How to Negotiate Your Pay Before Saying Yes to a Job Offer

If you accept a job offer with a salary that you don’t like, you’re not only setting yourself back in the short-term, you’re also looking at long-term pay issues, as all of your raises moving forward will be based off that initial salary.

Clearly, it’s in your best interest to negotiate if you receive an offer for a job you really want but the pay isn’t as high as you’d like it to be. While businesses nearly always leave some room for negotiation, research shows only around one-third of people actually a job offer. The main reason people don’t negotiate? Fear. They don’t want to be rejected, feel awkward talking about money, don’t understand how to negotiate or don’t have much experience.

Fear, thankfully, is something you can get over, but it does take a bit of work. The tips listed below can help you get over your fear of negotiation and position yourself for higher pay.

Research is Key

Before even walking into the interview, you ought to know approximately what to expect when it comes to pay and benefits, in case you’re offered the job on the spot.

There are many online resources that provide a salary figure based on job, industry, and geographic location. If someone is working a similar or identical job, you should ask them what to expect in terms of pay.

Avoid ‘Talking Turkey’ Until It’s Time to Negotiate

Hopefully, you hadn’t talked about your past salaries or your desired salary before you started negotiation because when you mention these figures – it can box you in during negotiation. For instance, if you said you are making $40,000 per year at your current job, and the company has budgeted $80,000 for the open position, the company may be inclined only to offer you $50,00 or $60,000, which means tens of thousands of dollars are left on the table.

Therefore, when you’re asked about salary before the offer is extended, you should be as vague as possible. Say you’d rather discuss it later or moving forward, you’re looking for an offer in line with your skills and experience.

Always Take Your Time with an Offer

Receiving a job offer, whether it’s for your dream job or an entry-level position, is exciting. However, taking the first offer is usually a bad idea, unless your research indicates it’s an offer you can’t refuse.

Most businesses don’t expect applicants to take the first offer, or they at least expect a counteroffer. Typically, employers make job offers with a bit of wiggle room.

Even if the offer is twice what you were expecting, take a day or two to mull it over. Rushing to accept an offer might give the impression that the offer was too high. You don’t want your employer thinking that they’re overpaying you for all kinds of reasons.

We Can Help You with Your Next Job Offer

At Career Concepts, we connect job seekers to best-fit job opportunities and support them all the way through the application process, including during any negotiation. Please contact us today to find out how we can support your next application process.