What Should You Say While Negotiating Salary
The lack of skilled IT workers is hurting the deployment of emerging technology, according to a new survey from Gartner. In areas from cloud to cybersecurity, this crisis is expected to last for years to come.
Think about it: The hiring
manager has already tipped her hand by letting you know she wants to bring you
on board. The team has invested time and resources in the interview process,
they have consensus on hiring you and they're eager to seal the deal and put
you to work. This is the perfect time to talk salary.
Now let's look at what this
type of negotiation might look like in terms of your actual conversation with
the hiring manager:
As part of your informal
verbal job offer, the employer has likely shared a suggested starting salary
with you. Let's say the number on the table is $63,000, which you happen to
know is a little low for the industry, based on your research. Don't think of
this as the final word on what you'll make, but as an opener to begin
negotiating. Keeping in mind that the employer has likely suggested a
deliberate low figure anticipating negotiation, you might say something like:
"I'm very excited about
the position and know that I'd be the right fit for the team. I'm also excited
about your offer, and knowing that I'll bring a lot of value to the table based
on my experience that we discussed during the interviews, I'm wondering if we
can explore a slightly higher starting salary of $70,000. My market research
showed that as the industry average for this area, and I'm confident that
you'll be very happy with how much I can contribute to the team and
department."
You will likely feel nervous
in delivering this message, but stay poised and upbeat. Don't worry that the
offer will be rescinded simply because you're negotiating; the worst that can
happen, if you do it fairly, is that the employer will say no. In fact, the
hiring manager may push back on you a little during the negotiation. You might
hear something like:
"I'm glad that you're
interested in the position, and the team is excited about the possibility of
working with you as well. However, the position is budgeted at $63,000."
This is where many candidates
would fold, grateful to have any offer. Don't be one of them! Continue with
your pursuit of the salary that you know you're worth. You might say something
like:
"I definitely
understand budgeting issues, and I want to be as flexible as possible to work with
your team. I'm still very excited about joining your group, and would like to
explore whether $70,000 is possible given my specific experience and skill
set."
It may be uncomfortable
waiting to see what happens next. If the manager puts a final nail in the
coffin and says, "I'm sorry, but this is our final offer," then at
least you know that you tried. But it's likely that you may hear something more
along the lines of:
"OK, I'm not sure
whether this is going to work with our budget, but let me look into it. We'll
get back to you with an answer by tomorrow."
Stay calm, cool and
confident, and reply with something simple like, "Thank you, I really
appreciate your help with that."
Then wait on pins and
needles to see what happens next. It's quite possible that you'll find out the
next day that the hiring manager went back to human resources and received
approval to land somewhere in the middle:
"I was able to get
approval for a starting salary of $66,000, given how much we all want you on
our team."
At that point, since you
built in a cushion of a few thousand dollars more than you expected to get, you
will likely feel quite pleased with the offer and can accept it
enthusiastically. Remember: The main reason employees aren't paid what they're
worth isn’t because they don't deserve it. It's because they don't ask.
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