Salary Negotiating Strategy

Posted by John Quil on January 22nd, 2023

It is an inevitable moment in a job application process where we will be asked the question "How Much Money Are You Looking To Make?" For a lot of us this is a question that we dread to answer. We usually choke up when we're asked this question and blunder our way through with an answer the best that we can. However, the salary question is the most important portion of the interview process if the job your applying for is a really good fit for you.

The salary that you negotiate going into the job is going to determine the baseline pay for any future raises, bonuses and so on. A lot of people I've talked to just answer with "whatever you can pay me is fine" this is exactly what employers want to hear. They don't want you to negotiate your salary, in fact, they would rather you just not know that you can effectively negotiate your salary in the first place. When you are at the negotiating anything is possible. It is critical that you know how much you are worth in the job market. A quick and easy way to find a ballpark figure on what your worth in the marketplace is to pay a visit to Salary.com. There you can type in your job title and zip code and get a free estimate report on what jobs in your area are paying on average for your job title. There are also several other sites on the Internet that you can use for similar information I recommend pulling the free salary information from multiple sources to get a good idea as to the average salary that your position is paying.

So your in the middle of the interview, it's gone well. You are exciting about the position you are interviewing for, you like the work place and the people who you could be working with. You future boss even seems to like you and, tells you that you'd be a good fit. Then, "THE QUESTION" comes, you know it was coming, you had a butterfly in your stomach all morning just dreading what to say when you would be expected to answer. Your interviewer asks simply, how much money are you looking to make. Flashes of fear wash over you, you tighten up, your speechless! WAIT! Calm down, there is no need to panic, not only can you answer this question in a very constructive manner, you can use it as an opportunity to ensure that no money is left on the table.

Answer Rule #1: NEVER name an exact salary amount!

When your talking salary with a prospective employer it's to your advantage to not name a specific amount that you would like to be paid. By doing so it leaves you nor your prospective employer any room for negotiation. Remember, until you sign that offer letter EVERYTHING about a job is negotiable. So, when asked this question it's best to give a salary range instead of an exact number. Of course you know by now how much your worth because you have done the market research as we talked about. An example of this is: Your looking to make ,000. When your interviewer asks how much your looking to make you say "I'd like to make in the low 50's." This is my favorite approach because most importantly it leaves the negotiation tables open. Know more here مواعيد الرواتب

Answer Rule #2: Always say more than what you actually make!

Most of the time in interviews you will be asked as part of the salary question how much you are currently making. This is a question you want to be sure to answer correctly otherwise you can be giving yourself a pay cut before you are even hired. Most employers base they're starting pay off of what you were making at your previous employer. So say you were making ,000 at your current job any new job offer presented to you would be calculated off of your current salary figure. Usually most of the time you can expect your job offer amount to be whatever you say your current salary is plus 5-10%. Therefore you can actually give yourself a raise before you even start a new job buy stating that you are currently making more than you actually are. So in the case of ,000 tell the employer your making ,000. Since salary amounts in the corporate world are kept under tight guard you can be pretty confident that your prospective employer will not, nor even try to actually find out what your making. Bottom line is, if they like you and, want to hire you, they are going to give you want you will be happy with.