5 Tips On How To Negotiate Your Salary

By Maria Onzain

August 10, 2016   •   Fact checked by Dumb Little Man

Do you feel uncomfortable and don’t know how to negotiate your salary?

Don’t worry. That awkward feeling is quite normal.

According to research gathered by PayScale, 28% of their survey respondents have never asked for a pay rise for that exact reason. And furthermore, 19% do not even try because they don’t want to be perceived as pushy. But the reality is that “75% of people who ask for a pay rise, get a rise”, based on PayScale’s Salary Negotiation Guide.

An increase in your salary will not come overnight. But the good news is that being patient, preparing yourself and working hard it will most likely happen. To negotiate your salary successfully, Open Colleges recommends knowing when your next performance review is and use that period to demonstrate you are a great asset to the team.

These are five things you can do to renegotiate your monthly payment:

  1. Become irreplaceable

In today’s fast-changing marketplace you need to continuously grow your knowledge and develop your skills to differentiate yourself from the competition. After a few years of professional experience, spot an area within your expertise where you can shine and take the right steps to do so.

Taking an online course, reading specialised books or training your skills –even if it is unpaid- may be an excellent way to achieve the purpose of becoming irreplaceable.

See Also: How to Learn Anything Online for Free

  1. Research your salary possibilities

    salary research

Having exceptional skills and standing out from the competition is essential but not enough. You need to have a clear understanding of your salary opportunities. To do so, use tools to research your salary range. Some of the handiest ones are:

PayScale.com, the largest salary profile database in the world to find out how much are you worth.

– The salary research tool at CareerBliss.com where you can search by job title or company to find salary information

Salary.com, a leader in employer-reported compensation data where you will find information about salaries in the US and Canada

– The giant jobs website GlassDoor.com, which also offers anonymous salary information for any real job or company.

Once you know how much your salary range could be, you are in a better position to meet your manager and renegotiate your wage. Nevertheless, you still have some homework to do before you start negotiating.

  1. Know your company inside out

Every business is different. Some companies have limitations regarding salary rise within the same position. You may consider asking for a promotion if that is more feasible, taking into account your companies culture or policies and potential vacancies.

It goes against some companies’ policies to talk about salary with you colleagues. However, knowing your co-workers’ situations will be massively helpful to plan the negotiation. Discreetly ask trusted colleagues about how they got their salary raises or promotions. Then, take their recommendations on board to develop your own salary renegotiation strategy.

  1. Build up your negotiation strategy

Now that you have developed the right skills, gathered information about how much you are worth, and taken into account your colleagues’ experience, use all that knowledge to create your own negotiation strategy.

A little trick to enhance your confidence during the interview is to write down your key arguments and practice out loud first.

A few things you can consider:

– Start highlighting your strengths and results

– Use a firm tone of voice

– Being realistic, ask for a slightly higher amount than expected to give yourself room to negotiate

See Also: The Art of Negotiation: Fifteen Steps to Success

– Have an ace up your sleeve such as requesting an extra week of holidays or other benefits that interest you.

– Last but not least, make sure you are talking to the right person – the one that decides if you get a pay rise or not!

  1. Put the strategy into practice

    negotiation strategy

Getting the timing right is essential to achieve a pay rise, so make sure it is the best moment to arrange a meeting with you boss. Consider your company or team’s financial situation. If it is going through a bad patch, you will be less likely to get your deserved pay rise.

Once you are having that well-planned conversation with your boss, remain calm in order to remember each point of your strategy. It is also crucial to make the use of the silence accurately.

A useful tip is to repeat the amount mentioned by your boss and stop talking for a short while. This silence will give you extra time to think and will put pressure on your employer who may react by giving you a higher offer.

Finally, some important not-to-does when renegotiating your salary. Whatever happens, never, never, never:

– Get emotional
– Mention your personal finances
– Refer to your colleagues’ salary or situation

Maria Onzain

Content marketing and SEO freelancer. Lover of food and travel. Writing about entrepreneurship, startups, social media, eLearning and productivity.

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