If you are looking for a job, it is important for you to know where to look for salary negotiation advice and learn how to negotiate your salary.
This is a very important step in the hiring process. That’s why we go to work – to earn money!
It’s also a good skill to learn because it will help throughout your career. Money is always going to play an important part in life! It can help open up doors to a long and successful career.
Now, you can’t exactly force your new boss to stump up more money, but to make sure your finances are always running smoothly, you can always try to negotiate a better salary if you feel you are offering good value. So, here is a guide on where to look for salary negotiation advice and a few rules for successful salary negotiation:
How to Find Salary Negotiation Advice
Looking for salary negotiation advice but don’t know where to start? If so, then here are three sources you can find some great salary negotiation advice:
1. The Internet – A World Full of Information
We live in a world dominated by the internet and technologies. And the same way you are reading this article ‘online’ to look for sources for salary negotiation advice, explore the world full of information online for some important pointers, tips, tricks and mistakes to avoid. The internet is filled with useful information on how to negotiate salary.
Simply type ‘salary negotiation advice’ in Google and upon seeing the results, click any link you find the most interesting and intriguing. You will find links of businesses, blogs, and WordPress, all with sufficient information to guide you before and throughout the negotiation process. Additionally, you will even find some quick tips which you can consider reading just before your final interview.
2. Books – Portable Magic
Books are the ultimate source of information, whether you are looking for salary negotiation advice or anything else. You can read them during your leisure time or at night before you sleep. They jnclude readable pictures and humor and provide useful information at the same time. So, visit your nearest bookstore and look for books about salary negotiation. Some of the most popular books on salary negotiation include:
- Negotiating Your Salary: How to make $1,000 a Minute, by Jack Chapman.
- Negotiate Your Job Offer: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Win-Win Situation, by Mary Manz Simon (Wiley).
- Dynamite Salary Negotiations: Know What You’re Worth and Get It!, by Ronald and Caryl Krannich.
- Get Paid What you’re Worth: The Expert Negotiators’ Guide to Salary and Compensation, by Robin L. Pinkley (St. Martin’s Griffin).
- Salary Negotiation Tips For Professionals: Compensation That Reflects Your Value, by Ronald and Caryl Krannich.
- Get More Money on Your Next Job: 25 Proven Strategies for Getting More Money, Better Benefits, and Greater Job Security, by Lee E. Miller (McGraw-Hill).
3. Past Employer or Friends and Family Members
If you are on good talking terms with your previous employer, you can always consider asking them for some good salary negotiation advice. Now, why is that? Well, many employers are knowledgeable about this matter. They have years and years of experience and know exactly what tips and strategies are used to get the best people to work at the lowest possible salaries.
Therefore, it is a good option to take advice from your past employer and learn some good negotiating tactics. However, if you have no prior work experience, you can always consider taking advice from your friends or family members. They have, of course, applied for a job before and can provide you some useful salary negotiation advice.
Rules of Successful Salary Negotiation
Whether you are just trying to fatten your monthly paycheck or seeking a more lucrative job, asking for a raise is an exercise in negotiation. And there are a few rules of successful salary negotiation, which are:
Asking for a Raise
Everybody has heard of the well-known rules “don’t ask, don’t tell”. However, when it comes to salary negotiation, the rules are actually the opposite. If you don’t ask, you won’t get. Therefore, the first rule of salary negotiation is actually ‘Asking’ for a raise and then making a counteroffer. If you don’t ask for a raise and simply accept the first offer thrown at you, it is unlikely you will ever be able to get a raise.
Postponing Salary Negotiations
The second rule of salary negotiation is you do not make an offer until you are offered the job. It is important that you let your potential employer decide whether you are the right candidate and then talk about the salary. So, postpone any salary related discussion during your interview. In fact, leave the expected salary question blank in the job application as well.
If the employer asks you questions regarding the salary, you can simply reply saying, “I’m more interested in working for the company rather than the initial offer”. If the employer insists on knowing, your answer should be “I will consider any reasonable offer”. If the employer asks you a third time, reply saying, “Well I can’t really say anything as that would be disrespectful. You are in a much better position to know how much I am worth to the company”.
Knowing When to Fold
The third rule of successful salary negotiations is to know when you have to place your offer on the table. If the employer makes the first offer, you might be surprised by how good it is. However, if it’s lower than you expected, it’s time you make a counteroffer. The counteroffer can include value benefits, such as stock offerings, extra vacations, paid vacation, paid leaves, profit sharing, flexible spending accounts, health insurance, commissions, or bonuses.
So, now that you know where to look for salary negotiation advice and the rules of successful negotiation, getting the employer to accept your offer won’t be a problem.
