You aced the interview and landed the offer, but here comes the hard part: negotiating your salary. Learn how to navigate this delicate process with confidence and tact.

1. Presented by:
Lauren Burmester &
Valerie Kielmovitch
Career Services
Career Services
(386) 226-6054 ▪ careers@erau.edu ▪ http://careers.erau.edu

2. • What is a job offer?
• Negotiating Basics
• Conducting Research
• Salary Talk
• The Job Offer
• The Negotiation Process/Counter-Proposal
• Accepting the Offer

3. Not just the amount of salary the employer extends
“Job Offer” is a comprehensive package:
• Health and retirement benefits
• Vacation time
• Sign-on bonus
• Relocation assistance
• Performance evaluations
• Stock options
• Professional development options
• Travel requirements
• Tuition reimbursement
• Flexibility of work schedule
• Telecommute options
• Immigration paperwork

4. • When to negotiate
• Negotiate only when you feel you are not
being offered what you and the job are worth
• Don’t negotiate just for the sake of it
• Do not negotiate until an offer is made
• Recent grad/not too much room for negotiation
• Know your strengths
• As a new grad you have more negotiating power if:
 You have relevant work experience (internship or summer job)
 You have technical expertise that is highly sought-after
 You have a graduate degree in an area of expertise
 You have a written job from another employer that
offers a higher salary (use only if you have not already accepted)
 You have campus involvement/project experience/thesis
expertise
 You have completed research and published

5. • Things you need to consider:
• Your worth
• Your budget
• The industry of the employer
• The geographic location
• How much recent grads are getting paid
• How much other similar positions are posting for
• The position, company, competition
• The economic climate

6. • For comprehensive salary data:
• www.salary.com (Salary Wizard)
• www.glassdoor.com (Self reporting system)
• www.careerbliss.com (Self reporting system)
• http://homefair.com (Salary Calculator)
• http://college.wsj.com
• JobStar ( www.jobstar.org )
• Salary Survey of the National Association of Colleges & Employers
• Salary Success: Know What You’re Worth and Get It
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics
• US News & World Report
• Business Week
• Professional Associations, Trade Journals, Business Magazines
• Newspaper and online job listings

7. • Use websites such as NACE to find salary research and
information:

8. • You want to put off the salary talk as long as possible
• The first one to talk salary loses negotiating power
• Talking about salary early can also make you look more
focused on money than the position
• Entry-level candidates want to let the employer bring up
the salary first. Once you have had the opportunity to
demonstrate your qualifications, you’ll be in a better
situation to discuss your salary requirements

9. The Application
• Sometimes employers will ask for the following on the
application:
• Salary requirement -how much you expect
to get paid
• Salary history- how much were you paid in
the past
• Used by employers as a screening device

10. Possible application responses
Request Possible response
Your Salary
Requirement
 Provide your salary requirement
 Provide a wide salary range
 State that you “expect competitive or fair compensation”
 Express your salary flexibility
 State that you would prefer to discuss salary in an
interview
 Give your salary history instead
 Ignore the salary request
Whenever
possible
 Do not provide your salary history or salary requirement
prior to an offer so you may maintain your power as long
as possible.
Retrieved from www.quintcareers.com

11. During the Interview:
• If asked for your salary requirement during an
interview you can:
• Express expectation to be paid in line with
market conditions and your experience level
• Let the employer know you prefer to wait to
discuss salary until you have both determined
you are the right person for the position
• Ask for what their expected salary range is
• Provide a salary range

12. • Until you receive a job offer-there is nothing to
negotiate
• If you don’t provide a salary requirement some
employers may not consider you for the position
• Do your research in advance and have a
pre-determined salary range in mind
• Never lie to an employer about your salary history
• Act professionally
• Inquire about company policies regarding raises

13. • You have been offered the job, now what?
• No matter how good the offer sounds, take sometime to think it
over-it is customary to ask for 24-48 hours to think an offer over
• Thank the interviewer for the offer and express your interest in the
company and position but ask for time to evaluate the offer
• Think about your expectations, find similar salaries and do your
research

14. • What if the job offer is less than what you had hoped for?
Now it’s time to move to the negotiation stage…
• Ask for a higher salary and provide reasons why
 Reasons should be benefits to the employer NOT
because you need more money to pay your bills
• Always ask, never demand for more money
• Use humble language: “Hope”
• Never say “Want”, “Expect”, “Require” , “Demand”
• Provide a salary range higher than you are willing to accept to
allow room for negotiation from the employer

15. • Counter Proposal
• Can be done in person, on the phone, or by email
• An employer may ask for a written counter proposal letter
• Use your best judgment
• It is up to you to demonstrate why you are a value to the
company and why you are worth the added investment
• If salary cannot be negotiated (you receive a
“firm offer”), consider negotiating other aspects
of your benefits package such as:
• Change in evaluation period, sign-on bonus, vacation
time, relocation, company laptop or cell phone (if it’s
needed in your position), stock options, etc.

16. • Example:
“I am extremely excited about your job offer. I think your company
is a good fit for me and the Systems Engineering position would be
a wonderful opportunity. However, I am hoping we can
discuss the current salary offer. I have conducted some research
on salary for a similar position in this area and based on my
educational background as well as internship experience I am
hoping for a salary range between $54,000-$58,000. Please let me know
if you can help me with this.”

17. • Throughout the negotiation process make sure to continue to
sell your skills and experiences
• Never make demands, keep the tone conversational instead
of demanding
• Do not keep counter-offers going for multiple rounds; after your
initial counter proposal you should avoid making additional
demands-remember your offer could still be rescinded
• If you have no true intentions of accepting the job offer then do
not start the negotiation process-do not waste yours or
the company’s time
• Ask yourself: If they accept my requests, am I prepared to accept the position?
Source: www.quintcareers.com/printable/salary_counter_proposal.html

18. • Now the ball is back on the employer’s court-and you
will wait for a response
• The employer will get back to you and either agree to
your requests or give you a counter offer-you may ask
for more time to evaluate your new offer

19. • After you and the employer come to an agreement,
be sure to get the details in writing
• Ask for an official letter of offer or contract; this will
guarantee that:
• Your boss will not later forget what you have
agreed upon
• New management will know what agreements
were made when you were hired
• Once you accept an offer and all negotiations have
ceased you should also stop/withdraw from all other
interviewing

20. Try not doing the following:
 Settling/not negotiating
 Revealing how much you would accept
 Focusing on need/greed rather than value
 Weak research or negotiation preparation
 Making a salary pitch too early
 Accepting a job offer too quickly
 Declining a job offer too quickly
 Asking for too many changes in counteroffer
 Taking salary negotiations personally
 Not asking for final offer in writing
Source: www.quintcareers.com

21. • The first person to mention salary loses negotiating
power
• Have a fair range in mind – be able to justify your
requirements
• Have reasonable expectations based on the industry,
position, geographic location, and experience
• If you don’t ask, you won’t receive
• You can always try to negotiate other benefits
• Don’t be too pushy – they can rescind the offer

22. • www.quintcareers.com
• http://ezinearticles.com
• www.resume-help.org
• http://susanireland.com
• www.collegejournal.com
• http://career-advice.monster.com
• www.1st-writer.com

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