Unlock Your Earning Potential: Salary Negotiation Made Simple

Conversations about salary expectations often take place in the early stages of the hiring process, but salary negotiation happens when an employer presents you with an offer for a new role. Salary negotiation is when a candidate discusses compensation with a hiring manager or HR representative in order to increase it.

Knowing how to negotiate a salary offer can help you earn more money over the course of your career. Here are five tips to help you with your next salary negotiation:

Why Should You Negotiate Your Salary?

Failing to negotiate means leaving money on the table. CNBC reported that U.S. employees could earn 13.3% more if they negotiated their salary.

Negotiating can compound your earnings throughout your career.

Negotiating added an additional $27,342 over 5 years!

Even without the annual increase, the difference in base salary alone adds up to $25,000 over five years.

People who don’t negotiate will have to work several years longer to save the same amount for retirement as their colleagues who do negotiate. The monetary benefits of negotiation can’t be understated.

Other benefits of negotiating a higher salary

The Top Reasons Why You Can (And Should) Ask For More

When you ask for more money in the job offer stage, it’s best practice to provide an explanation to support your request. Wanting to improve your quality of life or keep up with rent increases are valid reasons to seek a higher salary, but you should refrain from mentioning them in a salary negotiation. Instead, provide specific reasons that show the value you could bring to the role and justify why you deserve a higher salary.

Evaluating why you deserve a raise and showing up to the salary negotiation prepared will make it easier to stand your ground confidently.

Here are a few reasons you might want to negotiate your salary:

Understanding the current job market in your industry and having a list of reasons you deserve a higher salary allows you to be more informed and prepared going into a salary negotiation.

Why You Might Hesitate To Negotiate Your Salary

Fidelity’s 2022 Career Assessment Study revealed that only 42% of young professionals negotiated their last job offer. There were three main reasons for this:

• They were happy with the salary offer
• They didn’t know how to negotiate salary
• They were scared of the consequences of negotiation

The third item in this list represents a fear that negotiation significantly increases your risk of losing a job offer. The results of Salary.com’s survey of more than 1,000 companies show you have nothing to fear: Employers are very used to negotiating, and it doesn’t make them less interested in hiring you.

If you stay professional throughout the process, the data shows losing a job offer due to salary negotiation is unlikely. Don’t let fear or uncertainty hold you back from negotiating. You won't get a higher salary if you don’t start the conversation.

When Should You Negotiate?

Salary negotiation is totally optional but incredibly beneficial. There’s a lot to be gained in knowing when and how to bring up salary and when to give up on salary negotiation.

Even when a company lists a salary in the job description and states that it’s non-negotiable, that doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate other elements of your job offer.

Most job postings still don’t include the salary in the job description, but there is increasing public pressure around salary transparency. According to SHRM, 45% of employers now include a salary range in job postings. Whether there’s no salary listed or it’s expressed as a range, it creates a grey area and leaves room for salary negotiation. Just because the job ad doesn’t explicitly state that the salary is flexible or negotiable, it doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate.

There are two opportunities to talk about salary in the interview process: right away in the screening interview, or at the end once you have an offer.

Discussing Salary Before The First Interview

It’s not uncommon to discuss salary expectations in the screening interview, which comes before the first interview with the hiring manager.

If the recruiter doesn’t bring up salary, and there’s no range in the job description, it’s fair to ask if they have a salary range in mind for the role. Without launching into a full-blown negotiation, if the range is lower than the range you had in mind, here’s what you could say:

“Thank you so much for sharing the salary range with me. Based on [insert a few reasons from the list above here] and my market research, this is lower than I expected. Is there any flexibility in this range or is there an opportunity to discuss the overall compensation package?”

Be professional, but don’t be shy about having expectations. It can save everyone a lot of time because you may realize you need to withdraw from the interview process immediately.

Discussing Salary In the Offer Stage

Typically, during the offer stage is when you have the most leverage to discuss salary. Once you’ve assessed the offer and expressed your excitement and gratitude, you can share the number you’re looking for, and a few reasons why you feel you deserve it. Ideally, you’d negotiate over the phone or in a final video interview, but negotiation can happen over email too.

Here’s a little sample salary negotiation template you could use no matter where the discussion is happening:

“Thank you so much for this opportunity to join [insert company name here] as a [insert title here]! I was hoping we could discuss the salary as it currently doesn’t meet my expectations. My [reason #1 why you expect a higher salary], [reason #2], and [reason #3] will allow me to [describe the unique value you would bring to the position]. For these reasons, I feel [insert single number here] is a more accurate reflection of my value.”

If you aren’t satisfied with the results of your salary negotiation after a fair amount of back and forth, be willing to walk away if an employer can’t meet you at your minimum.

Now that you know when you have opportunities to negotiate, it’s important to cover the situations when it might be best to avoid negotiating.

When to Approach Salary Negotiations Thoughtfully

There are three situations where you may benefit from ending the negotiations early, or not negotiating at all.

1. The salary is non-negotiable. It’s not about your value; it’s just that the organization cannot offer more than what’s allocated. Salary bands are often more rigid in government roles, for example.
2. The range is way below what you were expecting. The bigger the ask is, the greater the risk of having the employer pull away. Even if you are a great candidate and the hiring manager likes you, sometimes the employer just doesn’t have the budget.
3. You’re happy with the salary offer. Some employers will provide a very compelling offer right out of the gate, especially if you talk to them early on about your salary expectations then you impress them in the interview process.

Use your discretion and be respectful of any clear boundaries the employer has communicated. You can still try to negotiate in all the situations above, but you also need to be prepared to walk away. The goal is to leave things on a good note with an employer, even if you don’t end up working for them.

2. Avoid Being Apologetic

It’s totally normal to feel like your interview nerves have extended into the negotiation process, but there’s no need to say sorry for asking for more money! Asserting yourself can be uncomfortable, especially if you’re not naturally assertive, but it’s very important to avoid apologizing or sounding hesitant. You want to radiate confidence, instead of showing that you feel awkward or guilty asking for more.

3. Negotiate More Than Your Salary

There are specific situations where the employer can’t or won’t give you the salary you ask for, but you can still ask if there’s room to negotiate other aspects of your overall compensation.

Alternatively, you can bundle your salary negotiation together with other asks off the hop so you can deal with everything at the same time, which is more efficient for everyone involved.

There are other benefits employers can provide to improve your quality of life or reduce certain costs.

This can include:

4. Think of Negotiation as Collaboration

Showing your gratitude every step of the way and taking a collaborative approach to negotiation can go a long way. Think of it like you’re trying to work with the recruiter to solve a mutual problem.

While it may be true, saying “I can’t/won’t accept less than [insert salary here]” is a quick way to make the person on the other side feel like the process is competitive, not collaborative (Forbes).

You don’t have to issue an ultimatum. The goal is to be firm and confident without being threatening.

5. Don’t Over Promise or Lie

Explain the reasons you deserve a raise without overselling yourself. Insecurity can take over, and it can feel right to make big promises to prove your worth. Over promising in negotiation can backfire and create false expectations that you’ll be held to down the line.

You don’t need to fabricate an alternate offer to create a false sense of competition to get what you want. The right job opportunity is out there, and the right employer will see your value and pay you fairly.