An example of a full salary negotiation script for real situation. Offer, counteroffer, and final talking points.
The question
What are some effective strategies for negotiating salary for a new job offer?
I interviewed at, and received an offer from, a company that generally pays above market ave. in terms of salary. I was offered something fairly reasonable ($50k-$53k), but now feel like I might pass on it because of the limited salary. I’d like to negotiate up to $56k, but need some practical advice on effective strategies.
My answer
This is my strategy, which I’ve used to help myself and many other people maximize their salaries. The “Haggle to get to your final salary” section is written to match your specific situation.
This answer is a summary of “How to negotiate your new salary”, a chapter in my upcoming book, Fearless Salary Negotiation. You can get the full chapter for free here: How to negotiate your new salary.
Here we go! These are the six basic steps to maximize your results from a salary negotiation:
1. Determine the market value for your skill set and experience
2. Determine your minimum acceptable salary
3. Don’t divulge your current salary or desired salary
4. This forces them to name the first salary in the negotiation
5. Then you should counter
6. Haggle to get to your final salary
You already have an offer, so your specific situation picks up at step 4. I unpack each of those steps below.
1. Determine the market value for your skill set and experience
Use Google , Glassdoor – Get Hired. Love Your Job. , Welcome to Salary.com!, and similar sites to see if you can determine the typical salary range for the job you’re pursuing in your geographic region.
Spend some time talking with friends and trusted colleagues in your industry to see if you can determine approximately what their companies pay for someone with your skill set and experience to do the job you’re pursuing. (NOTE: It may be considered rude to outright ask someone what salary they are making, but there’s a pretty easy workaround—ask them what salary they think someone with your skill set and experience might make in the job you’re pursuing. Asking them a hypothetical will usually make them more comfortable talking about salary since they’re not necessarily divulging their salary.)
With those there sources—online search, friends in the industry, trusted colleagues—you should be able to get a sense for the typical pay range for the job you’re pursuing. Then you need to determine how you stack up relative to the typical person doing that job. Are you more experienced? Less? More efficient? Less? That should enable you to determine about what salary you can expect in the job you’re pursuing.
2. Determine your minimum acceptable salary
Next, determine your minimum acceptable salary to do the job. What is the salary that the company must meet to prevent you from walking away from the opportunity? It’s important to decide this number before you negotiate—when you are most objective.
Once you have that number, you’re ready to negotiate.
3. Don’t divulge your current salary or desired salary
The negotiation often begins at the beginning of the interview process and the first step in the negotiation is usually what I call “the dreaded salary question”. This is a question that is often posed by the recruiter or hiring manager:
“So where are you right now in terms of salary, and what are you looking for if you make this move?”
This is really two questions in one: What’s your current salary, and what’s your desired salary?
Give an answer like this:
“I’m not really comfortable sharing that information. I would prefer to focus on the value I can add to this company and not what I’m paid at my current job.
I want this move to be a big step forward for me in terms of both responsibility and compensation.”
They may be persistent, but if you divulge either or both of these numbers, you will likely cost yourself money.
4. This forces them to name the first salary in the negotiation
If you resist the dreaded salary question, the interview process will usually continue for a while (two or three interviews is the norm) and the will eventually make you an offer, beginning the formal negotiation process. When they do, thank them for the offer and ask if you can have some time to think it over. “Is it ok if I take a couple days to think this over and talk to my family?” is a good way to buy a little time.
5. Then you should counter
Take those two days to determine your counter offer and consider your strengths that justify your counter. You should counter 10% or so above their offer. The more they need you to do the job, the higher you can counter. The more you need the job, the lower you should counter. But 10% is a safe counter regardless.
One caveat: If your counter would be below your minimum acceptable salary (from above), then just counter with your minimum acceptable salary and say “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your offer below such and such salary.”
You will often deliver your counter via email, so take that opportunity to include a few sentences explaining why you’re worth your counter (more than they offered). “I will be a great asset to your team because I have a lot of experience with your methodology and I can contribute from day one.” or something similar.
6. Haggle to get to your final salary
I’m assuming your offer is $53k since it sounds like they offered a range—I’m just taking the top of the range they offered. Since you specifically mentioned a desired base salary, I’m focusing on maximizing your base salary (which is the way to go in my opinion).
They will usually counter your counter, so prepare ahead of time by deciding how you’ll respond to any salary between their initial offer and your first counter. It will usually be a small window that you can break into reasonable increments (like $500 or $1,000), so you only need to plan for a few possibilities. Here’s an example where the company’s offer was $53k, and I countered at $60k (13% above their offer). Note that I’m assuming $53k is at least your minimum, so I’m assuming you will not walk away if they stand at $53k.
$58k–60k—That sounds good to me! When do I start?
$57k—(1) I’m on board if you can do 58.5. (2) Can we talk about upping my vacation? (3) Can we talk about reimbursing my monthly office expenses ($265)?
$56k—(1) I’m on board if you can do 58. (2) Vacation. (3) Office expenses.
$55k—(1) I’m on board if you can do 57. ( 2) Vacation. (3) Office expenses.
$54k—(1) I’m on board if you can do 55. ( 2) Vacation. (3) Office expenses.
$53k—”It seems like you’re set on $53k.” ( 1) Vacation. (2) Office expenses.
For the lines where there are multiple values (1, 2, 3), those are rounds of haggling. First, I would counter at the (1) number. If they balked, I would request the (2) benefit, and if they balked at that, I would request the (3) benefit. This enables me to focus on base salary first, then a nice benefit if base salary can’t move, and finally a smaller benefit if the big benefit won’t work. This helps to maximize the results of the negotiation.
The final discussion where you arrive at your final salary will often be a quick verbal discussion on a phone call. Use the script you prepared earlier as your guide in case you get nervous during this discussion.
That’s a pretty brief overview, but that’s my technique in a nutshell. Hope it helps!
For a more detailed overview of my technique, get “How to negotiate your new salary”—a free chapter from my book Fearless Salary Negotiation, a #1 Best Seller on Amazon—at How to negotiate your new salary. Or you can get the full book here: Fearless Salary Negotiation: Get it here