How to Negotiate a Better Salary

Salary negotiation is an important part of business. Whether it is at the start of the position, during pre-contract signing or when you have been in a role for a while, salary negotiation is an important skill.

However, broaching the topic is a difficult one and is rarely on the top of a to do list. There are many reasons why individuals put off having this important conversation – they don’t want to put their position into jeopardy, or perhaps think that it will affect their offer – but if you feel that you should be paid more for your skills, it is important to voice your reasons.

With this in mind, we have compiled a guide to getting what you want and a guide for getting nowhere.

The Best Ways to Get a Pay Rise

– Research salaries in your field

Be aware of exactly what is going on in the market place. Many websites are now dedicated to salary comparisons, salary monitoring and providing the results to salary surveys. It is vital to stay in tune with current practices and salary trends, and keep up-to-date with real time information. This gives you leverage for comparison with your own position.

– Think about your experience                                                                     

Undertake a thorough personal skills-audit. This will reveal your experience to date, your progression, your successes and your strengths. Once you have really considered and analysed this, you can compare it to current peers with similar levels of experience and expertise, and juxtapose your current salary with theirs to see if there’s a significant difference.

– Talk about salary as a skills exchange

Your salary should be a true representation of your skills and recompense for what you bring to a company. When presenting you case, talk about how exactly you will earn that salary, and what additional and beneficial skills you will bring to your role. In a word, prove that you deserve it.

– Be flexible

Flexibility is vital in any business negotiation and it’s no different in this scenario. Work out where your base point would be and how far you’re willing to push their upper limit.

– Be prepared to evidence you successes

You would never dream of hiring anyone if they couldn’t prove what they had done in the past; getting a pay rise is no different. Why should your current or potential employer listen to your case if you have no evidence for it? Be prepared to prove your case.

The Best Ways to Get Nowhere

– Compare yourself to your friends

Your friends may earn a significant salary but they may not have the same job, environment, work culture or benefits package that you have. Never compare yourself to someone who doesn’t do what you do in a similar environment unless you want to be disheartened, disappointed or laughed out of the boardroom.

– Talk about how much money you need

Talking about what salary you need to live is never a good way to start a case for a salary increase. Money should be representative of what your skills are, not to what you lifestyle is like.

– Be inflexible

It is important to know what salary you want, but you cannot expect your boss to just hand it over. Be prepared and leave some room for manoeuvre.

– Be confrontational

It is quite obvious that a hostile attitude will get you nowhere in a salary negotiation. There is a difference between being confident and strong, and being confrontational and vociferous. Maintain the former; never hit the latter no matter how frustrated you become.

– Go with a pessimistic attitude

Accepting failure before it happens is not the way to get a pay rise. Pessimism may well be subliminal and can be sensed by others.

You need to be positive with your case and your reasons for a raise.