So you’ve made it through the gauntlet of job interviews and now you’re ready to reap the rewards! It’s time to negotiate your starting salary.
While this can be a nerve-wracking process, it doesn’t have to be. Here are five tips for negotiating your first job offer.
1. Know what you want: Before you even begin looking for a new job, make sure you know what kind of salary you’ll need to make in order to support yourself and your family (if applicable). This will help give you a baseline number that ensures you’re getting a fair deal.
2. Don’t accept their first offer: Even if they say their offer is non-negotiable, push back and ask for more compensation. If nothing else, this shows them that you aren’t afraid to ask for what you want in a business setting.
3. Research your market value. Because you have done the work and know that you deserve an offer and salary, you should know what the average market value is for someone like you in your industry and location. The best way to do this is by asking other people in your industry and company what they make, or by using tools like [name of tool] or [name of tool].
4. Be prepared to back up your request: When asking for more money, always come with an explanation of why you deserve it—and why they should pay it! This could include past experience or successes, education or special skills that make you an asset to the company, or even the value of your network connections and how those could help their brand grow.
In the end, your negotiation strategy will depend on your goals, and what you are looking to accomplish by negotiating. Remember, though: it’s always better to leave a negotiation with more than you had before you started.