Job Search - Salary and Offer Negotiation

How To Answer Questions About Salary History And Salary Requirements

These answers are not negotiation issues – negotiation comes when you have received an offer.

• Find out the range for the going rate for a person with your skills and experience in the marketplace and the city you want to work in.
• Most salary questions that arise early are screening questions to make sure your salary range is not too different from the company’s 
• Avoid specific dollar references if you possibly can.
• Ask if there is a salary range for the position. State your comfort with that range.
• Try " without knowing more about this position, it’s hard to know what salary I would expect, but my research suggests that the salary range for entry-level [….]s in this area is between X and Y."
• Or, "without knowing more, I feel uncomfortable naming a figure; I expect that salary will not be an issue if I am a good match for this position."
• Salary history questions are sometimes unavoidable. If you must fill out an application and cannot avoid listing salary history, say that you are sure you can work out a salary figure that is commensurate with your skills and experience. Your salary should not be tied to what you have made before.

Salary Information Sources

• See a counselor for information from NACE on salary levels for new grads.
• www.salary.com and www.salaryexpert.com are salary sites on the web.
• The Riley Guide Salary Guides and Guidance
• To make sense of your findings READ Evaluating the Salary Information You’ve Found

Evaluate And Respond To A Job Offer

The last phase of a job search begins when an employer makes you an offer of employment. Usually an offer is first made verbally. Be prepared for an offer – and, no matter how excited you are, don’t accept it on the spot.

• Thank the employer for the offer, enthusiastically!
• If it is a verbal offer, ask when you can expect to have a written offer.
• Ask whatever questions you need to understand the terms of the offer.
• Request a little time to consider the offer, for example, "until the end of the week". Ask for enough time to review the offer carefully, but don’t ask for two weeks.
• Meet the agreed upon time. If you need more time, ask.

Analyze An Offer. Discuss Your Offer With Friends, Family, Or A Career Services Counselor If You Have Questions Or Doubts.

• Does the job meet your criteria? Review what’s important to you.
  • Is it a job you want? Is it consistent with your goals?
  • Is the organization one you want to work for? Where you want to be?
  • Are you excited about the work, your boss and co-workers-to-be?
  • Can you learn what you want to learn?
  • Is there enough challenge? Chance to advance? Access to technology?
  • Is the compensation and benefits package acceptable
• Understand the terms of your offer: ask for clarification if you need it
  • The position you will fill and the time you will work
  • The salary (or other compensation structure such as commission or  base pay plus commission). When is it reviewed?
  • The benefits offered, such as health and or dental insurance, vacation, sick, and other paid time off, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement 
  • Are there one time benefits like sign-on or re-location bonuses (rare in this economy)? 

Managing Multiple Offers

• a challenge if you do not have a clear preference for one of the jobs
• an opportunity for leverage
• to let another employer know of your competing offer
• to negotiate for better terms with the preferred employer
• Consult an advisor such as a Career Services counselor

Decline An Offer

If you decide that you do not wish to accept the offer, decline it politely, in writing. Never burn a bridge!

• Reiterate your appreciation for the offer. Say something nice about the company.
• Present a reason for declining: you have decided to work in Alabama, you want a position in which you will have more opportunity to use your […] skills, you have accepted a job with ABC, Inc. which is a better fit for you.
• Do not burn a bridge! You never know where the future will lead you.

Negotiate And Accept An Offer

• Many companies do not negotiate salary for entry level hires
• The only moment for negotiating salary and other issues is after you have received an offer and before you have accepted it.
• Prepare. Know the range of what you are worth and what your bottom lines are for salary and benefits. What else is important?
• If you are asked "What will it take to get you to join ABC, Inc.", be ready to put all the elements that are important to you on the table. It becomes difficult to add elements, unless you are trading, later on.
• Be prepared to present specific reasons why you think your skills and experience should earn you more, or put you near the top of the range. Your salary needs should not come in to play.
• If you are disappointed in the terms, try silence first. Let it last.
• Or you can ask "Do you have any flexibility with that figure?"
• Companies are often more willing to negotiate one-time than "permanent" benefits – an extra week of vacation vs. another $1000 of salary, for example.
  • Requesting an accelerated performance review is an option.
  • Keep the tone of your conversations friendly. It is your goal to become a member of this organization!
• Unless you are an experienced negotiator, get help!
• If you are comfortable with an offer, nothing says you have to try to negotiate to make if better!

Accepting An Offer

Once you accept an offer, immediately notify other companies with whom you have been interviewing that you have accepted a position and wish to withdraw your name from further consideration.

Resources For Further Information On Salary Negotiation

The Quintessential Careers website has many links to information on salary surveys and salary negotiation.