1. Introduction
Negotiating your next salary can be both a challenging and rewarding experience. A great deal of care is required when you are negotiating with your prospective employer. It is best not to appear greedy; rather as someone who wants a fair level of
pay for a fair day's work. Negotiations may well founder over
your salary and a certain amount of tact, skill and diplomacy may be required to get the best deal for yourself.
2. What affects your salary negotiations?
There are a number of factors that affect your ability to negotiate the best possible salary. Your CV must be well-written and reflect your true market worth. If it doesn't then you may struggle to get interviews and when you do get interviews you
will be fighting an uphill battle from the start. A good CV will lead the employer through the successes in your career and tell them why they should employ you.
At the interview stage your CV will form the basis of an employer's questions. So, if it doesn't convey a highly favourable impression of you it will severely hamper your salary
negotiations. If you need assistance in putting together an interview-winning CV please consult a professional CV writing service (such as Bradley CVs). In fact a good CV could add 10% or more to your next salary, as it will convey your full market worth to an employer - so it would be money well spent.
The impression you give of yourself at the interview will play a major part in determining your salary. Make sure that you are smartly dressed and well groomed. You should prepare thoroughly beforehand. As well as preparing for the actual interview itself you should also prepare for the salary negotiations as well. Find out the salary range for the job you are applying for and
also the salary range for similar jobs.
If you are applying for the job through a recruitment agency
please ensure that you have talked to them before the interview about salary. Most recruitment agencies are paid a percentage of your salary as their fee - so it is in their interest for you to maximise your next salary. Your recruitment consultant should have a good feeling for what the employer is willing to pay and
how much you are likely to get.
To maximise your next salary you must ensure that you perform well at the interview. At the interview itself make sure you state all your work related achievements. It is also very important to stress what you can do for your new employer. The
more they feel they need you the more they will be prepared to pay you. If you are a specialist or a senior manager you may be able to negotiate a substantial bonus for a certain level of performance. Of course, you will have to achieve this level of performance to get your bonus!
3. Benefits
There are a number of components that makes up your final remuneration package - so there is often a lot of room to negotiate. As well as a basic salary you may also be able to negotiate bonuses if your performance is at a certain level, or
benefits in kind, such as a company car, private health insurance, a company pension, etc. Before you go to the interview make sure you know what is included in your current package and what they are worth. You will also want to think
about what sort of package you are expecting from your new
employer.
4. Redundancy
When you have been made redundant you may feel that you will
have to accept a lower salary than your previous position. This should not be the case, in fact you may well be able to increase your salary. Do not be tempted to accept a lower salary if this will cause you to resent your new employer - your feelings of 'they got me cheaply' may well affect your performance.
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5. Handling salary related interview questions
So we now come to the part of this free guide where we deal with
the two crucial questions you will be asked at an interview: How much did you earn in your last job? What level of salary are you looking for now? Getting this part of the interview right can add literally thousands to your next salary package - so you
need to make sure you get it right!
"What did you earn in your last job?"
You have to be very careful when answering this question because
once an interviewer knows your current salary they will try and fix your next remuneration package based on this figure. This may be satisfactory if you only wanted a modest rise in salary and your current salary is in line with their salary range, but, what if your current salary is substantially lower than the rate
for the job, or if you want a substantial salary rise?
In these cases you would be best advised to say that you do not really want to prejudice yourself by being too high or too low. Ask if you can discuss this later after the responsibilities for the job have been discussed; you may also want to ask them what the range for the job is (if you do not already know). If the new job you are discussing is substantially different from your current job you might want to point this out. This is especially true if the new job carries far more responsibilities than your
existing job.
If you feel that you must state your actual salary then add up all your benefits, including salary, bonuses, car allowance, pension, healthcare, etc. Giving just one figure will make your total remuneration package seem larger than just giving them
your actual basic salary.
"What level of salary are you looking for now?"
Be very careful when you answer this question - you do not want to appear to be too greedy or just be seen as a money grabber. You need to make sure that you convey that you are looking for a new career opportunity and you should emphasise your potential with their organisation.
If you are applying for a specific vacancy you could ask them what the salary range is. Once they have answered you could say "I think my experience would place me at the top end of your range, don't you?" This one question could add thousands to your next salary - so don't be afraid to ask it. You should only ask this question if you feel confident that they would say, "Yes". If they ask you this question fairly early on in the interview you could delay answering by saying "It is hard to discuss salary without first knowing a little bit more about the job and the responsibilities."
If this is a new position or there is no defined salary then the salary negotiation is wide open. It would probably be best if this was the initial meeting with the employer to say that you would need to see the full job description before you could answer this question. If there isn't a job description then you could offer to help write it - this would give you scope to find out more before you negotiate your salary.
6. Afterthoughts
You should approach the actual salary negotiation just as you would any other negotiation. Don't be shy about stating why you are worth X, when they think you are only worth Y. If you cannot get the initial basic salary you want you may be able to
persuade them to increase your salary level after a period of time. You might be able to supplement your basic salary with extra benefits in kind or a good bonus payment if you perform satisfactorily. |
Executive Positions
