Once you’ve answered that pesky question about your salary expectations, you’re off to the races with your interviews. And hopefully that means that you’ll get a job offer or two soon!
And you’re probably aware that all the advice is to negotiate, regardless of what the offer is.
But how do you do that?
The first thing to know about salary and benefits negotiations is that the process isn’t based on your needs. It’s based on the market and what you bring to the table, so focus on those as your reasons. “I have a long commute so I would like $5,000 more” is not nearly as compelling an argument as, “Since I have more than 5 years of experience and solid Spanish language skills, I wonder if we can negotiate a higher salary. It looks like market value for those is between $5-7,000.” (Finesse how you want to say this, of course. It should be authentic and as natural-feeling as you can make it be, given the already stilted format of these discussions.)
What if they won’t or can’t budge on the initial offer?
First of all, ask if there’s room for benefits negotiation. (You should do this anyway, even if they meet your salary request, because who doesn’t want and deserve more paid time off?) Have an idea of the kinds of benefits that are important to you. If you live 2 blocks from the office, a transit pass might be less tempting than something like higher payment into your retirement account, for instance.
If the benefits are also inflexible, ask when and how people are evaluated for higher wages and promotions. Ideally you’ll get a solid answer to this so you really know. You can follow up with things like, “Okay, so how would I know that I’m on track for a pay increase after I’ve been in the role for around 6 months?” An overly vague answer here is a bit of a warning sign, since it may very well mean that there are no criteria on offer, and it’s all a great big mystery… which is likely to leave you underpaid.
Finally, don’t give in to the pressure to make a quick decision. The employer has spend the whole interview process narrowing their decision down to you. Asking for a day or two to think about it (and get the offer in writing!!!) is unlikely to make them rescind it.
