There’s no set formula for negotiating salary. You’ll need to do your research and identify your best industries, companies and jobs to have leverage in the negotiation process. If you’re switching careers, start by looking at job boards or LinkedIn profiles of people who have held similar positions at companies you want to work for. By doing this research ahead of time, you’ll be prepared to smoothly negotiate salary with recruiters and employers.
An entry-level employee knows their worth…a lot less than you’d think, but still a little more than anyone else actually. They are new to the job market and don’t have as much experience as other candidates applying for the same job. So, how can they negotiate salary without sounding like they’re out of touch with reality? It’s not easy, but it is possible. If you’re going to negotiate salary as an entry-level employee, it’s good to know what salary expectations are for different positions.
If you’re an entry-level employee, you may be worried about negotiating your salary. You want to get the best possible deal, but you also don’t want to offend your potential employer or make them think that you’re ungrateful for the opportunity.
In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how to negotiate your salary as an entry level employee. We’ll also discuss salary negotiation conversation example, how to ask if salary is negotiable.
Prepare ahead of time
Before you ever even step foot in a job interview, do some research on the company and industry you’re interviewing with. Find out what the average salary is for someone with your experience level in that particular field of work. You can even look up what other companies in the same field pay their employees with similar experience levels.
You should also make sure that you know what your skills are worth by looking at websites like Glassdoor or Indeed.com where people anonymously share information about their jobs. This will give you an idea of what other people in similar positions have been making lately so that when it comes time for negotiations, you’ll have hard data at hand to back up any requests made by either party involved in negotiations (if there are multiple parties).
How to negotiate salary for entry level
Introduction
Negotiating your salary is tricky. Now, negotiating your salary for an entry-level position can be even trickier. As a young professional, if you want to get the best possible salary offer, you need to go in with a plan. You do this by finding out how much other people with similar experience make in the job market and then making sure you don’t settle for less than that.
Know Your Worth. Salary negotiation starts with figuring out how much you should be paid.
Before you can negotiate a salary, you have to know what your worth is. This is the only way that you’ll be able to determine if what they are offering is reasonable. If they say yes, then great! If not, at least you’ll know where the line in the sand is and won’t have any regrets about turning down an offer because it wasn’t good enough for your needs. To figure out how much money employers are willing to pay for someone with your skillset and experience:
- Do Your Research
- Ask Around
- Get Perspective
Do Your Research. It’s critical to know your worth, but it’s just as important to research the going salary for a role before you go in for an interview.
- Do Your Research. It’s critical to know your worth, but it’s just as important to research the going salary for a role before you go in for an interview.
- Talk to Recruiters. Recruiters are in the business of knowing what companies are paying and can often give you more accurate information than those who would be interviewing you directly.
- Look at Current Postings on Glassdoor or Payscale etc…
- Talk To Your Network About What They Are Making
Show Them What You’ve Got. Now that you’ve got a base pay number in your head, it’s time to survey the landscape.
Now that you’ve got a base pay number in your head, it’s time to survey the landscape. You should show your past accomplishments and achievements, explain how you’re a perfect fit for the job, and demonstrate why you are the best person to hire.
First off: show them what you’ve done for previous companies. This is especially important if they don’t have any past experience with someone at your level of qualification or expertise (or if they just don’t know as much about what goes into being a good candidate). Showing them how much experience and skill sets you have will help them put together an accurate picture of where they should start when discussing salary with their higher-ups—and hopefully make it easier for them to come up with something reasonable!
Ask The Right Questions.
When it comes to salary negotiation, you should always be prepared to answer a few questions before the conversation begins. The right questions help you understand what the employer expects from you and how they value your role in their organization.
- What is the salary range for this position? The best way to get an idea of what a role’s compensation should look like is by asking about its typical pay range. You can also ask about other benefits included with the job or any additional perks available for high performing employees that might increase your overall financial package.
