3 Ways How to Approach Salary Negotiations Effectively

By Leroy A. Brown

Your heart races, palms sweat, and excitement and nerves flood your system. You've aced the interviews, dazzled with your skills, and now the moment of truth has arrived: the salary negotiation.

Even if you are already working in the company or just had an employee performance review, this pivotal phase of discussing your salary can feel like traversing a tightrope, where you want to be paid what you are worth while not being perceived as greedy and overreaching.

Here are three (3) ways or tips you may use to effectively negotiate your salary:

 1

Know your Worth and value

Knowing your worth and value is about being aware of the pay scale for someone with your knowledge, skill, and experience in the job market.

Part of knowing your worth and value may involve:

A

Being informed about where you are in the labor market will give you a base to negotiate. To do this, you will have to research the job market.

The data you receive from the labor market can assist you in justifying your asking salary.

You may use websites like JobBank – search wages, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed in Canada, and Glassdoor, Salary, and PayScale in the United States of America (U.S.A.).

B

Also, demonstrate how your contributions to your company have positively impacted the business’s operation.

C

Highlight the value you will bring to the company.  

2

Remember the Full Package

Negotiating the salary is just one part of the compensation. There are other components, such as perks, bonuses, and benefits.

Considering these other areas of compensation may become necessary if there is little to gain from discussing salary, such as the company being unable to afford a salary above a specific figure.

Other things that may help the salary negotiation and make it worthwhile for you to work with your employer are:

I    The company offers professional development opportunities.

II   The firm may offer a sign-on bonus.

III   Your employer may have stock options you may participate in.

IV   The business may allow remote work.

3

Don’t put Yourself Down

Individuals often negotiate a lower salary, thinking they will eventually get paid their worth instead of stating their value upfront.

If you have the skills, knowledge, and experience and can articulate your value and worth to the company, then go for the compensation you believe is reasonable. Leave room to talk about a payment that is satisfactory for you and the employer.

You may discover more at Leroy A. Brown at https://leroyabrown.ca/.