2. 2
Check-In with Coaches
Think about your future job offers:
How do you feel about negotiating salary and
benefits?
What challenges do you foresee negotiating
your salary and benefits?
4. 4
Step 1: Evaluate the Offer Wisely
Identify the salary you can reasonably expect for the type of
position. Useful sites include:
Salary.com
Glassdoor.com
Payscale.com
Careeronestop.org
Identify your own salary needs according to your household
budget.
Consider offer in terms of long-term career goals, work
environment, and benefits.
Make a list of the pros and cons of the job offer.
Make sure job description is clear.
Remember! Salary is only one part of job compensation. Often
better benefits make up for a lower salary.
5. 5
Step 2: Communicate Effectively
• If offer is less than expected, let them know that. State you are still
interested in the position if they want to reconsider their offer.
• Be willing to accept compromises, like additional benefits, in place
of a higher salary.
Tuition help
Training
More vacation time
Flexible schedule
Stock options
Onsite daycare
• Use your value, skills, experience, and education to negotiate. Do
not use your need for the job to negotiate.
6. 6
Step 3: Understand the Rules of the Game
• Don't assume the first offer is fixed. Even if the interviewer tells
you it is, it rarely is.
• If the same figure is offered a couple days later, it probably is
the last offer. In that case, you can ask for a salary review in six
months.
Or turn the job down, asking that they keep you in mind for
future openings paying more money.
If you do this, remember not to burn bridges. You never
know what might happen.
• Even when saying "no," leave the door open to negotiation.
When you say "no," be ready to lose the job forever.
• When you reach an agreement, request the agreement in
writing!
7. 7
The Cardinal Rules of Negotiation
Never undermine your skills,
experience, and education! You
are your best advocate.
Don’t let fear get in your way. You
will never know what is
(reasonably) possible unless you
ask for it!
8. 8
Applying Negotiation Tactics
1. You’ve been offered a salary that is significantly below your expectations.
You know a lot of people who applied for the position you are being offered.
Because of that, you are nervous to negotiate, but you cannot afford to work
full-time for the company at this salary.
2. The hiring manager has offered you a full-time position at $15/hour. You
were hoping for a minimum of $20/hour. The manager has indicated that
they cannot move on the wage, but that the company does offer tuition
reimbursement and reduced childcare.
3. You applied for and got a job with a company you do not want to work for
and in a position that you are not interested in. They have offered you a
competitive salary, but you are still uncertain if this is the direction you
want to move towards.
4. The hiring manager has offered you a salary right in the middle of the range
of what you were expecting, based on your research for what other
employees with your skills and experience earn. Since this is their first
offer, you think you can negotiate the salary.
Notas do Editor
Check-In with Coaches (15 minutes)
Think about your future job offers:
How do you feel about negotiating salary and benefits?
What challenges do you foresee negotiating your salary and benefits?
Use this time with students to invite them share some of the internship high and lowlights. In facilitating these discussions, ensure that the conversation remains productive. Encourage students to provide each other with support as well as sharing of experiences and lessons learned.
Why Negotiate?
Recent research from Salary.com shows that Americans who don’t negotiate for a raise are leaving serious cash on the table, adding up to more than $1,037,773 over a lifetime of hard work.
But 41% of employees aren’t negotiating for more money. Most are afraid of being turned down, yet most employers are willing to grant raises for deserving workers.
Negotiating even just a 4% raise every three years can increase your earnings to over $1 million over your lifetime. Salary.com’s report gave an interesting scenario of two employees who handle salary negotiation very differently.
Two job candidates are offered a position paying $45,000. Jane negotiates for $50,000 right off the bat, while Jim accepts the initial offer. Jane gets her standard 1% raise each year, but also negotiates a 4% raise every third year. Jim stays content with his 1% annually.
After just five years, Jane is making almost $7,000 a year more than Jim. After 45 years (boy, they love their jobs, don’t they?) Jane is making more than $43,000 over Jim’s salary. Jim has lost out on more than $1 million he could have earned over his lifetime if he had only negotiated his salary.
Negotiating your salary is a two-way street. It's important to come to a win-win solution since it can set the tone for your work life with the future employer. But wait until after you receive a job offer to start talking about salary. Everyone approaches the process differently. Use the tips below that you're most comfortable with.
Evaluate the Offer Wisely
Identify the salary you can reasonably expect for the type of position. A networking contact at the company may be helpful in determining this.
Identify your own salary needs according to your household budget.
Consider the job offer in terms of your long-term career goals, the work environment, and the benefits. Talk it over with someone you respect. Make a list of the pros and cons of the job offer.
Make sure the job description is clear. Note your reporting relationships, authority, and advancement potential.
Remember that salary is only one part of job compensation. Often better benefits — like flexible schedules or excellent health insurance — make up for a lower salary. Most entry-level employees can expect a basic benefit package consisting of:
Health insurance Dental insurance Disability insurance
Life insurance Paid vacation time Paid sick leave
Paid holidays
A more comprehensive benefit package might include some or all of the following:
Bonuses
Child and day-care services
Company car
Cost-of-living adjustments
Desirable office
Education and training programs
Expense accounts
Flexible work schedule
Parental leave Parking
Professional membership dues
Profit sharing plans
Relocation payments
Retirement plans
Savings plans
Special equipment (i.e. laptop computer)
Stock Options
Supplementary pay plans
Termination agreement (severance pay)
Unpaid leave time
Step 2: Communicate Effectively
If you are uncertain if you want the job, state that you would like to discuss some items before you can accept the job. Suggest meeting again to talk about the offer.
Listen carefully. If the offer is less than you expected, let them know that. State you are still interested in the position if they want to reconsider their offer.
Begin the negotiation with reasonable requests. Be willing to accept compromises like receiving additional benefits in place of a higher salary. These could include tuition help, training, more vacation time, a flexible schedule, stock options, a company car, onsite daycare, parking privileges, etc.
Negotiations should never become emotional or hostile. Use your value, skills, experience, and education to negotiate. Do not use your need for the job to negotiate.
Understand the Rules of the Game
Don't assume the first offer is fixed. Even if the interviewer tells you it is, it rarely is.
If the same figure is offered a couple days later, it probably is the last offer. In that case, you can ask for a salary review in six months. Or you can turn the job down, asking that they keep you in mind for future openings paying more money. If you do this, remember not to burn bridges. You never know what might happen.
Even when saying "no," leave the door open to negotiation. (Don't use this as a trick to negotiate a higher wage. When you say "no," be ready to lose the job forever.)
When you reach an agreement, request the agreement in writing. Review it carefully.
Applying Negotiation Tactics (25 minutes)
In groups of 3-4, share the following scenarios with students. Groups should discuss how they would approach these scenes. Once each group has had to discuss, each group will act out at least one of the scenarios. Provide feedback as necessary and invite students to offer their classmates’ feedback.
You’ve been offered a salary that is significantly below your expectations. You know a lot of people who applied for the position you are being offered. Because of that, you are nervous to negotiate, but you cannot afford to work full-time for the company at this salary.
The hiring manager has offered you a full-time position at $15/hour. You were hoping for a minimum of $20/hour. The manager has indicated that they cannot move on the wage, but that the company does offer tuition reimbursement and reduced childcare.
You applied for and got a job with a company you do not want to work for and in a position that you are not interested in. They have offered you a competitive salary, but you are still uncertain if this is the direction you want to move towards.
The hiring manager has offered you a salary right in the middle of the range of what you were expecting, based on your research for what other employees with your skills and experience earn. Since this is their first offer, you think you can negotiate the salary.
