Salary Negotiation - How To Get Started

A friend recently asked me for some advice or tips on how to negotiate a salary. They are no expert at salary negotiation and would like to get better.

Being excellent at salary negotiation takes extensive experience. I have been interviewed well over a hundred times and negotiated salary very successfully. I'd be happy to discuss what I view as a quick approach that can help you get ready for salary negotiation and achieve significant results.

What follows here is a great set of introductory strategies, however there are many approaches to salary negotiation. It is very important for those looking for a higher salary to have the full picture. You need to know all the relevant strategies for salary negotiation to be successful. You may be faced with objections and have negotiation hurdles to overcome.

I am going to give you the best possible synopsis of salary negotiation to do's in this article. It is certainly a vast topic with a lot of nuances.

The following presents an overview of the must do's.

1) Be diligent in your job market research to find out the perceived value of the role you are going to fill. Check with some common salary web sites like salaryexpert.com or salary.monster.com or payscale.com for those.

2) Document all the things you can where you have added value to the business or employer. Pay special attention to tasks you do that are above the call of duty.

3) Determine where you stand in relation to other personnel in the business. This may take a bit of effort on your part. Ask your friends. It seems more socially acceptable these days to discuss your salary. Be careful how you approach this subject.

4) Be strategic about timing, and sow the seed in your employer's mind. Approach them when they are available and not when they are rushed off to their next meeting or out the door for the weekend.

5) Make sure the boss feels it is a good time to talk. If they are busy, or rushed out, then don't approach them. Rather, ask when would they be free, and plan a meeting for that time. Present your salary negotiation confidently. Confidence is a crucial element to success in negotiation.

6) Make sure you've conscientiously rehearsed through some objections and have thought out your responses to the objections. There is always a way to keep the salary negotiation on a win-win path.

7) Don't be discouraged when you're negotiating salary, and make sure to present a high level of confidence. Never give ultimatums that you're not prepared to follow through with because you may be forced into it if negotiations go wrong. Always look for the win for both sides in the

There are many ways you can approach an employer for salary negotiation. Make sure you do so with tact and keen awareness of pitfalls and challenges you may face. Its crucial to steer away from landmines in order to come out ahead and negotiate the best salary for yourself.

One successful strategy is to defer the topic of how much salary until the employer brings it up. They will either disclose their acceptable range, or they will ask you what your acceptable salary range is. It is best to put this off as until as late in the salary negotiation process as possible.

When you receive an offer that you're not happy you can always ask the employer the question, is that the best possible offer you can make me at this time? When you follow up with silence, the boss will be scrambling to say something. If the answer to the question is yes, you need to discuss why you cannot accept it, and that you have reasons to believe you are worth more. If the response is no then ask them if it is possible for them to give your top salary request.

Whatever strategy you chose, make sure you've built up your case to support your negotiation and ensure that know your script by rehearsing. Plan for objections, and know how to deal with suprise or unpredictable scenarios. Always leave the door open for future salary negotiation, until you close the deal in a way that makes you happy.

To your total negotiating success.