Community Employment Resource Centre

Salary Negotiation – Learning the art!

There is no doubt that salary negotiation is a delicate art. Your best bet is to go into the interview with as much information as possible. Without question, you should research the salary for your position and company itself. Specifically, you should consider the following bargaining points:

® Know the worth of your position – be aware of the low, mid and high salary range to use as a guideline. A useful Internet site to check on local wages is: http://www.labourmarketinformation.ca.

® Clarify what qualifies you to make more than the average pay and the employer’s initial offer – what added value do you offer the employer. The best approach is to take the job description for the position and analyze how you can add more to the bottom line for the company (always their main interest). You can ask yourself the following:

Ø Can I help the company make money?

Ø Can I help the company save money?

Ø Could my skills be used to speed up production, decrease waste, add a valued service, or improve customer relations?

Ø Do I have stories illustrating that I perform consistently over quota?

Ø Could I act as a manager who would handle bigger budgets, manage more effective teams, and provide measurably superior leadership?

Ø Can I prove that my organizational skills can save the company time?

Ø Can I demonstrate that my public relations or customer service skills could improve the company image or turn it around?

Ø Can I help save training time by being an independent, bright self-starter who learns quickly and doesn’t mind jumping in head first?

Ø Do I have innovative ideas that could bring distinction, respect, and perhaps awards to the company?

Ø Can I prove, with examples, that I can get it done faster, better, cleaner, safer, more beautifully or more accurately?

® Determine your target salary and benefits – a general guideline would be 15-20% above the employers initial offer, and determine which benefits are necessary for you and those that are nice to have.

® Forecast how long you are willing to wait for the offer you want – this would depend on how quickly you need the income – perhaps on the spot or perhaps you have the luxury of waiting a few days. On that note, though, if you can afford to wait a bit the chances for things to go in your favour would be greater.

Through all this, try not to let the typical fears about negotiating get in your way. These fears would include:

® If you ask for more, you may jeopardize the offer – if they want you for the job, they will be willing to negotiate

® You don’t consider yourself the wheeler-dealer type – actually the communication is very subtle in negotiations and in fact, it can be advantageous to have a lower voice

® The company really means that they have no more to offer – most often, with the exception being government or academia, the employer has 15 – 20 % more in the budget than what they initially offer the candidate

® Being seen as greedy – wanting to improve your lifestyle and the lives of family and friends, or to plan for old age security and kids educations is not greed.

® You don’t believe your skills merit asking for more – review your skills and accomplishments and stop being your worst critic

Negotiations are not a battle or a balancing act, but rather an open-ended discussion. You may find it helpful to keep these tips in mind:

® Try and keep salary out of the discussion until you have been offered a position or until at least the second interview

® Do not be the first one to mention an exact amount of money, even if it comes in the form of a question based on what you made at your last job

® Always speak in terms of ranges rather than exact figures (know what your minimum amount is – complete a very detailed budget incorporating the 25% that is deducted every pay for taxes, etc)

® Postpone saying “no” or “yes” to an offer until you are sure you have all the information

® Be patient – as mentioned above, if you have time – don’t rush the decision

® Keep in mind that the negotiations are not just financial in the form of salary, but can also include various benefits/compensation packages:

Ø Relocation fees

Ø Sign-on bonus

Ø Life, disability, and accident insurances

Ø Medical, dental, vision, and counselling benefits

Ø Paid holidays

Ø Vacation days

Ø Health spa or gym membership

Ø Company car

Ø Mileage reimbursement

Ø Training and education reimbursement

Ø 401(k)

Ø Profit sharing

Ø Commission structure

Ø Bonuses

Ø Performance and salry review after 90 days

Ø Stock options

Ø Telecommuting

Ø Flextime

Ø Childcare reimbursement

Ø Company sponsored discounts on goods and services

Ø Parking reimbursement

Ø Commuting reimbursement

Ø First or business class airfare

Ø Expense accounts and company credit cards

When it comes time to evaluate an offer, you should base your judgment on your core values. Take a look at the list below and rank them in order with 1 being most important to you.

Financial security	Aesthetics	Competition	Great wealth
Social contact	Recognition	Helping others	Using tech skills
Spiritual fulfillment	Excitement	Variety	Intellectual stimulation
Independence	Challenge	Flextime	Minimum stress
Short commute	Mastery	Leadership	Minimum stimulation
Routine	Advancement

Next, choose the top 9 values for yourself. Any offer you receive should be weighed against this short list. Make a pros and cons type list where the values that are satisfied are put on the pro side and those that aren’t are put on the con side. This helps to make a decision, as it is usually very visual with one side outweighing the other.