In my last column, we reviewed how you can best determine your market worth. This is a great first step, but you must still negotiate your best deal with your prospective employer. Let’s look at some of the factors that influence this.
When you are invited to take on a new job, the usual process is for the employer to provide an informal verbal offer, followed by a formal written offer. If the offer is verbal, make sure you get as many details as possible before accepting:
- Job Title
- Your Supervisor’s name
- Salary (including any bonus or profit sharing)
- Benefits
- Perquisites such as car allowances, club memberships, education reimbursement, paid parking, etc.
- Vacation entitlement
- Start Date
- Any other significant or relevant issues you discussed in the interview
You do not need to accept the offer right away. You can thank them, and ask for some time to think about it. This is your opportunity to give some real thought to the offer.
How to negotiate your salary
Usually, the biggest potential sticking point for both sides at this stage is salary. The employer has made their decision, and you’re it! While there is usually some leeway with salary, BE CAREFUL — you can still lose out if you are asking for more than the hiring manager is willing to pay. On the other hand, it is usually very difficult to negotiate after you have accepted the job. Vague offers of “we can review your salary after 3 months” or “we have a regular salary review process that you will naturally be part of” are usually simply mechanisms to avoid any further negotiations and have you accept the offer.
As with any negotiations, you must know what your bargaining position is, and the key to this knowledge is understanding the marketplace for your services.
Organizational size matters
Remember that size matters. Larger organizations typically have deeper pockets and can usually afford to pay more for a better quality of candidate. These organizations also tend to be more complicated and demanding of their employees. They can often be bound by salary ranges and corporate salary guidelines.
Show me the compensation package!
Many times, the hiring manager has legitimate restrictions on what they can offer you in terms of salary. While salary is the usual key to any compensation package, it is not the only factor — consider asking for other important compensation items, such as more time off, or flexible hours, telecommuting, etc., rather than only money, especially if you know they are not likely to offer more money.
Determine what the lowest salary point is that you would be willing to accept beforehand, when you are at your most objective. While money is very important, it certainly isn’t everything. You need to know what compensation factors are most important to you, and try to be creative and flexible to achieve a satisfactory package.
There are many excellent books on effective negotiating — now is the time to brush up and research better negotiating. It could be some of the most lucrative reading you will ever do.
As with any negotiation, try not to offer back ultimatums: always allow the other side some wiggle room. Remind them why you feel you are worth what you are asking before asking for more, and always be polite and non-confrontational. Try to give them a definite position (eg, $55,000 plus an extra week of vacation) that will lead to a “Yes”, rather than simply asking for more. If the other side agrees to your position, don’t then add more conditions — try to ask for everything at once that will lead to a “Yes”. Once you get into the heavy-duty negotiating, you can easily get caught up by a good negotiator, and be swayed by their arguments.
Finally, if the compensation package being offered is not acceptable to you, you can of course say “No”, but do be prepared to move on and look for work at another organization.
Good luck!
Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.ca.
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