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Wouldn’t it be nice to negotiate your salary in an interview? Especially if you’re desperate for that job, you need to know how to handle the negotiation process. Here’s how.
If you’re looking for work, then you’ve probably already been through the interview process. But have you ever had to negotiate salary? It can be a tricky business—and one that’s worth learning how to do. Here are some tips:
- Do your research beforehand
Before entering into a negotiation, try to find out what the market rate is for your position and what the company has budgeted for this particular role. You can do this by looking at salary sites like Glassdoor or Payscale, or by talking with other people who work there and asking them how much they make. If you can get a sense of how much money is available in the budget for this role, then you’ll know when an offer feels low or high compared to what others are making for similar positions at other companies. That way you won’t feel like you’re being taken advantage of!
- Go into it prepared
No matter what your approach is going into a salary negotiation—whether it’s asking for more than what they’ve offered or asking for less than what they’ve offered—you’ll want to be prepared with some numbers so that they can see where their offer sits relative to all other options out there on the market right now (or even just within
How to negotiate a salary in an interview
Start with your salary history
- Start with your salary history. This is a good place to start when negotiating your salary, because it gives the employer an idea of how much you expect to be paid.
- Be honest about your salary history. If you don’t have a job listed on your resume or in the cover letter, it’s fine to say so—but make sure that you’re not being deceptive by leaving off other jobs that were relevant but didn’t pay well.
- Employers can use this information to determine how much they plan on offering for the position, so it’s important for them to know what kind of money ranges are acceptable for the job (or whether or not there’s room for negotiation).
Do your research
- Do your research. To get a sense of what’s fair in the industry, look at job postings and talk to people who work in that field. See what they make, and ask what they think is a reasonable salary range for someone with your experience and education level. Once you’ve identified the range that’s most likely to work for you, carefully consider whether it makes sense to negotiate a higher offer if your interviewer offers less than this amount.
- Research the company too! When you know more about what other companies are paying their employees (which can be found through salary surveys or websites like Glassdoor), then you’ll have more information about how much money your skillset is worth in today’s market.
Know what you want
Before you go into an interview, you should know exactly what salary range you are looking for. You need to know what the industry standard is for the job that you are applying for and how much your skills are worth. Remember that a good employer will pay their employees based on their performance—not on some arbitrary scale.
Be confident. You’ve earned this.
Being confident is key. You’re interviewing for the job, after all—you’ve earned it. But you don’t want to be arrogant or rude. Here are some ways to convey your confidence without being pushy or cocky:
- Be sure of yourself and assertive in your answers and body language. Don’t apologize too much or talk down to anyone (not even if the interviewer does).
- Use eye contact with everyone else in the room, including those you’re speaking with directly (the interviewer). Eye contact shows that you’re engaged and interested in what’s being discussed as well as indicates confidence on your part.
Create backup options.
You should always make it clear that you’re serious about the role and that this is not a situation where you’ll just be interviewing for fun.
If you’ve already been offered another job, tell them! You don’t want to waste their time or yours if they’re already offering half of what you want. (This is also useful if your current employer has made an offer: they may be willing to give more if they know that other offers are on the table.)
It’s okay if you don’t have another job offer yet—the idea is just to give yourself some leverage in negotiations. If all else fails and these efforts don’t work out, then feel free to say something like: “I’m really interested in this position, but at my rate right now I’d need $X/hour.”
Document the offer.
Document the offer. Once you’ve negotiated a salary and are ready to accept, it’s important to have it in writing. You can use this document as proof that the company made an offer and set a date for negotiation of your salary. This will help you remember what was discussed during negotiations so that you don’t need to draw from memory when asked about details by future employers or coworkers. Make sure you have a written offer letter for reference in case there is any question about how much money was offered or when the offer expired (usually 30 days).
Keep a log of all relevant communications, including emails between yourself or another representative of your company and someone at this new opportunity; any phone conversations; notes from meetings; etc., especially if these communications are verbal rather than written (e-mailed) ones – this way there is no room for misinterpretation later on down the line if someone isn’t able recall exactly what happened during each interaction!
If you receive the offer in person, try to get them to repeat the numbers aloud.
If you receive the offer in person, try to get them to repeat the numbers aloud. You don’t want to be confident that you heard what they said but then find out later that they’re offering $10K less than what you thought it would be. By asking them to repeat it, you can make sure that this is really what they meant and didn’t just accidentally say something else by mistake. Additionally, if their offer is lower than what other companies had been offering for similar positions (or higher!), this will give you an opportunity to negotiate further and potentially increase your salary further before accepting anything official from the company.
If at all possible, try not only to hear them out loud but also write down exactly how much money per year/monthly/daily/hourly etc., so there are no miscommunications later on when managing your finances or budgeting for bills after signing on with this new employer!
Be willing to walk away if you need to.
While it’s important to be honest about your current salary and open about your needs, don’t take this strategy too far. If a particular job is not right for you, think carefully before refusing an offer. You could end up feeling trapped in a job that makes you unhappy. Don’t let fear of losing money get in the way of doing what’s right for yourself and your family—that’s what negotiating is all about!
Let them know that you are confident about your skills and value in the company, but that you have to make smart decisions about your finances.
- Let them know that you are confident about your skills and value in the company, but that you have to make smart decisions about your finances.
- Start negotiations with a reasonable salary range. If they offer you a salary that is lower than your range, tell them you are interested in the position but the salary is not in line with your expectations.
- Be confident in yourself! They will respect it if you have done research on what other people are getting paid and can justify why this position deserves more compensation than others based on qualifications and experience or responsibilities for similar positions at competing companies or industries.
Negotiating your salary in an interview is not as hard or scary as it seems, just be confident and stand up for yourself!
Negotiating your salary in an interview is not as hard or scary as it seems, just be confident and stand up for yourself!
Here’s how:
- Preparation. Research the company, know their values and practices so you can ask smart questions about them during your interview. Also make sure to bring a list of questions that show interest in the job, but also highlight why YOU are the best person for this job (because YOU ARE).
- Be willing to walk away from the table if necessary – this gives YOU power at all times during negotiations because you have a backup option if things don’t work out with this employer (which could happen even if they’re trying their best). I always say that “no deal is better than a bad deal” because it’s true! Never settle on something that doesn’t feel right just because someone else wants it first; do what’s right for YOU instead!
- . Ask for what YOU want…and prepare backup options too! When negotiating salaries with employers after being offered positions following interviews/interviews preceding offers there has been some debate over whether asking directly about compensation amounts before accepting jobs would seem unprofessional or inappropriate since those amounts aren’t necessarily known yet anyways; however my advice would be to go ahead and ask anyway—but make sure beforehand so there isn’t any confusion later down line when contracts come around again 🙂
