Planning
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The first step in salary negotiation is to do your homework and know what you are worth in the marketplace before you begin your job offer negotiation.
Do your research thoroughly as your greatest tool in negotiating is information. Find out what other organizations in your field pay for your skills.
Determine your competitive market value. It is much easier to persuade someone to agree with your salary request if the proposal is firmly based on objective criteria, such as what people with similar experience and skills are currently earning.
There are a number of ways of doing this research. You can research salaries on the internet for particular jobs and geographical regions. These free sites can help you with the information you need for your salary negotiations.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of salaries in individual occupations at www.bls.gov
- The most popular salary research website is www.salary.com
- This site has a salary calculator you can use www.salaryexpert.com
- Look for similar job postings in your area on the internet and see what they are paying. Use the Finding Jobs Online article to help you with this.
Off the internet you can use the following resources:
- Ask other people in your field or profession, who work in a similar job at another company. This provides complete and up-to-date information.
- People at the local college who train people in this profession
- Teachers and Professors who know what their graduates earn
- Go through job postings for similar positions in the print media and see what salaries they are offering
- Printed material such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook provide salary surveys
- Professional associations and relevant trade journals
- Ask your local Career Services Offices, recruiters, employment agencies
- Call competitive companies and speak to Human Resources. Ask directly for salary ranges for similar jobs
Consider the salary information you have gathered inthe context of these business climate factors:
- the overall state of the economy and the relevant industry including demand for these skills
- the general employment rate
Next you need to determine your company-value. This is what you are worth to this specific employer. Consider the following:
- How easy is it for this company to find someone with my skills
- What is the current salary range for other company employees with similar skills
- How will I contribute to the profitability of the company
- How urgently does the company need to fill this position
- How many candidates did they interview for this position
Get this information from the following resources - your recruiter, the job posting, the information you gained during the interview, finding out from Human Resources number of candidates, starting date etc. This information provides you with an understanding of how much negotiating power you really have.
Once you have found out what you are worth in the broader market and industry and your company-value, you need to determine what company-specific factors may affect the given salary. The information you need to research about the organization includes:
- How successful is this company
- What is the current profitability
- How does it rate against its competitors in terms of market share and turnover
- Where is it in terms of the business cycle - is it new, growing, stable etc
If the company is currently enjoying growth and success your salary request will be received more favorably than if it is currently struggling and facing stiff competition. Consider the current context of the organization when planning your salary negotiations.
Salary negotiations should only happen at the end of the interview process, when you have a firm job offer or when the field of candidates has been reduced right down and the employer is ready to make an offer. The employer should be completely convinced you are the best candidate for the position before you start discussing salary. Your greatest negotiation leverage takes place between getting the initial job offer and accepting the final offer. Go to Dealing with the Salary Question to get advice on how to handle it when the salary issue is raised early on in the interview process.
Establishing your market-value and company-value will give you the information you need to develop an effective negotiation strategy for the salary negotiations you are about to enter into.
What salary do you need to support your lifestyle? Use this salary requirements calculator to know how much money you need to live on and how much you would like to earn to determine your acceptable salary range.Evaluate the entire compensation package and decide which elements can be negotiated when planning your negotiation strategy.
Salary negotiation tips will help you to effectively negotiate the job offer you want.
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