Salary negotiation is more of an art than a science. It is usually the most understated part of a job hunt. You might have heard a lot of people getting their foot in the door and not caring about how much pay they start with. Accepting a position with a salary lesser than you know you actually deserve, with the anticipation of a big hike in the future is something that most of us end up doing. Little do we realize that it’s a common mistake and that is doesn’t work that ways. So written below is an interesting and informative read which talks about some negotiating principles that you can apply to ensure that you get the best possible deal.
The key Commandments of Salary Negotiations:
1. Always be Equipped
Research plays a critical role while negotiating the conditions for your job. You can ensure more success only if you have more information!
2. Remember that Employment Discussions Are Unique
Negotiations dealing with your employment are poles apart from other discussions. They are not a one shot deal like buying a car or a house. You should remember that the success of your career might rely on the individual that you had been debating with. Therefore, even if you would want to crack the best probable deal, you should carry on in a manner that your image doesn’t get tarnished.
By the same token, your potential employer also wants you to feel great about becoming a part of the organization. So once your employer decides that you are the perfect candidate for the job, the focal point will not be the lowest compensation the company can do away with. Rather, it would be to get you on board.
3. Recognize your needs and your Employer’s
Salary negotiations always have trade-offs. You have to analyze your own goals to be successful in such negotiations. What is that you wish for? Are you satisfied with a low salary range? Are you certain that you have the key criteria to get a bonus? Answers to these questions will help you ascertain your needs and help you choose your employers. But no matter which company you want to work for, they may or may not pay you exactly what you are looking for. A company can have certain constraints on how much they can pay for a specified position or on the kind of reimbursement they can offer. So try to understand your needs and what the company can offer you. This will help you either take the job or leave it if it doesn’t suit your requirements.
4. Refrain from lying: Use the truth for your benefit.
Honesty is one of the key criteria in terms of salary discussions. Lying throughout the negotiations often makes one lose his or her credibility. Once caught, you are faced with a great disadvantage. Your future integrity also gets damaged! On the other hand, total honesty is also not rewarded. You should refrain from answering a particular question directly till the time it helps your situation. Always remember that the ball is in your court and you can determine what all you want to say how you want to say it.
5. Give up on Bargaining at the right time.
In every negotiation, you always reach a point when you achieve almost everything you possibly could. At that point of time you should be grateful to the concerned person and grab the offer. You run into the jeopardy of having the company feel that it made a mistake of offering you the job in the first place if you don’t stop at the right time. You don’t want to be perceived as someone greedy or irrational to cause the arrangement to fall apart. Understand that almost all companies would want to make you happy and treat you fairly.
One should always remember that employment is a ‘long-term relationship’. All the discussions dealing with your employment are the initial points of your career with the company. They always set the tone for your future relationships. If you settle with too little, you have a disadvantage throughout you career; if you act too pushy, you mar the relationship before it even begins. So handle everything with utmost tact. Proficiently negotiate the terms of your new employment and start your job with confidence to achieve the best possible results.
