“You never get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate.”—Unknown
One of the critical junctures in the process of landing a new job is the time when the pay package for the position you are being offered is presented to you. Coming to this point in the process is preceded by many waypoints throughout the interview process, which also determine how you are able to negotiate what is being offered to you and what final pay package you end up getting.
Most do not realize that the pay package being offered is a culmination of many factors that emerge throughout the interview process and outside of it (most notably, the “market norms”). Many potential clients call me when they are already in the process of being offered a job—some even have an oral offer—before they realize that they need to negotiate their pay package to get what they want or to secure what they think that they deserve. Often, this is too late to make a case for the package other than merely negotiating a few percentage increases in the base salary or finessing the sign-on bonus.
Why?
Contrary to common misperception compensation at your new job is not tied to the current or your most recent salary. Actually, it is based on the value perception you create, promise, or is expected by your to-be employer in the open position. No two jobs are identical—other than perhaps in their job descriptions—thus making the notion of tying a salary to a comparable job in the same industry outdated. The most critical driving factor in setting the parameters for a pay package is the law of demand and supply.
So, if you are able to show that you are—or should be—in great demand in the current market for that specific job as you deem it should be filled, then you are in a much better position to get what you want. This is best done throughout the interview process, not when the HR functionaries are assembling a low-ball pay package to make you the initial job offer. Typically, when they call you with such an offer they’ll often preface it by saying that they have other candidates lined up if you do not accept this offer, especially if you wait to take action after their initial offer. You MUST do this from the get-go.
So, what are some of the strategies and tactics one must use to get the salary they want and rightfully deserve? Here is what I have practiced in my guidance to my clients, who work with me throughout their job transitions, starting with positioning their message and their résumé (and their cover letter) and then on acing the interviews. Some real-life contemporaneous examples are also provided without names or details to protect the clients involved.
- During the initial HR screening calls when the question of your salary comes up, honestly disclose your current (or last) salary with ALL the details accurately. In most cases you will be asked to produce documentary evidence of your salary during the final reference check if you end up qualifying yourself for the job. Do not inflate your salary just to get a better package at this job. Remember, if you do this right your current salary does not translate into your next salary; it merely provides the ammunition HR needs to wave you in for the next step in the process. When HR asks you about expected salary, respond by saying that you are open to a fair salary for this position at your place. Do NOT give them a number.
- During the interview process make sure that you present your value to the entire hiring team, especially the hiring manager. Do not be bound by the scope of the job opening as defined in the job description. If you can bring new or additional value to the position, by all means entice the interviewers first by asking the right questions and then by responding to them insightfully to wow! them. Please read my last blog, Why Should I Hire You?! (http://bit.ly/1fr2xKY)
- Once you reach the terminal stage of the selection process your final meeting with the hiring manager should be where you showcase your perspective on the job, how it can be re-positioned to create greater value in that job, and what responsibilities you plan to own to deliver what you think is your mission. Again, read my last blog, Why Should I Hire You?!
- If this job is a mere “me too” kind of an opening then emphasize your value proposition based on your interview discovery and ensure that they are going to get a great fit and someone, who will deliver above and beyond. This is when you respond to the salary question, What will it take for you to bring you on board and to join my team? In response you do not throw out a number for your base salary, but ask what they are willing to offer to make the deal. NEVER give out a number preemptively, because that will compromise your momentum—with either a low or a high number.
- If the offered number is within your expectations then smile, and suggest that we can work with that number. Then say, let me go and think through this what it will take to tip the scales and to make a deal. Then say let me get back to you in a day. Call with your numbers. Negotiate to move just one of the main parameters most important to you and then visit the others, depending on how they come back. Remember to properly consider the right weighting factors for at-risk components (bonus and stocks) and raw salary.
Using this approach let me give some more recent examples of how a few of my clients recently were able to get what they wanted once they were offered the job. In the case of a Software Manager with $185K/Yr. total compensation she was able to negotiate a total package of $235K (27% up) as a Senior Software Manager at a company on the East Coast. An ad executive in the Northwest was able to move his current compensation of $140K/Yr. to get $212K (70% up) with a sizable sign-on bonus, to boot.
Negotiating the right salary package takes knowing when to bring up the right topics of value, the price that entails (your pay package), and how the employer is getting a bargain at the price you are charging them. It takes confidence, knowing your play, and understanding how value perceptions are created. Hope this works for you, too!
Good luck!
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