Salary Negotiations

Applicants don’t just prepare for the tough questions such as “what’s your weakness and strengths”, “why should we hire you”, “why are you leaving your present company” and many more but they also prepare for the job offer and specially the salary negotiations.

Job offers and salary negotiations are probably my favorite part of a job interview as it means you are being welcomed to the company but there is just one issue on how much they will be paying you. Salary negotiations can get quite tricky for some applicants so we have prepared a couple of tips for them.

1.    Always do your homework – some companies post job listings that include the “salary” for the open position so before applying for a job, be sure that you have checked if they have a primary offer. Aside from that, be sure to research about the “benchmark” pay for the position you are applying for – this includes average salaries of the same position a. with other companies, b. in your location and c. your level of experience and education. Salary negotiations will happen so come prepared as you wouldn’t want to be off guard which can make you either get very low salary or not get the job at all because of the lack of information regarding the industry.

2.    Don’t always say yes – it’s a negotiation so you don’t always have to say yes especially for just the first offer. You have to prove to them why you need to earn a specific number and why you are worth that much. Don’t be afraid to ask for a number or a range especially if this is the actual salary that you need (to pay for day over day expense, save money, transportation, etc.)

3.    Be realistic – one of the things you should not do is to lie about your past salary history to get more offer. Although companies do not verify the your salary history with your past employers, they have the capability to judge and measure how much a certain company is paying for certain positions and the specific tasks they do. Another thing you should know is that you should be realistic about the salary if you are going to give them a range. Do not give them a range wherein the lowest range is something that is unacceptable to you – do not be surprised if you are offered the lowest range because you declared that it is something that you can accept.

4.    Check other benefits – you have to be aware of the other benefits they provide the company as salary is just one of them. You have to consider factors such as healthcare, retirement plan, performance pay, increases, and others. You wouldn’t want a job that pays well but has no good benefit and will just make you end up working in a miserable place.

Relevant resources:
http://www.meditec.com/blog/riddle-me-this-interview-questions-you-should-know-about/
http://career-advice.monster.com/salary-benefits/negotiation-tips/job-offer-evaluation-checklist/article.aspx
http://www.wikihow.com/Switch-Careers