Andrew Morris asked:

If you have a job offer, then negotiating a salary and compensation package should be the next thing on board. If a company has spent time and effort interviewing you for a job and has decided to secure your services as employee, they will want to ensure that you remain in the company paying you just enough to ensure that you don’t get snapped up by the competition. However despite all this, negotiating a compensation package is a tricky issue, you don’t want to ask for too much and make yourself seem unreasonable and on the other hand you don’t want to ask for too little and feel shortchanged. So how exactly do you go about the whole thing?

Some people are excited when given the opportunity to negotiate their salary and a compensation package; others on the other hand tend to be perturbed when faced with such a task. Whatever your state of mind, make sure you do the following:

Determine Your Worth

The person at the other end of the table knows how much they feel you are worth, you on the other hand should have an idea about how much you feel the career package is worth. When you start negotiating, you should be aware of all the facts concerning your particular job description. The Internet is a great resource and you can use it to your advantage to get informed about salaries and compensation packages for someone in your shoes. You should make sure that the informational resource you are using factors in the cost of living in the area your employer wants you to work. Having a standpoint in terms of determining your worth means you know what you are negotiating for.

Have a Goal

Just as you can’t get into battle without a battle plan in hand and you don’t get into a football match without laying out a plan to win, you have to define your goal in the salary negotiation proceedings; you can’t get into negotiations without a goal. Shoot a little beyond your mark, if you feel the job is worth around $70,000 in total; ask for a bit more but not that much more. The reason being that the negotiators want to leave the table feeling they have gained something, if you give them the exact figure you have in mind, they’ll aim to beat it down.

Know When to Walk

You’re not up for a charitable cause, it’s your career that’s at stake and you have responsibilities and bills to pay. If you absolutely know you cannot take anything below a particular amount, then walk away and seek alternative options. Deciding to make do with what is below your expectations and which does not cover the level of your financial responsibilities can land you in a quandary, if you know you have better more financially beneficial options elsewhere, then you can drop the offer and move on.

Be Fair

Make sure you use standards that are reasonable for someone in your shoes, the company that’s giving you the offer knows how much the industry pays and you should as well, everyone is trying to win something in the deal. Failure to stick to fair expectations may lead to resentment and comfort with your future job if you accept something below par only to find out later on that fellow employees on the same level as you are, are raking in more than you are.

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Bryan Burbank asked:

It is important when you are negotiating a salary that you have in your mind what that perfect number will be. Usually there is a lot of mind games when you are in the process of negotiating because the employer wants to get you for the lowest price they think you will work for. It is easy to also get into the trap of the interviewer asking you what you would like to make. This is probably one of the worst traps you can fall into because it is a loose – loose situation. The company will know exactly what they can have you for and you may sell yourself short to get the job.

Learn How To: Get the Perfect Job

Build a Good Relationships

It is always good to try to build a good relationship with the new company that you applying to. Sometimes the job that you are trying to get pays more than your current job, most people try to get a higher paying job, but the interviewer may want to know why your pay is low and it is always good to let then know that you are up to the new salary and that you are worth every dime because of your worth to the new company

Learn About: Positive Work Habits

Important Factors to Negotiation

Your negotiating a salary will depend on a few important factors such as the level of experience you have for the job you are applying for, also any unique skills that would make you stand out will also be helpful to obtain a new position at the best salary. It is always better to discuss salary with the person who makes the actual decision of how much you will make and perks. Usually a Human Resource person will not be the decision maker for a higher paying salary job.

Finally it is always best to be truthful and not lie about your current salary because the new employer can confirm if the numbers are accurate and you do not want to be in a situation were you get caught in a lie.

salary negotiation