How To Negotiate Salary After a Job Offer
When an employer extends a job offer, they’ll usually present you with a compensation and benefits package verbally or in writing, along with a proposed salary. If you don’t feel the pay aligns with your education, career level, skill set and experience, you may choose to negotiate for more money. You may also suggest another form of compensation, such as equity or stock options, or additional perks, such as extra vacation days. In this article, we explain how to negotiate the salary you want in 6 steps with examples of how to initiate the discussion and frequently asked questions about salary negotiation.
Key takeaways:
- Research industry salary trends and evaluate what you have to offer when negotiating your salary. Consider presenting a salary range rather than just one number.
- Your geographic location, years of experience, managerial experience, education level, career level, skills, licenses and certifications can influence your salary.
- Don't be afraid to walk away from a job offer if the employer can't meet your minimum salary requirement or offer additional benefits that make it worthwhile.
1. Start by evaluating what you have to offer
Knowing how much value you can offer an employer is important before beginning the salary negotiation process. Several factors can influence your compensation, such as:
- Geographic location: Consider the cost of living in your geographic location. For example, you might require a higher salary in capital cities than villages for the same job because living there generally costs more.
- Years of industry experience: If the job description requires three to five years of experience and you meet the higher requirement, it might warrant a higher salary.
- Years of leadership experience: Similar to industry experience, if the employer prefers or requires leadership skills and you meet or exceed their expectations, it may be justification for higher pay.
- Education level: Relevant bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate or specialized degree programs can impact your compensation.
- Career level: Generally, you can expect a higher pay range as you advance in your career.
- Skills: Niche or technical skills that take time to master may attract higher salaries.
- Licenses and certifications: An employer may require or prefer that you have specific licenses or certifications. If you already have them, you might be in a good position to request greater compensation.
When you begin your salary negotiation, be sure to reiterate why you’ll be a valuable employee and use the above factors to justify your desired salary.
2. Research the market average
The market average is a good baseline for your salary request and can even be used as justification. This tool uses salaries listed from past and present job postings on Indeed as well as data submitted anonymously by other Indeed users. Here are some questions to consider as you begin your market research:
- What's the national average salary for the position?
- What's the average in your geographic location and cities nearby?
- How much do similar companies in your area pay employees in this position?
3. Prepare your talking points
As you’re developing negotiation notes, it might be helpful to answer the following question as a framework for your conversation: Why do you feel you deserve a higher salary than the one the employer is offering?
When asking for additional compensation, be sure to provide one to two solid examples of why the company should invest more in you. It's important to avoid asking for more money without any reason, much as you wouldn't spend more of your money without understanding the value of the product. Provide a relevant example from your past that can persuade the hiring manager to increase your income. Outside of income, you can also negotiate benefits, time off or other valuable perks.
Put together a few talking points before you contact the employer, and be as specific as possible. You might include information such as:
- Results you’ve achieved in previous roles, including goals you’ve met, the revenue you’ve helped generate or awards you've earned. If possible, use actual numbers
- Years of industry experience, particularly if you have more experience than the employer stated as a minimum requirement
- Skills or certifications, especially if they are in high demand within your industry
- Average salaries being offered by other employers for similar roles
4. Schedule a time to discuss
Contact the recruiter or hiring manager to set up a time to speak over the phone. While it’s acceptable to negotiate over email, it’s more effective to have a verbal exchange. Speaking over the phone, in a video call or in person allows you to have a back-and-forth conversation, express gratitude and clearly communicate your requirements. Be respectful and clear, as the recruiter or hiring manager will be the ones advocating for your salary to the decision-makers.
5. Be confident
Speaking with confidence is as important as the words you say. The more confidence you convey, the more confident the employer will be in their consideration of your feedback. Lack of confidence can also result in over-explaining or apologizing for your request, neither of which is helpful in a negotiation scenario. Confidence, an appreciation of our own abilities and qualities, should not be confused with arrogance, an exaggerated sense of our importance. Appearing overconfident or arrogant always gives a negative impression. Instead, confidently and simply state your requested salary with a brief summary of your talking points.
6. Ask for the top of your range
One fundamental rule of salary negotiation is to give the employer a slightly higher number than your goal. This way, if they negotiate down, you’ll still end up with a salary offer you feel comfortable accepting. If you provide a salary range, the employer will likely err on the lower end, so be sure the lowest number you provide is still an amount you feel is fair.
Salary negotiation email examples
Here is how you might approach the situation if you want to begin the negotiation process via email:
Hi HR,
Thank you for sending over the job offer package for the Marketing Director position. I want to state again how honored I am to be considered for this exciting position, and I appreciate you sharing these details.
Before I can accept your offer, I want to address the proposed compensation. As I shared with your recruiting manager, I have more than 10 years of experience in digital marketing and have worked in leadership positions for the past six years.
In my last role, I increased the number of marketing-influenced leads by nearly 40% annually and helped deliver a 25% increase in annual revenue. Given my experience and expertise, I am seeking a salary in the range of 8,000 to 10,000 cedis, which is slightly higher than your offer of 6,000 cedis. I know I can bring a great deal of value to ABC Company and help you exceed your revenue expectations this year.
Please let me know when we can discuss the salary further. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you,
Williams Asenso-Agyemang.
Salary negotiation conversation example
Here is how you might approach the situation if you're negotiating face-to-face or via phone or video call:
"Thank you for sending over the job offer package for the Regional Sales Manager position. First and foremost, I want to reiterate how excited I am about the opportunity. I believe in your product and know I could help you produce even greater results.
Before I accept the offer, I do want to address the proposed salary. As I shared during the interview, I have more than 12 years of experience in sales, including eight years in medical equipment sales and two more years of management experience than requested in the job description.
In my last role, my team exceeded the monthly quota by 15% for two years in a row and landed three of the largest accounts in company history. Given my background, I am seeking a salary in the range of 8,000 cedis to 10,000 cedis.
I am definitely open to discussing alternative compensation, such as opportunities for additional stock options or increased performance-based bonuses.
I’d love to hear your thoughts."
Thank you
Williams Asenso-Agyemang
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