3 answers
Scott
Student
Asbury Park, New Jersey
4
Questions
Asked
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How do I negotiate a salary?
I received a job offer today in an email and would like for the hourly rate to be higher. What are some best practices for responding to the email in order to get a higher salary offer? Any specific language you can share with me on how to reply would be best!
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3 answers
Mary Savoy-Lowrey
Career Coaching
3
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
Mary’s Answer
Congratulations on your offer! Always start off by thanking them for the offer.
The best place to start is by doing salary research to find out what the market rate is for your position. You can do that on Glassdoor.com by searching for salaries for similar positions in your geographic area. Once you have a good idea of the market rate, you’ll want to evaluate the offer in more depth. For example, what are the benefits, how much will you pay for health insurance, what is the 401K match if offered, is there potential bonus on top of the salary, how much vacation is offered? The bigger questions also need to be answered : is this new position going to take you in a direction you want my career to go? Is it going to offer you opportunity for growth down the line? Offer you the ability to acquire skills you see as valuable for future opportunities?
Think about what’s important and rank order what you’d like to ask for, ie. is ability to work remotely/hybrid important? Is another week of vacation of interest? You know you want more salary but sometimes if that’s not possible, you can ask for one of these other things. You want to remember not to ask for too much or you may end up with nothing… 1-2 things is recommended.
Once you have thought about these answers, I always recommend asking for a phone call to discuss the offer letting them know you have questions. This way you can get immediate feedback. When asking for more salary, there are a couple of options (see steps below). Wishing you good luck!
Let the person know you were hoping the salary would be higher and ask if there is anything they can do.
State the market research you have done for the role ( if you found salary to be higher) and if you have experience to bring, share that you can contribute from day 1 before asking.
If a higher salary is not possible, then you can ask for more vacation or perhaps a more flexible work schedule.
The best place to start is by doing salary research to find out what the market rate is for your position. You can do that on Glassdoor.com by searching for salaries for similar positions in your geographic area. Once you have a good idea of the market rate, you’ll want to evaluate the offer in more depth. For example, what are the benefits, how much will you pay for health insurance, what is the 401K match if offered, is there potential bonus on top of the salary, how much vacation is offered? The bigger questions also need to be answered : is this new position going to take you in a direction you want my career to go? Is it going to offer you opportunity for growth down the line? Offer you the ability to acquire skills you see as valuable for future opportunities?
Think about what’s important and rank order what you’d like to ask for, ie. is ability to work remotely/hybrid important? Is another week of vacation of interest? You know you want more salary but sometimes if that’s not possible, you can ask for one of these other things. You want to remember not to ask for too much or you may end up with nothing… 1-2 things is recommended.
Once you have thought about these answers, I always recommend asking for a phone call to discuss the offer letting them know you have questions. This way you can get immediate feedback. When asking for more salary, there are a couple of options (see steps below). Wishing you good luck!
Mary recommends the following next steps:
Judith-Ann Anderson
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) at AndeersonCounselingTexas( ACT)
106
Answers
Grapevine, Texas
Updated
Judith-Ann’s Answer
Congartlations on the offer. Before you negotiate anything, do your research to know what is fair and reasonable for both parties. I totally agree with Mary Savoy-Lowrey's answer. Good luck to you.
Joseph Burley
Enterprise Account Manager
3
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
Ask them “what is the salary range for this job code?” HR has a set range for the salary of each position. Usually companies will put out the lower end of that range in job postings/interviews and people only get to the higher end by negotiating for it. If they provide a range ask what it takes to be at the top of that range. Be prepared to state why you deserve it (aka why you’re a better than average employee). Better than average employees deserve better than average salary, right? You can ask them that question that if they’re unwavering.
I agree with the other answers as well. Research the market rate for a position like this and for your experience. If you come in and say that the compensation is below what it should be according to research from three different websites that sets you up well to make your case. If they still won’t budge, don’t be afraid to decline and move on. After all, you’ll know there’s more jobs out there with a higher salary if this is the case!
Let me know if you have follow up questions or want clarification on anything
I agree with the other answers as well. Research the market rate for a position like this and for your experience. If you come in and say that the compensation is below what it should be according to research from three different websites that sets you up well to make your case. If they still won’t budge, don’t be afraid to decline and move on. After all, you’ll know there’s more jobs out there with a higher salary if this is the case!
Let me know if you have follow up questions or want clarification on anything