The art of successful salary negotiation

It’s the dreaded question every interviewee will face. What are your salary expectations? You don’t want to go too low if their range is higher and you also don’t want to go too high and risk disqualifying yourself from consideration.

One of the issues with salary negotiation today is that we’ve come to believe that the side that reveals their expectations first loses. But the bottom line is, if one side feels they have “lost” in the negotiation then no one wins. The art of successful salary negotiation (for both parties) is to aim for a win-win.

Here are some tips for ensuring your salary expectations are met:

• Do your research. If a salary range is not listed on the job posting, do some salary research for similar jobs in the marketplace. Talk to your peers and take a quick look at online job boards and you should have enough information to set yourself a benchmark.

• Don’t just focus on the dollars. There is more to a job offer than just the base salary. You can also negotiate on other aspects of the total package, such as annual leave allowance, flexible work arrangements and bonuses.
• Focus on your value not your salary history. Many companies tend to base their offer on your current salary. However, if your previous job was paying you less than you were worth (perhaps you took a lower salary to break in to a new field), you don’t want the company’s expectations to start too low. Focus on the value you bring to the job and the company – your skills, experience, cultural fit, etc – and that you feel your qualifications are in line with what they are looking for. Let them make the offer.
• Be clear on the offer. It’s important that both parties are on the same page when negotiating the salary package. For example, be clear on whether superannuation is part of or on top of the salary package offered.
• Don’t be afraid to counter. Don’t necessarily accept the company’s formal offer as final. If it’s not what you expected, come back with a counter offer along with reasons why you are worth more to them. Remember to do your research first to determine what the job is worth. If the offer is fixed, they’ll say so. Otherwise, you might open up a few counters back and forth until both parties are satisfied. Be careful not to be too greedy or aggressive in the counter offer or you risk turning the employer off.

In today’s job market with companies more wary of their bottom lines, it’s more important than ever to focus on the value you bring. Companies are looking for the employees that are going to positively contribute to their organisation.

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