal. If you communicate better in writing, follow our guidelines for writing a counter proposal letter (below).

• Always ask for a higher salary (within acceptable limits) than you are willing to accept so that when the employer counters your proposal, the salary should be near your original goal. And when possible, try and show how your actions (once on board) will recoup the extra amount (or more) that you are seeking -- through cost savings or increased sales revenue, productivity, efficiencies.

• If the salary you’re offered is on the low end - and the employer has stated that salary is not negotiable (probably due to corporate salary ranges or pay grade levels), consider negotiating for a signing bonus, higher performance bonuses, or a shorter time frame for a performance review and raise. Always negotiate base salary first, and then move on to other elements of the job offer.

• When presenting a counter proposal to the employer, be sure and include a few benefits that are expendable so that you can drop them in a concession to the employer as negotiations continue.

• Remember that even if all salary issues are “off the table,” there are still numerous other benefits you can negotiate, such as moving expenses, paid vacation or personal days, professional training, and more. See the sidebar for the entire list of negotiable items.

• Never stop selling yourself throughout the negotiation process. Keep reminding the employer of the impact you will make, the problems you will solve, the revenue you will generate. And continue expressing interest and enthusiasm for the job and the company.

• If you have no intention of accepting the company’s offer, don’t waste your time or the company’s by entering into negotiation. Negotiation is a process designed to find common ground between two or more parties.

• If you have multiple job offers, don’t put the companies into a bidding war for your services; it rarely works out.

• Don’t enter negotiations with the wrong attitude. Always have in the back of your mind that your goal with these negotiations is a win-win situation. You want to get a better deal, but you also need to let the employer feel as though they got a good deal as well.

• Given a number of factors, such as the strength of the economy, the size and vitality of the company, and the supply of job candidates with similar qualifications, some employers simply will not negotiate.

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[Resume Writer]

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• Never make demands. Instead, raise questions and make requests during negotiations. Keep the tone conversational, not confrontational.

• Be prepared for any of a number of possible reactions to your counter proposal, from complete acceptance to agreeing to some concessions to refusal to negotiate.

• You have to be willing to walk away from negotiations. If you don’t have a strong position (a good current job or one or more current or potential job offers), it will be harder for you to negotiate. If you really need or want the job, be more careful in your negotiations.

• Once the employer agrees to your compensation requests, the negotiations are over. You cannot ask for anything more - or risk appearing immature or greedy and having the employer’s offer withdrawn or rescinded.

• Always be sure to get the final offer in writing. Be extremely wary of companies that are not willing to do so.

Salary Negotiation is an area in which the struggle for power is most evident. The determination of who controls the situation is always one that is in question. However, armed with the information we have provided, salary negotiation should be easier to achieve.

 

[Lear70]

Great stuff, thanks so much for posting that!

My dad is in the corporate job market and after 23+ years in the airline business, has no experience negotiating in a job interview setting so I will make sure he studies this before going into the two he has next week.

Thanks again, and have a great Independence Day!

 

[Resume Writer]

Good luck to your dad!


Kathy

 

[rvsm410]

Great Stuff Kathy, but how about this one???

Your post above delt with hiring offers and getting a bet ter starting wage...My question is on the same line, but different.

Say you are in a salary management position, have been in the same job for 3 years out of 26 years total, have a proven record with senior management as a top notch front line manager, recieved the top raises each year, considered by most as a critical member of the team. Given all the tough assignments, asked to fill in for higher members of management when they are away on business, etc...you get the picture....

You realized your pay is far substandard to others doing similar work, your a women as well..(my wife) how do you go to these superiors who think you walk on water and ask for a sizable pay raise? Like 30%....?

She loves her work, but can do this at a lot of defence contractors for much more money, now she does have 26 years here and the best benefits and vacation as well and does not want to make a mistake, She is very introverted about herself and her needs, but very good and Extroverted about her work.....

Do you have any detailed instructions on how to approach this situation especially before she is offered a better paying job elsewhere which will make this even tougher.... This is happening soon, thanks in advance.

thanks Col Bill

 

[Resume Writer]

Your post above delt with hiring offers and getting a bet ter starting wage...My question is on the same line, but different.

Say you are in a salary management position, have been in the same job for 3 years out of 26 years total, have a proven record with senior management as a top notch front line manager, recieved the top raises each year, considered by most as a critical member of the team. Given all the tough assignments, asked to fill in for higher members of management when they are away on business, etc...you get the picture....

You realized your pay is far substandard to others doing similar work, your a women as well..(my wife) how do you go to these superiors who think you walk on water and ask for a sizable pay raise? Like 30%....?

She loves her work, but can do this at a lot of defence contractors for much more money, now she does have 26 years here and the best benefits and vacation as well and does not want to make a mistake, She is very introverted about herself and her needs, but very good and Extroverted about her work.....

Do you have any detailed instructions on how to approach this situation especially before she is offered a better paying job elsewhere which will make this even tougher.... This is happening soon, thanks in advance.

thanks Col Bill

She needs to go into her manager with facts and figures justifying the increase she is seeking. She needs to talk about her contributions to the organization and the praise she has received from managers. It might also be helpful for her to have job descriptions from other defense contractors with the same responsibilities and salary range. Unless she asks, she will never know the answer.

Kathy

 

[ThomasR]

Negotiations

Raises are a recurring sequence in management minds. They know who is making what and what the market earnings are. They will try all sort of tricks to avoid the issue of giving raises as long as possible. You must know what the market is, what companies are paying standard or above standard salaries and which of these is hiring.

Ask the manager when will you get a performance or salary review [annual standard in most companies] and what you might do to improve your current standing. If he/she stalls in providing this information you might want to brush up on your resume and call some companies with the intent to make a lateral move to a job paying standard salaries or above standard. After that many years you might want to be considered for a promotional move at another company.

At this point you have not jeapardized your position and the manager can not stall any longer. The company should be paying you what they would loss in productivity if they let you go. It is pretty much standard math; if you work in manufacturing what % of the finished product is your contribution, in services it is a % of revenue. You also have to figure in training costs, job acculturation, efficiency and learning curves as a company incentive to keeping you with them.

If you are in management you should have been giving raises all along to avoid these confrontations. Cheap S.O.B. especially if you are in Gov. which rebudgets based on last entries on the balance sheet. If you are civilian you are still an S.O.B. You can't say that though.

 

[rvsm410]

Thanks to both of you

I'll pass this on to my Wife, she works for a government defence contractor, degreed and worked her way through the union ranks to get here, she is one of the highest respected women there and she really loves here work making her the best at it.

Up till now she has accepted her annual raises, which were the top given, but 5% is still way to low, so I have been talking to her about going forward outside of the normal pay program for a raise. She is uncomfortable about blowing her own horn, so to speak, but I told her if she doesn't no one will....I have an old saying "don't ask, don't get"

Thanks for the advice,maybe she just needs to change employers...