Like most of the things you’ve been learning in this book, nego­tiating a salary is not difficult, but it does require preparation and practice. By studying and applying appropriate salary-negotiation principles, you can significantly increase your starting salary. You owe it to yourself to get the best salary and benefits possible. Salary, respect, and authority are interwoven.

        All jobs have formal or informal salary ranges. Your goal is to receive an offer and negotiate for the high end of the range. To do so you must know the salary range for your geographical area. Your primary information will come from people who are knowledgeable about the field and industry. To get top dollar you must also clearly be the top choice.

        As a rule, if you have a solid background and are making a job change rather than a career change, go for a 15–20% increase in salary. You can do this based on the fact that the employer has decided to look outside rather than promote from within and expects to pay a premium for your experience, fresh ideas, and potential.

KNOW YOUR WORTH

        The first principle for getting a top salary is to fully sell your worth to the organization. You do so by demonstrating your ability to make or save money for the organization, solve problems, or reduce the stress and pressure that your future boss has been experiencing. Although companies have formal or informal salary ranges, those ranges are often ignored when someone with unexpected experience or potential becomes available.

        At the early stages of your job search, you should determine your overall value in the field you are pursuing. Numerous resources exist to help you. The Occupational Outlook Handbook contains salary ranges covering about 300 major occupations. The American Almanac of Jobs & Salaries, by John Wright, is updated every two or three years and provides excellent information on an even larger range of occu­pations. Keep in mind, however, that both of these references provide national figures; salaries in your geographical area may be considerably higher or lower.

        Beyond these tools, the most useful resources for determining salaries are people, including professional association officials, head­hunters, and people who currently do the type of work you’re interested in. Associations exist for every career field imaginable. They sometimes produce salary surveys for the benefit of their members. Even those which don’t can often give you good information about current salary ranges. To find an appropriate association, use The Encyclopedia of Associations and National Trade & Professional Associations of the U.S. These references are available at most libraries. For local associations ask people in your chosen field what associations they belong to.

        Once you locate an association, attend meetings and talk to members. With national associations find out if salary surveys are available and also ask to speak to the person most knowledgeable about salaries.

        Headhunters are another good source of salary information and wage scales because they are privy to what people are being offered. Many will take two or three minutes with you to give you some advice. If you choose to call some headhunters, briefly sell yourself and ask if they are interested in receiving your resume as well. Recruiting firms and employment agencies often conduct wage surveys that they make available to the public as part of their marketing. You can call and ask these firms if they have such surveys available.

        Talking to people who do the type of work you want to do can also provide excellent insight into salary scales. You can usually get this information over the phone. Explain the purpose of your call, and ask if they have a couple minutes. Then tactfully ask about salary ranges. You might say something like, “I’m not asking what you make, but if you could give me a good sense of how much someone here in the Cleveland area might make with four years’ experience in shipping and receiving, that would really be helpful.” Taking them off the hook by specifically not asking how much they make invariably yields better results.

        For a salary search using the Internet, go to Yahoo (www. yahoo. com) and click on Business & Economy, then click on Salary Information to find appropriate sites for your type of salary search. Most career web sites now provide salary information.

        Complete your salary research at the beginning of your job hunt so you know what your career field is paying today. Then you won’t end up turning down what will later look like a very good offer. Many people have turned down offers, only to accept something for even less several months later. This happens most frequently during a recession when many job seekers do not realize that salaries have fallen. By the same token, salaries tend to rise during a boom time, so don’t short change yourself if you’re job hunting at a time when the economy is strong.

KNOW WHAT YOU NEED

        Knowing your worth as well as your financial and psychological needs is crucial. If you are currently paid well but are miserable in your job, you would probably be willing to take a pay cut if you could get greater job satisfaction. The question becomes how much of a cut you could accept.

        To determine your financial needs, establish three budgets. If you kept track of last year’s expenditures it will be easy. In the left column you would list all of the categories of expenditures that you have. The next three columns would consist of: 1) last year’s expenditures; 2) a level of spending that is less but still comfortable; and 3) a bare-bones budget that enables you to keep your car and home, but slashes other nonessential items. By doing this you are not saying you want to live on a bare-bones budget. This process will simply give you an idea of how low you could go salary-wise and still maintain a modicum of normalcy.

        Next, examine and define what you need in a job regarding your psychological needs. The right job is one that enables you to utilize your top skills and strengths. It also allows you to be and express what you already are, without trying to squeeze you into some pre-existing mold. The right job should closely match your temperament, values, and motivators. You should also define the type of organization you want to work for. The organization you work for is tremendously important and can often make the difference between a good job and a great job. Take time to define what would make for you a nearly ideal job, and then determine the lowest salary you would accept if this dream job was offered to you. Assume you are currently working. How much less than you are now earning would you accept?

        Create a checklist to help determine how close a particular job is to what you want. On the next page is Debbie Wilson’s checklist. It provided her with a useful guide as she evaluated jobs she interviewed for. You can use Debbie’s checklist as a guide for creating your own checklist. Each item is listed according to its importance, with the most important things first. Debbie was looking for accounting management positions. Adapt the items to suit your career focus.

        The following items are ones you might want on your list when defining the type of organization you want to work for:

           Good salary

Benefits

Act on employee suggestions

Flexible

Innovative

Potential for advancement

High ethics and integrity

Pleasant physical environment

My own office

Minimal office politics

Pleasant place to work

Casual dress

Tuition reimbursement

Good opportunities for training

Excellent reputation in the industry

Relocation unlikely

Low turnover

Profitable company

Rarely have layoffs

Promotes from within

Facing challenges I’d like to be involved in

Short commute

Hours are reasonable, small amount of overtime

Well-managed organization

Top management is stable

Organization is doing interesting, valuable work

Team emphasis but also work independently

Organization has strong sense of direction

Management is open with staff

Management encourages new ideas

        The list is intended to help you get started. Borrow items, but also come up with points that are important to you.

