How to Negotiate Your Salary: Six Tips to Get What You want

Did you know that 80 percent of job recruiters are willing to negotiate on salary, but only 30 percent of applicants do so?

It’s true. People are afraid to negotiate, especially when they are in the early position of landing a job. They are afraid of seeming too aggressive or greedy or of angering their new management.

But if you’ve been offered the job or already have the job, you have to understand that they want you, they value you, and you are in the perfect position to negotiate your salary. Here’s how to do it.

1. Do your homework. Before you go into your negotiation, make sure you research your industry, your position, and your company. Is the firm established or a start up? Is it stable or on loose footing? Is it growing or shrinking?

Find out what other people are making in your profession and industry. Websites like Payscale.com and Glassceiling.com are great resources. Find the averages of salaries in your industry and for your level of experience.

2. Know your own value. How valuable are you? What do you bring to the table that is superior? How hard is it to fill your position? If there are 1,000 other people who can and will do your job and are waiting in the wings, you have less room to negotiate than if you are an outlier or a seasoned professional with a high-level set of skills.

Know your value, and use it.

3. Set your numbers. Once you’ve done the research into what the salary ranges are for your industry, your position, and maybe even within the company, prepare three sets of numbers:

First, know your absolute bottom line. This is the lowest salary you will accept. Second, set your medium salary, a number that would be nice and comfortable. Third, set your ideal salary, the biggest number you can think of that is within the range of your position and industry.

4. Be realistic. Don’t go crazy with your numbers and negotiating or you may appear unhinged. Stay within industry standards. Don’t ask for $75,000 if you are applying to work the perfume counter ay Macy’s. By the same token, if you are in a trending industry — which right now is high-tech, consulting, social media and marketing — know that those salaries and positions are increasingly in demand.

Negotiate, don't fight, argue, or get upset.

5. Don’t speak first. If you can avoid it, never be the first to raise the salary issue. You have the most power when you know they want you, so don’t raise the issue until they do.

The interviewer also knows that he or she shouldn’t go first, so chances are they will ask you what your salary requirements are. If that happens, bounce it right back to them by saying something like, “I have given this a lot of thought, and I will entertain any reasonable, competitive offer. What is the salary range you were thinking of?” Stay calm and polite, but be firm and try to get them to offer numbers first.

Also, if you are applying for a job and the application asks for your last salary, try to leave it blank, because whatever you put will be their starting point.

6. Finally, never take the first offer. It varies by industry, but I would say that across the board, you probably have about a 25 percent wiggle room. You might settle at around 10 or 15 percent, but always start high.

Good luck!

Four Fears That Keep Women Down: How To Be More Assertive and Effective in the Workplace

Women can be their own worst enemies in the workplace. Very often, women are afraid to advocate for themselves, to speak up, negotiate, disagree, and promote themselves. Women often believe that the workplace is a meritocracy, and that their good work and good relationship skills will get them noticed and move them along.

Wrong. The workplace is many things, but a meritocracy is not always one of them. Sure, good work is usually rewarded, but good work in a vacuum is not. The people who get ahead are the people who speak up, negotiate, advocate, and promote themselves. And women tend to fear the very things that will help them get ahead.

Here’s how to combat the four big fears that keep women down:

1. Fear of assertive speech.

One of the biggest mistakes women make in the workplace is softening our speech. Speech has three components: the words we choose, our body language, and our tone of voice. And women fear being assertive in all three.

Women have a tendency to use what we call “weaker language.” For example, women tend to predicate what they say, as in: “I think this is a good idea,” or “I feel that is the right way to go,” or “We might want to consider this option.”

A more assertive speaker would say, “This is a good idea”; “This is the right way to go”; “This is what we need to do.” Assertive people do not predicate their language. Say what you mean, and don’t soften or qualify it.

That said, in some situations, using assertive language may not be the right way to go, and you may alienate people if you are too assertive. You need to be aware of your audience and judge the level and type of discourse. If it’s all assertive types, then be assertive. If you are dealing with less assertive people or the situation doesn’t warrant it, back off a little.

There are times when predicates are absolutely appropriate, and you should soften your language, but if you soften everything people won’t see you as a leader. And no matter the audience or circumstance, being assertive does not mean being rude, condescending, strident, or shrill. It means being confident, commanding, and authoritative. Tone is very important.

One last thing: body language is big part of speech. So stand tall, sit up straight, and sit at the table or up front where you can be seen. Don’t slump, hide, or sit in the background. Be as assertive with your body language as you are with your speech.

2. Fear of negotiating. 

Across the board, women still lag behind men in salaries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women still earn just 79 percent of what their male counterparts do. Women consultants and lawyers tend to charge less than their male counterparts. Studies show that a $5,000 discrepancy in your first job can lead to a whopping $200,000 difference over the lifetime of your career.

Sadly, many women have a fear of negotiating. We just don’t do it as well as our male counterparts. Women feel guilty asking for money, and so we take what they offer us.

This needs to stop. We must stop being shy and learn to ask for it. Come in knowing what you are worth, knowing what your value is to the company, knowing what you have done and are capable of doing, and ask for the money. No one will do it for you.

Here’s a good article on negotiating from Susan Adams at Forbes.com:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/02/15/how-to-negotiate-your-salary-2/

3. Fear of conflict.

Women are very good at forging relationships. This is incredibly valuable at work, where relationship building is a key component of success. But too often we are reluctant to disagree or have conflict with our colleagues and coworkers. We are afraid to alienate people so we don’t stand up for ourselves or speak up. We are afraid of being perceived as a bitch if we aren’t friendly and easy going with everyone.

Conflict doesn’t have to be upsetting and disagreeing doesn’t have to be alienating, as long as you use respectful language and leave emotions out of it. You can be assertive without alienating people if you do it right.

Workplace relationships need to be strong, but they are not the same as your personal friendships. You aren’t at work to make friends. You have to find right the balance between being a person who helps create a harmonious workplace and being someone who is assertive and strong. You aren’t there to love and nurture everyone; you are there to work, work well with people, and get the job done.

4. Fear of self-promotion.

Women believe that the workplace is a meritocracy. It is not. Good work is not all it takes. If you want to get ahead people have to know who you are, the work you have done, your value to the company, and what you are capable of doing. You have to do a little self-promotion. That’s what men do, and so should you.

Now self-promotion and shameless self-promotion are two different things. Do not mistake confidence for arrogance. There is a way to promote yourself and your accomplishments without being obnoxious. This is critical in meetings with your boss or manager; you have to be able to catalogue your accomplishments, ideas, and contributions.

If people don’t know about your successes and what you are capable of you will not get the opportunities. So start making a list of your accomplishments right now. Keep it updated and don’t be afraid to share it. Just don’t boast or brag.

Being assertive and strong are key to success. You have to learn to jettison your fears to get ahead. Good luck!

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Watch my segment on assertiveness on ABC 7’s Washington Business report:

http://www.careerstonegroup.com/z-media-2/wash-bus-report/wbr-career-pitfalls-120613.html

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For more information on Careerstone Group consulting, please visit my website.