How to Negotiate Your Salary Like a Pro: Negotiating your salary is one of the most intimidating, awkward, and scary things you’ll ever do, but it’s necessary if you want that salary increase. Knowing how to negotiate is such an important skill because you will not only use it at work, but you can even use it in your everyday life, negotiating with a local shop for a better price, your spouse, and even family members. Negotiating is a skill anyone can learn and master, and trust me, knowing how to negotiate will get you far, so whether you’re just starting your career or you’re already knee deep into your career, it’s never too late to start learning how to negotiate so that you will be able to get yourself a better salary. Here’s how you can negotiate your salary like a pro:
7 Tips on How to Negotiate Your Salary Like a Pro
1. Do Your Research
The first thing you must do before you even walk into your manager’s office and start demanding a raise is do your research on the market rate for the role that you’re in and the industry. You can utilize tools such as Glassdoor, Pascale, and Indeed Salaries to give you the right information that you need, and when you’re doing your research, take into account the level of experience you have and education, because these things are sometimes taken into consideration when determining an increase. As part of your research, you can also contact a person who works in Human Resources within the same industry as you to seek advice, guidance, and gather more information to get a better understanding.
2. Preparation for Negotiation
Once you have done your research and you understand all the information you have gathered, and still want to pursue your manager, then you need to start preparing for your negotiation. You can do this by preparing a list of contributions, highlighting key achievements, and indicating your willingness to stay extra hours after work and your ability to take on additional responsibilities that weren’t part of your initial scope of work.
3. Practicing for your Negotiation
Ever heard the saying, “Practice makes Perfect”? It’s true because you need to practice everything you have prepared. Practicing your pitch will allow you not to miss your key important points, and you will be able to be confident and articulate everything you have prepared. Don’t be like me, when I went to my manager to ask for a raise for the first time, I never practiced, and I ended up stuttering, and that not only decreased my confidence, but I even missed the most important points I wanted to make. So please, practice your pitch, even if you do it with your friend or a family member, as long as you practice before walking into your manager’s office. Try to think of different ways your manager can respond and prepare for those, because they’re most likely not going to respond in the way that you are expecting. Like for example, if they say to you the budget is tight, you can suggest a 20% increase, but 10% in the 1st quarter of the year and another 10% in the 4th quarter of the year.
4. Timing is Key
Timing is everything, so know when to start your negotiations. Take me for example, I started my negotiations right after I led my team to complete an Important KPI in the Company, where we were able to get 355 expired Supplier contracts renewed and some cancelled. We did this across the Middle East and Africa branches. It was a huge milestone, and My Manager got praise from Top Executives. This was the perfect moment for me to start negotiations because I had shown good performance. So, take your time, do your research, and put in the hard work so that when the right time to negotiate comes, at least you will have a good work ethic and track record to back you up.
5. Start with a Range
When negotiating, never be fixated on a number; be flexible enough to give a range that is based on the research that you did. This shows your employers that you’re open to negotiation and not demanding that you be paid a certain amount. You must understand that your employer has a budget for what they pay for their employees, and they will always try to negotiate for a lower increase. Don’t allow that to offend you, but what you can do is counter that with an offer of your own and motivate for it.
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6. Be Confident and Professional
When negotiating, it is important for you to always be professional, even if you feel like things are not going as you had initially planned. Keep your composure and negotiate through strategy, not emotions. Your confidence and professionalism are important because it has a direct impact on how your request is perceived. If you’re being respectful and responding professionally, regardless of what your employer is saying, that might change the outcome of the negotiation.
7. Considering other Compensation Methods
A lot of times when people start negotiating, they want a Salary Increase, and they don’t even consider other benefits. If your employer is only offering a lower percentage increase than what you were expecting, then what you can do is counter that and say, in addition to that Salary increase, you would like a guaranteed Bonus at the end of the year. This shows your employer that even though you’re not happy with the proposed salary increase, you’re willing to compromise and consider other compensation methods, and they will likely accept that, depending on how the company performs at the end of the year.
In Conclusion, Salary negotiations are often awkward and intense because sometimes people tend to negotiate from emotions. Don’t be one of those people. Do your research, prepare yourself, be Professional, and be ready to counter your employer’s offer if you’re not happy with what they’re offering. Remember, Negotiating is a give-and-take process, so have an open mind, trust the process, and don’t take things personally.
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