        If you worked on The Ideal Job Description, reread What You Should Know About An Organization, as well as what your wrote about your ideal organization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIORITIES LIST	definitely meets my needs	somewhat meets my needs	does not meet my needs	unsure at this time
Potential for advancement
Company is financially secure
Encourages growth in employees and pays for professional development classes
Teamwork, professional, friendly atmosphere
Allowed to work independently
My boss expresses appreciation
Company has strong sense of direction, purpose, growth-oriented, seeks new opportunities
Strong integrity and ethics
Company is doing interesting, valuable work
Promotes use of new computer systems
Management is open with staff
Do hands-on work; not just directing
Short commute
Work mainly on projects, with some routine tasks
Projects that last several weeks and are challenging
Non-smoking environment
Use of both mainframes and PCs
Have my own office
Analysis of financial data, work with management on financial result and setting up action plans
Developing and enhancing Lotus spreadsheets
Establishing financial controls
Implementing computer systems
Pay is good
Complete benefits
Hours are reasonable, small amount of overtime
Stable and respected management
Accounting department is respected and valued
Management encourages new ideas and frankness
Procedures to eliminate inefficiencies
Nice building and physical environment
Size of company 50-500
Casual yet professional dress policy

 

Debbie found this checklist very helpful as she evaluated jobs.

The job she currently has gives her almost everything she was seeking.

DO NOT DISCUSS SALARY UNTIL THE JOB IS OFFERED

        Discussing your salary requirements before an offer is made hurts your ability to negotiate. For that reason you should avoid asking about salary, and you should deflect probes into your current earnings or salary expectations.

        If the job seems challenging, assume it will pay adequately. Even if it turns out that the job will not pay enough, going through the interviewing process will at worst cost you some time. The following four things can happen only if you thoroughly sell yourself throughout the interviewing process and then go for the job offer:

        1.  The job is excellent and it pays what you want.

        2.  You succeed in convincing the employer that they need a highly capable person such as yourself, causing them to change the job description and to bump the salary up a couple notches.

        3.  You’re overqualified for this position, but an excellent job in the company opens up a few months later and you are hired.

        4.  The employer hears of a suitable position with another company and refers you there.

None of these positive things can happen if you prematurely terminate the interview process.

        If the job seems challenging, it is best to attend the first interview, learn as much as you can, sell yourself to your fullest ability, and do everything you can to get a second interview. If you are not interested in the position, and you believe it will not pay enough, you can always tactfully decline the offer for a second interview. I would recommend sticking with the process, however, with the intent of getting an offer. Then see where it can go. Any one of the four things listed above might happen.

        The problem with asking about pay is that the interviewer will often turn the question around and ask you how much you make or how much you need to make. When that happens, you’re in trouble. Of the three things that can happen, only one is positive. If you provide your income or your expectations, it will either be too high, too low, or about right. If the figure you give is too high, it will generally be assumed you will not be interested in the company’s salary range, so the offer won’t be extended. If you are making considerably less than they are prepared to pay, the assumption will be that you’re a lightweight. This, too, results in no offer. Or, you might get the offer but they may lowball you, knowing that what they’re offering you is 15% below the bottom of their range, but 20% above what you were making before. They know you will be hard pressed to turn down their offer.

Deflecting Questions

        No matter how you look at it, talking about money before the time is right confuses things. Frequently of course, it’s the employer who brings up the issue, so you need to know how to deal with it. Even in the first interview, the employer may ask you “What are you looking for?” “How much do you need?” “What’s the minimum amount you’d accept?” or “What range did you have in mind?” Assuming no offer has been made and that the employer has not told you the salary range, your response might be “Perhaps we should concentrate on deter­mining if I’m the right person for the job.” Another response might be, “I always make it a point not to discuss money until a job has been offered.” If you’re fairly far along in the interview process you might add, “Can I assume you’re offering me the position?” Although the employer was not actually offering a position, more than one job seeker has heard, “Well, yeah, I guess I am.”

        Usually these mild deflections work, but some interviewers per­sist. If the question comes again, tactfully, but assertively state, “If you don’t mind, I’d really like to concentrate on making sure I’m the one who can help you reach your goals. When we accomplish that, I’m sure the compensation will be fair.” A statement like that will usually work. In using any of these responses it is important to be as diplomatic as possible.

        People are often concerned that these mild deflections will get an employer angry. When handled tactfully, that rarely happens. If you detect that the employer is getting angry, you could ask what range has been set for the position. If the employer provides the range, then indicate whether your needs will fall within that range.

        If the employer is unwilling to give you the range, and you really are interested in the position, you might use a wide range by stating, “Probably $28,000 to $35,000 depending on the level of responsibility and benefits.” If you make over $50,000 you might use a $10,000 range.

When The Interviewer Supplies A Salary Range

        If the interviewer gives you a salary range for the position and asks whether the amount would be acceptable, you owe it to the interviewer to say yes or no. Some managers want to know immediately whether your salary needs can be met and may pose this question to you during the first ten minutes of the first interview. Their rationale is that they don’t want to waste their time or yours. If the range is acceptable you may want to say something as simple as “The range seems adequate.” You would not want to sound elated or concerned.