- What are the company’s expectations from the role? Once again, knowing what kind of results their ideal candidate would deliver will help guide both parties in determining fair compensation (and keep everyone happy). Plus, learning more about how they define success in this particular role will give you some insight into how well they align with your own career ambitions—and if there’s room for growth at all!
Focus on Value, Not Benefits. What is the real value of that bonus structure? How about that office space?
Before you can successfully negotiate your salary, you need to know what your value is.
Value is what you are worth. Benefits are what you get.
For example, let’s say that your company offers an excellent bonus structure for high performers and exceptional employees. You’re hearing rumors that this might be reduced in the next performance review period—and it seems like everyone else has been receiving more money than usual as well! You could be missing out on something huge just because of the way they structured their system…or maybe not?
Where do these benefits fit into this equation? Is this extra cash really worth more than a stable salary and predictable working conditions? What about other benefits like health insurance or flex time? Do those matter as much as I think they do?
Don’t Settle for Less than You Deserve.
As a recent college graduate, you may feel that you need to take whatever a company is willing to pay you. But if you aren’t asking for what you deserve, are they really going to respect your skills? Your education and experience should reflect in your salary.
Here’s how:
- Don’t settle for less than what you deserve! If someone offers something less than you were expecting or know that another company would offer, it can be tempting to take the offer because it sounds better than nothing. However, remember that anything lower than that initial number will be hard on both parties since employers tend not only keep track of their own employees’ salaries but also those of similar companies as well which means if one person gets paid more than others within the same industry then everyone else will know about this fact which could cause jealousy between coworkers who have similar skill sets but lower salaries due solely on gender or race rather than ability level; this makes life difficult for everyone involved so before signing off on any contract make sure there’s no mention anywhere about paying less than other organizations do because otherwise people won’t want him there anyway.”
Negotiating your salary is crucial to get what you deserve
Negotiating your salary is crucial to get what you deserve.
- Know your worth. Before you even start the negotiation, make sure that you know exactly how much money you should be making and why. That’s why it’s important to do your research before negotiating a salary offer. Look at other people in similar positions at other companies, talk to friends about their salaries, and make sure that what they’re paying is fair for the amount of work required from someone in that position (you can also use Glassdoor’s Salary Explorer tool).
- Do your research on the company’s financial situation as well—it’s helpful if they are financially stable when seeking out information like this; however don’t hesitate if they aren’t!
- Show them what you’ve got! When negotiating a salary or contract offer, it’s important not just because this will help ensure future job satisfaction but also because it shows how much value one can provide for an organization—and remember: always focus on value rather than benefits because those things should come naturally with an employee who has proven themselves over time through hard work and dedication instead of just simply giving incentives away just because someone asks nicely enough,” says Tonia Shores-Hicks from Career Savvy.”
salary negotiation conversation example
Once you’ve worked on some ways to feel more calm and confident, you still need to figure out what to say when you negotiate your salary. Review these scripts to help you navigate the conversation. Each can be easily modified based on your unique situation and can even be combined if you find that your situation warrants it.
Ideally, you will be able to negotiate your salary face-to-face, so most of these scripts are written as if you will be speaking to your manager. However, you can adapt these scripts to a written form if you plan to email your request to your employer—this is going to be most common for prospective employees who are negotiating a new job offer, and have been communicating with the potential employer mostly via email.
1. You’re negotiating a new salary.
“Hello, Camille. Thank you again for offering the Developer I position. I’m so excited to have the chance to join the XYZ Company team. However, before accepting your offer, I’d like to request a salary of $80,000 to $85,000 as this range aligns with my experience and education as well as the market rate for this position.”
2. You’re renegotiating your current salary.
“Thanks again for meeting with me today. As I mentioned in my email, I’ve been with the company for three years now and, in that time, I’ve taken on additional responsibilities as we’ve lost several people on the team. Most recently, I’ve been asked to assume the Purchasing Manager role in addition to my role as Purchasing Assistant. Before I can commit to that, I would like to review my current salary and reach a figure that is on par with the additional duties I’ve been asked to fulfill. Earlier this year, this role was posted with a salary range of “$106,000 to $110,000. I believe that a salary of $108,000 makes the most sense for me.”
