I’ve been struggling about how to deal my salary in order to get a higher one in the past couple of weeks. Here’s couple of things that I’ve learnt from various articles, videos and discussions with people. I really hope it helps you too.
(The context here is either you get a new job offer or you’re trying to deal with your current company.)
- Don’t give a number, first. As soon as you give a number about your expected salary, that’s set. You can’t go more than that, so be smart and don’t give your expected number when being asked. Instead, say something like this (if it is HR people) “You usually deal with people everyday so you know the range well, can you share with me with my current years of experience and skills, what range the salary may fall in?” Then from that range, you can try to deal more to get a higher salary.
- People only give you more when:
- they like you. The things that make they like you less would make it less likely to get what you want. Some tips like dress nicely, make some small talk before starting negotiation should work. There’s more here.
- they have to believe you deserve it. You have to show them facts and justifications about why they should give you more. This could be your past experience, your past achievement, certifications, how you are good and unique, etc. Show them all the things that makes them want to give you more.
- Interestingly, these two things often conflict with each other. The more you show why they should give you more can make they less like you. You should find a good balance between these two aspects.
- Negotiation ends well when it’s win-win. If you are trying to convince them to give you more, and if they do, you win, but what’s about them? Will they win too? You better give a higher number than what you think then they can reduce that number a little bit. It then perfectly matches your expectation. But more importantly, it let them win.
- Look at the whole package. When you compare between offers, look at the whole thing. One might give you slightly less salary per month but may give you better performance bonus, or give you more annual leaves.
- What is impossible today might be possible tomorrow. When they say no, what they really means is that it’s a no at the current context, at that particular point in time. Tomorrow things might change when they have a deadline to be met, or when they can’t get the other candidate on board.
- Understand what’s going on in the other side of the table. Sometimes they like you, they believe you deserve it but they can not give you more because they have some constraints. In this situation, you can say something like “Can you help me to understand why it’s hard to increase my salary?” to really understand what’s actually going on in their side. Sometimes, they can’t give you more in some particular areas because of constraints/rules of the company, but they might give you some more flexibility in the other areas of the offer.
I failed at my recent negotiation with my boss. But that shouldn’t stop you from doing so. Actually, one of my friends has been successful to get a better deal with his boss lately by applying things #2 and #3.
Good luck, folks!
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