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My BF and I went car shopping with a friend a few weeks ago (she needs a new car, not us).

She made a decision and when sitting down with the salesman, she was ready to accept the first offer he gave her. Thankfully my BF, a master negotiator, haggled on her behalf and she walked away with a relatively good deal. He attempts to negotiate pretty much anything, which is why I end up doing most of the cooking despite how much I hate it. She later told us that negotiating isn’t one of her strengths.

Few people love negotiating. It’s hard!

Let’s face it, talking about money is a little awkward. When it comes to negotiating a job offer, it’s even harder.

When I started my first job, this part was what made me  most nervous, so I skipped it and took whatever they offered. A few months later when I found out a co-worker (who did less work) was making more than me, I wanted to scream. Of course it was too late at that point. Lesson learned.

As a headhunter, part of my job is to negotiate the best possible job offer for my candidates whether or not they ask me to do so. Most people just accept the offer without even asking me to go back and try to get them a better deal. Sometimes I suggest that we go back and my candidates are so scared of losing the opportunity that they’re reluctant.

I always respond with “the worst they can say is no’, but we should give it a shot”. More often than not, companies do negotiate.

Negotiating is important! So what if your palms get sweaty and you start stuttering. Negotiating in the beginning means that you’ll start out with a higher salary. Here are  a few tips:

1) Know your worth

Yes, I know our parents tell us we’re worth all the money in the world, but that’s not true when it comes to your skills. Before you even go for your first interview, do some comparative analysis – compare your experience, education, skill set with others in your industry. Get an idea of the range is (high and low) for your level. Salary.com is a good start.

I know this can be considered taboo, but don’t be afraid to come right out and ask friends and co-workers at the same level (tell them why you’re asking first).

2) Know the salary range for the position

If you don’t know what you’re working with you, you’ll either demand a salary salary that is so out of their range that they won’t even bother negotiating or low-ball yourself.

3) Don’t jump the gun

Talking about money, vacation and benefits at the first interview is a BIG no-no. The goal of this interview is to promote your skills. Unless they initiate these topics, don’t even go there. Never be the first out to throw out a number at this point.

4) You’ve been offered the job, now what

The ball is in your court. Armed with your comparable, you know that you’re worth more. BUT… don’t give ultimatums (they never work). Simply asking will do the trick. For example, you can say:

Thank you for the opportunity, I’m excited about the opportunity to join your team and feel confident that I’d be able to add value. Would you be able to come to $65,000?

You can go into a little bit of detail about your comparative analysis, but saying less is more. They may not come up to your requested salary, but they’ll usually try to negotiate.

5) Be Prepared for Objections

Be ready for questions about why you’re worth more. Hopefully you’ve gathered enough information about the position and some challenges they’re facing in the department so that you can bring these things up now and point out exactly how your skills would help.

6) Look at the complete package – it’s not just about the salary

Ideally, a higher salary would be great, but it’s important to look at the entire package – benefits and how quickly they start, vacation, tuition reimbursement, bonus, flex hours and any other perks are worth negotiating.

You have to be reasonable and somewhat flexible. Keep in mind that this has to be mutually beneficial so both you and the potential employer have to get something out of it.

It may be challenging especially if you’re not used to negotiating, but negotiating a salary and other options is much easier before you start a job than once you’ve already started working there. At that point, they have the upper hand.

Are you a good negotiator?

Have you ever negotiated a job offer?

On a side note – check out my interview with Eddie at FinanceFox… he offers a sweet deal at then end

Tagged as: Careers, Job Search, Money, Recruiting

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