Money isn’t everything.

That being said, it is still money that buys our house, drives our car, orders our dinners and plans our vacations. And for those reasons, money is a vital piece of landing the perfect job.

But despite being such an important process in finding and landing a job, salary negotiation is not a topic in high school or even college. Negotiating your salary with a new employer, or negotiating a raise with a current employer, is a vital skill and an important part of demonstrating your worth.

I recently had a conversation with a client regarding salary negotiation, and covered a few go-to tips that I believe are helpful in salary or promotional negotiations. To my surprise, the client had not considered several of the tips we discussed, and he let me know that even the most basic tips did not occur to him.

This led me to writing about this topic, as I realized that unlike resume writing tips or interview techniques, salary negotiation may not be that high on the priority list for job seekers. It is your livelihood you are negotiating here, however, so I challenge you to take the below guidelines into consideration when negotiating your next salary with a new employer or your next raise with a current employer.

1) Your Employer (or Potential Employer) is your Ally, not Your Adversary

Many job seekers feel that salary negotiation is like an old western, with you and your employer in a stand-off over money lost or saved. Contrary to that belief, the person sitting across the table from you is your supporter, and you should treat the negotiation as a collaborative effort rather than a quick-draw.

Approach the conversation as something you will work on together. Using language such as “I am very excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to working together on this” or “This company would be wonderful to work for, but it would be much easier to accept this offer if it were {your desired increase in salary}” creates an open dialogue and lets the employer own the negotiation as much as you do.

Also, by making your negotiation a team effort, you can turn your employer into your champion. Every reason that you bring up as to why you deserve the raise is something they will likely repeat to their hiring manager or their supervisor. Arm them with solid, objective and easily digestible information that can be brought up the chain and ultimately approved for your benefit. Bring notes with you to hit points you would like to make, and then write them in a follow up email to that person so that they have the notes they need to communicate as well. By doing this, you create an ally, not an adversary.

2) Remember That This is Business, Not Personal

Salary negotiation is purely a business conversation. It is the simple exchange of money in exchange for your skills and expertise. When you negotiate your salary with your employer, it is a discussion regarding how your work benefits the company, and how you should be fairly compensated for that work. You are negotiating a transaction.

Often, job seekers will make the mistake of trying to leverage their daily expenses or their knowledge of their co-worker’s salary as a way to negotiate a higher salary. This is a common mistake, and one that can quickly turn your negotiation in the wrong direction.

Your personal expenses are not a factor that the employer has any stock in. If you begin to discuss your mortgage or your car payments as a means to request a higher salary, the conversation becomes too personal for your employer to make an objective decision on how your work deserves higher payment. It also opens up the negotiation beyond simple salary for work, and dilutes the conversation. Debating cost of living is an argument you will always lose, because you made the decision to pay for those things, and that is out of the scope of your employer’s interest. It is very easy to create a counter argument to personal expenses, because they are subjective.

Instead of personal expenses, keep your reasoning for a higher salary focused completely on how you benefit the organization. Bring a list of your accomplishments at the company (or at a previous employer if this is a salary negotiation rather than a raise negotiation). Speak to how you are a valuable asset to the company, and how you have saved time, money or created innovations that have brought in profit. By keeping the conversation focused on the positive impact that you have made, you keep it professional and business-centered, while creating a condition for very little counter argument.

3) Do Your Research

Research, research, research! This is an important part of salary negotiation because you cannot negotiate something that you know nothing about. This is where you can leverage your knowledge of the company, or average income of a person in your position at the company or in the area that you live in. Www.Glassdoor.com is a an invaluable resource in this area. Use your knowledge of the company or industry to identify your target range.

Knowledge of the average helps you negotiate with an employer, so that you may begin high and hopefully land on the average or even above it. For example, if the average entry level Design Engineer in Los Angeles makes $65,000 – $70,000, look into asking for $75,000, and then negotiate down to, say $71,500. This is a great tactic in ending up with more than you may have if you did not know the industry standard.

4) Define Your Walk Away Point

Once you have done your research and understand the range you are targeting and why, it is important to identify the minimum salary that you will accept. Write down the reasons that this is your absolute minimum. Write down the reasons that you would not go lower than this, and have them ready for your negotiation with your employer in case you have to bring them up. Keep in mind that your range and your walk away point are things you should have in the back of your mind, and they should drive the negotiation, but you do not have to share this information with your employer right away, or at all if you don’t want to.

Keep in mind that hiring managers will not always “low-ball” you in salary negotiations. Rather, they know that you will negotiate up, so they general start lower. You start higher, and you meet somewhere in the middle. Also keep in mind that a hiring manager is usually communicated a range.

For example, their superior would say “we can bring in a new Design Engineer, and we have $67,000 – $80,000 to work with”. This is something most job seekers don’t know, but if you have the experience and education and the company wants you badly enough, that hiring manager can also possibly go to their superior and request a special increase in salary, even if you are requesting something out of the range that was given to them to hire someone.

5) Never, Ever Say a Number First  

The moment you put your expected range on the table, you may have lost potential income. Equally of concern, if you say your expected range and it is far out of what the hiring manager was told they would hire for, you may put yourself out of the running for the position.

Rather, when asked your range (although in your mind you know what you want to say) simply reply with “Why don’t you provide me with a range the is commensurate with my education and experience and we can discuss it from there?”, or “Why don’t you start the conversation with what the employee in this position previously was making in salary, and we can discuss it from there?”.

No matter what, whatever you have to do, have the employer state the range first. Once they come forward with a range (usually lower than what you desire) start to use the above tips to negotiate up to salary that you are comfortable with.

Also, in California a law was passed on January 1,2018 that does not allow employers to request salary information from applicants. You can write “negotiable” in the space for salary information in any online applications.

6) Time Is On Your Side

One huge misconception that job seekers have when undergoing a salary negotiation is that it must begin and end in the time you sit down and speak with the employer. Don’t be fooled! Salary negations can take days, even weeks or months if the company is persistent. You have time to negotiate this very important thing, your livelihood. Treat this negotiation with the care and time that it deserves, and if you are not completely satisfied with the end offer, simple let your employer know.

Keep your response positive, but one can say something along the lines of “Thank you so much for this offer I am excited by this opportunity and would love to accept this position! However, I have to take a few days to think over the salary offer. I will call you in a few days and perhaps we can schedule another meeting to discuss the compensation”.

 Job seekers, recent graduates especially, tend to be eager to accept a position and feel that taking a few days to think it over may cost them the offer. This is simply not true. If an employer is negotiating salary with you, it means you have already been chosen and they want you to work with them. Taking a few days to think over how you feel about a position will not cost you an opportunity, and often the employer will respect that you are taking time to really think about the position you are about to take.

7) Salary Is More Than Just Money

Lastly, but certainly not least, salary is not simply your annual income. You can accept a lower salary that your desired rage but request a sign-on bonus, more vacation days, work from home days, stock options, the list goes on and on. Remember that if you intend on staying with the employer for several years, it is important to consider more than just the income you receive in cash.

I hope this helps you negotiate a new salary or an existing one!

Cheers,

Maggie