3. You initially accepted the offer, but changed your mind.
It’s important to note that renegotiating a salary you already accepted can work against you in some cases, and the employer could rescind the job offer altogether. However, if you have a change of heart about the salary you initially accepted and want to negotiate, this script can help you do that without losing your job offer.
“Since initially accepting the job offer that came with a salary of $50,000, I have had some time to further research the position, and some new information has come to light about what is required for the role. While I have remained interested in the position and would be ready to start at the same time we initially agreed upon, I would like to renegotiate the salary at a range of $55,000 to $60,000. Do you believe this would be a suitable range that we can finalize today?”
Give yourself the best possible chance at making this work by following these additional tips:
- Don’t change anything else. Keep the start date and job title you agreed to.
- Reiterate your interest in the role and the company. Let them know that you just want to make sure you’re satisfied before stepping into the role because you’re planning to stick around for a while.
- Be ready for anything. The employer might approve the new salary you want, reject it, or give it to you at the expense of something else (e.g., taking away your hybrid work schedule in exchange for the increased salary). Try to anticipate multiple responses from them and be ready to respond effectively.
- Don’t wait too long. Once you accept an offer, most companies move quickly to finalize the hiring process so you can get started. Try not to wait any longer than 24 hours to renegotiate.
4. You’re using the “Gratitude Sandwich.”
The great thing about a sandwich? It starts and ends the same way. This script is based on starting with a ‘thank you’ and ending with a ‘thank you’.
“Thank you so much for offering to make me a part of your team. I was already a big fan of the DEF Company brand, but going through this process has taught me even more about your team, and made me even more excited about joining your organization! I would like to note that the offer for this role is lower than I anticipated, but I’d be eager to accept a salary of $95,000.”
5. You’ve been lowballed.
“I appreciate you sending the offer for the Senior Business Analyst position. I’m confident that I could be an asset to your team, starting with cleaning up your current business requirements to create greater efficiency.
Before I accept your offer, I would like to review the proposed salary. As I shared during my interview, I have thirteen years of experience in FinTech, five of which have been spent at a large corporation that operates much like this one. For the past eight years, I have managed a high-performing team that has consistently exceeded their targets by 10%, which will be of great value to you since the person in this position would be overseeing two large teams. Given my background, I am seeking a salary between $160,000 and $170,000. What can you offer me in this range?”
6. The offer is at the lower end of your salary range.
You might wonder why you should give a salary range (instead of one specific number) if you don’t plan to take the lower end of the range. Giving a salary range leaves room for you and the employer to find a middle ground regarding the salary. But here’s a little secret: No one really wants the lower end of their range.
Meeting you halfway by at least offering the midpoint of your range shows good faith on the employer’s part. So, if they offer you the lower end of your range, they might be showing you that they are only willing to offer you just enough to get you to take the role. If you believe you could be happy with that number in the long run, go for it! But if you decide you want to counter the offer, here’s how to go about it:
“I sincerely appreciate your flexibility. Based on the value I would be bringing to your team, as well as the MBA I recently earned, which exceeds your educational requirements for this position, I’d like to get as close to the top of my salary range as possible. I’d be most comfortable accepting $90,000. What would you need to get the offer closer to that salary?”
7. You don’t have all the qualifications.
Let’s say you meet three of the five required qualifications listed for the job; you might wonder whether you can still negotiate your salary. The answer is an emphatic YES! Truthfully, there are no perfect candidates and even required skills aren’t necessarily required in every case. So, even if you don’t meet all the required qualifications, you should still negotiate. After all, by making you a job offer knowing what qualifications you have, the employer has already shown that they really want you for the role. Keep this in mind as you negotiate, but don’t highlight what you don’t have. Instead focus on what you do have, especially if the employer has already pointed it out in the process.
