Salary negotiations can appear intimidating, but they don’t have to be if you have a plan and solid information to back up your compensation goals. We’ve teamed up with our tenured recruiters to get their advice on salary negotiations, and this is what they’ve shared:

Research

Researching your job within the local market is critical for making a business case for your salary. Understanding what others in your position are making can help you create a baseline for your salary. Utilize sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn to search your job title and discover salary ranges. Make sure to stay within your local market as the cost of living varies throughout the country, and salaries reflect that variation. Once a range has been established, decide where you fall based on your personal and professional experience.

Create Your Case

Now that you have a solid understanding of what the market pays, it’s time to present your case to the hiring manager. Reiterate your success in a quantifiable form, making sure the hiring manager can fully grasp your capabilities.

Devise a 30-60-90 day plan to showcase your motivation to hit the ground running and your organizational skills. This plan can be broad yet actionable.

Share your salary research if necessary, especially if the salary you request is at the high end of the pay range, as this will help justify your case.

Flexibility

Since you have completed your salary research and created a case to achieve your salary goals, you need to understand your own flexibility with your number. You should enter the negotiation table with three numbers.

Your stretch goal is the salary that you know is higher than the market rate but feel you’ve earned. This goal, although achievable, is negotiable.

Your actual salary goal is the number you feel aligns with the market rate and your skills. This number is achievable and reasonable.

Your bottom line goal is a number that doesn’t wow you, but it is still enough to satisfy you. This is the absolute lowest you will go in salary and avoid discussing this number if possible.

Get Creative

There is always a chance that your exact salary request will not be met, so create alternatives to make your salary whole.

Determine other factors outside of pay that you will negotiate. We suggest looking into a sign-on bonus, stock options, better 401k match, or childcare allowance, amongst other negotiables. One or more of these add-ons should help fill in the salary gap.

Offer

Once a verbal offer is extended, ask for 24 hours or more to determine if the compensation package is the right fit for you. Make sure to also request the offer in writing to ensure your agreed-upon package isn’t altered. Once you feel confident, the job and compensation package is the right fit for you, sign and return the offer letter. Renegotiating might risk turning off the employer if they’ve created the offer in good faith that they have given everything you have asked for during negotiations.

DIVERSANT Can Help

DIVERSANT, an ACS company, is one of the fastest-growing IT staffing firms in the nation. Our teams have expert-level market knowledge and can help negotiate a competitive compensation package. Contact us today.