Negotiating Techniques: How to Get the Salary You Deserve

Negotiating Techniques: How to Get the Salary You Deserve

Salary negotiation is a crucial issue that should be discussed with a potential employer prior to your first interview. Being aware of your lowest possible rate and being able to live with (or rely on it?) it is a vital discovery for applicants to make before their first interview. When this is the case, why do so many of us make the tactical error of showing up to the interview unprepared?

One of the first mistakes you may make, and one that can be fatal, is disclosing your wage preferences too early in the interview process. Many interviewers will try to filter you out by asking you for an approximate number of how much money you make. It is possible, and perhaps likely, that mentioning that number too early in the interview process could lock you into a price that you will not be comfortable with later on. Change your pay needs after an offer has been made, and you will come out as flaky or greedy, which will make you seem unprofessional.

Before going on the first interview, you must have a general idea of the wage range you are looking for... You must therefore be resolved not to disclose it during the interview, or else you may find yourself on the outside looking in as a result of your actions. This means you will be eliminated from consideration before you can demonstrate your abilities to an employer [the person in charge of recruiting, not the Human Resources (HR) representative] what you can do to help them achieve their goals.

If you are questioned about your wage needs during the first interview, you must delay the interviewer until the question is answered. It is likely that the initial interview will be with an HR representative who has been taught to filter individuals out; typically, the salary need is one of the "weeds" that the representative looks for in order to reject prospects. Your recruiter is most likely a "know-nothing" about your position; he or she is responsible for presenting an appropriate group of candidates to the person who has actual hiring authority [chief flight attendant, chief pilot, operations manager, and so on] and knows (or cares) little about your background or what you can contribute to the company's operations.

I've seen some of the greatest applicants be filtered out too soon in the interview process because they gave too much information too early in the process.

So, what do you do if someone is adamant about a certain wage figure? Essentially, the ideal response may be summarized as follows: "My compensation needs are determined by the type and scope of employment." To put it another way, the more challenging the work, the greater the wage required. If the salesperson persists in learning more about your wage range, you may always disclose a number that is closer to your bottom rate if you are pushed any further. "My range begins in the high 40s to mid 50s," you may tell them if your goal is 60K and you are concerned that publicizing that amount ahead of time would put you at risk of losing your job. With this approach, you will avoid being rejected for a position because of what the human resources representative may deem an unreasonable wage demand. First and foremost, it will allow you to participate in the crucial second interview with the individual who has genuine hiring power.

In your second interview, you will have the chance to "wow" your future employer with your performance. Please inform them of all you can and will do to assist them. Keep wage negotiations to a minimum and make it clear that they cannot function without your help. Once you have sold them on that point, you will be prepared to provide your salary figure of $60K, but you will only discuss salary if they bring it up during the interview. Your third interview should be their actual offer to you. However, you should be prepared to receive an offer sooner if you WOW them and they insist on hiring you on the spot. That being the case, you should be able to maintain your upper figure.

The fact that HR informed them that you would take a much lower income must be stressed if the comment is made. The work duties outlined to you during the interview are far more than what the HR representative had stated. The vast majority of sensible individuals will see that human resources has just a broad, rather than a detailed grasp of the job requirements, and they will accept this argument. Emphasize your previous work experience, your business acumen, and any other characteristics that distinguish you from the ordinary applicant, which you are not.

The number of times I've seen candidates fail at this vital game, which is exactly what it is - a cat and mouse game - is beyond count. Make no mistake about it: you will not be able to renegotiate your compensation at a later date. If you accept less, you will have to make do with less income. Maybe that works for you, but chances are you'll be miserable as a result and regret that you hadn't yielded in the first place.