“I appreciate the opportunity I had to interview with you. Thank you for the offer! As you pointed out during my interview, I have worked for a health and wellness startup before, so I understand the demands of a startup and am fully committed to assisting with your quickly-changing business needs. Given this, I would like to counter your offer of $35,000 with $45,000. Would you be able to accommodate me at that salary?”
8. Your written offer is lower than the verbal offer.
Picture this: You’ve already gotten the verbal offer you wanted for a great job, and now you’ve finally received the written offer, but the salary is lower than what they said. The first thing you want to do is confirm whether it’s a mistake on their part. If it is, it should be an easy fix to get it corrected. But if it’s not, you may need to negotiate. In some cases, employers will change their offer based on a review of your salary history, which is when a potential employer uses your current salary to determine what your new salary should be. If the employer has lowered the offer based on the salary review (or for another reason), here’s how to address it:
“I can understand that you’ve updated the salary offered based on new information. However, my needs have not changed and I still have the skills, experience, and education needed to excel in this role. As a result, I would like to negotiate the salary to $55,000, which was the original salary offered.”
Many employers extend a verbal job offer before providing the written offer—wait for the written offer before negotiating your salary.
9. You provided a desired salary prematurely.
In some cases, an employer will ask you what salary or range you’re seeking early in the hiring process. Once you provide that figure, the employer might hold you to it by offering that exact number toward the end of the process. If you want to stick with it, there’s no further action required on your part besides accepting the offer for your new job! However, if you’ve discovered new information about the role during the interview process, you may want to change it. Maybe you learned that regular travel is required for the role even though that wasn’t in the job posting; you’re still well within your rights to negotiate. Here’s an example:
“I can tell that you’ve been listening closely throughout this process since you offered the amount I initially mentioned, and I appreciate that. During this process, I’ve learned about some additional requirements that were not outlined in the job posting, such as the required travel. That has changed my desired salary for the role. I would be most comfortable accepting a salary between $55,000 and $60,000, given this new information.”
10. You hate negotiating.
Negotiating your salary is easier said than done, so many women still avoid it altogether. In fact, 57 percent of women surveyed by Randstad have said that they’ve never negotiated with an employer, with 60 percent reporting that they would quit their jobs to get the salary increase elsewhere. Still, negotiating your salary can help you get the money you want and set an important precedent: asking for what you want, even if it comes with a hard or uncomfortable conversation. Negotiating your salary is just another way to advocate for yourself in the workplace, and that’s always a good thing!
To ease any tension, address the elephant in the room. Here’s how:
“I know that negotiating can be uncomfortable on both sides sometimes, but I do want to say that advocating for myself makes me a better employee and team member. When I have what I need to thrive in the workplace, which includes fair pay that is on par with my experience, I am better equipped to make meaningful contributions to my team, but also to the company as a whole. Based on my research, $79,000 to $85,000 is a more suitable salary range for this position, and for this level of my career. How can we work together to make this happen?”
Although these salary negotiation scripts can be tailored to different situations, you will notice that they each include a “thank you” for the offer. This is because gratitude is an important part of any negotiation, and it can help you build rapport with your counterpart. You will also notice that each script includes a specific salary or salary range. In addition to gratitude, this is one of the most important parts of the negotiation. Do not ask for a “higher salary,” then make the employer figure out what “higher” means. Be clear and specific every step of the way.
how to ask if salary is negotiable
Instead of directly asking if the salary is negotiable, you can ask the hiring manager or human resources professional how they arrived at the salary they’re offering you.
With this answer, you’ll know if they used your years of experience and education to determine how much to offer you. If they don’t mention these variables, you may have room for negotiations based on how much you have to offer a new employer.
Before asking this question, it can be helpful to have an idea in mind of what the market average salary is for the same position that’s in your area and when considering your level of experience.
