Transcript Salary Negotiation When, What and How

GSLIS Continuing Education
Negotiating Salary and Benefits
When, What and How
Laura Saunders
Fall 2003
Job Offer Negotiation
When
• Never bring up salary or benefits on a first
interview.
• In fact, try not to be the first person to bring
up salary at all. Usually, the first person to
put a number on the table loses some
bargaining power, so if possible, wait for
the employer to present the salary range for
the position.
Job Offer Negotiations
• If you are asked to state your salary range,
you can usually deflect the question by
saying you are “flexible” or “negotiable”
• You can also try turning the question around
and asking the employer what range they
have in mind.
• Either way, express your enthusiasm for the
job and indicate that the experience is more
important than the salary.
Job Offer Negotiations
• In some cases, you may be pressed to give a
number first.
• If you have tried saying you are flexible,
and still feel you have to offer a number,
offer a range, rather than a flat number.
• Keep in mind that once you offer a range,
you must be ready to accept an offer
anywhere in that range.
Job Offer Negotiation
How: Evaluating the Offer
• Once the employer makes you an offer, you
must evaluate the entire package.
• First, be sure that you understand the entire
offer- the salary and the benefits.
• Ask for clarification if anything is unclear.
• Don’t accept an offer on the spot- it is
perfectly acceptable and advisable to ask for
a couple of days to think it over.
Job Offer Negotiation
How: Evaluating the Offer
• Take some time to review the offer.
• Make sure you are considering the whole
package- not just the salary.
• Many people make the mistake of just
looking at the salary, and not considering
the benefit package- vacation/ time off,
medical, dental, etc.
• Go over the benefits carefully and try to
determine what they are worth to you.
What are the Benefits?
• Different employers will offer different benefit
packages, and these can vary quite widely.
However, some standard benefits might include:
– Medical and/or Dental Insurance- usually a percentage
covered.
– Vacation time and sick time
– 401K Plans or Retirement/ Pension Plans
– Tuition Reimbursement
– Stock Options
– Life/ Disability Insurance
– Flex Time
What are Benefits Worth?
• In order to evaluate the benefits, you have
to determine what they are worth to you.
• It can be easy to add a value to certain types
of benefits-i.e. tuition reimbursement may
equal thousands of dollars a year- but only
if you use it.
• The value might be personal-ie if your
spouse has medical insurance, than the type
or amount of coverage offered by your
employer may not matter to you.
What Are Benefits Worth?
• Review the benefits package and decide
which benefits you would use, and how
much they might be worth to you, either
monetarily, or on a personal level.
• Add this to the salary to get an idea of the
complete picture.
Job Offer Negotiation
How: Evaluating the Offer
• Once you have looked at the whole offer,
ask yourself the following questions:
– How does the salary match the research you did
and your range?
– Will the salary meet your needs?
– Which benefits are offered? Do they match
your needs?
– Is this offer acceptable? If not, what would
make it acceptable to you?
Job Offer Negotiation
How: Evaluating the Offer
• When evaluating, you may also want to
consider some points that are outside of the
offer itself such as:
–
–
–
–
Commuting distance and options to job
Culture/ atmosphere of the office
Work Schedule
Management style
• These may be as important to your overall
job satisfaction as the salary and benefits.
Job Offer Negotiations
Before You Begin
• You have decided that you want to
negotiate. Before you begin:
– Know what you are worth- research salaries for your
position and level.
– There are many salary surveys that can give you an
indication of average salaries for different positions.
Check the class web site for links to these.
– Remember that most salary surveys give a national
average salary. These averages vary widely by
geographic region.
Job Offer Negotiations
Before You Begin
• You can get information that is more
geographically specific from:
– Salaryexpert.com
– Relocation Salary Calculator- lets you compare salaries
for different cities and states
• http://www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/salcalc.html
• Know what you need in order to meet your needsrent, food, etc. Create a budget to figure this out.
• Rather than a specific number- like $35,000- have
a $5- $7,000 range in mind.
Job Offer Negotiations
How: The Offer
• Once you have done your research, you can
begin to negotiate.
– Before you even begin, thank them for the offer
and express your enthusiasm about the job and
your interest in the position.
– Indicate that you were “hoping” to make more,
and offer your range. Be prepared to accept the
low end of your range.
– If you have other offers for more money, it is
okay to say so, but never lie.
Their Final Offer
• If the employer comes back with a new
offer that is within your requested range:
• Congratulations!!! You have successfully
negotiated your offer. Enjoy!
Their Final Offer
• If they can’t meet your salary requirements:
• The ball is back in your court.
– Weigh- and if possible negotiate- benefits.
– Consider the amount of experience you’ll gain.
– Make a list of pro’s and con’s.
Benefit Negotiations
• Most benefits are standard for all
employees, but some areas that may be
negotiable include:
– job title
– start date
– review date- especially important if a
performance review can be tied to a salary
increase
– amount of vacation
– flexible schedule- i.e. a compressed work week,
or non-standard hours.
Summary
• It is always worth trying to negotiate salary.
• Once the negotiation is done, however, the
decision is up to you and must be based on
the entire package including:
– Salary
– Benefits
– Overall experience