Negotiating within a domestic potential employer can be very tricky. To some it comes more naturally while others require practice of this talent. Here are a couple of proven methods that have been successful for me in the past:
Same city applicant: You receive an offer, NEVER ACCEPT THE FIRST OFFER!!! Many HR departments receive bonuses by how many successful candidates they hire and how much they spend to hire them. It’s like buying a car. Never say yes to the tag price and drive off. You want to haggle a bit, right? The first offer is always going to be $5K - $10K under what they expect to payout. Do not fall for the incentive trap! Do not let them entice you with a lower salary for a higher incentive or stock options. Remember, salary is a guarantee. I lost a LOT of money in the telecom industries when they offered me stock option after option instead of salary. …and, when the telecom industry crashed, you guessed it, broke!
Relocation needed: Many of the same rules apply; however, this is where it gets tricky. You receive an offer, only salary with no relo involved, again do not accept, you need some time to think about it. You come back with I appreciate your initial offer and look forward to coming to a fair package we can mutually agree upon. Then you come up $5-10K and ask for a relocation package. Again, there are different levels of relocation packages they have available and they will more than likely attempt to lowball and give you a smaller salary with a “sign-on” bonus. If that offer is not appealing, attempt to bring up the salary a bit more and ask for a full relo package to include movers, lease break fees, if appropriate, and an amount as a miscellaneous incidentals in attempting to relocate. They will then at that point come to a final term that you must accept or decline. You need to push and push, do it all by email, and you must be as emotionless and articulate as possible. Have a colleague or mentor review the negotiation emails before submitting.That always helps me. Good Luck!
Career Counseling Tip: “Know why you are asking for an extra incentive, potential employers will want to know.”
The hard part I think is building up the courage to ask. I know I’ve gone into the offer and being to scared to ask for more because of the fear of them saying no and not wanting me anymore…I know sounds sad, but it’s hard to ask. Have you always been comfortable asking for more?
Maybe you can write a post on how to go about asking.
Thanks and great post!
Jamie
You need to remember that they will always look at your salary history. Then they will look at midrange for the position you are applying for. If you are way under market, they will more than likely offer you the lowest amount in that salary grade.
Have I always been comfortable? Absolutely not. Quite frankly, it makes my stomach turn every time. Most applicants are insecure and potential employers will feed on that. Remember the salary you get is what you will stay at unless they have mid year raises which is not likely. If you begin in any month other than January and you get a substantial raise, it will be prorated and will be smaller than origionally thought.
So, with all this said, you receive an offer, tell them you would like 24-48 hours to think about the offer and the position. Then if it’s a simple offer, no relo needed, give them a call. You can say something to the effect of: I am excited that you called me back and for budgetary reasons, can we talk about raising the salary to this ____ amount? If the position starts at 40k ask for 47, 50k ask for 57, 60k ask for 67 so on and so forth. They will not turn you down just because you are trying to negotiate salary.
Remember, the cards are on your table. They called you because something they saw in you impressed them. Be secure and be confident. The position is almost yours all you have to do is come up with a mutual agreement on the salary and you’re done. BE SECURE!!!
Great point on never accepting your first offer! Most job articles go on and on for 10 pages but only offer a couple good points. This article was short and sweet. Got right to the point of exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks Hoz! I will be back to read more.